Rotary is the perfect team-building organisation that can help others while helping ourselves. Friendships and skill-sharing are traded for acts of kindness and life-changing events for people we may never meet. Our team needs to work as one. Every member relies on each other to make sure they are up to the task. The stronger our bonds are, the more we can do.
Lockdown does not mean the world stops. The sun still comes up in the morning, birds sing, life goes on all around and people still need Rotary's determination to make the world a better place.
You are in the prime position to fulfil the Rotary dream if you are prepared to make a commitment to be the best you can be in your service to Rotary. Our Club is not a one-horse show, it takes every member doing what they can to support each other to make the dream come true.
I'm excited to be a member of the Rotary Club of Berwick. Let us all kick it up a gear and use our downtime to plan for our next adventure. David
The Rotary Club of Berwick is a group of men and women who take action locally and globally. Each week club members work together completing projects that have a lasting impact.
Locally we support and work alongside community programs and a not for profit organisations in supporting those less fortunate. Our club is engaged in Rotary leadership and educational programs for young people.
Together as Rotarians …
We see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Driven by a desire to create opportunities, strengthen communities, and find solutions to the tough challenges that affect people
We bring together leaders who use their combined expertise to tackle some of the toughest challenges facing our communities. We find a place for your expertise and passion. Whether you want to lead a project or participate in one, the Rotary Club of Berwick welcomes your involvement.
Many members are involved in hands on projects in our community or in international projects in creating opportunities through sustainable educational development, clean water or disease prevention in helping to break the cycle of poverty.
The Rotary Club of Berwick is part of a global network of 1.2 million men and women - neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who join together to make a difference in our communities. If you would like to give back to your community, get to know a new group of people and are interested in joining us, please contact us.
On Wednesday 10 July, the Rotary Centenary Baton Launch was held at Government House in Canberra using the latest technologies to involve approximately 900 participants. Throughout the event, the written chat was continual as the participants exchanged comments and said "Hi" from all parts of Australia.
The proceedings got under way with popular songs by Leo Sayer, who managed to overcome the poor sound quality emanating from Government House. The energy and enthusiasm that he exuded was very contagious.
Then his Excellency the Governor General, the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), paid tribute to the terrific work of Rotarians globally over the last 100 years, in areas such as health, the environment, education and literacy and community development. He stated that the work would certainly continue over the next 100 years.
Nicholas Jones, a very talented tenor, sang "The Impossible Dream", which was excellent and it seemed to be very appropriate for the occasion.
The Centenary Baton was formally handed over to the President of the Rotary Club of Sydney, Ms Fatima Ali, who was present at Government House. In an interesting use of technology and split screens, the baton was handed across borders to the President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Therese Robinson, who was in Melbourne.
The event closed with an impressive use of technology that allowed Josh Piterman in London to sing 'Music of the night' from Phantom of the Opera accompanied on piano by John Foreman OAM, who was in Melbourne. The high quality of the singing and the music was absolutely in sync and it seemed as though they were in the same venue. Well done!
The comments on Chat from the virtual audience, were glowing in their appreciation. Congratulations to all involved in organising the event
President David had the pleasure of inducting Greg Lee into the Rotary Club of Berwick, with the classification of “Law Enforcement”.
Greg has been joining us on zoom for some time now from his postings in Wangaratta and Wodonga and it was great to have him join us in person with only hours to spare before the new lockdown.
Greg has been with Victoria Police for over 30 years, beginning as a police clerk in 1985 and was accepted into the Academy in 1989. He has enjoyed a variety of different roles which include being a Detective at Cranbourne, Dandenong and Narre Warren Criminal Investigation Units, Acting Sergeant at Cranbourne and Endeavour Hills Police Station and Detective Acting Sergeant at Dandenong Sexual Offence & Child Abuse Team.
Greg spent 3 years at the Homicide Squad and 5 years as an undercover officer which were profound experiences in different ways. Undercover work gave him an in-depth view of the negative ripple effect drug abuse has not only on the individual, but the family and community.
He was promoted as Senior Sergeant and worked at Transit Safety Division and Transit Criminal Investigation Unit managing Sergeants, other ranks and Protective Service Officers (PSOs); and also worked at Purana Task Force working on organised crime enterprises involved in homicides, drug and firearm importation.
After a short stint at Purana Greg was asked to take over a cyber-crime squad. He has been doing this now for the last 3 years. Greg is currently an Interim Board member of the Home Affairs Joint Cyber Security Centre Melbourne, strengthening a working relationship with Commonwealth agencies, Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, Australian Federal Police and industry. Greg has been upgraded as Inspector at various Squads and at one time placed in charge of the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team which investigates (with AFP) child sexual abuse.
Greg is an extremely busy individual and brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience that can push the reach of the Rotary Club of Berwick into new and exciting areas concerning youth. He is joining our Rotary Club to be an active member of a community organisation that does make a difference in the community.
