While February is the shortest month it seems to have flown by which means I am one month closer to the end of this amazing year.
Highlights for February are as follows:
- I completed 3 more official club visits to bring the total to 28 out of 61 including the Rotary Melbourne Manila
- I was able to visit the BusyFeet program run by Chadstone/East Malvern and see the impact it has on not only the attendees and their parents but also those who run it
- I went to Bendigo on Valentines Day to attend the Bendigo South Fundraising Dinner which also showcased Rotary to non Rotarians
- I got to acknowledge several members at Central Melbourne for their years of service milestones
- I got to hear about the impact to farmers and others in the Warrnambool area thanks to a project run by Brighton & Brighton North aided by a Foundation Grant to provide toys and other supplies to those affected by the drought prior to Christmas
- I finally got to attend a meeting at my own club Altona which gave me the opportunity to tell them about my year so far
- I got to attend another milestone event with Essendon North celebrating their 50th Anniversary
- Attended the debrief of Youth Exchange Students and officially welcome home Siena, Matisse, Eloise and Jay
We have been fortunate not to have too many hot days and more importantly any more bushfires, but the work following the events earlier this year continues. Castlemaine continues to provide support to Harcourt and they are the best point of contact to determine assistance.
At the same time I am aware various clubs are collecting items requested in an email from Colleen that can go to DIK for distribution and last but not least the new VicERN is starting to acquire various items and has made its first delivery to Harcourt. If you want to support the recovery but not sure how perhaps taking a trip to Harcourt on March 7 to attend Applefest as an option and you can then travel on to Rochester to attend the wonderful Songs at the Silos in the evening. Congratulations to the reformed Rotary Overseas Relocated Playgrounds project which completed their first collection and safely stored the dismantled equipment. If you are keen to get involved get in contact with Flemington/Kensington who are co ordinating.
Finally it is now time to get your booking in for the Multi District Conference in Horsham from March 27-29. I know many of you have already booked accommodation but now you need to book in. While we have many great speakers and events planned we now have the great honour of having Past Rotary International President and incoming Chair of the Rotary Foundation Jennifer Jones as the Rotary International President's Representative. Dinner on the Saturday night will be Paddock to Plate with a very rural feel and a dress code of comfort to enjoy the evening. So to make your booking while there are still spaces available, please go to https://events.humanitix.com/multi-district-summit-2026 and get booked in.
Unite for Good
Peter Shepheard
