Posted by Andrew Crockett on Jun 28, 2022
President Andrew Crockett presented an Annual Report to Club Members at our Changeover Dinner on 25th June 2022.
 
Looking back on 2021/22
For a second year, lockdowns restricted our ability to provide normal services locally and overseas.   But it does our members and volunteers credit that we have, for a second year, worked around limitations imposed by Covid and ensured the Club has continued to thrive.  
Luckily, we were able to start the year with a face-to-face meeting on 6 July, but by our next meeting we were back into lockdown. And little did we think that we would not meet face-to-face again until November.  
While the resumption of face-to-face meetings late in 2021 proved to be short-lived, we managed to hold the AGM and Christmas dinner before the Omicron outbreak meant that when Club meetings resumed in the New Year, we met by Zoom until March. 
Lockdowns also meant that several Club events in the first half of the year were postponed and either held during the pre-Christmas reprieve, or held over to 2022.  
A big disappointment, after the amount of work our Club Service committees had put in, was the need to twice postpone our main annual fundraising event, the ‘Lift the Lid’ on mental illness lunch, which will now be held on 7 October.
Other fundraising events during the year went ahead. The Club’s team, The Hawkers Walkers, participated in The Rotary ‘Walk to End Polio’ in October and raised $5,369; our annual sale of Christmas produce raised an impressive $9,715; the Taverner’s raffle raised $495, and voluntary donations at Zoom meetings raised $5,700 - a total of $21,279.
Thanks to our Speaker Bank guru, Jill Weeks, Club meetings continued to be enriched by excellent guest speakers, while several of our members also informed and entertained us with ‘Member Behind the Badge’ talks. 
The Club’s Board dealt with some significant governance, policy and administrative issues during the year.  These included:
  • finalisation of the Club’s Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2025;
  • creating two new categories of Club membership – Country Membership and Senior Membership;
  • approving new policies for the recognition of notable service by members; and
  • revising the Club’s Privacy Policy to ensure compliance with our legal obligations.  
The Rotary Club of Hawthorn Survey Street Trust Fund underwent changes during the year with two of its long-serving directors retiring and two more Club members appointed to replace them.  The Trust Fund’s new board is reviewing the Fund’s investment policies to improve its capacity to generate revenue for Club projects.
 
The Club also notched up several Avenue of Service achievements during the year.  
  • Led by Youth Service Director Geoff Wright, we strengthened our relationship with Auburn High School where we provide a simulated job interview program and financial assistance to students to complete secondary schooling and participate in external programs such as the National Youth Science Forum, the Santos Science Experience program and the Model United Nations Assembly.
  • Due to the efforts of Katrina Flinn and the Community Service team, the Club took over as the lead Club in the ‘Small Comforts from the Community’ Consortium that sources, packs and supplies care packs, clothing, and other needs for mental health inpatients at the Alfred and Box Hill hospitals.  
  • While for the second year Covid precluded holding our traditional Community Christmas lunch for isolated residents of Boroondara, we again distributed Christmas Gift packs to those who would normally attend the lunch.  
  • The Club also took advantage of the District’s bulk purchase of RAT kits to donate 100 kits to Camcare which have been distributed to people in need through their Emergency Assistance program.
  • Later in the year we were honoured to become host club for the national Rotary Safe Families program.
  • On the international front the Kampong Speu Hospital project in Cambodia got underway with the construction of new surgical wing.  The Club’s role in the project will be to help equip and maintain the facility. 
  • Noel Halford and his Vocational Services team organised highly interesting tours of the Port of Melbourne, Australia’s largest container terminal, and the world’s first sustainable shopping complex at the Burwood Brickworks.  They also wrote weekly articles for the Club Bulletin on vocational topics. 
 
Other highlights of the year were the opening of the Rotary centenary playground at Yarra Bank Reserve, a lunch marking David Corrigan’s retirement after 47 years as a Club member, the Club’s International Women’s Day Breakfast and the Anzac Day lunch.
None of these activities and events would have been possible without the commitment and hard work of Club members who go the extra mile to raise funds, serve our communities and promote Club fellowship. 
 
