2020-2021 Edition 39

 

District Governor's Message
Peace Symposium – The Future of Peace Leadership

For 100 years, Rotary in Australia has promoted the advancement of international, goodwill and peace through its many humanitarian aid and education programs. 

This centenary of peace building is worthy of celebration, but more importantly, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on what more we can do. The Future of Peace Leadership symposium scheduled for 21 and 22 April will see leaders in peace and conflict resolution providing perspectives on challenging global and domestic issues as well as discussions on how we can all contribute towards building a more peaceful world. I encourage all Rotarians to register for this online symposium via: https://peaceleadership.org.au/

During the week I enjoyed a wonderful visit with Rotary Toorak and was impressed by their warm reception and commitment to Rotary, especially through their generous donations to The Rotary Foundation and their key project, ‘Recycled Sound’. This initiative involves the collection, cleaning, reprogramming and recycling of hearing aids for those people in the community with a special need, but who are unable to meet the expense of hearing aids in the private market. I congratulate the Club on this innovative project.

On Wednesday 7th April, Professor John Skerritt, Deputy Secretary Commonwealth Department of Health, will be delivering an address for Rotary Melbourne’s Centenary Angus Mitchell Oration, a District 9800 supported event during this R100 year. Professor Skerritt, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, will be talking on “The Covid-19 pandemic response in Australia and the region: vaccines, medicines and masks…where to from here?” Again, I encourage Rotarians to book for this event, which promises to be very informative for these times.

With Easter nearly upon us, both Tricia and I extend our best wishes to you all for a wonderful, safe and happy break…may the bunny leave special surprises!

Please note that next week’s Networker will be a special edition focusing on our forthcoming Convention.

Enjoy the week ahead in giving service above self and again, have a very happy Easter.

Rotary District 9800 Governor Philip Archer

Paul Harris Quote of the Week

Rotary must make haste even to keep up; but we must do more, we must lead.

Message to 1917 RI Convention, Atlanta, Georgia 

Rotary delivers support for Victorian cancer patients

Four new regional myeloma support groups established

The ROMP Committee of the Rotary Club of Camberwell is delighted to report that four new myeloma support groups have recently been created in regional Victoria – in Horsham, Bairnsdale, Warrnambool and Mildura - for the benefit of their local communities.

There’s something about Rotary and acronyms. We love them and they are all around us, representing great Rotary service initiatives. Now RYLA, RYPEN, ROMAC and many more have been quietly joined by “ROMP”. The Rotary Outreach Myeloma Program is a major on-going program of the Rotary Club of Camberwell (with the support of many regional Rotary clubs) in collaboration with Myeloma Australia, the only myeloma specific charity in Australia.

Since 2019, Rotary clubs in regional Victoria have been joining the monthly ROMP Forum, promoting knowledge of myeloma – a type of blood cancer that has no cure – and supporting members of their own communities that are living with the myeloma disease.

The ROMP initiative seeks to ensure that people in regional Victoria who are living with myeloma have access to the same quality information and support services that are provided in Melbourne and other capital cities.

A core ROMP aim is to ensure that every myeloma patient regardless of their address has access to a myeloma support group led by a qualified myeloma nurse…
 “No myeloma patient is to live more than one hour from a myeloma support group.”

There are now Myeloma Australia support groups in each of the nine geographic regions of country Victoria, and giving access to support families that are touched by myeloma.

If you would like to know more, visit: https://www.romp100.org/

Facebook  (and please click “Like”): https://www.facebook.com/Myeloma2021

Re-Engaging Members Post COVID-19

By Rowan McClean

Following are some tips to consider when re-engaging your Club’s members post lockdown:

