Welcome Robyn O’Loughlin
It was my absolute pleasure and honour to induct Robyn O’Loughlin to our club last Monday and to welcome her partner Gerard into our Rotary family. As you heard, Robyn has extensive experience in administration in higher education, project management and teaching, with words including enthusiastic, energetic and ‘all round nice person’ used to describe her. Welcome Robyn and Gerard – I look forward to getting to know you better and to working alongside you in Rotary service.
News from the board
The Torquay RC Board met on Monday 1 May. Here are some of the key decisions we made and/or items we discussed.
Rotary International legislative changes – our approach
We propose to recommend to members the adoption of the updated Standard Rotary Club Constitution as provided by RI, as our own. Before doing so, we wil seek legal advice from Ross Blair at McKean Park to ensure this is an acceptable approach. If it is, we will convene an AGM of members to discuss and approve it. After that, we will look to update our own Club Bylaws to reflect any local adaptations we wish to make in relation to the running of our club.
District Grant application confirmed
The board confirmed support for the application I put together, with the asssitance of Brian, Geoff and Mal, for Traffic Controller training and equipment funding. No response has been received as yet from District.
Fund Raising distribution
We looked again at our funds distribution, as a large invoice had been received since our March meeting and some major payments have been made – to Geelong West for their share of the Book Fair receipts and for the purchase of a container for the storage of books. We will now arrange payments to Barwon Health Volunteer Patient Transport, Interplast, ROMAC, Australian Rotary Health Foundation, Spring Creek House, End Polio Now, RI Foundation, Donations in Kind, Parkinsons and Diversitat. We also confirmed an asset replacement allocation and a carry over amount of $5000 in the Fund Raising account into the new Rotary year.
The future of Baines Court BBQs
The viability of continuing to run BBQs in Baines court over each weekend in January is to be discussed and decided by the new Board.
Public Relations for the club
Are you keen to get invovled in the PR side of our operations? We have a real need for expertise to assist in this area. You don’t have to be an expert on Social Media or web management or writing press releases, but interest and enthusiasm are essential. Greg Plumridge will be seeking out members to join the PR committee, so if you’re intersested, he’d love to hear from you.
Storage shed – construction is underway
Thanks to the efforts of Mal Slater and John McDonald, our storage shed being built in conjunciton with Torquay Lions is getting closer. I am told it will be ready late May. I certainly look forward to getting our BBQ trailer under cover for the upcoming winter season.
Nominate now for Queen's Baton Relay
You may have seen this in this week’s Surf Coast eNews. I would like us to consider a nominee (or more) from the Rotary Club. Any ideas?
Surf Coast Shire residents can nominate someone to take part in a global journey following the announcement that Torquay will feature in the Queen’s Baton Relay.
The Queen’s Baton is travelling from Buckingham Palace to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, carrying a message from Her Majesty The Queen. With Torquay included in the journey, people across Surf Coast Shire are encouraged to nominate local legends to carry the Baton in the Relay.
For more information and to put forward someone, visit gc2018.com/qbr. Nominations close 15 May 2017.
National Volunteer Week – Thank you
Subtitle - ‘The Queen of Mad’
We all know about first aid for medical conditions and many of us have probably done first aid training over the years. But have you ever considered first aid for mental health?
Can you identify early signs of mental health issues which might be helped by first aid? This was the question put to us by Jules and one most of us were unable to answer.
Jules is an accredited Mental Health and First Aid Instructor, running courses which are now internationally accredited. I encourage you to check out
The Anxious Bird website. You will see there that an anxiety disorder is more than just feeling like your wings are tired. It is a diagnosable illness tht affects a person’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours. It affects 1 in 4 people over a lifetime. It is treatable.
