Presidents are allowed a bit of reflection and contemplation about their efforts and in the old days it was about contemplating their navels.
Wikipedia gives an adequate insight into this age-old practice! Navel-gazing or omphaloskepsis is the contemplation of one's navel as an aid to meditation.[1]
Phrases such as "contemplating one's navel" or "navel-gazing" are frequently used, usually in jocular fashion, to refer to self-absorbed pursuits.Perhaps I am self-absorbed to making our Club effective again, or perhaps just looking for that lint in my navel!
Over the last eight months, we have ploughed through a lot of ground to find commonality with our Rotary Club of Berwick members. The board has instigated the results of several surveys moving towards lower-cost meals, low dues, a Zoom option for remote members, an alternative Saturday meeting for busy members and smaller, more frequent hands-on projects. All the things that were put forward by the respondents have now been tested and the results are in!
The purpose was to boost attendance and participation within the Club to grow and strengthen our community service, build our community networks, and enhance our existing members' social involvement.
These changes have done nothing to get the members who complain the most, into the Club's rhythm. In July 2020, we had an average of 27 members attending a Zoom meeting. In March 2021, we have an average of 23 members attending a physical meeting, with 2 Zoomers. Lots of work with no net participation result. Several members have resigned due to ill health, or moving away during this time, which has impacted our latest results.
It seems that some members are not happy with whatever you do and now is the time to forget about pandering to the complainers and push forward with plans for a different Rotary Club of Berwick.
The process has, however, refocused our existing active members on why we are part of Rotary and sparked debate amongst these active members on how our Club could evolve to welcome new proactive and focused members. We have had nine physical meetings at Holm Park. Each one has had a friendly vibrant vibe with attending members.
While I love what we have had in the past, we are not convincing our inactive members to be the Rotarians they signed up to be. It is time to shake the tree and see who is still hanging in there to serve the community.
In my game, dead wood should be pruned out to give new life and vigour to the remaining tree. While this might get me fired from being a Rotary President, our Club cannot continue carrying deadwood. We have a lot of work to do and we need a coherent team that work well together. Rotary is almost an essential service as we can provide many leadership, mentoring and life-changing programs to the local community if we have the focused and active members to fulfil them. With the right blend of people, we can do so much more.
So let's get on to potential steps forward.
A Satellite Club proposal was put forward by PP Jim Wilson's to the attending members this week. You can find Jim's lengthy speech HERE. While the proposal itself was straight forward, it gave rise to question the dilemmas within our current Club model concerning attendance and participation. We have tried everything our surveys told us to try, with no result. The only thing left is to restructure our meetings and only take counsel from those Rotarians who are walking the talk! The Satellite proposal is one way to move our club in a new direction and bring fresh ideas and vigour into the club.
With any new change, however, doubt of its success raises concern. Doubts may inhibit change, but concern puts the brakes on. Our surveys laid down a path for change, but when tested have been fruitless. Every active member of our Rotary Club is invested in success and is not interested in failure. Each active member is looking for examples of other clubs who are expanding, to learn from. We are looking for a new Rotary Club of Berwick model that will breakdown all the barriers we have been fighting against for years.
All I can say is that I enjoyed the atmosphere and the robust discussion. It is nice to be amongst friends who are engaged in service to make the world that little bit better wherever they can. Stay tuned!
On Wednesday the 17th of March, we are off to Berwick Bowling Club to have a lovely evening playing lawn bowls. Our rivals will be the Rotary Club of Monbulk.
This is one of the best nights of fun on our calendar.
We have played horribly over the last couple of years, so now it is time to step up! Bring friends and family who can play (or pretend to play), to give us a fighting chance of getting that trophy back!
We will be well catered for by the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick ladies. Cost to join the meeting for dinner only is $20.70. Cost to play is $5.00 (Bowling Club Green fee). Drinks will be at Bowling Club bar prices. Bowls will be supplied.
Please register via the following booking link whether you will be attending and indicate the number of friends, guests or family members attending with you, if any.
There is also an apology option available to indicate if you will not be attending. So far, we have 18 people attending from the ranks of the Rotary Club of Berwick. Three are not even members of our Club!
One of the main features of our set of member surveys is the desire for social functions. Vocational visits, nights out to restaurants, visits to wineries, camping trips, bus tours, Christmas parties and maybe even a Club birthday party are all on the cards for members to get involved.
The fact is that everyone says they want more of this type of activity, but no one is willing to do the work to make it happen and even fewer people are willing to commit to supporting the events. Another survey furphy!
A furphy is Australian slang for an erroneous or improbable story that is claimed to be factual. Furphies are supposedly 'heard' from reputable sources, sometimes second-hand or third-hand, and widely believed until discounted.
So over the next little while, the rubber is meeting the road in an improbable story of success and a conclusion that some survey results are fictitious. Naturally, I am looking forward to being proven wrong.
Lawn Bowls 17th March.
This coming week, at the Berwick Bowls Club, we are supporting the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick and competing with our arch-rivals and good friends, the Rotary Club of Monbulk, in a grudge match of lawn bowls spanning decades.
This is the funniest, most intense game of 'chuck the ball' known to mankind, but shunned by most club members. No experience is required! No talent is expected! Just get with the program and pretend you have got it. Be impressed by how bad you can bowl and celebrate if you win a trophy! 12 members are currently registered as players, with zero hours left. Good thing that I get on with the Rotary Club of Monbulk.
We do have 4 members registered as spectators and this is actually a very positive change to past years! Our players need all the encouragement they can get!
