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On Wednesday, some forty five members and friends of the Rotary Club of Berwick
converged to the Holm Park function centre for yet another excellent meeting full of Rotary information and fellowship.
Sue Whiticker from Safe Steps was our guest speaker and her presentation focused on the vital work that the Family Violence Response Centre is doing each day to help vulnerable women and children escape domestic violence.
Sue Whiticker from Safe Steps was our guest speaker and her presentation focused on the vital work that the Family Violence Response Centre is doing each day to help vulnerable women and children escape domestic violence.
It was great to welcome back Past Presidents Mark Caulfied, Gary Cooper and John Rosenthal, and Rotarians Isobel Caulfield and Anand Amarnath. Regular visitors Cheryl Zuhlsdorff and David Cutler were warmly welcomed, as always.
PP Jack Kraan was the Chairman for the night and with a full program to manage, he made sure proceedings were kept on track.
We heard from PP Viv Armstrong about her visit to the Hazelwood and Rosebud/Rye Rotary Clubs the previous week, and the growing number of Rotarians and community groups that are supporting the Mental Health First Aid training programme. At our first meeting in October, PP Viv will tell us more about the programme and the great initiatives being implemented by the Australian Rotary Health to “Lift the Lid on mental Health”. This will coincide with “Hat Day” on Friday 7th October.
Chairman Jack reminded members about the Casey-Cardinia Foundation Charity Dinner in October, and advised that Terry Carmichael is organising a table for the club. Members are encouraged to support the Charity Dinner.
PP Jack told members that due to the condition of the grounds at Federation University and the poor weather forecast, it is unlikely that the South East Feast planned for the weekend would go ahead. Indeed confirmation was received on Thursday that the event had been postponed to early 2018. PP Jack thanked all the members and friends of Rotary who had volunteered to help on the day. Although it is disappointing that the event had to be postponed, it is reassuring to know that all the good work of the organising committee will not go to waste. Stay tuned for the new date, hopefully when the weather will be warmer!!
David Button, Foundation Director, confirmed to members that the club will make an excursion to the Berwick Fields Primary School, on Wednesday 20th September between 12-1.30pm. Members will have a chance to see the pupils practice on the Lego Mindstorm Robotic Kits that the club donated to the school recently. Please let David know by email if you are able to attend. This is another great example of how the Rotary Club Berwick is engaging directly with the local community and making a difference.
It was great to hear about the Mt Isa Mines Rodeo, which PP Mark and Isobel attended whilst on their trip up north. Mt Isa Mines have two Rotary Clubs with about 30 people in each club, and both clubs do an amazing job organising the rodeo which attracts some 20,000 visitors to the region each year.
David Nutter advised members that the annual Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Outback Car Trek will be held June 2018. In its 29th year the Trek has helped the RFDS raise over $29m in that time. David announced that he and his team (Car # 1966) will once again participate in the Trek, and to help kick start the fundraising they are organising the second edition of the RFDS Golf day on 24th November. David’s invitation to the club to support the event was accepted by the Board, and it is go to be able to contribute in some way to the RFDS fundraising efforts. The RFDS provide an important service to outback communities and have also helped rescue and save the lives of many city folks who have found themselves in difficulty in unfamiliar surrounds. Stay tuned for more information about the RFDS Golf Day.
PP Jim took the opportunity to remind members that our own Golf Day will be held on the 16th of March 2018.
PP Jim took the opportunity to remind members that our own Golf Day will be held on the 16th of March 2018.
I hope you enjoy this week’s edition of Spoke ‘n’ Words. Thank you again to Sandi, our wonderful Editor, and her team for putting together such an excellent bulletin.
Enjoy…
