When a customer wants to hire art screens from the Rotary Club of Berwick, they expect quality service. Thanks to PP Gus Dominguez and PP Laury Gordyn, that's what they get, even though sometimes it doesn't fit the Club program.
The picture above is about all we are going to see of this week's meeting
on 3rd March! We are off to deliver ART SCREENS!
Art Screen hire is one of the three major income streams of the club that keep our community project activities viable. Like all businesses, cash flow is important and there hasn't been too much of that for many months. If I were a customer wanting art screens from the Rotary Club of Berwick, I would expect unbelievable service from helpful volunteers. Through the work of Gus and Laury, that is what we deliver!
Service, reliability and a can-do attitude are getting rare these days! Trust me, I deal with a lot of businesses that are not meeting my expectations. I can say that our art screen business is first class and I am proud to recommend it to anyone who could use our service.
So where is this all leading to? Well, this week, members have a choice to either join us for a trip down to Sorrento to deliver all our art screens, have pizza and a chat at Tim and Jane's place on the way back, OR have the night off from Rotary. Most of the members participating in the drop off are strong supporters of our Holm Park meetings. With those members gone, there is not enough support for our caterers and it will cost the club members account a couple hundred dollars to make up for the shortfall in the minimum number of meals. The club is already running a deficit in the meal department, as members continue to shun attending Holm Park. This shortfall will mean higher Club dues and losing the venue, if this trend continues.
If you would like to join the caravan of trucks and trailers down to Sorrento and see what we do to earn a bit of cash, contact PP Gus on gusgis2@gmail.com and book yourself in. Any club member is welcome. It is a great time for fellowship and bonding!
Rotary is a great organisation to transform lives through cooperation. For example, the Rotary Clubs of Berwick, Pakenham and Mt Eliza (in District 9820) played a part in creating a dental clinic for the people in the Balibo District of Timor Leste. We were part of a bigger picture with Rotary Clubs far and wide, RAWCS, DIK, the Balibo Trust, Palms Australia, the Timor Leste Government, a band of volunteer Australian dentists and the local village elders. Each group worked together to bring dentistry and oral hygiene to an area that had previously never had a dentist.
When I visited the clinic in 2018 with Roger Thornton (RC Pakenham), Geoff and Di Double (RC Berwick), David Dippie (RC Keilor) and Doug Hemmingway (RC Port Melbourne), it was just getting going. The two people in blue above, Sidone and Felix were the first dental nurses trained by the Australian dentists. Finally, the team is growing and delivering dental services to outlying villages and schools. The services include oral hygiene education for students, days for girls education and dental treatment referrals. These people are making our initial dream of helping the people of Balibo a reality, but more than that, a significant improvement to the people of Balibo. From the beginning there were issues of trust, as the villagers had never heard of a dentist, let alone seen one!
Although the Rotary Club of Berwick is only a small cog in the wheels of progress, it gives me great joy that we have been part of this bigger picture. Local people have been trained and progress has been made.
So here is the kicker!
This week I had a birthday and at my age I much prefer to give rather than receive. I have given a few dollars to the Balibo Trust to get the team going again after their trusty car has become "untrusty". Please join me if you can, OR share the word with your friends.
Please help us improve dental hygiene and support teachers and young women in Timor-Leste.
Since 2002, the Balibo House Trust has supported programs in the small village of Balibo, located three hours west of Dili, Timor-Leste. More recently our work has extended to support the 35 schools and kindergartens – which educate approximately 3,700 young people – across the remote western district of Bobonaro. Our dental nurses from the Balibo dental clinic visit primary schools to provide oral health screening and education, supporting dental hygiene from an early age and allowing children access to proper dental care. Our education mentor provides support and training to teachers in remote village schools. We also deliver 'Days for Girls' Kits – which support women’s empowerment and dignity – and provide training to secondary school students.
The work is dependent upon our trusty Toyota, purchased by the Balibo House Trust. However, as the car nears the end of its life, our ability to travel becomes increasingly difficult. We are seeking support to raise $25,000 to purchase a second-hand vehicle in Dili, to enable us to continue our work and support communities in western Timor-Leste.
Our Club Protection Officer, Graham Johnstone, was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) by President David Button, at the Club meeting on Wednesday 23rd February.
Accompanied by his daughter Tiffany, Graham was scheduled to deliver a "Behind the Badge" presentation. He was pleasantly surprised and especially delighted to also have a video recording from his other daughter, Beth, in Vancouver, Canada, congratulating him on being presented with his PHF.
In response, Graham stated that he has been a member of our Club for 13 years and has enjoyed the camaraderie and varied experiences that Rotary provides. He is proud to have been presented with a PHF.
Graham then delivered his presentation with the PHF medallion proudly worn around his neck.
There are 91 Rotary fellowship groups, which means that there really is something for everyone and they are a great adjunct to Rotary and a great way to introduce non-members to Rotary!
What is a Rotary Fellowship?
Simply, Rotary Fellowships are international groups with national and local subgroups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends and join a community built around a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
The fellowships join members in friendship and expand opportunities to enjoy their favourite recreational activities, sports, and professions. These groups range from cycling to skiing, Latin culture to jazz, doctors to photographers, and even wine-tasting to beer.
The Rotary Club of Berwick has members in the International Fellowship of Skiing Rotarians, (the Boons), and the popular Recreational Vehicle Fellowship of Rotarians (RVFR), which includes the Rosenthals, Carole and Norm Smith (Buchanan), the Moores, the Shaws and the Froggatts
Last weekend, the Berwick contingent joined the southern division of the RVFR Australia Southern Division – basically Victoria, on a 5 night “muster” based at Lake Tyers in East Gippsland. It was so much fun!
