John and Barbara have run the Rotary organisational gauntlet, calling for persistence and dedication.
In 1969, John was told by Rotary he did not qualify as a member because he was a tradesman and only business owners, managers and professional people could join. Seven years later he bought a newsagency and joined Rotary St Albans.
Over the following fifteen years, John completed a number of FAIM (now Rotary Australia World Community Service) school projects in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Western Samoa where he met a Bishop, Arch Bishop and a Cardinal. He was hoping to do a similar project in Rome where he might have had afternoon tea with the Pope!
Rotary St Albans was very active, albeit a small club, and big achievements included funding a local hydrotherapy pool for the disabled and a bicycle traffic education centre at Green Gully, each costing $100,000.
John became Club President in 1993/94 and recruited 11 new members, including his wife Barbara who went on to help prepare a matching grant with their two Rotary sister clubs located in Shiroi, Japan, and Kishorenganj in Bangladesh to fund a toilet block and a medical /community centre in Bangladesh. In 1997, the Rafters ran a very successful Presidents-elect Training Seminar (PETS) by themselves.
In the same year, St Albans Club was renamed Brimbank Central, and Barbara assisted with the transition. She then became the first female Club President 1999/2000.
Rotary International conventions have proven a big hit with both John and Barbara. After being so impressed with their first convention in Melbourne in 1993, the following year they went to the Taipei convention and have now been to 12 conventions.
At the 2006 Copenhagen convention, delegates were urged to promote the Paul Harris Society in their Districts. On their return, John and Barbara asked then-D9800 Governor Bernie Walsh to form a society (the first in Australia), and John was appointed administrator. John then made contact with other Zone 8 Governors resulting in six Paul Harris Societies being formed by the end of 2009.
It was a sad duty that Barbara performed in overseeing the closure of Rotary Brimbank Central in 2018, with most remaining members joining Rotary Keilor East. Both Barbara and John were both inducted to the club that year. John deeply regretted the loss of Brimbank Central given he had been so heavily involved for 44 years. However, today he can happily say “our club” when describing Keilor East.
Their message is: “Fellowship creates club families wanting to help others. Let’s not lose it.”