1^st Address from Stephen Wells,
President JCI Reading 2011,
11^th December 2010.

There is a quote by Buddha

‘Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,

and the life of the candle will not be shortened.

Happiness never decreases by being shared’

I have only been in JCI for 18mths and it is hard to believe the impact that knowing people in this room, and around the globe, has had on my life.

I am going to start by thanking some of them, there are many more but I have been told I have only got 45 minutes! Sorry that’s 4 to 5 minutes I will keep it short and I will be speaking from the heart as I have been reliably informed by a very good friend¹ that is the best way.

Carrie² thank you. If you had not invited me to a Thirsty Thursdays I would not be here.

If you had not mentioned you were going to the 2009 World Congress I would not be standing here now. (maybe I should learn not to get drunk at party nights!)

Also I would not have seen you with a fire in your belly, a passion and energy that is infectious to those around you.

Clare³ The training sessions that you had planned when I first came along caught my attention and kept me coming back, so a massive ‘Thank you’ to you.

Solveig⁴ and Lesley¹, meeting you both in Tunisia was turning point, it made me know there was more out there, at the time I had no idea what it was, I just knew it was there.

Diane⁵, Sarah⁶, Marco⁷, Graeme⁸, as I say there are many more people I could mention,

Many who are from all around the world, Jill⁹, Peter¹⁰, Tobias¹¹, Marta¹², Patrick¹³, Wayne¹⁴ , Kai¹⁵ to name but a few.

Meeting you all has given me a spark that HAD been missing for some time.

That spark has been topped up regularly by everyone in JCI

and over the last year those small sparks have turned into a fire.

So what is my Role for 2011?

The Title says ‘ JCI Reading President ‘ what does that mean to me.

I want to pass on the fire, that I have seen and been given.

the warm feeling inside when you know you are doing the right things for the right reasons.

Allison Cowell¹⁶ JCI UK National President 2011 has the theme of ‘Back to Basics’

To me it means inspiring people, giving to others what has been given to me. Building relationships and finding out what people want and what matters to them. Only once we know what people Value will we, the board of JCI Reading, be able to fulfil those needs by providing the right mix of activities for existing and new members.

I am so glad that Carrie suggested we host next year’s inspiration day, this has given me the opportunity to work on something I truly believe in. As I mentioned earlier I have lots of little stories about how people helped me just by being them! At inspiration day we will have the opportunity to hear from more people about who they are and what JCI means to them and what kept their fire burning on a daily basis.

More importantly what does it mean to you?

I want to help you keep your fire burning brightly.

Tell us (JCI Reading/JCI in general) what you dream of achieving no matter how big or small that is.

And let JCI help you achieve it.

To wrap up I will give you my own version of the quote from Buddha that I started with.

I NOW walk through life with a fire burning bright inside me,

if I drop sparks on you let them burn,

for someday you will drop sparks of your own

and light a fire in someone’s life.  – Stephen Wells 2010

Note: I have updated this speech to contain the additions that were included while making it, along with non-verbal reference that were implied and have therefore been added in Italics

Key

1 = Lesley Young, National President JCI UK 2010

2 = Carrie Green, JCI Reading President 2010

3 = Clare Franklin, Training Director JCI Reading 2009/10

4 = Solveig Malvik, JCI London President 2010

5 = Diane Edgington, JCI Reading Membership Director 2009/10

6 = Sarah Beckwith, JCI London Deputy President 2010 (President Elect 2011)

7 = Marco Van den Heuvel, JCI Regional Group Chairman for the Southern Region 2010

8 = Graeme Hobbs, JCI Senator,

9 = Jillian Walker, JCI Calgary

10 = Peter Reitano, JCI Australia National President 2010

11 = Tobias Engström

12 = Marta Komosa

13 = Patrick Knight

14 = Wayne Clark

15 = Kai Roer

16 = Allison Cowell JCI UK National President Elect 2011