I have to admit that some strange things have been happening to me lately. I went to a Rotary Club of Berwick meeting and enjoyed it. It hasn't happened just once either. There have been a few occasions, including a couple of Saturday morning Zoom meetings, and who likes Zoom!!
Starting this weekend, I begin the Presidents-Elect Training Seminar(PETS) for being the President of our Club again next year. Training for all Club positions is essential and often pushed aside as a waste of time. Nobody gets good at anything without training. That is why I am looking forward to doing it all again.
Unfortunately, this year it is on Zoom, and it isn't multi District. I think I learnt the most at the meet and greet sessions last year over a few wines. Talking to random Presidents from across Victoria gave an excellent picture of how many Clubs are travelling. Many of those chats worked their way into the current President's Plan. Now it is time to start on the 2021-22 version!
In last week's bulletin, I was picking fluff out of my navel while reflecting on where we started in July 2020 and where we have got to today. I am pretty satisfied that we, meaning every active member of the Club, have contributed to reinvigorating our commitment to Service in the community.
Rotary's motto is Service above Self. Our Club is not there for 5-star dining, and it is not a social club. Our sole purpose is to serve the community. Look, fun, joking around, maybe a car rally, camping trip, campfire (with good conversation and a bit of vino), and good food does go a long way to enjoying Rotary, but generally, we are on a budget!
We meet for business, inspiration, education and integration. We are very social, but Service binds us together across all our socio-economic and cultural paths. We are one, but we are many! If we recognise that this is our shared focus, we can achieve anything. We are open to new people, new ideas, new projects and unique experiences. Our next challenge is to find leadership to put a glow into our Club's future.
As a Club President, I am not the boss. My job is to lead. Club members decide if they want to follow the leader, believe in a vision, and make the world a better place. It is up to the leader to pitch a plan, lead by example, inspire and encourage. Members must create new leaders in the Club to build on, amplify, evolve, and change the plan. Members can pick potential leaders, support and push them forward. It is the roots that bring growth, not the guy(or gal) mowing the grass!
The President and the Board are there as moderators to keep the Club moving. We must keep the Club relevant to the society we represent.
We don't have a lot of time to find our future leaders. Our current Board will be stepping down soon. We have essential areas such as Public Image and Foundation swinging in the wind. Both these areas take a lot of training to get right. We need a new President, President-Elect and President-Elect Nominee coming through the Board, so we have influential future leaders keeping our focus steady. A strong Club is one where everyone cares about the outcome and members do what it takes to make it happen including stepping forward.
I chose the photo above as each balloon represents a possibility. It could be a project, an opportunity or an adventure. Whatever it is, each balloon needs a pilot, a crew, some energy and an idea of where it will land. Get on board and find a balloon that fits your Rotary journey. Become a leader in our Club.
I have to say I had a great night out at lawn bowls with my Rotarian friends. The whole event was alive with chatter, laughing and even a bit of cheering! The genuine bowlers were a bit serious in their craft, but they freely shared insight into the game. RC Monbulk supremo Des even brought his tape measure along to keep it real.
It was pleasing to see a few 'youngins' there. Cooper and Caitlyn (Gordyn), Saffron and Hamish (Button) and Cait (Langdon). They all had fun, even with older people. I am sure we are all young at heart, and we are compatible with people of all ages.
The dinner was prepared and served by the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick and was perfect. David Nutter handpicked the peas and ice cream for the dinner too. That's talent right there!
Funno texted me the story for the bulletin but he is a man of few words and I was forced to expand on his meagre offering. We lost, but there is always next year! Peace Out Homeys
What a NIGHT
Russell and Graham made the most of being spectators to the Battle of the Titans!
PP Gus used his feet to step out the winning bowls.
How did we not win with great technique and style from PP Gus?
That moment when the winning President lets everyone know who won (and it ain't us)!
March is Rotary's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene month. World Water Day on Monday 22nd March is an opportunity to learn about Rotary’s commitment to provide clean water and sanitation and its importance.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clearer than ever that hand washing — which requires a safe water source — is essential to our health. Yet more than 2 billion people worldwide don’t have access to clean water.
Clean water is a basic human right that many are often denied. There are 2.5 billion people in the world that lack access to improved sanitation and 748 million people that don’t have clean drinking water. Nearly 1,400 children die each day from diseases caused by lack of sanitation and unsafe water. When people have access to clean water, they live healthier and more productive lives.
In 2015, the United Nations introduced their new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty and promote prosperity while protecting the environment and addressing climate change.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation encourages us to address universal access to drinking water and sanitation along with improved water management to protect ecosystems and build resiliency. *
Since 2014, The Rotary Foundation has invested more than $51 million in global grants to enable clubs to carry out projects that help people around the world with clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Almost one year after canceling its international convention in Honolulu due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Rotary announced it will hold its annual gathering in Honolulu for the membership service organization’s 118th convention on June 5th-9th, 2027.
Held in a different city around the world each year, Rotary conventions bring members from all continents and cultures together to learn from each other and various experts, and to share ideas for delivering long-term solutions to the world’s most persistent humanitarian issues.
Approximately 20,000 Rotary members from 170 countries were expected to attend the event in Honolulu in 2020, which was estimated to bring $35-40 million into the local economy.
“After canceling our convention in 2020 due to COVID-19, we are grateful to the citizens of Honolulu for welcoming us again in 2027,” said Rotary International President Holger Knaack. “As a global organization that values bringing people together, we look forward to sharing and celebrating our friendships, cultures and service in the spirit of Aloha.”
