At this week's meeting, we swapped one President for another as our great Club plugs through a transition year. We have four Presidents lined up, all having served as RCB Presidents in the past, and probably all missing the responsibility of doing great things in the world! Welcome, President PDG PP Tim Moore, our latest and, so far, best for this quarter.
The "Change Over", (more like a collar toss), was witnessed by 62 fellow Rotarians and friends from the Rotary Clubs of Berwick, Casey, Cranbourne and Pakenham, who all came to listen to our speaker Dr Kylie King. It was a terrific meeting and reminded me of how the Rotary Club of Berwick used to be when I first joined Rotary 18 years ago. Plenty of fellowship, banter and education all wrapped up over a good meal and a drink or two.
So over to President Tim for a few words:
Thank you, immediate Past President Gus! The work of Gus and the other three past presidents of the RC of Berwick to step in when the Club needed a reset was a crazy idea but a reality check for us all. Leadership development is key to a Club’s health.
I am aware of many clubs in many districts taking the same action to allow continuity and a steady, experienced hand to help the club when needed. It is not ideal, but far better than the alternative.
One of the great attributes of Rotary is giving all members leadership opportunities. This allows members to develop their skills and satisfaction. Club members' roles in committees of the club and projects allow this to happen. What a great selling point for Rotary to young businesspeople, developing leadership and project management skills plus honing public speaking abilities. We can all use a membership message to encourage and nurture interested and new members! Let’s all enjoy and share our Rotary experiences with others.
I am sure you have received an email from Rotary International regarding the vote on Regionalisation, a whopping success of over 90% of clubs in favour of the pilot of governance and management models for Australia, NZ and the Pacific Islands. This is an amazing result; nothing like this has been agreed to like this in the past. I am proud that the Rotary Club of Berwick supported this initiative, and now the work begins.
This coming week, we move our meeting to the Rotary Club of Dandenong Southeast and Endeavour Hills at the Dandenong Club on THURSDAY, the 13th of October.
The power of one club can be multiplied many times when joined with another. Please take this opportunity to visit one of our neighbours and enjoy the friendship of a night of fun and, hopefully, a winning horse in the Calcutta. See you there!
We wish to support our cluster clubs, and after discussing with those in attendance last night we have decided to move 2 of our meetings in October and encourage as many members and friends as possible to join.
All members have been notified by our secretary Jane of the details of these other Club meetings.
Important: Change of Meeting Dates and Venue for your diary
This weeks meeting of the 12th October, has moved to the Calcutta Event of the RC of Dandenong South East and Endeavour Hills, at the Dandenong Club on Thursday 13th October.
The Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills are hosting a great fundraiser on Thursday 13th October at the Dandenong Club. It is a Caulfield Cup Calcutta and promises to be a fabulous night! All proceeds will be donated to the Rotary Foundation. The cost is $35 per head plus drinks at bar prices.
The cluster clubs of Pakenham, Narre Warren, Casey, and Cranbourne will be joining us, together with our friends at Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills.
Let's make this a great Cluster event, catching up face to face after such a long time while supporting the Rotary Foundation!
Invitations were sent out this week via email, to eight schools and two Supermarkets to participate in this year’s Rotary Berwick & District Benevolent Society’s Christmas Appeal.
The ‘Christmas Appeal’ has been managed annually by the Benevolent Society as a project of the Rotary Club of Berwick, since 2015. Non-perishable food items, books and toys are donated by students and members of the public at each of the sites involved.
A Rotary collection team
CNCISS 'Christmas Appeal' collection centre
These donations are collected by Club members early in December and delivered to Casey North Community Information Support Service (CNCISS) in Narre Warren, where they are packed into Christmas Hampers for distribution to those in need within the local community.
With recent interest rate hikes and cost of living increases, the ‘Christmas Hampers’ will be needed more than ever this year, to ensure a happy Christmas for those families who are struggling financially and who may even be homeless.
At the time of writing this article, we have had seven positive responses to the invitations. As a result, we hope to start distributing the collection cages next week.
If you are available to help with the distribution, please advise Sam McCurdy at sblmccurdy@gmail.com
A couple of weeks ago a few members of the Rotary Club of Berwick and a member of the Rotary Nomads (Don McQueen) participated in an amazing ceremony at Haileybury College, Edrington to celebrate World Peace Day. At the time, I did not have a photo to show but here it is!
The Rotary Club of Berwick supplied a magnificent Peace Pole to the school which has been installed in a quiet part of the grounds close to their meeting hall. Peace and the messages that surround it are symbolised in this pole to remind us all the part we must play to bring about a unified world.
For the third year in a row the Rotary Walk with Us to End Polio event will run throughout October. It is a fun way for Rotarians and Rotaractors everywhere to raise awareness and funds to End Polio Now.
The Rotary Club of Berwick, aka Berwick Boomers and Shakers have also been involved with this fundraiser over the last three years. Will we do it again this year????
From October 1st until 31st Rotary members and friends are encouraged to walk or run to support Rotary’s Number One Priority – the eradication of poliomyelitis from the world.
Last year, more than three hundred walkers, including RI Director, Jessie Harman, from 13 Rotary Districts raised an impressive total of $111,600. We are hoping that with more walkers in 2022 even more funds will be raised to stop poliomyelitis threatening the children of the world.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Rotary worldwide has helped to reduce polio cases from an average of 1,000 cases per day in 1985 to only six cases in 2021, a 99.9% reduction. Sadly, case numbers are increasing this year and if eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyse as many as 200,000 children each year.
We invite you to join this year’s Rotary Walk with Us campaign. You can register to walk and set distance and fundraising goals. Alternatively, you can donate to someone who is walking. For the walkers, the total distance you have set for the month is accumulated over the entire month of October. So, you can walk when, where and with whom you want in a COVID safe way. You then log each walk you do on the website and encourage family and friends to support you by donating on the site. It is easy and fun. You can walk as an individual or in a team made up of fellow club members.
All contributions through the campaign will be matched 2 to 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All donations over $2.00 are tax deductible with receipts issued by The Australian Rotary Foundation Trust.
An added benefit of the walk event is the positive effect on physical and mental health. It would be great if every club had an End Polio champion who could promote the event and encourage participation and donations, as well as generally promote the Rotary’s End Polio cause throughout the year.
Posted by Contributed by President Tim Moore on Oct 06, 2022
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Did you know:
Is polio back? Cases emerge overseas and Australia starts testing sewage
New South Wales will join other states in testing sewage for polio, as cases of the largely eradicated disease emerge overseas.
Key points:
NSW will join Victoria in testing water sewage for the polio virus as the disease spreads overseas
A patient in New York was diagnosed with paralytic polio — the first case in nine years
Health authorities say there is no current indication of polio infection in Australia but experts urge the public to still get vaccinated
Last month, authorities confirmed polio is spreading in London for the first time since the 1980s, and in July an unvaccinated person in New York was officially diagnosed with paralytic polio — the first case in nine years.
New York's governor has declared a state of emergency after wastewater testing revealed poliovirus has been quietly circulating in parts of the state for some time.
Professor Michael Toole, associate principal research fellow at the Burnet Institute, told the ABC News Daily podcast
The Rotary Club of Berwick continues to support Rotary’s world wide efforts to eradicate polio. In early December, members and friends of Rotary will have the opportunity to attend the screening of a new film (before the general public) and help raise money for the fight against polio.
I got a call from my friend Laury Preston who organises part of a schools youth event called the Energy Breakthrough which will be held in Maryborough, Victoria on 16th-19th November 2022. Laury is looking for volunteer judges for the Display and Presentation component of the event which is an extremely rewarding experience for the judges, while being mildly terrifying for the students! Some RCB members (Andrew, Jeanette and David B) have been involved with this event for many years and know the positive impact that this event has on students. The judging schedule runs on Thursday and Friday. Morning Tea, Lunch and afternoon tea are provided.
The Energy Breakthrough is a joint initiative of the Country Education Partnership (CEP) and the Central Goldfields Shire Council (CGSC).Since 1991, the Energy Breakthrough has provided opportunities for students, teachers, parents and local industry to work together to design and construct a vehicle, a machine or innovation in technology that will represent an ‘energy breakthrough’.
The program is unique in that all teams must compete across three areas of assessment: Design and Construction, Display and Presentation and Trials. The Energy Breakthrough isn’t just a once-a-year event. School groups work throughout the year to design, build and test machines within detailed specifications.
The program encourages participants to examine and use the latest technology while considering its impact on the environment and the way people live locally and globally. It requires a team effort and an across-the-curriculum approach.