  • Allocate missing members to individuals for contact
  • Hold a special club dinner or event outside the normal venue to celebrate the Centenary of Rotary in Australia (21st April)
  • Offer a free “return dinner/lunch/breakfast”
  • Set up a special club review event to plan the way ahead
  • Arrange blockbuster speakers and invite partners
  • Set up special sub groups for coffee, golf, bowls, days for girls sewing, or book reading
  • Conduct excursions (e.g. winery or nursery visits, a Maribyrnong or Yarra boat trip, dinner at the Parliament dining room, State Library visit, a film night) 
  • Negotiate better arrangements with your venue and seek their ideas for jazzing up meetings 
  • Offer attendance cost relief in some form 
  • Run a trivia night
  • Hold a club dinner at Donations In Kind
  • Organise a debate with a local high school
  • Conduct a consultation night to plan improvements 
  • Conduct some “sign-up Fridays” - perhaps coffee with prospective members and two existing members.
Rich Rewards from a Diverse Rotary Journey

By Rowan McClean

Anne Peace was teaching at a small country school in Victoria when she was invited to join Rotary 30 years ago. She has since been an incredible contributor and, in AFL parlance, she uses effective teamwork and has been a dominant force “all over the ground”.

A networker and mentor, Anne is well-known to many Rotarians in different clubs.  She stresses her personal return from Rotary has far outweighing the input of effort.  Anne says: “Rotary presents opportunities to use your personal skills and, combined with the competencies of others, that is a powerful force.”

A past Assistant Governor and President of Echuca-Moama Club in 1999-2000, Anne is now a member of Rotary Bendigo South. She is quick to acknowledge the achievements of other clubs with which she has collaborated.

With interest in the Arts, Anne, along with several Balwyn Rotarians, was actively involved in starting the Balwyn youth concert band; together with Greg Penno, she initiated “Storm the Stage’, a Rotary project that has launched many artistic careers; has loved being involved in the Rotary in Harmony concerts last year during lockdown; and, she conducts a monthly Rotary Radio program.

With Rotary Bendigo South, Anne advised the club has been involved with a project for Asia Pacific children to receive surgery for physical malformations and, recently, with a relief program for Cambodian villagers devastated by the decline in tourism. Another project has seen the club obtain seeds from Gippsland farmers and build shade houses to propagate trees from the seeds so that local farmers can re-establish their forests and wildlife corridors.

Anne has helped organise District 9800 showcases to the public, and promoted and supported a range of programs including Days for Girls and Seven Women.  With others, she established the first Foodbank in Bendigo and the Timor Leste Friendship Group, which works with Donations In Kind to send supplies to Timor Leste. Another highlight for Anne has been projects with Malaysian special schools. When Camp Getaway commenced, Anne was there. She has organised Group Study Exchanges, and helped start the Kew Opportunity Shop with Jill Forsyth. The diverse list of projects in which Anne has been involved could go on and on.

Her commitment to others and her networking are key stand-outs. She says being in Rotary “has been an absolute privilege”.

Anne gets my vote as “Best on Ground”.  In fact her club voted her “best and fairest” in 2015 with a Max Ellis Award.

Meet Rotary Daylesford’s New Member, Chris Soper

By John Granger

When Arwon won the 1978 Melbourne Cup, ‘interest’ stories filtered through. Arwon is Nowra spelt backwards. So, Nowra, famous for its blowhole on the NSW south coast and for producing Archer, the first Melbourne Cup winner in 1861 (and 1862), had struck again … a mere 116 years later! Archer’s sire was owned in the Nowra district by the forbears of Chris Soper.

Recently inducted into the Rotary Club of Daylesford, Chris advises that the family still lives in the Nowra district. It’s been a long journey for Chris – primary school in Nowra and then secondary school in leafy Bowral. He then moved to Sydney and lived in historical Drummoyne – then and now, a trendy, near-CBD suburb – and commenced work as a hospital orderly at Concord West Hospital.

Chris met his partner Malcolm, a computer scientist, in 1987 and the couple moved to Daylesford in 2002. Why Daylesford? Actually, it was a magazine article that prompted their first visit and they were hooked almost immediately. As Chris says, “We just kept coming back.” The spectacular country, the wineries the dining options in a ‘feel good’, close-knit town meant that all boxes were ticked.  

