Our first Remember When column for the 2021 year comes from Rotarian Kerry Marglit who joined our Club on 19 June 2007. Thank you Kerry (Ed.)
I was invited to join the Rotary Club of Mt Eliza by Carolyn Such, who has remained a great mentor and friend. I had just moved to Frankston South in 2007 to ‘keep an eye’ on my very elderly parents and knew no one in the area. Rotary provided me with companionship and a way of attempting to make myself somewhat useful after retirement from teaching English and History at secondary school.
I initially involved myself in packing Rotary’s Christmas hampers. I suggested that some of the Christmas hampers could go to newly arrived refugees. The appalling experiences of one recipient, a family decimated in the Diamond War in Sierra Leone, was a revelation to me. Deaths, a serious medical issue and family separation, had shaken this large family. With Rotary’s help, Carolyn and I arranged corrective surgery for Thomas Sandy. Subsequently, after seeking expert advice and with the permission of the family, a letter was sent which may have assisted Mariama Sandy’s husband, their only surviving daughter and other family members to be eventually reunited in Australia from years of appalling circumstances in Ghana. Many of this hard-working family are staunch church goers and most are now employed in aged care in the local area.
One activity I really enjoyed (as something of a fossicker) were a series of Rotary fetes. These were conducted over some years. It was a lot of fun working together, setting up, selling and packing up. A huge range of personalities rocked up with their haggling. A lot of money was made and sore backs were something of a ‘badge of honour’. Similarly, Merrilyn Hamilton-Smith’s book sale, complete with horse float offered even my young grandson the chance to help with a broom at the end of the day. Merrilyn’s efforts over years were extraordinary. A particularly pleasant fund raiser was an evening picnic in Pentland Gardens. It was a lovely choice of location and ideal for such an occasion. Importantly, it raised funds for Rotary’s campaign to eradicate polio. Rotary’s health initiatives display Rotary at its most successful in my opinion. Working to support dedicated members who lead projects such as Interplast, . funding for Frankston Hospital and much more is what I really value. Disease, as it has recently displayed, is such an unambiguous enemy.
Hanne Falkiner’s school lunch deliveries also opened my eyes to poverty ‘right next door’. The numbers of kids without lunches meant heavy loads of sandwiches to be delivered – and this was before Covid 19.
As far as speakers go, who could forget Tim Acton’s production of a kipper out of a cold pack and his amazing role as a highly entertaining MC at our Melbourne Cup Dinners. Those who can raise a smile are worth their weight in gold. Covid has cramped our style but Rotary members support each other.
Apart from Zoom meetings, there have been phone calls, walks and that essential human contact, albeit with masks and distancing.
Over the passage of time, some members have had medical issues and others have passed away. The Club’s network of friendships has been strong at such tough times. No club can be a static entity. The ability and skills of new, younger and highly capable members, can teach me a thing or two. Our Club will inevitably emerge from Covid to grow and change. In the meantime, we will hang in there, apart but together.
