Dear Everyone,
My despatch is longer this week, (groan, groan, I hear you say) as our very hardworking reporter Kris Ash was an apology last meeting.
Last Tuesday’s meeting was jam-packed with our very own PP PHF Russell Marnock giving a presentation on his Study Tour of Timor Leste in 2018 hosted by Kirsty Sword Gusmão, the First Lady of East Timor from 2002 until 2007.
The slideshow and Russell’s commentary were very interesting, with photos of what schools there used to be like and present-day ones, and of Russell with Xanana Gusmão, former Prime Minister and President of East Timor, and with José Ramos-Horta former President and co-recipient of the 1996
Nobel Peace Prize. José is a “Nelson Mandela”-type leader who sought a conciliatory approach to past combatants. Russell also spoke about, and showed the house where the Balibo Five journalists from Australian television networks were killed on the 16
th of October 1975, in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. More of Russell’s presentation can be seen
HERE – assuming he sent you this, as I did remind him.
Tina gave us an inkling into her childhood in the “Know Your Rotarian” segment. Tina was born of Greek parents in Egypt, and when she was very young, her parents and older sister emigrated to Australia. It was a great culture shock for Tina’s mother, who had come from a wealthy family and was unaccustomed to work, and now had to raise a family in the Tasmanian bush. The children however loved it. Tina’s father was a hard worker, but no businessman as he went broke often, much to his wife’s consternation, but the children were oblivious. We learnt that her father was a cheese-maker. Time prevented us from hearing more about Tina’s early life and the migrant experience, but we will have another opportunity another time.
As Chair of Youth, Tina reported the good news that Emerald Secondary College has contacted us about assisting at their Breakfast club two days a week next year.
Chairs Martin and Ros also gave reports from the Board meeting, and these can be read in the Précis of the October Board minutes that Secretary Shalini has kindly provided HERE
Club Service Chair Lorna spoke about the new Ritchies Card replacing the dog-tag one that many of us have. When you register, you can choose which community group you wish to support, and if you click on the Rotary Club of Emerald, the donations will go to Wheelchairs For Kids. According to the Website, almost $25,000 has been donated to this wonderful cause.
On Thursday night, the Strategic Plan Sub-Committee met to continue its drafting. RI’s Strategic Planning Guide advises to develop a vision of what we want our Club to be like, and to list five to seven characteristics we want our club to have within three to five years. The responses from the Member Satisfaction Survey provided a platform from which some of the characteristics were derived.
The following are what the Committee agreed upon:
1. Vibrancy: have an active and engaging program of club meetings and events from a variety of disciplines.
2. Member retention high and new membership increasing.
3. A representative mix of members from our local community.
4. A strong mentoring program for new members and development of members, via training opportunities, encouraged.
5. Strong two-way communication with members, receptiveness to and acting upon member feedback.
6. Flexibility and innovation, use of technology to reach a wider audience, attract and keep members.
7. Be well-known and have our brand and impact better understood by our Community, with consistency in marketing across all events.
You are welcome to comment on these characteristics. Our next step is to develop plans to achieve these outcomes.
One of the benefits of Lockdown and Zoom meetings is that we gain access tothe other amazing clubs in our District.
The online Fundraiser Webinar that Roy and I attended last Monday night, featuring Dr. John Hewson and organised by the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley, was to raise funds to provide more single day emergency food packs
for those struggling in their community, a project that has been underway for some months. They have done a fine job adding a Rotary label to the pack which costs less than $10.
If you are interested in how we transition to a low-carbon economy, electrification of cars, agricultural regeneration, green building codes, renewable energies, waste recycling, transport, lack of funding for universities, etc., the video of the "The Challenge of COVID Recovery" Webinar is now up on the Rotary Club of Glen Waverley’s Facebook site.
Saturday 24th of October is World Polio Day. To celebrate, Rotary Manningham is hosting an event next Monday 26th October at 6.30pm:
Polio Survivor and Rotarian John Soe, “the child that nobody wanted” is speaking on "Living Positively - One Step at a Time". An inspirational speaker, John’s parents abandoned him at a hospital in Medan – North Sumatra, Indonesia when he was four months old because of polio. He has been a relentless advocate for Rotary's End Polio Now campaign. “If you stay positive, you move forward”. And that is what John has been trying to do his whole life. Some of us have heard his story before at a District Conference some years ago, and it is most heart-warming. You will learn more about how wonderful Rotarians can be if you attend.
A reminder about the 7th Annual D9810 Paul Harris Society luncheon to be held on Sunday 1st of November 2020, from noon to 1pm., which was reported in the 12th October “Open Doors” Newsletter. The speakers will be
- Past Rotary International President Ian Riseley from the RC of Sandringham and a Trustee of the Foundation
- the Keynote speaker PP John Nanni, pictured, a polio survivor from Delaware USA and
- PDG Bob Aitken, Rotary Lower Blue Mountains, Zone 8 Polio Plus Coordinator ,who recently visited our Club.
- Everyone is encouraged to attend the one-hour event as it will be entertaining, inspiring and moving.
- Bookings can be made through TryBooking - https://www.trybooking.com/BMAPN
- It is free but you can donate to help “EndPolioNow” if you wish.
- Rotary has to raise $50,000,000 to attract the Gates Foundation contribution to EndPolioNow.
