President's Opening
- Welcome Nicole Lane – our special guest
- Changes to committees – please speak to Kelly or your Chair
- Supposed to be having club assembly next week this has been postponing to 23rd due to the train of lights commitments
- TOL – thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far!
Apologies were read by Lorna Shaw
Birthdays
- PP PHF Colin Brown
- Peter Brock
Anniversary of joining
- PP PHF Marcus Adams and PP PHF DGN Emma Clark
Chairperson – PP PHF Marcus Adams
- Saturday was District Changeover – we are now District 9815
- Linda Humphries and Ian Ballantine spoke about their year
- Recognition of Roteract as a member of Rotary was formally accepted – Roteract Changeover took place on the night
- DGN Delegate became DGN – well done Em!!!
- 12 attended from the RC of Emerald and District
- Citations were not handed out but Emerald was mentioned a few times.Sangeeta got recognition for growth and retention
- DG Colin Byron introduced his wife.Her brother passed away from Bowel Cancer and brother wanted to raise funds for Bowel Cancer. Attended KFRWPB and became aware of the strong link to Monash Children’s so her project is the Children’s Cancer Centre.
Link to photographs from the evening
HERESpeaker – Nicole Lane from Echo (St Mark’s)
Emerald Centre for Hope and Outreach
https://echo.org.au/
Wayne Collin established the program and was leading this for 33 years – Nicole has now taken on the role and Echo does a great deal of good work in the community.
Echo has been part of community for 40 years. Wayne founded this and Nicole took over 7 years ago. The organisation is now broadened what is offered to match the needs of community.
Echo runs 5 core programs:
- School chaplaincy in 5 local primary schools - Cockatoo, Emerald Gembrook, Menzies Creek and the Patch.Emma mentioned how good the Chaplaincy program is.It has been in place for 20 years across Australia. Moved to encompassing wellbeing. Chaplain at EPS is assisting in running EarlyAct.
- Hills Community strengthening initiative– family support for developmental need – 350 families engaged in the program which includes ater school activity and mentoring.
- Echo Young Changemakers. – teenage program based in Emerald – young people design the program with $10k funding. They are currently working on a safe space for youth at the moment.
- No Interest loan program – for anyone on low income – rainy day fund of up to $2k.$1.4m loaned out at the moment.Started in Cockatoo and now in Emerald.
- Food store – free food every Monday at St. Luke’s in Cockatoo.Support from Foodbank and funding for the community.80 people through the door a week.
Echo has done a needs analysis that will be useful to our Community Committee. Opportunities for Rotary to be involved in various programs.
Club Dues - PP PHF Shalini Penny
Last Wednesday club fees were distributed. The club has 8 bank accounts:
- Account 1 is the operating account – this is used for administration
- Account 2 – is the fundraising account – funds raised go into this account and are distributed to the community from here
- Special Events – this is a holding account for any events we are holding other than our signature events
- Deb Ball Account
- All American Account
- Kids Fun Run with Puffing Billy Account
- Community Raffle Account
- McLeod Murphy – is the special Trust Account
Fees we pay go towards district fees and Rotary International fees as well as expenses. Funds contributing to this account are through the fine session and Choclotto profits.
30th June is the end of a Rotary year – it is beneficial to know if you are going to stay on into the next year. When we get to 1 July, the club incurs fees for your membership for that year which is passed on to you.
Motion - That club members approve club fees of $310 for the 2024-5 Rotary year.
- Proposed – PP PHF Shalini Penny
- Seconded – PP PHF John Shaw
- Passed by show of hands
Committee Reports
Youth – EarlyAct – Kerith Cummins
- Scarlet at the Emerald Primary School is leader of the environmental program for EarlyAct and her letter was read out as well as that of her mother:
Dear Mr Kolb and Mrs Clark,
I love Early Act and being an Environment Leader. Thanks for organising our meetings.
I am excited to go to the big meeting in Ballarat with Jamie on 26-27 August. My teacher Mrs Porter organised us to go and talk about Climate Change with people from Deakin University, Resource Smart School and Sustainability Victoria. I think we will get some great ideas there to help our environment in Emerald Primary, our local community as well as the whole world!
