We are now at the pointy end of establishing a Satellite Club within the Rotary Club of Berwick. The RCB Board is recommending to the members that the Satellite Club of Berwick, Officer be accepted.  Not all Club members will be happy with this recommendation, so now is an excellent opportunity to explain a bit more of the strategy behind this step.
 

When I started my journey towards Club Presidency, I had much thinking to do. Our Club was not functioning well, engagement was low, and we had just lost ten members. Some will jump up and say, well, not much has changed. I would say a lot has changed.

We all know that Rotary and many other organisations stuck in a traditionally styled rut, are going backwards and must find a way out of that rut to transform and regrow. We must address three broad areas to progress. They are Club culture, repositioning our focus and creating new sources of growth. We cannot continue doing more of the same!

As the President, I know what I need to do, but I have to tell you in small pieces; otherwise, most won't read it. (How are we doing so far, do I still have you?)  

We must have an emotionally detached overview of what the Club needs to develop to survive in a changing world. If you have been paying attention, you will know it already. An active, vibrant Club willing to take on new challenges, ideas and members to increase our capabilities and better serve our community. 

Our Club should be positioned to engage, join and interact with surrounding Clubs and organisations (like the Cubs, sponsors, charities, businesses and schools) and be exposed to the public to build our profile and respect in the community. The Rotary brand must be showing outwards as a sign that we are proud of our Club and proud of being Rotarians.

Through our journey of change this year, I can see that around 14 members (the constantly missing members) are not feeling the vibe. I also know that some members are actively against transformation, and there are even a couple who don't believe we can do any transformation at all. I have been very fortunate to be able to talk with most members over dinner at the Club. Our weekly meetings have been very productive with the exchange of views, strategy, progress reports, and ideas. I can feel we are moving in the right direction and we are gaining strength. We may not convince those 14 missing members, as it is pretty hard to do if they don't want to show up.

 

So, getting back to the Satellite Club. Why do I support the recommendation? The Satellite Club will be a catalyst to changing Club culture, repositioning our focus and creating new sources of growth. It will give us an opportunity to offer a wider range of club experiences to members, while keeping some of the traditional values we have on "The Mother Ship". We are one, but we are not the same. 

 

It is up to us all to embrace a new challenge, experience growth and adapt to a changing world for our Club to prosper into the future.

 

Thanks for reading. If you haven't accepted the Satellite Club or want to tell me that I'm an idiot, you can do that here: https://form.jotform.com/djbutton/satellite-club-of-berwick-officer

 

 

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it, but what is our Club doing in the area of youth? 

The Rotary Club of Berwick has been a long term supporter of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. That program is currently suspended and may resume in 2022, depending on how travel bans play out. On the home front, our youth programs are one of our bright spots in the Club.

 

At the present time, the Club is looking for super excited science students in year 11 to experience the National Youth Science Forum. 

In 2021 the program received fantastic reviews from participants, many of whom cited it as being “life-changing”. Indeed, 9.2/10 of our 2021 participants recommend the Year 12 Program to others and all STEM sessions scored over 90% “good to excellent” ratings from the attendees.

In 2022, the NYSF will deliver a 12-day program from 10^th -25^th January via a combination of in-person and digital STEM experiences. 2022 participants will experience everything the NYSF is famous for, including keynote speakers, lectures, hands-on workshops, debates, expos and enriching social activities. In-person STEM visit days and events will be held over a week of the program at major city hubs across the country, enabling students to meet each other and network with like-minded peers.

A continuous program of digital events will run alongside the in-person events, meaning the program is accessible to all. This option also means the NYSF experience is still accessible and stimulating should there be a COVID-19 hotspot emerge, or lockdown called at a hub location. For more information, please visit: https://www.nysf.edu.au/programs/year-12-program/

We are also looking for student teams to participate in the Model of United Nations Assembly (MUNA).

★ MUNA 2021 is an ONLINE EVENT ONLY ★

Last weekend, a Rotary Multi-District conference, was held over 2 days, consisting of a ground-breaking live stream event for over 3000 Rotarians located across Victoria. The live stream titled, “Virtual Victoria”, was streamed out of Nossal High School theatre in Berwick, from 11:00am – 1:00pm on both Saturday & Sunday mornings.

 

A large crowd attended the District 9820 mini-conference held at the School, at 3:30pm on Saturday afternoon.  District Governor, Mark Humphries, expressed his delight at being able to gather face-to-face again after the year of restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

He went on to advise that initially, this year’s conference was to be held aboard a cruise ship with entertainers and key speakers staying on board overnight.  However, the pandemic put paid to that plan and the Mini-conference was arranged instead. 

 

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Berwick, President David Button accepted two District awards for contributions to the Rotary Foundation, which were:

After hearing from several key speakers, the DG Elect, Bill Degnan, advised that the 2022 District 9820 conference will be held on 26^th-27^th February at the East Gippsland Performing Arts Centre in Traralgon, which is currently under construction.  Bill also reported that the contractors for the Centre are currently monopolising the accommodation in Traralgon, so attendees for the conference are advised to book their accommodation well in advance.

 

After the formal part of the mini-conference, attendees enjoyed relaxed fellowship over drinks and canapes before dinner was served.

 

After all the musical numbers were played, the School’s Bollywood dancers entertained the audience. Everyone was in awe of the energy and performance demonstrated by the students.

 

The mini-conference was considered to be a great success by all the attendees.

 

Sam forwarded John's email to Gary suggesting that he could respond directly.  At the same time, he provided a Zoom link and password, should John and his Rotary Club wish to make direct contact with us.

 

Imagine our surprise when John appeared on screen via Zoom, at our meeting on Wednesday evening.  He had risen at 5:30am USA time, to join our meeting. Unfortunately, Gary was not present. 

 

Nevertheless, we managed to carry on a dialogue with John and learned that he is the local Pastor and has been a Rotary member for two years.  He stayed for part of our meeting before he left to prepare for his normal day, promising to keep in touch with us.