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President's Message
Michael Reed
President's Report No 7
What wonderful news we all received for Regional Victoria! Although we still cannot go out and visit, we can meet at venues for catch ups …… and face to face Rotary Meetings.
I heard Monday night’s online club meeting went very well – and Simon had a great story to tell. Unfortunately, I was unable to join you all, as I was attending an online Presidents meeting with the Presidents of the Rotary Clubs in Groups 9&10 (all the Rotary Clubs in the greater Geelong area), along with our Assistant Governors and our District Governor.
There was a lot of discussion at the Presidents Meeting about the ‘Big R’ – Celebrating 100 years of Rotary in Australia and New Zealand.
Many will recall the Baton Relay earlier this year that started here in Torquay and concluded with many festivities at Christ Church.
Suggestions are continuing for further celebrations of this great milestone for Rotary, and for clubs in Groups 9&10 to ‘help each other out’ and work together for the benefit of our communities ….. and for Rotary.
Here are projects discussed, to involve all the Rotary Clubs in Groups 9&10.
The Rotary Club of Geelong is proposing a Melbourne Cup social night to be held at the Geelong Racing Club and invite all Rotary clubs around the Greater Geelong area. They are putting a committee together for this event – if you are interested in being on this committee, please let me know.
The Rotary Club of Belmont is looking at having a Billy Cart Race. This is going to be a huge event for Geelong, and the club is seeking help to join the committee and help with the coordinating. If you are interested – Please let me know.
Works have commenced on the toilet facilities at Christ Church. The Rotary Club of Bayside is coordinating this work and are seeking any interested people to assist with the working bees on the toilet facilities restoration.
Christ Church currently do catering for those in need, particularly the homeless folk, around Geelong, preparing meals and feeding many people each week.
Christ Church would like to offer their venue and services for other functions. To be able to do this, the toilet facilities need restoring.
If you would like to be involved with this project and lend a hand – please let me know.
Assistant Governor Vici announced they are seeking interest from people aged 18-35 to join a Rotaract Club. There is a new Rotaract Club being chartered in Geelong. See the fliers and information later in the bulletin.
If you know of any person who would like to attend an information evening, or would like further information, please email A.G Vici v.funnell@bigpond.com or let me know.
I have spoken with Graeme Fisher, District Chair of End Trachoma and have arranged to deliver to him, in Camperdown, used stamps and any unwanted hearing aids. Please ask around, and either bring along to Rotary, drop off to Kelly in her office, or drop off to me any used stamps and hearing aids. I will take them to Graeme later this month.
Kelly has one load of goods ready for Donations In Kind. Thank you to everyone who has donated to date – and to Kelly for storing.
Please continue to drop off to Kelly in her Kithbrooke Park office, stationary items to go to Lucy Loco’s school project in PNG. Lucy is collecting items for the Stationary Drive, for Lese Oalai school in PNG.
Items being requested are Pens, Pencils, erasers, notepads, notebooks, exercise books, reading books, for early school age children.
Ask around family and friends for any unwanted Reading or Optical Glasses no longer required. We are collecting these and will pass them onto the Lions Club of Torquay. Martin Duke is coordinating this project. Please see or contact Martin for any further information.
See you all Monday when we welcome District Governor John Clue along.
As I have mentioned in previous weeks – following a short address from DG John, he will open up to members partners and guests for questions, comments, suggestions, and information to learn more about us, the members, and our club.
BNI @Rotary-A Great Collaboration Monday night saw us meeting in person at Kithbrooke Park Country Club, which is proving to be a really terrific venue for us to hold our meetings.
The theme of the evening was “What is BNI?” It stands for Business Networking International and I represent the Rotary Club of Torquay under the ‘Charity Chair’ in the local Coastal Connections chapter. We were lucky to have Helen Searle, Director of BNI Melbourne West Geelong as main speaker. This currently comprises 15 chapters from Williamstown through to Torquay and up to Ballarat. Helen gave us the history of the organisation whose founder, Dr Ivan Misener, was also a Rotarian. There are quite a lot of similarities as any Rotarian who has attended a BNI meeting would have picked up on!
We also had BNI member & Anglesea Lion, John Morrison from Gold Financial speak as a founding member of BNI Coastal Connections. John provided a summary of how the chapter began and what it’s done for him and his business.
Following we had Rotarians Simon Egan (Your Local Window Cleaning) & Carla Egan (The Coaching Directory) tell us about their journeys in BNI and how it’s helped their businesses succeed.
Finally we did a quick Q&A with Ben Hutchesson (Mulcahy & Co Accounting) current Vice President, and the newest member of the chapter, Paul Snow (Wisewould Mahoney Solicitors) which provided more insight into why people join BNI.
After the formalities ended a large number of people continued to chat and exchange details so it was a fabulous evening of information and making new connections.