These groups then bring their vehicles and machines to Maryborough in Victoria for a huge celebration in which they can demonstrate and trial them in action.
The Program aims to …
Provide an excellent technology project for students from Prep to VCE level
Encourage young people to explore solutions to environmental and transport issues
Provide an opportunity for schools and communities to work and learn together
Provide an opportunity for women and girls to participate in what has traditionally been a ‘male’ dominated area of the curriculum
Be a fun program with real world challenges
Offer students opportunities to explore and address vehicle design, driving skills and vehicle and passenger safety issues
October is Economic and Community Development Month
The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns.
While we serve in countless ways, we’ve focused our efforts in seven key areas to maximize our impact. These areas encompass some of the world’s most critical and widespread humanitarian needs.
Rotary members planning new service projects are encouraged to consider these areas and the many opportunities for innovative projects within them.
Add your story, event or Rotary experience to the Rotary Club of Berwick Bulletin!
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Olena Morhun fled with three of her children and made her way to Puławy, Poland. There they were welcomed by Krystyna Wilczyńska-Ciemięga, one of many Rotary members who have opened their homes to refugees.
The usual club meeting on the 2nd November, will now be moved to Monday 31st October (at Holm Park) to learn more about the Wheelchairs for Kids Project of the RC of Casey.
31st October 2022, 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Presented by our District 9820 Chair for Wheel Chair for Kids Grant Klaaysen.
Venue: The Beaconsfield Club,
100 Beaconsfield-Emerald Road, Beaconsfield 3807
Cost: $25 includes: 2 Course Meal, Drinks at Bar Prices
Every Saturday morning, 10.00am until you have run out of coffee!
Please note that this link and password is the link and password for every Saturday morning. Weekly reminders won't be sent, so everyone wishing to catch up at 10.00 am on a Saturday should set their own personal reminder.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Please save the date! The Rotary Club of Berwick Christmas Party plans has been well received. The date and venue are confirmed.
We would be delighted if members, partners and friends could save the date to join us in celebrating the Festive Season together on Wednesday 7th December at Jason’s Restaurant in Upper Beaconsfield.
The cost is $85.00 per person, inclusive of canapes and a glass of bubbles or wine on arrival, followed by a delicious two-course meal. Drinks are to be purchased on a cash bar basis.
There will be a visit from the man in red of course!
Further details for RSVP and payment are to follow. We look forward to seeing you there!
Well it all starts off on Friday with captivating choices to explore the local area. Take a delicious winery OR garden bus tour with lunch, or try your luck on breaking your handicap in a round of golf on the delightful RACV Cape Schanck course.
On Friday night, arrange your Club dinner in any of the multitudes of cafes and restaurants which abound in the local area.
On Saturday, settle in to enjoy an impressive array of presentations by the following Keynote speakers:
Kate Roffey, President of the Melbourne Football Club,
Warren Tate, Communications expert,
Julia Kay, 2022 Young Victorian of the Year and co-Director of Great Wrap,
Samuel Johnson, 2018 Victorian of the Year, actor and founder of Love Your sister,
Rotary projects and discussions will also be made by:
Jennifer Jones, Rotary International President and Ian Riseley, Rotary Foundation Chair and Past Rotary International President who will share a virtual conversation with us
Jessie Harman, Zone 8 representative.
Bernie Farquhar, Rotary Club of Mitchell River
Ross Kilborn, Rotary Club of Mornington.
After enjoying a day of learning and connection building, it is time to kick up your heels at the Saturday night themed Beach Party dinner. Accompanying the gourmet event, the Baker Boy Band will treat you to fabulous music. The Baker Boy Band have played at a number of District Conference dinners and they are always on point with their entertainment.
Sunday morning starts with a breakfast session and a presentation by Kevin Sheedy, 2022 Victorian of the Year and Libby Wilson, Rotary Club of Rosebud Rye (RCRR). A tour of the Rotary Rosebud Warehouse: https://www.facebook.com/rosebudwarehouse/ will be offered to interested Conference participants as they leave from breakfast and head home. This is a major project of the Rotary Club of Rosebud-Rye and well worth a visit if you are interested in how a Rotary Club can run a very big and ongoing project that requires a lot of capital investment.
Saturday Coffee Catch Up over Zoom has now resumed, and all members are welcome to drop in for a chat.
