My first week as Hawthorn Rotary Club President has arrived and I’m still finding my feet but feel confident the Club will have a great year. I am looking forward to working with the new Board to provide members with an exciting and interesting year as we continue to deliver some greatly appreciated local and overseas projects across all the Avenues of Service.
Highlights from Today’s meeting at Kooyong
Paul Harris Award
At the meeting today it was my pleasure as my first official Club duty to present a Paul Harris Award to Past President Andrew Crockett.
The Club’s Board decided to present a Paul Harris Award to Andrew for his tireless efforts over the past two years as President.
I caught up with Andrew last week for a small handover session and I asked him “how many hours a week do you spend on Rotary matters?” His response was “Doug you really don’t want to know” but then with a little wry smile he said “don’t forget I was also doing the Club Secretary role” which gave me a small level of relief.
Rotary District Changeover Luncheon
At the recent District change over lunch our Club had two areas of recognition.
Past DG Dennis Shore was awarded a Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his past work and future role as a Director on the RI Foundation.
Rotary Safe Families was awarded a District Award under the Together We Empower category, which was accepted by Dorothy Gilmour.
Rochester Flood Victims Support Project
As outlined in last week’s Bulletin we are working with support from the Sackville Grange Arts and Crafts Society, thanks to Anne Scott’s efforts, to provide additional blankets, children’s books and puzzles to the residents of Rochester impacted by the floods last year.
We delivered a trailer load of goods to Rochester 10 days ago and the feedback was these items were very much appreciated and have been mainly distributed to local families and the local kindergarten.
In addition to the donated goods, the residents of Sackville Grange donated $3,000 for the Rochester Flood victims and I am happy to say Hawthorn Rotary have agreed to match these funds with support from the Survey St Trust.
We are working with the Rochester Rotary club to find new projects to use these funds in a beneficial way for their community, which has a long road to recovery. I will keep you posted on the progress of this project.
Rotary District 9800 Strategic Plan
Each table had a copy of a brochure setting out the Rotary District 9800 Strategic Plan for 2023-2025. I have spare copies, which will be available at the next Kooyong meeting and I hope you feel free to provide feedback.
Upcoming Events
· Moorabbin Airport Tour and Lunch Tuesday 11th July 12 noon start for a guided tour and barbeque lunch. Tickets available on Trybooking via Vincent Chen’s email or contact Noel Halford.
· Salvo Hawks next game Wednesday 12th July at 11:30 am. We need a couple of extra members as goal umpires and for the pizza run, contact me if you are available.
· Hawthorn Rotary’s 70th Anniversary Dinner. As I mentioned in my announcements today, the Club’s 70th Anniversary Dinner will be held on Thursday 24th August, the anniversary of the actual date on which Rotary Hawthorn received its charter. Bookings can be made online at www.trybooking.com/CJETL. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate all that has been achieved by our Club over 70 years. The Social Committee has planned an evening of fun, historical tributes and fellowship.
· Rotary Club of Nhill weekend 25th & 26th November. Save these dates in your diary as we are planning a Club visit and the Nhill Club will organise a special dinner event with the local Myanmar community.
Guest Speaker
Today I was pleased to present as the Member Behind the Badge and my theme was Growing Up in A Border Town.
I highlighted how a number of historic events in the USA and Canada impacted on my early education and provided some Canada travel recommendations based on my experiences.
Hopefully members found it an interesting, enlightening and entertaining experience which I have no plans to repeat at future meetings and apologies to Phil Stewart and King Charles who provided some visual humour to the presentation.
The next Club meeting at Kooyong is on Tuesday 18th July when the guest speaker will be Tamara Cannon talking about her work with Little Fro in India. It would be appreciated if members could book early to ensure adequate seating and meals at Kooyong.
Doug McLean
President 2023-24