Fellowship and friendship is at the heart of Rotary. While we all value the camaraderie and connections within our own club, truly embracing the opportunities Rotary membership offers means stepping beyond the familiar walls of our own club. Rotary Fellowships provide a fun and meaningful way to do just that—connecting with like-minded Rotarians around the world through shared interests and passions.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
As I write this, the Rotary year is drawing to a close, and the presidency is progressively passing to Dorothy Gilmour.
The ceremonial handover took place on Tuesday night when the chain of office was placed around Dorothy’s shoulders. The formal handover takes a little longer. There are files to transfer, correspondence to redirect and a few loose ends to tie up before 30 June when the role officially changes hands.
Over the course of a year, a president inevitably develops certain habits of mind. You become accustomed to viewing the club through a particular lens and to thinking about issues as they arise. Letting go of the office is easy enough. Letting go of the assumption that every club issue requires your attention takes a little longer. Eventually, however, those decisions belong to someone else.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is 15 June so to acknowledge the immediate need for everyone to understand what elder abuse looks like and how we can all play a part in prevention of this insidious violation, Dorothy has planned a viewing of our Rotary SAFE Families film: Elder Abuse and an open forum for discussion. Pic: Sven Mieke Unsplash
UPCOMING EVENTS
2 June: No lunch – Changeover Dinner at Kooyong
9 June: No Meeting
16 June: Elder Abuse (15 June is Elder Abuse Awareness Day)
Thanks to the generous community spirit of Big Mac, Terry Kitchen, Doug McLean, and Karun McNamara, Rotary Hawthorn held another highly successful BBQ at Bunnings Hawthorn. Warmed by the heat of sizzling sausages and onions, our team of dedicated members and volunteers came together to feed hundreds of people 49 kgs of sausages.!
Team included: Andrew Crockett, Denbigh Richards, Ian Macfarlane, Charlotte and Peter England, Dennis Shore, Richard Logan, Dorothy Gilmour, Meredith Hayes, Katrina Flinn, Ian and Jane Bentley, John Perry, and fantastic volunteers – Kisara Mohotti from Seek, Michael Luber from Swinburne and Manjusha Premachandra and Lisa Dube from the Boroondara Expo. Thank you to Mark Eldredge for finding these terrific young people. A wonderful effort all round! READ MORE
PROJECT UPDATE
THANK YOU from RECLINK
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to say thank you for your ongoing assistance with the Salvo Hawks. It is very much appreciated and means a lot to all involved.
Thanks again and speak soon.
Kind regards,
James Maxwell
Reclink Recreation Worker Homelessness The Salvation Army Australia Territory
SALVO HAWKS UPDATE
Thanks Big Mac!
Guess who won the Salvo Hawks/Windana match with Wellway Panthers (Morwell) on Wednesday 27 May?
Note: Next Game-Round 5 -Wednesday 10June 2026 V’s Cohealth Kangaroos at Home, Victoria Road Reserve, Victoria Road Hawthorn East.
P.S. Goal Umpire + Timekeeper required for this game.
PPS: Could someone please take some photos at the next game for Bulletin!
Clue 4: I might not see you at Kooyong but I play a valuable role in our Club!
Email or message David Pisterman (pisterman41@gmail.comwith your answer to this month’s Quiz. A bottle of the best is waiting for the winner at our lunch meeting 16 June donated by the last prize winner.
Be afraid! Do not incur the wrath of DP!
DID YOU KNOW
Bern Hames was our historian for three decades and followed Tom Tylee as Director of Swinburne Technical College and President at Hawthorn in 1972-73. Bern had a dry wit it appears which he demonstrated at our meetings.
As Bulletin Editor previous years, Bern included a pithy poem to collect ‘dues’:
