Good morning ,
If you have been a subscriber to these little missives for a while, you
will know that I have been addicted to doing them for over 10 years now!
You will also know that a year ago, most unexpectedly, I met the love of my life while travelling in Europe. The only problem was, he lived in America and I live in Melbourne. So he decided to take a huge risk and come
to Australia. So far, so good ...
We're both in our 70s, and we've both had busy, productive and rewarding professional careers (he as a criminal lawyer, me in the corporate world). For me, that has included being on the board of the RSA since the mid 2000s and president since
2011.
Now it's time for my "North American correspondent" and I to move on and enjoy the years we have left together. We intend to travel for about half of each year - he doesn't like hot weather and I don't like the cold, so we'll go wherever it's spring or autumn!
On Sunday 2 June we leave for the US via Hawaii, with a few days e-biking around O'ahu. He has a couple of important family events to attend in June and July, and then we'll head to Ireland and Portugal before returning to Australia in September.
The purpose of letting you know this is that this RSA Daily will be my last.
The RSA's fantastic
Executive Director, Si Gladman, will be taking over RSA Daily and making it into an RSA Weekly, keeping you up to date with "News and views for atheists, rationalists and secular humanists" in Australia.
I will also be stepping down from the RSA board at the next AGM in mid November
2024, after nearly 14 years at the helm.
If you are a paid up Member of the RSA, may I encourage you to put your hand up for the RSA board come the AGM?
The RSA is one of Australia's venerable institutions - over 100 years old - and is still going strong, thanks to the time and intellectual contribution of many current and former board members, and the careful and effective stewardship of RSA reserve funds.
We've got an active and talented full time paid Executive Director. We're co-operating with other secular groups like the Victorian Humanists, the Atheist Foundation and the National Secular Lobby to ensure our campaigns reach as wide an audience as possible. The need to challenge the presumptious assumption of religious privilege is, arguably, stronger than ever, as is the need to
counter science denialism and deliberate mis- and disinformation.
If you have the time, the skills and some board or committee experience to help guide the RSA on the next phase of its life, I strongly encourage you to consider nominating for the board. They're a good lot and you won't
regret the commitment.
I'll leave you now to get on with the next phase of my life, happy to hand over to the next generation, but wistfully regretting that I won't be reading more of your very kind comments and thoughtful reflections.
With thanks for your friendship and very best wishes,