Looking forward to 2022/23
As I enter my second year as President one of my aims is to reach more people in need with our service projects, particularly our community projects which have been constrained by Covid over the past two years. 
Another aim is to encourage further member engagement in Club affairs.  While over 70% of our members participate in Avenue of Service committees and take on other Club roles, there is scope for more equitable sharing of the work associated with running the Club and delivering its services.  
One of the first tasks of the new Board will be to review the progress we have made in implementing the Club’s Strategic Plan, and set our objectives for 2022/23.
Our Avenue of Service committees have also started planning for the year ahead.
Under Katrina Flinn’s leadership the Community Service Committee will focus on supporting disadvantaged members of the community, including those with mental health issues.
The ‘Small Comforts from the Community’ project was recently expanded to include Forensicare which provides specialist mental health services to Victorian prisons.  Other plans include sourcing additional suppliers, investigating the feasibility of expanding to another hospital such as St Vincents and supporting other Rotary clubs in setting up similar programs in their region.
Rotary SAFE Families under Dorothy Gilmour’s leadership will be seeking the support of Club members to participate in spreading the word to Rotarians and the general public about the importance of recognising and responding to prevent family abuse in all its forms. Vincent Chen will translate the Rotary Safe Family Guide for Prevention of Family Abuse, already available in six community languages, into Mandarin and the translated guides will be provided to migrant and refugee centres. Dorothy is also hoping to run a Breakout Session on family abuse at the Rotary International Melbourne Convention next year.
A new community project will support Camcare by providing non-perishable products for distribution through its emergency assistance service.  All Club members will be able to participate in this project which will benefit local residents struggling to afford food and household products. 
The Vocational Service Committee under Vincent Chen’s leadership will continue the program of visits to innovative worksites; trial a Club enterprise forum with speakers on vocational subjects, and Club members will be encouraged to continue contributing to the weekly vocational column in the Club Bulletin.
 
Under Dr Peter Lugg’s leadership our international projects will include continuation of various projects in the remote Baguia region of Timor Leste, the equipping of the Kampong Speu Hospital in Cambodia, and sending medical equipment and supplies to a hospital in Patong Beach, Thailand.
 
Under Geoff Wright’s leadership, Youth Service will continue its focus on assisting students at Auburn High School.  In September, 26 members and volunteers will interview a record of 130 Year 9 students in the school’s Mock job interview program. We will apply for a Rotary Foundation Scholarship Grant to enable a financially disadvantaged student to complete Years 11 and 12 and fund students to attend the National Youth Science Forum, the Santos Science Experience Programs, and the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment.
 
Under Terry Kitchen’s leadership, our Club Service fundraising activities will include the ‘Lift the Lid’ on Mental Illness Lunch in October; the annual Christmas produce sales and Taverners raffle, and possible participation in Designfest in November and car parking at the Kooyong Classic Tennis Tournament in January.
Social events will include a pre-Melbourne Cup lunch on 25 October, a joint Christmas Dinner with the Rotary Club of Glenferrie on 13 December and, in the second half of the year, possible events are a Croquet and Pizza or Barefoot bowls night, and a visit to the Cottage by the Sea in Queenscliff.
So the Club can look forward to an active agenda of service and fellowship in the coming year, and I thank all those members who have volunteered to join our Avenue of Service committees and whose efforts will make this possible.
 
Rotary Club of Hawthorn Board 2022/23
 
The members of the Club’s Board in 2022/23 are:
Club Officers
President, Andrew Crockett
Secretary, Vacant
Treasurer and President-elect, Doug McLean
Vice President and Foundation director, Charlotte England 
Other directors
Club Service Director, Terry Kitchen
Community Service Director, Katrina Flinn
International Service Director, Peter Lugg
Vocational Service Director, Vincent Chen
Youth Service Director, Geoff Wright
 
 
Andrew Crockett AM
President
Rotary Club of Hawthorn
25 June 2022
 
 
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