I would like to invite the Emerald Rotary Environment Chair Ken Miller to come to the next Early Act meeting in September at Emerald Primary School. Then I can talk to her about the Climate Change Forum from August and we can all work together on ways to make positive change.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this idea.
Thank you for giving me a place to talk about my ideas and be an Environment Leader for our school.
From Scarlet Byron-Thomsen
Dear Emma and Ben,
I just wanted to write a very big thank you to yourselves, the Early Act program and the Emerald Rotary Club on behalf of myself, Scarlet and the Byron-Thomsen family.
Scarlet's invitation to the Rotary club meeting on 4 June was an incredible opportunity for her, of which we are most grateful. Giving our family the opportunity to see a dedicated group of organised and passionate local community members working for positive change was remarkable and heartening. The guest speaker presenting Rotary Environment projects as well as your own Environmental Chair Ken Miller provided a wonderful insight into what is possible when people work together - thinking globally and acting locally. We felt very inspired.
The opportunity for our daughter to grow as a leader at this meeting was also significant. Scarlet surprised our whole family by writing and practising her speech independently and then confidently presenting to a room full of guests, speakers and Rotary members. Her confidence is a testament to the Rotary Act program run fortnightly by members of Rotary as well as Ben Kolb's supervision and guidance. Through this program, she tells us that she is learning the process of meetings, agendas, developing plans, implementing them, reflecting on their impact and working with a team in order to do so. We are so proud of her rising to every occasion and are grateful for this program to give her and other students, greater scope, practise and opportunities to develop as leaders.
When Scarlet went to bed that night, she asked me if I knew what I wanted to be, when I was a little girl. I answered honestly that I was not sure. A smile burst across her face and with great certainty, she said that when she grows up, she wants to be an Environmental Leader who helps all living things - plants, animals and habitats across our planet.
Scarlet has an abundance of ideas to keep furthering the Environmental Cause across Emerald and beyond. Tara Porter, her classroom teacher has organised for Scarlet and Jamie Blackmore to attend Climate Change Education Forum 26-27 August presented by Deakin University, Resource Smart Schools, Sustainability Victoria and the State Government of Victoria. This two-day event is designed to foster intergenerational conversations, learning and future-focused activities to build confidence and understanding of climate change and climate action. Following this forum, Scarlet would love Emerald Rotary's Environmental Chair Ken Miller to come to the next Early Act meeting in September, so that Scarlet can share her learnings and ideas from this forum. She tells me she has already written Mr Kolb and yourself an email, proposing this idea. Further evidence that she is developing confidence and a strong voice!
Thank you, again to yourself, Mr Kolb, the Early Act program as well as the Emerald Rotary club, for your ongoing support of the next generation to be confident, well connected and inspired future leaders.
Kind Regards,
Eden Byron-Thomsen
- Rotary Youth Leadership Awards RYLA are happening next week David Clowe will be representing our club and we had a chat with him last week. He is looking forward to RYLA. Lyn Beckwith, Marcus and Emma will be going to the dinner on 10 July.
Environment – PP PHF PD Ken Miller (delivered by Pres. Elect Peter Brock)
The focuses of Environmental this year will be as follows:
- Tree planting with the shire
- Working with friends of Emerald Lake
- Clean Up Australia Day
- Dunhills Environment Group
- Container Deposit Scheme – take cans and bottles so we can earn some money.Cans and plastic bottles to be deposited
- Think about plastic we use when planning events
- Try to deposit batteries in special bins and think ahead to do this!
Foundation – Pres Elect Peter Brock
- Peter explained that Foundation is the charitable arm of Rotary
- Foundation needs funds to support club projects in Australia and around the world
- October is Polio Awareness month. We have all heard about Polio Plus and at the moment we have 6 cases in the world but we need to keep on top of this and keep funding so it doesn’t come back.
Tina thanked everyone for their support over the last week - to everyone who came to see her rang or texted after Billy, her dog, died. She said "I am so grateful to be part of a group of people not just like-minded but really care about each other. Thank you – I am okay".
Pres Kelly – closing remarks
- Thank you Nicole and keep up the amazing work!
- Thank you Marcus for stepping in as Chair
- Thank you Tina for coming to thank the club and we are all very sorry about Billy
- Just a reminder - to cut down on emails the Agenda is linked to the ‘Rotary Round-Up’ in Sparkle
