We are meeting this week at the Timor Street Bowls Club. Wednesday 9th of March, 12.30 for 1.00pm as usual. Parking on the city side of the club off Timor Street. It is very important that you rsvp by texting Brendan before mid-day next Tuesday.
Please rsvp to Brendan 0434 600 114
Notice of AGM
The Rotary Club of Warrnambool Central will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday March 23rd, 1.00pm, at the Warrnambool City Bowls Club. Nominations will be accepted for President, Secretary and Treasurer for the 2022-23 Rotary Year.
Club Calendar.
· Wednesday 23rd March – Club AGM.
· Thursday 31st March - ‘The Duke’ movie fundraiser for End Polio.
Tony’s tribulations.
Greetings fellow Rotarians.
It was fantastic to welcome back Rob, Gerald and Ron last week. We welcome each of you and look forward to your company and working with you on projects in the months and years ahead.
We extend our best wishes to Felicity Melican, who continues to recover from a car accident.
The board met last week. There were plenty of ideas discussed so no doubt the board will be full of reports to members this week.
There were some great ideas to come out of the District Conference this weekend. Hopefully we can take some of these ideas on board in the near future.
We have our AGM this Wednesday and then the EndPolio movie next week. Talk to Boré if you still haven't got a ticket for the movie. Hopefully, we will be announcing more upcoming events shortly.
I hope to see you on Wednesday.
Kind regards
Tony
Roster.
Please keep an eye out for your name in the weeks ahead. If you are not able to be at a meeting please organise someone else to stand in for you.
Boré’s View.
Rotary has adopted the Environment as it’s seventh area of focus. We have been planting trees at the Cemetery, a venue that practices the ultimate in recycling. Some members like Boré have minimised their greenhouse gas emissions by buying plug in hybrid cars. Our club is also doing it’s bit by recycling members. Last week we decided to recycle, repurpose and reuse three wonderful former (and now current) members of our club; Gerard Irvine, Rob Harris, and Ron ‘Rotten’ McLeod. We welcome each of them. As always, Boré was on the spot to document the occasion.
We thank Boré for this wonderful cartoon.
The Duke.
Thursday 31st March, Capitol Cinemas Warrnambool. $20 each, price includes entry and a small gift. All proceeds to Rotary’s End Polio campaign.
Rotten returns.
Footy returns.
Footy returned last Wednesday, with the Dees once again accounting for the Bullies at the MCG. Robbo and Father Scott were on hand to witness Melbourne begin their flag defense and to discuss the latest trends in men’s hairstyling. Robbo kindly sent us this photo.
Club well represented at District Conference.
The Rotary Club of Warrnambool Central was well represented at this weekend’s District Conference in Port Fairy - by banners, not so much by people. I believe we had three banners at the event.
Your correspondent attended on the Saturday, but due to a ticketing mix up, was not able to attend on the Sunday. I wish I had been able to go on the Sunday because the Saturday was very good. I also missed Saturday afternoon because I promised my son that I would watch the Essendon-Geelong game with him. I also wish I had been at the conference on Saturday afternoon, although for entirely different reasons. It didn’t help that one of my son’s friends came round to our place during the third quarter specifically to remind me that I had predicted that the Bombers would flog the Cats.
It was fortunate that we had inducted Rob Harris as a transferring member from the R.C. of Camperdown several days before the District Conference. Rob was our sole representative for most of the conference. The District Governor may have been disappointed that the R.C. of Camperdown was not better represented at the conference.
The little bit of the conference that I saw was genuinely excellent. Louise harper spoke about a project to provide maternal, neonatal and women’s medical care in Nepal. Her description and photos of the current situation was shocking and very moving. A representative from Wannon Water spoke about their efforts to make the water authority carbon neutral and adapt to climate change, which was very interesting. Simone O’Brien spoke about her experience of being bashed nearly to death with a baseball bat by an intimate partner. It was a very moving testimonial against domestic violence as well as a call to arms for what we can do about it. The conference also canvassed some Rotary projects that I will share with the board and the club.
As an added bonus, attendees picked up an excellent hard cover edition of the history of Rotary in Australiasia. I might publish some exerts from this book over the next few weeks.
I thank D.G. John Clue and the Rotary Club of Port Fairy for hosting us and organising such a wonderful conference.
History of Rotary.
In 1905 Paul Harris and Sylvester Schiele set up the first Rotary Club in Chicago. The club was originally a social club not a service club. When the idea to perform a service project was first suggested many members objected and some resigned from the club. Despite this, the Chicago club did complete the first Rotary service project ever; a men-only public toilet in downtown Chicago.
Rotary’s first ever service project.
Future auction item.
While we have mothballed our auction for the time being, we have not given up all together on the idea. We might revive it at some point in the future. Pip Ritchie has an excellent idea for an auction item, one that might attract some enthusiastic bidding from our Charter President much like the exemption from fines. Pip Ritchie reports.
Alkeohol.
Lew injects a little culture into the Central Spoke this week with this piece of poetry.
Ten Years Ago.
Ten years ago, the club welcomed Greg Alison into our club, as Pip Ritchie reported at the time;
‘Greg Alison was inducted into the club by the club president - who had forgotten the official papers so he just made it up as he went along. ‘Junior’ mumbled something about the four way test, and before you could say ‘Paul Harris’, Greg was a member of the club. ‘
Warrnambool Central Committees for 2021-22.
Community Service (Matt).
Brendan, Tickler, Gerard, Blainey, Hicko, Lindsay M, Ian S, Bill, Mick,
Club Service (Bob).
Macca, Quincey, Gracey, Hutto, Bullant, Bruce, Paul R., Trev,
Vocation (Hayessey).
Lynchie, Clive, Paul O’B, Nooka, Sam, Bomber, Reevesy, Brad.
Youth (Greg).
Lew, Pip, Ian B., Dillo, Shane, Rowan, Francis, Peter K.