It would be great if members could support BNI by attending as a guest at some stage during the year. BNI Coastal Connections meet at 7.15am Thursday morning’s at the Torquay Football Clubrooms (free coffee van and light finger food breakfast provided) or online using Zoom.
Could you be a friend to an international student studying in Geelong? Study Geelong is looking for local residents in the Geelong region to participate in the program and help show an international student what a friendly, amazing place Geelong is. The program lasts for 12 weeks and is NOT a live-in program.
Study Geelong runs a couple of events for all participants, but it is up to participants to arrange when and how they will catch-up during the program. It has been challenging for many students being isolated and away from their families and friends back home.The International Friends Program provides an opportunity for locals to show that we are a welcoming and inclusive community. You can develop friendships with students from around the world, enjoy sharing your favourite places to go in Geelong, the Australian culture, language, food and your interests and hobbies. You will also learn about another culture and develop intercultural skills.
If interested please apply before 31 July. There will be an online orientation session on 11 August at 5.30pm and you will meet the student you have been matched with at the Kick-Off event, 5.30pm on 23August. For further information and to apply go to http://studygeelong.com.au/international-friends-program
Don Shields, is Club President & Membership Director of The Rotary Club of Geelong Central.
Don writes …
Simone was a guest speaker at Geelong Central several months ago, and as a result of which I volunteer with Study Geelong, and I am currently mentoring a final year Construction Management student at Deakin. KP is from Gujarat in India, loves cricket and on return to India, will work in his father’s Construction company. KP was looking for mentoring on the “soft skills”, and as a result on a monthly basis we meet to discuss the practical side of dealing with people and leading them.
On return to India KP will know about Rotary too, and hopefully, his family’s company can install donated playgrounds in Gujarat. Its not a great deal of time required, and I commend the program to you and your members.
Rhonda Anchen has now had two zoom meetings with Simone and members of this program. Rhonda writes the following ….
Just an update to the status re the International Student Program.
I had a Zoom interview with Simone on Wednesday and the next phase is a Zoom orientation session Aug 11 which covers the guidelines and parameters of the program. Simone and her team then do a ‘perfect match’ and I get to meet our student FtF on Aug 23. The program runs for 12 weeks with the option to continue the friendship if both parties are keen. The program looks extremely well organised.
Simone and I discussed networking opportunities for ‘our’ student and I was wondering if others would be keen to join a bush walk or activity. Obviously an invitation to one of our more interesting Rotary meetings will be extended to our student.
Please contact Rhonda for further information and how to join them on the next zoom meeting.
Lucy’s Stationery drive for PNG – an easy non-pandemic restricted overseas aid program for Rotary Clubs in D9780
During our meeting on Monday, it was mentioned and discussed what stationery is required for the Donations-in-Kind/Peter Nathan Loko Foundation program to the Lese Oalai school in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea.
John Oswald has kindly clarified the requirements, and wishes, of the project ------
Lucy is primarily looking for educational books for children in the early elementary grades, I would imagine 5-8 years of age.
In the attached letter she specifies young children’s reading books, stationery and books to write in, pencils, rubbers, anything at all which could be used by a 5-8 year old in a learning environment.
If you can assist with donating any of the mentioned items, or have any further thoughts or suggestions, please contact Kelly or John Oswald. They will arrange to collect the items, and see they are passed on. Lucy will be most grateful for all items collected.
Children in Victoria are provided with new stationery at the start of the year, each year, and old stationery is recycled. Old stationery is consigned to the Rubbish Bin!
If your club would like to help, could you collect any used junior school-books, exercise books, pencils, rubbers and other educational aids from your local schools, and forward them to Lucy Loko at Donations-in-Kind, which has an open shed on Tuesday mornings.
Life in rural and remote Papua New Guinea as it really is:
Very little education
Malnutrition
Unsafe drinking water
Poor health and consequently low life expectancy
Unsatisfactory shelter and clothing
Little access to income-earning opportunities
Unavailability of services beyond the most basic level
With a good education things don’t need to be that way.
Help Lucy to help our very deserving neighbours get out
of this cycle of poverty. Teach them to read!
Rtn Lucy Loko comes from the Gulf Province in PNG.
She is these days a member of the Rotary Club of Geelong,
extraordinary connections in Port Moresby. She is an artist
with Zoom and uses her family to martial support there.
This gives us an excellent opportunity to direct aid to needy
sites in PNG.
Rtn Lucy has been seeking to supply schools in the Gulf Province of PNG with basic school items for some time. The children virtually have no books to read, no books to write in, no pencils, no rubbers, No anything. Not even satisfactory school rooms. She started out helping the Lese Oalai School, Gulf Province, but was flooded with requests from 40 other schools.
The International Committee of the Rotary Club of Torquay
decided to help Lucy gather used stationery from schools
in our area. The demands for Lucy’s aid swelled, and Lucy
gained support from schools in the Sunbury area.
