President’s Report 13/09/26

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed last nite’s presentation by Colleen Hugson, she certainly is a very active person.  The photos of beaches literally filled with rubbish were quite disturbing, and I particularly liked how a city block was evacuated because of some random piece of washed up “trash” she decided to take home.

Show Gates.

A reminder that the Warrnambool show is fast approaching, Saturday 31^st October.  At the moment, we are really struggling for numbers, and some members may end up having to do the whole day.  So, if you are able to help out at all, even if you can only do a few hours, please let Tony know.

Light the Way

A reminder that the Light the Way community even is this Thursday (15^th) at 6pm.  Please come along and support Sarah and the Wish Collective.  

Board Meeting

The board met last nite.  There wasn’t a lot of new business on the agenda, but we did approve some replacement items for the Camp Quality cabin.  We heard that the cabin was basically fully booked from now till the end of the current booking season next January.  It’s very good to know that the cabin is getting lots of use.

The board also received a draft child protection policy from our child protection officer, Janet.  As you may be aware, each Rotary club is required to have a child protection officer, and policy.  We will be emailing that draft to all members for comment before final adoption, so please keep an eye out for that on your email.

A reminder that minutes for all board meetings, including financial statements and directors reports, are available on the Google Drive.

Yours in Rotary,
Chris.

Dear Rotarians and Friends

I’m reaching out on behalf of the team organising the 2026 Warrnambool Multicultural Festival at the Civic Green on Saturday November 7. 

Did you know that one in four people in Warrnambool were either born overseas or had a parent born overseas? In recognition of this we hope to make this year's festival even bigger and more diverse than ever!

As a valued member of our local community, we are seeking your assistance to reach the members of our diverse regional community and have your members and their families and friends get involved in one of our region’s most vibrant annual celebrations.

This year’s festival will welcome over 4,000 attendees and showcase 40+ local cultures celebrating cultural diversity through music, dance, storytelling, art and craft, food, and workshops. The festival creates a vibrant and inclusive space for the community to connect, share stories and experience the richness of cultures that make South West Victoria unique, and is 100% free to attend.

And this we have an exciting new surprise act that will be announced on our socials this week - a K-Pop band from Melbourne that will not only perform but will hold a fabulous competition that we hope our local youth will enjoy being part of!

We would be grateful for your support in helping us reach the broader community by spreading the word through your organisation newsletter, website, or social media channels. To assist with this we provide the following:

* An e'flyer which can be used in whatever manner works in your communication channels, plus a link to the festival website.

Come celebrate the many cultures, stories, flavours and talents that make our community so vibrant!

Join us for a FREE day of music, dance, food, culture, hands-on activities and community connection at the Warrnambool Multicultural Festival.

- Saturday 7 November 2026

- 10am–3pm

- Civic Green & Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool

- FREE ENTRY

*we are still accepting volunteers to help out on the day, so we would be grateful if you could share the link to our volunteer application form. Volunteers are welcome for an hour or all day, and its a fabulous and fun way to meet and mingle with our multicultural community!

And finally we encourage you and your community to keep updated about the festival and other events, and to receive important information in our support for our multicultural community by subscribing to our newsletter.

Thank you so much for supporting our local multicultural community and we look forward to welcoming you to the Civic Green!

Jan Drew

(Hon) Secretary

Warrnambool Multicultural Association

Tel (Aust) +61491751674 

Whatsapp +60172740077