Although many newer members of the club would be forgiven for believing that the position of Sergeant-At-Arms ("SAA") is more akin to a friendly "Extortion Department", due to the typically humourous and light-hearted "fines" levied by the SAA on unsuspecting members, the SAA actually plays a very important role at regular club meetings, particularly in support of the Club President.

The key duties of the SAA (who should always arrive early for each regular club meeting), are as follows:

1) Welcome Committee: If there is no roster (or if the appointed members are not present), the SAA nominates at least one (ideally two) of the earliest arriving club members to wear one of the appropriate red sashes, and to stand near the entrance of the meeting room to greet all attendees, in particular the Guest Speaker, visiting Rotarians and guests. The members of the Welcome Committee, in tandem with the SAA, should also show visiting Rotarians and guests how and where to sign-in and organise their lunch and drink, and they should also introduce visitors to other club members.

2) Stationery: The SAA should ensure that a sufficient supply of make-up cards and guest badges are neatly laid out and available for use by visiting Rotarians and guests respectively. Additionally, the SAA should ensure that the KGM member's sign-in sheets are dated and ready for use and that KGM member's name tags are clearly and correctly organised in the badge holder box, which must be tidied up before each meeting.

3) Supporting Roles: During the pre-lunch cocktails, the SAA appoints three (3) members to Introduce Visiting Rotarians, to Introduce Guests and to give the Vote of Thanks to the guest speaker, and each of these members will be required to perform their assigned task when called upon to do so by the President during the course of the meeting. Of course the SAA must also pass a brief note to the President, prior to the commencement of the meeting, informing the President of the names of the members who will be fulfilling those important supporting roles.

Note: The Sergeant should remind the assigned member that the Vote of Thanks should not be another speech or a detailed analysis of the speaker's presentation ! It should essentially be a brief expression of gratitude to the guest speaker for taking the time to address our club.

4) Photographer: The SAA must ensure that the regular club photographer (or another member) is ready to take a photograph of the guest speaker and of any other important events occurring during the meeting, such as inductions of new members and/or the presentation of Paul Harris Fellow recognition etc. Of course the photographer should discreetly pass any such photographs taken, pre-mounted inside a KGM presentation folder, to the President as soon as possible thereafter.

5) Seating: When the lunch chimes are played, the SAA should immediately begin to guide members and visitors to their seats. It is imperative that the SAA ensures that the Head Table (when available) is fully occupied (with one of those seats usually being reserved for the SAA). The SAA should also ensure that the front tables are filled first, to avoid multiple partially-filled tables and to watch for the possibility that late-comers could be left sitting on their own. Visiting Rotarians should, inasmuch as possible, be seated/disbursed evenly amongst the tables and not just unceremoniously lumped together on a single table at the rear !

6) Aide De Camp: During the progress of the meeting, the SAA should be prepared to respond quickly and quietly to any requests made by the President, who may require assistance with running the meeting. It is also a duty of the SAA to assist the President to maintain order and silence, while the President or other speakers are addressing the meeting.

7) SAA Report: This is the fun part of the SAA's duties and, when called upon by the President to make the SAA report, the SAA invariably levies "fines" upon members for a variety of "infractions". These may include fines for not wearing a Rotary pin, for recently having had a haircut, for appearing in the press or on television, for unusual items of clothing a member may be wearing, for members celebrating their birthdays or other milestones and so on.

Remember though that while the these fines each week help us raise funds for our Community Service Fund, the level of the fines should be kept within reason and they should not normally be levied on visiting Rotarians or guests !

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