Vocational Visit 31st March:
Your current President is opening up his business to a joint Rotary vocational experience, to attempt to bond two clubs into a working partnership. The attendance expectation is 50. The Rotary Clubs of Berwick and Pakenham are in the mix for round one.
If the numbers are low, the rest of the cluster Clubs will be included and if that doesn't float it, there is the public. Find out more about it HERE and if you are in the mood, book in or share it with your friends and family. This will be a catered event to ensure everyone is free to have a good time. It will cost you $25 and that money will go to support our club caterers.
To allow for plenty of time to walk and talk plants, this will be a catered function. Please wear sturdy footwear. Don't wear your best clothes!
Address:
105 Fisheries Road, Devon Meadows 3977
Date:
Wednesday, 31st March 2021
Time:
From 6:00 pm onwards
Catering:
Carlyle Complete Catering @ $25 pp.
BYO Drinks, chairs
Menu:
Marinated chicken thigh fillets
Roast beef with gravy Herb roasted potatoes Roasted sweet potato and pumpkin Kale and quinoa salad with a lemon Dijon dressing. Breads with butter
Desserts: Fruit salad Cheese board.
Club Birthday Party 5th May 2021:
This yearour Club is turning 60, along with PP Gus, Boonie, Di Double and others.
Jane Moore and Jen Marshall have stepped up to organise a 60th birthday celebration for the Club.
We are looking at 70 guests to make our party pump. Jane and Jen have their work cut out for them, so please show your support and help them wherever you can. Anything less than 70 guests will not do.
70 is a very low number for a respected organisation and I would hope that all members would see Rotary as the leading community-based organisation in Casey. Make it 100 and that would be more like it.
It is time to stop talking about what our Club could be and making an effort to making our club into what it should be. We have most of the ingredients, and we have the glue to stick our talents together. Focus on our strengths and we will be a powerhouse in the community again. Be a leader in the community and Party Hard!
The 2021 ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ was held on Sunday 7th March.
Rotarians and friends from the Rotary Club of Berwick combined with Cubs and parents from the Berwick Central Cub Group to clean up Buchanan Park, as their contribution to the community and the ‘Clean Up Australia’ day. The collaboration between the two organisations was arranged as a community project by Rotarian Jen Marshall and Berwick Central Cub Leader, Annette Lake.
The ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ organisation supplied the workers with rubbish bags, high Vis vests and disposable gloves in various sizes. Care was taken to be COVID safe with the supply of a First Aid kit, a bottle of hand sanitiser and a QR code for COVID tracing purposes, together with a manual record for those without a smart phone.
After a safety talk by Rotarian Graham Johnstone, work began at 10:00 am and teams of Cubs, parents and Rotarians worked efficiently over the next two hours, to pick up a wide variety of rubbish throughout the park.
Almost 100kg of rubbish were collected, made up of 6.6 kg of recyclable materials and 91.4 kg of rubbish, including paper, broken glass, two fire extinguishers, a bicycle wheel, two shopping trolleys and a broken wooden pallet.
After the rubbish had been collected and placed for Council pick-up, the workers were treated to a morning tea, which provided an opportunity to network, compare stories and experiences.
In summary, a thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all and Buchanan Park was left spotlessly clean.
It is hoped that this is the first of many such collaborations between the Rotary Club of Berwick and the Berwick Central Cub Group, to assist the local community.
Rotarians are well known to be 'People of Action" and indeed we promote ourselves as such. Very rarely do we encounter a Rotarian lying down on the job. However, after helping to sort 3.5 pallets of clothes, one of our team found it necessary to recline, all be it in fun.
PP Laury Gordyn is one of our most active Club members and is always ready to help in every project. Nevertheless, he manages to instill humour into every occasion, as demonstrated in the photo above.
With Laury's help, we delivered the first batch of boxes of clothes to Casey North Community Information & Support Service (CNCISS) on Thursday 11th March, for distribution to those in need within the local community.
In 1921, four Rotary Clubs were created in Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington and Sydney. From there, Rotary and Rotaract clubs were created everywhere across Australia and NZ. We all share a centenary in 2021.
To mark the occasion, a set of new coins and commemorative stamps were launched in Sydney on 4th February.
A $1 coin will go into general circulation and also be available in a commemorative collector's pack for $15. A special minting of a silver $5 coin will be available for $100, marking 100 years of Rotary service and launching into the next 100 years.
The creation of the commemorative coins and stamps is the result of many years of hard work from Hugh Bucknall. Hugh is a member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne and the Team Leader for the Australia and New Zealand Rotary 100 Project.
Issue 34
10th 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.
Kero O'Shea of Rotary Membership Voice is known for some very long video sessions with most being around an hour. This one is no exception. To be fair, most of his topics need at least that amount of time to sort through them. I hardly expect any of the RCB members will invest their time into this video but if you seriously expecting our club to start kicking some big goals, watch it and learn. David Egan, the bloke being interviewed is actually offering sound and easy advice to follow and implement. Rotary is a great organisation but has adaptive change problems. Watch it and equip yourself to make our Club, the Rotary Club of Berwick into a new generation of Rotary Clubs.
One thing worth reading about is the Yass Model: Have a look HERE or if you like pretty pictures, perhaps read this one: HERE Plenty of Club has been where we are now. Get informed and get going!
One of the main features of our set of member surveys is the desire for social functions. Vocational visits, nights out to restaurants, visits to wineries, camping trips, bus tours, Christmas parties and maybe even a Club birthday party are all on the cards for members to get involved.
Vocational Visit 31st March: 
This year our Club is turning 60, along with PP Gus, Boonie, Di Double and others.