“Beyond the incredible economic impact this convention will have, the people of Hawai’i will be inspired by the humanitarian causes of Rotary International, to include: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies and protecting the environment,” said John De Fries, President and CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority. “As a global community, Rotary members embody the values we cherish here, in Hawaii.”
Organized by Rotary International in conjunction with the Honolulu Host Organizing Committee of local Rotary members, the convention will provide attendees with ample opportunities to experience Oahu’s many attractions.
The Rotary Club of Honolulu, chartered in 1915, is Rotary’s first club in Honolulu. Today, there are more than 1,470 Rotary members who belong to over 45 clubs across Hawai’i taking action on important local issues including drowning prevention, creating green space in Waikiki and helping homeless people receive medical care.
It's all in a days work as they say! On the 9th of March, a few Art Screen crew members ventured down to Sorrento to retrieve our screens. The Rotary Club of Sorrento Art Show was a great success for Sorrento and also a great success for our Art Screen Hire business.
Our screens are very versatile and can be arranged in many different configurations. If you can imagine a creative layout, our screens can make it come alive! Our Club prides itself on good old fashioned friendly service. This business brings good money into the Club to provide funds for many of our projects.
Life-changing youth projects such as the Youth Science Forum, Model of United Nations Assembly, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment cost a bit of coin to enrol selected students, but it is money well spent on the right students. We are very fortunate to have a small business that can cover most of these costs. Without it, we may well be turning sausages or not supporting our youth at all.
In case you are wondering, anyone, can be a member of the Art Screen crew. The main obstacle is time, as many of the deliveries are during weekdays. Some deliveries are only a few screens, while the Sorrento delivery is everything we have got!
Last Monday, the Rotary Club of Berwick's Board met for the monthly meeting. This meeting was held in person so that all Board members could express their views on the proposed Satellite Club.
The benefits and potential problems of pursuing this idea of sponsoring a Satellite Club were debated at length. Sam summarised the feedback from 14 members, who had responded either verbally and/or in writing to the proposal. 10 members had been against the idea at this point, stating that our existing Club problems needed to be addressed before considering such a proposal. The other 4 members strongly supported the concept. It was confirmed that all the Board members present supported the concept, but not the timing.
There will be a meeting of the potential Satellite Club members on 25th March at 6:30 pm and several of our Board members will attend to gather more information to aid our decision. The Board will reconvene at a future date to discuss the outcomes of that meeting and present the findings to the members for a decision.
This is a worthy project but it is a decision for the whole Club to make. I do not want to draw out the process but rather reach a decisive answer based on how prepared the core of the proposed Satellite Club is. We are in a critical time for our own Club development so I am hoping that the Satellite Club will be very well prepared and will not distract our Board from its commitments. We don't want to find ourselves in a position of getting tangled up in mid-flight.
Issue 35
17th March 2021
Join our meeting
Each Wednesday at
The Beaconsfield Club,
Holm Park, Beaconsfield,
Victoria, Australia
The $2 million grant goes toward Rotary club-led Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia program; an additional $4 million contributed by partners the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision USA.
Rotary-led Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia awarded US$6 million to reduce burden of malaria in heavily affected districtsLUSAKA, Zambia (March 9, 2021) — To help end a leading cause of illness and death in the southern
Flowers discusses the inadequate management of wastewater in rural communities, bridging partisan divides, the ways those two topics intersect — and how Rotarians can be part of the solution
The Supurunda Water Supply Project in Papua New Guinea has been a successful example of how Rotary is advancing peace and providing clean water and sanitation.
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.
We are extremely excited to announce our very first Interact Conference for District 9820, to be held on March 27th 2021, at Nossal High School in Berwick. We have been able to secure Kate Wilde, from the Human Development Workshop to facilitate the day. With Kate’s experience in delivering State-wide Victorian Student Representative Council Conferences, working with student leaders to build leadership skills, community links and Student Voice, we know we have the recipe for a successful day!
We would like to invite all Rotarians in our District, to attend an information session, which we will be running on the day.
At present, our District has 4 Interact Clubs. This is a great start! However, over the next couple of years and with your Club’s support, we would love to see this number continue to grow. You may be surprised to learn that some Districts in Australia have 30 Interact Clubs and 13 Early Act Clubs (District 9600 in Queensland). With your support, our District could have that many Clubs, too.
This is an opportunity for you to learn about Interact and Early Act, to find out how your Club can set up and support one of these clubs at your local schools. You can be inspired by our Interact clubs, as they share with you their current projects, their experiences as Interactors and their plans for their Clubs in 2021.
We encourage all Rotarians, teachers, parents and students who are passionate about Rotary Youth in Action, to attend this Conference to learn more about Interact and Early Act in District 9820.
Please fill out the registration form if attending on the day.
We are PEOPLE of ACTION and we need to expand our abilities to tackle the many opportunities of service we have before us. That means we need more hands, greater skills, more diverse connections and smarter fundraising to accomplish more. Please consider building our Rotary Club of Berwick network through people you know. People who may share our vision of community work and changing lives. People who are willing to be friends, partners or members in whatever time they have available. Invite them to a meeting, share our Bulletin or ask them to get involved in one of our projects. Every little bit of help we can get will increase our potential, improve our experience and broaden our vision.
It's all in a days work as they say! On the 9th of March, a few Art Screen crew members ventured down to Sorrento to retrieve our screens. The Rotary Club of Sorrento Art Show was a great success for Sorrento and also a great success for our Art Screen Hire business. 
Our screens are very versatile and can be arranged in many different configurations. If you can imagine a creative layout, our screens can make it come alive! Our Club prides itself on good old fashioned friendly service. This business brings good money into the Club to provide funds for many of our projects.