For Chris, Daylesford and the Rotary Club of Daylesford have met and exceeded expectations. He’s found a very considerate community and club that values its older residents and looks to assisting those in need; dovetailing perfectly with Chris’s view of the world … helping the community’s less fortunate members is his raison d’être. Rotary membership for him was a natural progression, and as he says: “It was the genuine article - Rotary really cares.”

Many of us have an image of homelessness as just a city problem. It’s not, and the access to assistance is limited. Among Chris’ many forays into helping alleviate hardship is the provision and distribution of blankets throughout the Hepburn shire ... even as far as Malmsbury, Clunes and Creswick.   

Chris Soper is committed and resourceful. He has also completed qualifications in remedial massage to supplement the therapies he brings to the community. Together with the Rotary Club of Daylesford, Chris‘ selfless efforts to assist the elderly and the disadvantaged will continue and Nowra has provided Victoria with yet another winner. 

Behind the Lens - Rotarian Bronwyn Fanning Snaps Opportunities

Many Networker readers have seen her dashing about for a better camera angle at one of the conferences, district assemblies or other events over the past decade, but how many know Bronwyn Fanning?

With parents who were teachers, and her dad a Rotarian, Bronwyn had a head start in the world of Rotary. After participating in a Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly (RYLA) in 1994, Bronwyn became aware of a new Rotaract club being formed in Altona City. Her interest led to her becoming a charter member and then on to holding almost every possible position in the club, including being President twice and District Rotaract Representative – the “DG of Rotaract”.

Bronwyn assisted the club with several fun theatre/restaurant mystery nights and was a leader on 20 Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) activities. She is still on the District RYPEN committee and is Rotaract Chair.

Asked why the other Rotaractors didn’t join Rotary, Bronwyn replied: “Time, cost, and probably most importantly, they were never asked!” 

As a Rotaractor, Bronwyn met a lot of people at conferences and was subsequently approached by a number of clubs to join.  However, she decided on the one that sponsored her Rotaract club, Altona City.

Most young people have causes to which they want to contribute. “They have individual priorities and we need to listen to their passions to see if Rotary can accommodate them,” advised Bronwyn, going on to say, “Young people are attracted to causes rather than organisations. Not all of them want to have a chicken dinner once a week.”

Bronwyn believes that Environmental Sustainability and Peace are macro issues that will be attractive to some younger people, and that Rotary needs flexible structures to involve them.

“Clubs also need to engage with them…like inviting past members to be involved in programs such as Clean Up Australia Day. There is a new Youth Hub initiative through Facebook, which will try to interest them in Rotary,” Bronwyn advises.

“I’ve had satisfaction from opportunities to serve, especially RYLA and Rotaract, and some of my best friends are people I have met through Rotaract and Rotary,” Bronwyn said.

Asked how she got behind the lens, Bronwyn remembered how she became interested after one of her high school teachers took a lot of photos. Bronwyn bought herself a camera and has not looked back.

The Brighton North Story

By John Granger

It started with Franco Cozzo and ‘Foot-es-cray’, but today ‘Braahton’ has a solid claim as our most intentionally mispronounced suburb name. Is it fair? Certainly not! But, there’s always humour and history – such as, the cringing ‘Social Pages’ photo ops of yester-year and the Prue and Trude parodies in the ‘Kath & Kim’ series. However, the cloaked slings and arrows mask a bigger picture and Brighton rises above it all.

In short, Brighton is a great place to live – close to the city, spacious and green with boutique shopping and proximity to the beach. After the original land purchase by Henry Dendy (2,070 ha) in 1840, Brighton quickly developed and, within 20 years, rail links were in place and all Christian denominations were cementing the word at impressively built churches. Brighton beaches saw the advent of segregated bathing and the iconic bathing boxes – now relocated and colourfully painted, ever ready for the annual winners of the Grand Prix, Tennis Open and Melbourne Cup. But it hasn’t always been idyllic in Brighton waters – in 1930, a shark took a man off Brighton Pier. Today, Bay Street buzzes, but there are still architectural and social hints of gentler times with some older identities possibly lamenting the passing of ‘deb’ balls.

The Rotary Club of Brighton North was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Brighton and chartered on 29th March 1985. The Club is very active and engages in all aspects of Rotary service. This month, together with Rotary Melbourne, Brighton North hosted the Women in Rotary virtual event, which was streamed to over 4,000 people throughout Australia, NZ and beyond. Speakers included NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and Jennifer Jones (RI President- Elect 2022-23). This week, in a joint project with Rotary Glenferrie, 33 Brighton North members returned from a trip to Bairnsdale, where they focused on assisting the bushfire ravaged community of nearby Sarsfield. The trip complemented global and district grants from Rotary, as well as hands-on engagement by Rotarians.

Last November, the Club held its second ‘Larry’s Lunch’ to celebrate International Men’s Day and aims at promoting and educating attendees on men’s health and happiness. Funds raised were forwarded to Youth Suicide Awareness and TLC for Kids. Brighton North’s next major event, the Garden DesignFest in November 2021, will be held in conjunction with the Rotary clubs of Central Melbourne and Kew. Held over two weekends, it focuses on professionally landscaped private gardens with designers also on hand to enhance the experience for visitors. The plan is to open 50 gardens across Victoria, and involve 10 Rotary clubs across 3 Districts in the staging of the event. Garden DesignFest has raised over $600,000 since 2004. 

Brighton North Rotary meets at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, 253 Esplanade, Middle Brighton on Thursdays at 6.30pm – a venue of charm and history (interestingly, the club of our first America’s Cup skipper, Jock Sturrock).

Rotary Heritage And History International Fellowship

By Helena Wimpole

The Rotary Heritage and History International Fellowship commenced in 1988 at the Rotary International Convention in Philadelphia, USA. The main objective of this Fellowship is to advocate and promote the collection of Rotary heritage and history, including physical artefacts and records.

The RHHIF, as it is known, is keen to keep alive the earliest memories of the mutual friendships created by Paul Harris, who practiced law in Chicago, and with three close friends established Rotary in 1905. Today, the Rotary Club of Chicago is known as Rotary/One.

The Rotary International Headquarters at Evanston houses a variety of Rotary memorabilia, including a replica of Paul Harris’ Chicago office and the famous Room 711 in which the first Rotary club meeting took place. A group of dedicated Rotarians had relocated the furniture and contents of the room to Evanston from the Chicago Unity Building before it was demolished. Rotary’s headquarters has a life-size statue of Paul Harris, hands outstretched in a greeting gesture to visitors. This statue was given to Rotary International by two generations of Japanese artists and Rotarians. The founder of Rotary in Japan actually gave the statue’s head to Paul Harris in 1935.

In 2005, the year of Rotary’s centenary celebration, the RHHIF were able to secure the title of Comely Bank, the former home of Rotary’s founder. Following renovations, the aim is to possibly use this building as a Rotary presidential library and museum, available for tours and other appropriate uses.    

If you happen to be in Chicago, a half-day visit by car to Racine, Wisconson, can take you past the home where Paul Harris was born in 1868. He died in 1947 and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, near Blue Island, Chicago. The Paul Harris Memorial Committee, an affiliate member of the RHHIF, has erected a Presidential Memorial Walkway honouring all Presidents of Rotary International. The Paul Harris Memorial Committee, an Affiliate member of the Rotary Heritage and History Fellowship, has erected a Presidential Memorial Walkway, honouring all presidents of Rotary International. It is under the care of the Rotary Club of Blue Islands and can be visited by contacting the club.

For more information visit: https://www.rhhif.org/

Weekly Tip

Every two minutes a child somewhere in the world dies from water-related disease. Through water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, Rotary's people of action mobilise resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change. Can your club contribute to the effort?

 
Angus Mitchell Oration - Prof. John Skerritt
Peace Leadership - Online Symposium

Morning Tea with the DG April 2021
Upcoming Events
 
For upcoming events for all clubs and District, please visit:
https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/Events/Cards
 
or join our Facebook group
 
Rotary District 9800 Inc.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
 
Comments / Questions & Support in producing Networker and keeping our club and district websites
up-to-date are always welcome.  Contact us at networker@rotarydistrict9800.org.au.