President Andrew Crockett keeps us up-to-date on what's going on behind the scenes:Board meetings, forthcoming events, and of course his "Thought for the Week"
Happy reading!
Vacant Board positions in 2022/23
I will be writing to mem
bers shortly about two key positions we need to fill on next year’s Board.
bers shortly about two key positions we need to fill on next year’s Board.The position of President-elect must be filled if we are to have someone ready to take over as President when my second 12-month term ends in June 2023. The Club Rules do not allow a member to serve as President for more than two consecutive years.
The position of Secretary has become vacant next year after the Secretary-elect had to relinquish the position due to study and other commitments.
These two roles can be, and often are, combined since the President-elect has no specific portfolio duties.
I would also like to have a Membership director on next year’s Board to take pressure off the Secretary by managing the recruitment of new members.
I make a plea to all members who have been in the Club for at least 12 months and have not previously held these positions, to consider joining the Board next year in one or more of these positions.
Board meeting
The Board holds its monthly meeting this evening and has three items of special business.
The Board will consider the Awards Committee’s recommendations for recognition of members for services to the Club. The awards will be announced at the Changeover Dinner on 25 June.
The Club has been asked to take over from Rotary Southbank as host club for Rotary Safe Families (RSF). The co-founder of RSF, Dorothy Gilmour, spoke about RSF at a Club meeting last November and has been our guest at several Club meetings this year. Dorothy is transferring her membership from Rotary Southbank to Rotary Hawthorn. The Board will consider the resourcing implications of becoming the RSF host club.
We will also be discussing the development of a strategy to attract new Club members.
Forthcoming Club events
- Anzac Day lunch on Tuesday 26 April
- Burwood Brickworks Shopping Complex tour and lunch on Tuesday 10 May. Further details shortly.
- Home Hosting event Saturday 14 May. Details will be available shortly.
District Conference
It’s not too late to join the 
15 Club members and partners who will be attending the District Conference at Albury from 22 to 24 April.
15 Club members and partners who will be attending the District Conference at Albury from 22 to 24 April. You can win a free night’s accommodation if you register by 14 April, and first-timers pay a reduced fee of $330. Further information is on the District Conference website.
Please let David Pisterman know if you decide to register.
Until we meet at the Anzac Day lunch on 26 April have a pleasant Easter and stay safe and well.
President Andrew
Thought for the Week
Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight. I thought this reflection by the second person to travel into space was appropriate given the increasing fragility of planet earth and the conflict in Ukraine and elsewhere.
I realized up there that our planet is not infinite. It's fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it's tough that people are fighting each other here on Earth instead of trying to get together and live on this planet. We look pretty vulnerable in the darkness of space.
– Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard (1923-1998) was the first American, and second person after Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961, to travel into space. On May 5, 1961 Shepard travelled in a Mercury spacecraft 116 miles above the earth and back again. The spacecraft was not capable of going into orbit and the flight lasted just 15 ½ minutes. Gagarin’s flight in Vostok 1 took 1 hour 29 minutes, reached a height of 187 miles, and included one orbit of the earth. Shepard's second spaceflight was on 15 February 1971 when he commanded the Apollo 14 mission to the moon.
Following Apollo 14, Shepard returned to his position as Chief of the Astronaut Office and in July 1971 President Richard Nixon appointed him as a delegate to the 26th United Nations General Assembly. The same year Shepard was promoted to rear admiral. He retired from NASA and the Navy in 1974.