Natalie described how much the Salvo Hawks appreciate the ongoing support from Hawthorn Rotary.  The Salvo Hawks is a footy team for homeless and disadvantaged people within the local community and operates as a way for these people to have social connections in a safe environment.

Our guest speaker was Colin Carter AM, a former President of Geelong and AFL Commissioner, talking about his book Football’s Forgotten Years.  Based on research undertaken by Colin, the starting date for the AFL should be 1870 instead of the currently recognised date of 1897.  The starting date for the AFL is important to recognise players’ and teams’ histories who competed in the earlier competitions, but are only acknowledged for the period from 1897.

Colin has been trying to get current AFL Commissioners on side for this correction of the game’s history with some success, but some of the old politics and rivalries between Clubs has delayed the revision.

Upcoming Events

·      October is Walk With Us Month to end Polio. Anne Scott will provide additional information in upcoming Bulletins and this year a special Walk with Paws is planned on Saturday 14^th October in Elsternwick Park. 

·      Rotary Clubs of Boroondara Networking Business Breakfast Thursday 12^th October at Hawthorn Arts Centre. The organising committee have asked Clubs to send two members as local representatives and to invite small business owners who might benefit from the guest speaker panel discussion, this week’s Bulletin will have further details.

·      Rotary Club of Nhill weekend 25^th & 26^th November. Save these dates in your diary as we are planning a Club visit and the Nhill Club will organise a special dinner with the local Myanmar community.  Noel Halford is organizing a program of activities in the Nhill region for the weekend and will provide an overview at our next meeting.

·      Club Christmas Dinner Tuesday 12^th December: New Date and Venue. 

The Social Committee have decided to break from tradition and move our Christmas Dinner from Kooyong to the newly renovated Studley Park Boathouse. This iconic Melbourne venue, which many members will have visited at some stage, has just undergone a major upgrade and we have secured The Conservatory Restaurant for our dinner. 

Please note the new date is Tuesday 12th December (not Thursday 14th as previously advised). We encourage members to invite family and friends who might be interested in visiting this revamped historic venue. Save the date in your diary and look out for booking details. Tickets will be available through Trybooking and on a first in, first served basis. Enquiries to Terry Kitchen – terrykitchen57@icloud.com.

·      Rotary District Conference Bendigo weekend 12-14 April. David Pisterman has agreed to act as our Club’s coordinator for the event and will provide updates as we get closer to the time. Early registration will be open in November.

·      Rotary International Convention Singapore 25^th-29^th May 2024. Bookings are open now for any interested members.

The next meeting is our annual Hat Day Lunch at Kooyong on Tuesday 3^rd October and the guest speaker will be Dr Michael Valos with the theme Humour for Leaders.  We will be holding a raffle with some fantastic prizes and a best men’s and lady’s hat prize will be awarded.

I hope everyone enjoys their Grand Final weekend.

President Doug McLean