The Rotary Club of Bayside Geelong offered to come in
as well, and they now too are busy collecting used stationery
from schools. So soon, if support can be continued, we
could fill a container with educational material, use
Donations-in-Kind to get it to PNG, then use Lucies contacts
to get it to Lese Oalai school, and they would then distribute
those items to not only their own school, but to the 40 or so
Lucy/DIK has just seen off a container to the Gulf Provinces of Papua New Guinea. The shipping list, is staggering, Click Here to view the list, with obvious lines of delivery to schools and Aid posts in various parts of the gulf Province. It will take 2 (by sea) to get to Papua New Guinea, then it will sit at PNG Customs wharf for 7 days for clearance. Then the Peter Nathan Loko Foundation partner, GFS Customs will pick up container, organize with Foundation volunteers to unload and start distributing! There will be lots of happy faces; Lucy has instructed her volunteers to take lots of photos!
Our Rotary Club has been involved with many of these donations. The list is worth looking at.
Donations-in-Kind has shipped off 9 containers in the last year, 2 to Vanuatu, 4 to Papua New Guinea and 3 to Sri Lanka! Wow!
Our next project with Donations-in-Kind is to help the Rotary Club of Boroko get a container of schoolbooks (grades 1-8) for various sites in Papua New Guinea. More details later.
Following the wonderful reception from Orange Sky for the Coats and winter clothing donated by Rotarians, and the chilly winter that we are experiencing we are happy to continue collecting for them.
Please note that all the people receiving the coats are currently homeless and many have asked if there are any thermal pants or skivvies.
So please check your wardrobes and donate any warm skivvies or pants as well as coats which are always in demand.
I will do regular pickups from our central collection point in Torquay which the Birchalls have kindly agreed to do.
Hi my name is Cherie Pilkington and l am organising a trivia night on the 14 th August at Kardinia church to raise money for a beautiful five year old boy who had Nueroblastoma a cancer in children. His only option after extensive treatment here in Australia is to go overseas which will cost his family $300,000. I was wondering if you could support the evening by either booking a table of 8 or by making a donation . We are in desperate need of your help.
Please contact Greg Plumridge on 0418521321 if you are interested in getting a table together for this fundraiser.
Here's a challenge for everyone...….in these "different" times in which we are living there are more and more Clubs now holding on-line meetings so now it's easier than it's ever been to do a make-up.
You can do them from the comfort of your own home and you don't even have to get dressed up.
Let's have a club challenge to see who can do a make up form the most interesting city. Be sure to grab a screen shot of your meeting and send to me for the bulletin.
What a great way to meet other Rotarians from around the world and to find out how they are living through the COVID-19 lockdowns.
To make it easy the Rotary Club of Mount Lawley in WA have begun compiling a list of Clubs who are now holding On-Line Meetings to view the list click the link below.
Shekhar and Rashi Mehta at their home in Kolkata. Rashi painted the picture Mother and Child, behind her.
When I met Shekhar almost 20 years ago, he was busily manning a booth at the Rotary International Convention. His enthusiasm and energy in showcasing his club’s projects were infectious. A project man myself, I was inspired by the work exhibited at the booth. That casual encounter developed into a strong friendship.
Shekhar is a visionary leader. He always sees things others can’t. He envisaged a way to eradicate illiteracy in India by 2025 and designed the TEACH program (which stands for Teacher support, E-learning, Adult literacy, Child development, Happy school). He started the Shelter Kit project that now is in the vanguard of disaster relief in India. His Saving Little Hearts project, which provides heart surgeries to thousands of children, along with the more than 15 eye hospitals he helped establish, which have served hundreds of thousands, speaks to the scope of his dreams.
Ravi Vadlamani
Rotary Club of Guntur, India 2001-02 governor of District 3150
He has an exceptional talent for building teams and driving them to achieve their goals. Shekhar’s programs and ideas may seem larger than life, but he always walks the extra mile to make Rotarians feel at home.
His power of dreaming big is backed up by planning, perseverance, and patience. He’s an excellent communicator who connects with his audience instantly and can motivate people to move mountains. He is also a family man, ably supported by his spouse, Rashi.
Shekhar’s X factor as a leader? Nobody is able to say no to him when he asks for something.
District 9780 Governor for 2021-22 is John Clue from Rotary Club of Port Fairy
Melbourne has been announced as the host city for the 2023 Rotary International Convention, the largest conference secured this century for Victoria.
Melbourne is a Big Events City! Set to deliver over $88 million to the Victorian economy, the Convention is the most valuable conference ever won for the state, with the four-day event anticipated to attract more than 20,000 Rotarians from around the world. The global spotlight will be on Melbourne and how we present ourselves to the world.
The Convention will take place 27-31 May 2023 using Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre for functions.
Watch this Space for further news as it comes to hand.
No pics of her at the Tip of Aust but we'll assume she got there!
