Happenings at last weeks’ meeting
After assembling for the 50th Anniversary club photo we all returned to the meeting room where Sergeant Pete took on the role of Chair for the night. Greg conducted the toast and welcomed the nights guests, Peter Rawlings and Ann Buchanan and also welcomed back Tyrrell after his long absence.
Pete quickly moved the meeting onto the Lotto, which was won by Murray (again!), and the fines session. For some reason this was a muted session with there being no fines from the floor.
Secretary Michael read out the apologies and notify the members that there is a ClubRunner training session being held on the 23rd September. The only other point of interest to be raised was a reminder that the International Conference is being held in Melbourne during May 2023.
Greg announced that Harry will be taking a leave of absence and that the whole club wished his son all the best.
Director Charles spoke about the quest he and Rob have been on, to source a fruit and veg’ supply for the Market. One of the major difficulties is the logistics of delivery. However, there may be a likely supplier in Mt. Eliza and they suggest selling in singles, instead of in bags, may be a better offering. (We wait with bated breath for the next announcement on this quest). Charles also pointed out that there had been interest shown at the Market about Rotary and the possibility of joining.
Charles now introduced the subject of the Centurions Club. This is a means of making small donations to the Rotary International Foundation whereby 50% of donations are returned to the District after 3 years. These donations are also counted towards the Paul Harris Fellowship. Centurions Club application forms were handed out.
Director Lyn now gave us an update:
- The Board had agreed to provide $2000 towards a mural to be painted at the Dromana Primary School. (Subjects are History and the Powerful Owl);
- Mock Interviews will be conducted at Balcombe High on the 10th November for Year 11 students. Volunteers called for and raised;
- The 50th Anniversary Dinner numbers are required sooner rather than later so that catering etc. can be arranged.
On the subject of the 50th Anniversary, Merv announced that he had been working on contacting past members but required some help. The list was passed around for members to contribute.
Chris announced that the Trailer signed will be ready for the next Market.
The Chair now called on Tony Viney to give this weeks’ TMG (that’s Three Minute GIG to those who’ve forgotten).
Tony talked about the time he has been spending in Gippsland saving his boat from the ravages of time and the environment. The boat is a WWII RAAF crash boat built in 1941 from Huon Pine, which is very tasty to the aquatic critters who chew up wooden boats. While upcountry, Tony was spending time in Victorias gold country. He commended Maldon as a beautiful town with many National Trust features. Bendigo, with it’s Saturday Night White Light show, Castlemaine and Ballarat are all within reach and well worth the visit.
The Chair thanked Tony for an entertaining three minutes.
(Prior to announcing our Guest Speaker the bell was rung yet again. Is this an attempt to illicit some sort of Pavlovian Response from the members during mealtimes? Ed.)
Our Guest Speaker this week was District Assistant Governor Peter Rawlings in his capacity as an “ambassador” for the upcoming Regionalisation Project. This Project is independent of the 9820/9810 merger which is happening over the next 24 months.
The Regionalisation Pilot is being conducted in two zones globally, northern and southern hemisphere. Zone 8, of which we are a part, is the southern hemisphere zone which has been chosen. This pilot is focussed on a sustainable future for Rotary, especially in relation to Membership, Leadership and the Rotary Brand. It will also look at how we streamline Governance. Club President will vote on the proposed pilot in September and if 2/3rds are in support then the pilot will be implemented in parallel with our existing structure for the next two years. This only a pilot and the results from both hemispheres will feed into the final design and schedule of a global implementation.
Greg thanked Peter for his informative and interesting introduction to Regionalisation. (More information on the subject can be found at
Creatingtomorrowrotary.org).
Greg thanked our Guests and all attendees. The meeting finished at 8:20.
