This is my first post as President of the Rotary Club of Hawthorn and I look forward to working with all our members and friends to make 2021/22 a successful year in which the Club ‘Serves to Change Lives’.
Thirty members and guests attended today Club meeting at which our guest speaker was Marius Smith, the CEO of VACRO. I was delighted that Marius was able to accept an invitation to speak at my first Club meeting as President, since I am a strong supporter of VACRO’s work with prisoners transitioning from prison to society and have been on VACRO’s board since 2016.Marius spoke of the disadvantages that are the underlying cause of so many people entering the correctional system, and the range of services VACRO’s provides to prisoners and their families during the challenging transition from prison back into the community. These services - especially help with housing and employment - are vital in reducing rates of recidivism and inter-generational offending. The work done by VACRO and similar not-for-profit organisations, using government and philanthropic funding, is a sound investment in the safety and wellbeing of society generally.
A report on Marius’s talk appears later in this Bulletin.
Birthdays and anniversaries
Seven Club members will have celebrated birthdays between our last Club meeting and our next meeting on 20 July. Many happy returns to Bill Troedel (23 June), Julie Collette and Ian Hamilton (26 June), Bernie Walshe (6 July), Jane Drury (7 July), David McNamara (14 July) and Ian Bentley (17 July).
July marks the anniversary of joining Rotary Hawthorn for several of our members - congratulations to Gordon Cheyne (48 years), Jill Weeks (20 years) and Phil Stewart (16 years). July also marks my own more modest second anniversary.
Forthcoming District and Club events
- The postponed District Changeover lunch will be held at Essendon Fields on Saturday 10 July.
- An important date to have in your calendars is the opening of the Rotary Centenary Park at Yarra Bank Reserve on 8 August from 12.00 noon to 3.00 p.m.
- The President’s Drinks Party will be held on Sunday 15 August (Covid restrictions permitting). In the event of continuing restrictions on the number of visitors in private homes, the event will be postponed.
- I am having coffee with Andrew Tait, the President of Hawthorn Community Chest later this week to talk about opportunities for our two organisations to work together.
Strategic planning update
I’ve nearly completed an ana
lysis of the results of the strategic planning survey sent to members at the end of May. After the analysis has been reviewed by the Strategic Development Committee and Board, I’ll circulate it to members.
lysis of the results of the strategic planning survey sent to members at the end of May. After the analysis has been reviewed by the Strategic Development Committee and Board, I’ll circulate it to members.The next stage of the planning process will take place at Avenue of Service level. Each Avenue of Service Committee will meet to discuss the survey results and what ideas from the survey should be taken up and incorporated in the Club’s service plans for each Avenue of Service over the next four years.
If you have not already nominated to join an Avenue of Service Committee this year, and would like to participate in the development of Avenue of Service plans, please notify the relevant director of your interest this week.
A distillation of each committee’s service goals and priorities will then be incorporated in a draft Strategic Plan for 2021-2024.
In the final planning stage, Club members will be asked to provide feedback on the draft plan before it is finalised and approved by Board.
2021/22 Board meetings
The Board will continue to meet on the second Tuesday of the month, although this month’s meeting will be postponed to 20 July so that some of us can attend Rotary Glenferrie’s Changeover Dinner next Tuesday.
I’ll provide a report on the outcome of the Board meeting at the 27 July Club meeting.
A feature of most Club meetings in future will be a short update from one of the Avenue of Service directors on activities they have planned.
Avenue of Service reports
The Club Service and Foundation director Charlotte England outlined some of the activities the social and fundraising committees have planned for the Club this year.
Youth Service director Geoff Wright spoke about the mock interview program for Year 9 and 10 students at Auburn High School and the next round of interviews which will be on Wednesday 4 August. We need at least 24 members and volunteers to act in pairs as interviewers. Please contact Geoff if you are able to help.
Next Club meeting 20 July 2021
The speaker at the next Club meeting on 20 July will be Maria Berry of the Hush Foundation. Maria is an educator and advocate for Elder Abuse awareness and education, and the Hush Foundation, in partnership with Rotary Melbourne, runs a program to make healthcare workplaces kinder for staff, patients and their families.
The Front Desk team at the next meeting will be Henry Drury and Richard Logan, and Pam Crockett will be MC.
Stay well and safe and I look forward to seeing you on 20 July.
Quote of the Week
This week’s quote, being the first week of a new Rotary year, appropriately comes from Shekhar Mehta, the new President of Rotary International - "Serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own."