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President's Message 24th August 2024
Bruce Turner
Greetings and welcome. Thank you for joining our online news and updates.
What an interesting end to Winter we have experienced. I hope you all enjoyed last weekend’s magnificent weather and that it was enough to get you through the wild weather that followed, we’re still cleaning up bits of trees that were scattered around our yard.
RAWCS annual meeting
Last Saturday I joined with John Oswald, Lesley Shedden and Lucy Loko to attend the Annual General Meeting and information day for Rotary Australia World Community Service Ltd – Southern Region (RAWCS). The meeting was held at the Donations In Kind (DIK) Store, West Footscray. To visit this remarkable facility was an eye-opener in itself, but to hear of the updates on the many and varied RAWCS Projects currently underway was even more valuable and informative. Lucy and John were amongst the presenters who provided updates on quite a diverse range of projects and are to be congratulated on a very informative session.
Thank you to Ben Featherston for organising another enjoyable social evening last Monday at the Jan Juc Hotel. Our numbers were good despite many members holidaying this week (not jealous at all!) and unfortunately Ben wasn’t able to join us on the night due to work issues arising during the day. Those in attendance had a great night enjoying the food and conversation. It is too late to register for this Monday’s meeting, but if you would like to hear the Mayor Liz Patterson as our guest speaker you could come along at around 7.15 to hear her presentation.
Introducing 2025 Motor Show
Next week’s club meeting is one not to be missed. Monday September 9th will be an introduction to the 2025 Motor Show. We are hoping everyone available will come along to the presentation which will cover the changes for next year’s Show. As this is a club event that relies on all members participating, it will be extremely helpful to have you in attendance for some essential updates.
Updates for members:
If you don’t receive the District 9780 Weekly News and Updates, it can be found here: newsletter
Geelong Community Foundation: Lesley Shedden and Garth Symington will represent the Rotary Club of Torquay at an information session for community groups on the Surf Coast. Applications for their most recent major grant (P500 Grant) of $80,000 have just opened. A visit to their webpage is worthwhile to see the range of grants available Geelong Foundation
Save the date Saturday 5th October: Rotary Club of Grovedale/Waurn Ponds. A Night of Hypnotic Fun. Buy tickets at: https://www.trybooking.com/CUECS $50 includes the show and supper. Drinks are available at bar prices. It would be great to see other Rotary Clubs or service clubs grab a table of 8.
Rotary Geelong East would like to extend to you and your members and friends, an invitation to join us on Tuesday 17th September for Footy Colours fundraising night. It doesn't matter which type of football you follow or which team, this is a fun night with entertaining speakers, quiz and prizes. Wear your footy gear (scarfs, caps, guernsey, sox etc.) - you could win a prize!!
Save the date Friday 22nd November: Bayside Geelong RC Trivia Night, venue Christchurch Geelong Hall, tables of 6-8 people, BYO drinks and food, cost and more information to follow.
We have just completed a successful and enjoyable Father’s Day BBQ at Bunnings on Thursday evening. The club didn’t need to provide anything, and just cooked and served. Volunteers were Bruce Turner, Richard Hawker, John Evans and Garth Symington.
As is the case with these type of Bunnings evenings we usually receive vouchers for the club’s use as a token of appreciation from Bunnings. We were also given a large amount of leftover supplies which they had written off for the function. We estimate these to be worth about $150+ for us to sell at our next BBQ.
Richard Hawker is doing an excellent job in calling for volunteers for our next program of BBQs (Cowrie Market and Bunnings) out to the 17th of November. Thank you to all those who have responded to his request. (See the roster below)
The club’s next community involvement will be on the 13th of September at the Surf Coast Secondary College. This will entail us being involved in a Year 11 & 12 vocational showcase with other community organisations. Amanda is endeavouring to have our RYLA and exchange students participate. It will be a good opportunity for Rotary to outline our achievements.
Rotary Club of Torquay has been selected to participate in Ryan’s IGA Community Rewards program. Torquay Rotary will appear at Torquay for September and October.
Here’s how it works:
Through our Community Rewards Program we raised well over $1m to help the local community. Money is raised by customers spending $20 instore and receiving a token for every $20 they spend. Tokens are then put into the donation box of the customer’s choice. Each store has several donation boxes for various charities that can receive donations. Money is then donated to charities on an annual basis.
Save these dates ….. Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd, Sunday 23rd March 2025 –
These are the dates of our Rotary District 9780 Conference hosted by us, the Rotary Club of Torquay.
Conference venues are –
Friday & Saturday at 13th Beach Golf Club.
Sunday The Sands, Torquay.
Information for the big weekend is currently being worked on, including building a website, which will contain all details of the conference and be updated as required.
Home Hosting –
Richard Hawker is coordinating Home Hosting, the opportunity for you to make a room or 2 available in your home, for Rotarians coming to the conference to stay in for the weekend.
If you have a room available you could offer a fellow Rotarian and their partner, pleaseprovide your details on this form or contact Richard Hawker rjhawker48@gmail.com Richard would love to hear from you!Thank you to those who have already contacted Richard and offered rooms.
Keep an eye on our bulletin each week as details and updates will be posted here.
All Torquay Rotary members and friends are invited to join the Kieser Torquay walking group which occurs every Thursday 10:00 – 11:30 am. We leave from the clinic and walk for approx. 50mins to 1hour.