RVFR Berwick crew at the
Lakes Entrance harbour
Le tag along tour at Buchan
The Moore and Shaw campsite at Lake Tyers
LE tag along vehicle fire lookout
How does a muster work?
Southern Division Musters are held 3 times a year – February, May and November. Two people, the “drovers”, volunteer to organise the event with two assistants, the “roustabouts”. They scope and choose a location, block book a caravan park, arrange where or what we eat and design an activity program; all of which are opted in on registration. You make your site booking, pack some breakfast gear and head off for a great time! You can commit to as much or as little of the program as you choose. John and Helen Rosenthal are quietly working away in the background on the muster they are running in 2022!
The Lake Tyers program was fun, interesting and designed to take some much needed tourist dollars into the fire recovery area of East Gippsland. There was a great mix of down time for socialising and enjoying the lovely beach, pool and very natural Lake Tyers Beach Front Park with a mix of people in their RVs and in cabins.
We had a fantastic couple of nights in camp with a pizza truck making fresh pizzas on site and a b.b.q tea the next. Saturday evening saw us all on a boat cruising the lakes with dinner catered for, whilst Sunday we made our own arrangements and all ended up going out for tea!
We toured the Lakes Entrance Co-op and Fennings Timber Mill. Professionally conducted tours, which were really interesting and, as always, arranged through contacts who could facilitate visits not normally open to the general public.
Saturday was free time to enjoy, visiting local attractions, catching up with friends, or whatever suited. On Sunday, for those remaining, and interested in bush tag alongs, a group were lead to the hills on tracks unknown, travelling 250 km through Buchan and up to the confluence of the Snowy and Buchan rivers. Those still in camp enjoyed their own time to surf, fish, explore the local area or read a book!
Who can come?
A recent policy change allows anyone to join a Rotary Fellowship, including non-members! Invite those friends with whom you share a similar hobby or interest, to join the relevant Fellowship with you. This is a great opportunity to introduce them to Rotary.
How do you join?
Come along as a guest to see how you like it! The group has many longstanding members, but is also undergoing a rejuvenation with many new members being from Narre Warren, Greater Dandenong/Endeavour Hills, Pakenham, Bunyip Garfield now coming along. There are people from the Ride to Conference team who have joined and many more from Clubs out of our District from throughout Victoria.
Contact secretary Graeme Squires form the Rotary Club of Bunyip Garfield at squires58@bigpond.com.au. He has all the information you will need.
On 21st April 2021, Rotary marks a centenary of proud community service across Australia. To commemorate the milestone the Royal Australian Mint has produced this elegant silver proof coin.
The coin honours the big hearts of the 30,000 Rotary members and 1100 plus clubs across the country, which run programs such as youth exchanges, fundraise for bushfire recovery and bring life changing surgery to the Asia Pacific region.
Honolulu to host 2027 Rotary International ConventionHONOLULU (Feb. 18, 2021) — Almost one year after canceling its international convention in Honolulu due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Rotary announced it will
Jen Marshall has organised with the City of Casey for our Club's involvement in the Clean Up Australia Day proceedings on Sunday 7th March.
The Club is now formally registered on the Clean Up Australia Day web page, so others can join us if they want. In fact, Jen has also arranged for members of a local Cub group to join us in the clean up. Well done Jen!
This is another project aligning with Rotary's 7th area of focus, namely: "Supporting the environment".
The details are as follows:
Date: Sunday 7th March
Venue: Buchanan Park, 72 Clyde Road Berwick - opposite McDonalds
Time:10:00 am onwards
Bags and gloves will be provided.
We will clean up, then grab coffees/teas from McDonalds across the road to have with morning tea and enjoy some fellowship. Morning tea will be funded by the City of Casey.
An online booking system will be set up to identify the participants, consistent with COVID-19 requirements.
The Interact Clubs of Rotary District 9820 are having their first ever Interact District Conference! If you're keen to learn more about Interact Clubs or Rotary's Youth Programs, come along on Saturday 27 March.
There is a newly creating Learning Topic called ‘Australia & New Zealand's Centenary’.
Learning Topics allow Learning Center users to share new ideas and useful resources, including links, documents, presentations, and more with fellow members. In this case, it’s a one-stop shop for anything related to membership and public image for the Centenary year.
Rotary members in Australia and New Zealand are celebrating the 100th anniversary by holding events, raising funds and carrying out impactful initiatives, so the centenary year is the perfect time to increase public awareness and understanding of Rotary.
In the new Learning Topic you’ll find tools for a successful campaign including PR Guides, membership tools, People of Action videos and more. You can view the Learning Topic here. It will be regularly updated so stay tuned.
The City of Casey provides free training sessions and workshops for community groups and not-for-profit organisations based in and around Casey, servicing the needs of Casey residents. The 2021 Training Calendar is shown below.
Jen Marshall has organised with the City of Casey for our Club's involvement in the Clean Up Australia Day proceedings on Sunday 7th March. 
We will clean up, then grab coffees/teas from McDonalds across the road to have with morning tea and enjoy some fellowship. Morning tea will be funded by the City of Casey.
Learning Topics allow Learning Center users to share new ideas and useful resources, including links, documents, presentations, and more with fellow members. In this case, it’s a one-stop shop for anything related to membership and public image for the Centenary year.
