(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Vice President's Message 18 October 2025
Michael Reed
Well .... Bathurst has been 'run and won'.
We saw a very wet and stormy Sunday afternoon here in Torquay, followed by a lovely sunny Monday.
I hope the 9 people who went to Our Village enjoyed learning more about what they do, and those who went to the Valley Inn for lunch had a good meal..
There will be a story following in this Bulletin.
I attended to the 100 year celebration, celebrating 100 years of Rotary in Geelong.
This year marks 100 years since the Rotary Club of Melbourne chartered The Rotary Club of Geelong.
The same year The Rotary Club of Melbourne chartered the Rotary Club of Bendigo and The Rotary Club of Ballarat.
As it was put at the function today.... The Rotary club of Melbourne had triplets!
The event was hosted by the Rotary Club of Greater Geelong, with President Andrew Lawson OAM chairing.
Presidents from the Rotary clubs of Melbourne, Bendigo and Ballarat were in attendance and each had a turn on the microphone.
District Governor Christine Duffy, along with Geelong Council dignitaries, joined Presidents, Members and Guests for the Flag Raising Ceremony, before the 60 invited guests moved to the Davidson Restaurant for lunch, more speeches and presentations.
Last week we mentioned and promoted the Rotary Club of Bayside's Trivia Night. This has been postponed until next year... details will come when it is finalised.
I was quite sad to see and read in last week's Bulletin that the Satellite Club of Music will not proceed.
The team led by PDG Lesley and PP Bruce Turner have put a heck of a lot of work into this.
I would like to thank all team members for their work, input and enthusiasm in trying to establish this club.
See you next Monday!
Cheers
Michael
Vice President Michael
Six of us enjoyed a lovely lunch at Valley Inn before we headed to Our Village for a visit. We were joined by another three Rotarians and we had a very informative tour of the Our Village Warehouses.
Jacqui explained how it came about and has developed into the Community Service that it now is.
She showed us how the donations are handled; how they were packaged ready for distribution and then lastly who collects them and distributes the packs to those in need.
Sadly, some people think it is okay to send ripped, dirty or stained clothing and they then have to offload that somewhere. They inspect every item that is donated, so the process of getting the clothes ready for distribution is quite involved.
During September they rehomed 1512 items – which included prams, cots, car-seats, linen, clothing, toys and books.
They provided packs to 568 babies and children.
Jacqui explained that this year the donations they receive has decreased, but the demand for packs has increased.
Our donations were gratefully received and as Jacqui said every little bit helps.
Thank you to those who donated items for us to take in and to those who attended the lunch and visit.
Have you had take away lately? Well those plastic containers can often be NOT RECYCLABLE. But they can be reused!
So instead of buying new plastic storage containers, why not try to reuse those that you already have?
Of course some may not clean well and they will have to be discarded appropriately, but others wash well and look just like the ones you would go to buy..
Large yoghurt pots, rice take away containers [tend not to be greasy], glass jars for leftover sauces or drinks - the screw on tops are great! You may be a maker of jam in Autumn, so start your jar collection now?
Other things I reuse include bread bags [no need to buy sandwich bags], fruit bags, if I forgot my own - those ones at the supermarket don't have to be single use, do they?
Whatever we do to reduce plastic use, will reduce demand and help us change thinking of the big oil barons that make this stuff. [Plastic is a product made from petroleum oil].
If you have more ideas, please let me know - by email or a personal chat. Always happy to learn.
I wish to formally advise all members of the Torquay Rotary Club that our Annual General Meeting is scheduled to be held at Kithbrooke Country Club on Monday 24th November at 6.30pm.