It is up to all of us to extend our friendship to Greg and wife Sharon. We must also impart our knowledge of Rotary so that Greg can become an effective Rotarian in the months to come. In the short term, Greg will be working with President David and Past District Governor Tim to get him started on learning about Rotary.
When Greg is not at work, he enjoys family life, fishing and caravanning. He follows the Bulldogs and American Gridiron. Greg plays squash and is pretty keen to get better at playing golf. I look forward to getting to know Greg and I am sure he will make a positive contribution to the club and also to the community. Congratulations Greg!
I really believe that we are all capable mentors based on our own individual life experiences. It comes down to being open to sharing our ideas, skills and experiences with others. We are a club holding a great amount of experience and skills in some amazing areas of life.
Can we put that experience to good use and share it around? Sure we can but don't keep it a secret. Membership in Rotary opens doors to a whole new world of opportunity!
Well not really, every month is membership month! We need to have a conversation about membership!
Members of Rotary are the most important asset we have. A diverse range of members allows us to do a diverse range of activities, transfers a diverse range of skills and gives the opportunity for a diverse range of experiences. Members should not be just bums on seats. We need to have an active meaningful involvement within the Club, a purpose to fulfill and an expectation of satisfaction that what we are doing has meaning.
We should be actively seeking people who can help us achieve projects that our current skillset cannot. People who have projects or ideas that they cannot achieve alone. People who can contribute to our own well being by their very positive approach and sense of community. Rotary should be challenging, fun, and also have purpose, significance, fulfillment and satisfaction.
Find the right people and who knows what we can achieve! Every month is Membership Month. Right now, while we are on Zoom it is a perfect time to invite a friend or colleague to a meeting, show them our website, look us up on Facebook and show what we do.
The Rotarian Conversation:Marc FreedmanThis longevity expert has found that both younger and older people thrive when they work together with a common purpose — something
It is will great pleasure that I inform the Club that one of our past exchange students (2006-7) Anna Allert has produced a beautiful baby Alfred. Anna is married to Erik Hellander and lives in Sweden.
It is great to have a new addition to our Rotary family.
"The nicest moment in life was the one when you arrived. On Monday at 00:49 pm life changed forever. You have already made the pain worth every second, our precious little Alfred" - Anna.
Hopefully, by now you will understand the significance of my first encounter of the Rotary kind when I ventured out into the Simpson Desert as a new Rotarian with my new Rotary acquaintances. These people were movers and shakers in the local community, or at least that's what they told me!
In hindsight, this one adventure set me up on my Rotary journey. I was able to get to know people I would never have met in my normal life.
Through my Rotary journey, I have learnt about all sorts of things and had so many opportunities to go further in both my business life and my Rotary life.
Life is for living right? So why not get as much out of it as possible!
Today we have a COVID-19 dip in the road. While we have to be careful of oncoming traffic, now is the time to get ready for what lies ahead. Sharpen our Rotary knowledge, build our Rotary skills and develop our Rotary ideas. Focus on our own future so that we are ready to focus on the needs of our community.
Measuring the effectiveness of our online presence is a good indicator of how far our message is getting out into the community. Communications via the website, bulletin and Facebook let us tell our story to the outside world.
While some of us may shrug our shoulders and say "So what!", we know that projects that we promote create a greater awareness of Rotary. We benefit by people turning up to Carols by Candlelight and Australia Day too.
Our website, www.rotaryberwick.org also gets a check in to make sure it is working hard for our Club.
District Governor Mark Humphries
Hello Everyone,
Here we are at the start of a new Rotary year. A year that will see change. Past District Governor Adrian asked us all to Break the Changes, we did. Now I am asking you to Change. Our clubs need to change, we need to look at what we are doing and how we engage with our communities and each other. We need to be bold, International President Holger Knaak has asked you to challenge your thinking, how can you make you clubs more inviting, how can you better reflect your community needs and wants, how can you actively involve younger people in meaningful ways? Stop doing and stop saying, this is how we have always done it or we tried that once and it didn’t work. Times have changed, we need to change.
To help clubs adapt to new times and ways of doing things we have put together a team of people who want to help, a group of people with idea that they want to share with you. You are not alone, do not try an reinvent the wheel all the time, work with each, learn as a team, engage with other clubs in your cluster, be involved with projects outside our District, become a project driven club.
Your new team to help invigorate all areas of your Rotary club are ready to help, they wont tell you what to do. They will help you, lead you, give you ideas and importantly be involved with the process all along the way. Please make use of the team,
President David had the pleasure of inducting Greg Lee into the Rotary Club of Berwick, with the classification of “Law Enforcement”. 
August is Membership month
On Monday at 00:49 pm life changed forever. You have already made the pain worth every second, our precious little Alfred" - Anna.
Hopefully, by now you will understand the significance of my first encounter of the Rotary kind when I ventured out into the Simpson Desert as a new Rotarian with my new Rotary acquaintances. These people were movers and shakers in the local community, or at least that's what they told me! 
