Weekly Message From President Ngaire 11 June
Our speaker this week was Wendy McWilliams who lead us through an interesting presentation entitled, “What Exactly is Public Relations??” It was a well-researched and most informative address with valuable case studies and samples of effective PR campaigns run by Wendy and her team. The good news was that PE Gordon Cheyne was seen taking photos of Wendy’s top five tips for getting our Rotary name and brand into the media so let’s hope they prove effective in next year’s PR campaign.
How good it was to welcome a sparky Neil Roberts to lunch on Tuesday, prior to his holiday in Townsville. Neil and Helen come home late July when Neil will undergo more tests. Norman Hall is also back at the helm, looking most relaxed after an extended work trip. Ian Stoney is recovering well and looks forward to joining us again soon for lunch.
A group of 25 attended our last movie night for this Rotary year on Wednesday night. Most agreed The Great Gatsby was a very glitzy and extravagant production, with amazing visual effects. They certainly knew how to party in those hedonistic pre-Depression days. Dinner at Deco’s afterward was fun and very noisy. These movie nights are one of our most enjoyable fellowship events and will definitely continue next year.
The Board met for its final meeting on Tuesday, upstairs at Deco’s, and we reconciled our accounts, completed all unfinished business and approved expenditure of $27,000 to worthy projects and partner organisations. It was a very satisfactory way to conclude our business for the year and we celebrated at dinner with our partners afterwards.
Our speaker next week is Martin Culkin, who has spent 45 years in education in Victoria. Martin who is now working to set up a newly restructured Hawthorn Secondary College, was the recipient of an Order of Australia (OAM) on Queens Birthday, for work done while Principal of Dandenong High School where he helped co-ordinate 68 different language groups in a school of 2000 students. What an amazing achievement! Our club has long enjoyed a rewarding relationship over many years with Hawthorn Secondary College, so please join us for lunch next week and welcome Martin to RCH.
And then it’s only a week to Changeover!!!
Yours in Rotary,
Ngaire
Thought for the week, Martin Luther King:
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”