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President's Message 24 January 2026
Kelly Binyon
Hello,
Wow, wow, wow huge congratulations to all on a wonderfully successful 2026 Book Fair.
Massive thanks to Coordinators Neil Henderson, Linda Neale and Mike Reed and everyone else who helped in any way, shape or form. Together we delivered a magnificent display of books that was welcomed by the community. People came from all over and we had extremely positive feedback on our set up and selection.
Thank you to Karen from Story Dogs (and Bella) for coming along on Friday. They were a hit in the Children’s Book Room!
Special mention to Gail Birchall for keeping us hydrated and energised with delicious offerings over the three days.
The local community also needs to be congratulated for their magnificent donations of books this year. Thank you so much for your continued support!
Please click HERE for more photos of the Book Fair
All up I am pleased to announce that we raised just over $15K and achieved our goal of $10,000 for the RAWCS Bushfire Appeal (Victoria) with surplus funds going towards continuing support of the Surf Coast Secondary Collage Literacy Program and other local projects as part of our fundraising distribution process.
No formal meeting in lieu of pack-up and needing a few days to recover! Hats off to the beaut ute/4wd crew and others who packed, stacked and cleaned so the venue was spotless when we left. (photos)
Club Assembly – Online
WEDNESDAY 28 January 2026
6.30pm to 7,30pm
Please note change to program above and I look forward to seeing you all online. Topics covered will include half year report from Treasurer Gerard, club member check in and an update on the Motor Show preparations.
Youth Exchange – Leo
Leo worked very hard at the Book Fair after his week away in SA and was amazed at what we do! He’s been busy practising his surfing, playing futsal, meeting up with Mietta (rebound RYE student who just returned from her exchange in Italy) enjoying a day at Adventure Park and a lovely dinner hosted by the Corby family for Leo & I. We also attended the Australian Open on Day 5 and last night watched the fireworks at the Festival of Sails in Geelong. Leo is off competing today and tomorrow with Trevor & Geoff on the boat...good luck chaps!
For some time now Bruce Turner, Mike Reed and I have been the informal “House Committee” that has prepared the meeting room prior to each Rotary meeting. I intend to recruit a few others to help with the set up and management of the Lakehouse Room at Kithbrooke for future meetings. There meeds to be more members trained in the setting up of the elctronics - the computer, speaker/microphone and the camera for on line broadcasting.
In case you missed the news in December, our arrangements at Kithbrooke Country Club have changed going forward. They have introduced a room charge and increased bar pricing for use of their main Clubhouse. However they have offered the Lakehouse for 2026 as our meeting space. The Lakehouse wasthe original Kithbrooke Clubrooms prior to construction of the main building.
There will be no charge for the use of this room. It has a small commercial kitchen, large TV monitor, toilets and a storage area for our Rotary gear (most important). Emma our caterer has confirmed she can handle around 30 people for meetings without a problem. It will be BYO drinks going forward.
