A tribute from Henry Drury, Hawthorn RotarianPast District Governor Bernie Walshe passed away in November. Bernie was a member of Rotary Hawthorn with the vocation of Financial Planner. But what a member! Inducted into the Club on 19 May 1992, he aptly started his Rotary journey as a member of the Fellowship committee helping to plan social events for the then 90 members.
What! We've run out of red wine?
Detailed dates and statistics can be mind-numbing so the following can only be a snapshot of some significant milestones in Bernie’s Rotary life.
He served on the Club Service and Program committees. He was the Bulletin Editor raising its profile by changing the name to The Hawker. Then variously served as Club Treasurer, Club Secretary and then the crescendo: Club President in 2001-02.
He actively encouraged the Club in all areas of service with particular attention to Youth: scholarships, MUNA, National Science Forum and Youth Exchange to name just a few activities.
Club service saw a splendid year of high attendance, excellent speakers, highly entertaining and profitable sergeants and dubious catering. Hawthorn then met at was then Hawthorn Football Social Club Rooms and much discussion was held about the merits of that catering with focus on the legendary formidable fat-filled sausages. Bernie loved those sausages!
The Rotary year of 2006-07 which had the slogan of “Lead the Way” was Bernie’s as District Governor. Well in advance he had booked the Canberra Conference Centre for the 9-11th March 2007 as the venue for the District Conference. Totally unexpectedly at the last minute the Centre cancelled that booking. No turning back saw heroic efforts with Bernie leading the way with the District conference committee in finding another venue for the event. The Australian Institute of Sport campus became the alternative setting for what was a memorable show, with the late inimitable Hawthorn Club member Tony Charlton as MC.
Needless to say, Bernie remained a committed Rotary Hawthorn member and after he stepped down as DG, enthusiastically involved himself in many activities including fund raising, chairing the Horizons Committee, occasional Club historian, Bulletin editor again and not least, a wonderful bon vivant member of the Club.