Hi $FIRST_NAME$, This week gained a new member Michelle Olliver-Rodrigues pictured above with her husband Sheldon. Michelle brings with her a long history as a member of Rotaract in India. She has already got to work with the art screen crew and is taking part in the Zone 8 virtual Conference this weekend. Welcome to Rotary Michelle!
Our club is very friendly, so please don't be shy to say hello to Michelle at our next meeting.
If I was interviewed by Neil Mitchell from 3AW right now and he asked me how I was feeling, I’d probably answer by saying:
Pretty damn good Neil. Not only has the Rotary Club of Berwick just inducted our newest member, Michelle Oliver-Rodrigues well supported by her husband Sheldon & Roger Thornton from our friends at Rotary Club Pakenham but at our meeting when Geoff Double asked who could help out with the establishment of our joint Community Garden in Berwick, there were so many volunteers that it seemed to take forever to record who is ready to pitch in and help.
This is going to be a very worthy project and the local community will benefit as there will be a welcome rest area, drinking fountain with pooch refreshment capability as well as some cool shade in summer.
Then Neil might ask “Is that it?” I would then tell him that we also have 5 volunteers to help out at a Halloween event put on by our new partner in Bunnings Clyde North and that we are going onto the roster to do the legendary Bunnings Sausage Sizzle early in the new year. Funds raised there will be put to a strong purpose and will provide high visibility and great fellowship & teamwork.
That can’t be all Neil might then say. My response would be that I have just done 2 shifts with the Art Screen Team well attended by our club members including Wendy Moseley who was only inducted last week as well as one of our friends within the SODs community. Neil, that’s a heap of our members getting off their chairs and giving of themselves to aid the local community and the greater Rotary causes.
Then I’d tell Neil that I was pretty grateful to our members and guests who came along to our meeting this week to hear a joint presentation from our friends from local CFA brigades. The presentation was topical, engaging and because of the questions and conversations rising from the night our meeting went over time but no-one seemed to really care that much.
Then I’d let Neil know that our board is having strong conversations, making sound decisions and steering the club very well. I’d let him know that although Jack & Di are focused on their own health & well-being right now, Gus, Andrew, David B and now Trevor as part of the board are making very solid contributions with the best interests of the Club and it’s members at the centre of everything.
We’d then round off the chat with him saying “I see why you are feeling pretty damn good.”
Current Status: 9 cases reported this year. 6 Afghanistan 3 Pakistan
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 40 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 over $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!
Join us for lunch and a fun afternoon of Rotary fellowship as we launch the Rotary District 9810 & 9820 PolioPlus Society!
Special guest speaker Dr Murray Verso, Rotary International Zone 8 End Polio Now Coordinator, will update us on the fight to end polio and remind us why it is important to finish polio for good.
Now that funds from a grant have been received, a site meeting was held on Friday, the 6th of October, to determine the scope of works and the date of the first working bee at the Langmore Community Garden by members of the Rotary Club of Berwick.
Saturday, the 11th of November, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.
We will meet under the Oak tree on the corner of Gloucester Avenue and Keith Taylor Drive, Berwick. The initial work will involve clearing the site and loading a skip bin. This work will help prepare the site for the installation of edging, a toppings path, improvements to the garden bed, planting and mulching and possibly irrigation, which will occur at future working bees.
Between these stages, maintenance staff from St John of God will install a drinking fountain and seat to complement the area.
STOP PRESS: There are a good number of members and friends volunteering to help on the day. This means we are going to have a great time working together on a very public project. There might even be a bit of catering going on to make our day even better. Please let Geoff know you are coming if you haven't already.
The primary goal of our weekly bulletin is to engage, inform, and inspire current and potential members, shedding light on the positive impact Rotary has on our community and the world at large. However, is this the full extent of our scope? To answer this question, let's take a journey through the annals of Rotary history to understand how our approach to engaging and recruiting members has evolved. My source of inspiration came from the book below which contains articles written for Rotarians between 1911 and 1986. Many of the writers were inspirational writers of their era, reflecting the philosophy of the time. Some were Rotarians and some were not.
In 1911, Rotary was in its infancy, a fledgling idea conceived to bring hope and meaningful change to the world. Two visionaries, Chesley R. Perry and Paul P. Harris, recognized the need for a newsletter to disseminate their essay titled "Rational Rotarianism" to the 1,000 Rotarians scattered across 16 Clubs in the USA and Canada. This publication, aptly named "The National Rotarian," started as a modest 12-page periodical. At the time, it faced challenges, including financial constraints due to the absence of modern technology and the perception that such a newsletter was more of a luxury than a necessity for Rotary's progress.
To keep the newsletter afloat, Rotarians sought advertisements to cover the printing costs. The first five issues, published sporadically, operated at a loss. However, with perseverance and determination, by the sixth issue, it was voted at the 1912 convention that the magazine was worth keeping. Thus began a journey of publishing within Rotary that would play a pivotal role in shaping the organization's direction.
With Rotary still in its infancy, grappling with growing pains and evolving its philosophy, the question arose: How can we attract people to this evolving service club structure? The answer was content. In 1912, Rotary International President Glenn C. Mead of Philadelphia proposed that Rotary magazines should not be confined to Rotarian-specific content but should contain reading material of general interest. He believed the magazine should appeal to businessmen in general, not just Rotarian businessmen.
Fast forward to 2023, and Rotary is a well-established global organization. However, it faces competition from various sources, including the constraints of time, competing interests, family life, and personal fulfillment. In some ways, Rotary has come full circle to redeveloping a coherent philosophy that resonates with individuals in the modern age.
This brings us to the question of whether our Club bulletin is adequately equipped to captivate those who may not be inherently interested in Rotary. Is it designed to spark curiosity and lead individuals to ask for more information? Perhaps it's time to reconsider our focus. Instead of making it all about us, we should shift our perspective to see Rotary as more about everyone.
In today's world, Rotary needs people with diverse skill sets and interests to contribute to our community and make it more dynamic. By expanding the range of stories we share in our bulletin to encompass topics that might interest the average person, we can broaden our appeal and demonstrate that Rotary is not just a club but a platform for positive change. We need to emphasize that Rotary is not limited to a specific group but is an inclusive organization that welcomes individuals willing to contribute their talents and passions to create a better world.
Rotary's history, at least through its main publication teaches us that the power of content and the ability to engage a wider audience have always been pivotal to our growth. By adopting a more inclusive approach, diversifying our content, and showcasing how Rotary is about everyone, we can take the next step in attracting new members and revitalizing our organization's mission in the modern age.
President Dave has brought us ‘home” to Holm Park to celebrate the festive season and party away our final club meeting for this 2023 year on Wednesday, 13th December.
Save the date for a night of pure fun and festive fare, shared with members, partners, friends, fellow Rotary Clubs, Sponsors, Rotaract, Interact, Inner Wheel and the whole Rotary Club of Berwick family, with a sneaky early visit from the man in red!
As the fight against polio unites communities around the world, Rotary members are using time-tested methods and attention-catching new ideas to raise awareness, funds, and support toward eradicating this debilitating disease.
If I was interviewed by Neil Mitchell from 3AW right now and he asked me how I was feeling, I’d probably answer by saying:
