Hello members of Daybreak and welcome to Bulletin 37.
COVID-19 and Rotary – By now you will all know that due to the risks associated with the Corona virus, Daybreak has suspended its meetings and all community service projects for an indefinite period.
This decision was made for the safety of our members and is in line with many other (but not all) Rotary Clubs and Organizations Australia wide. The Board will monitor the situation in the coming weeks and if there are changes to be made all members will be informed. This is a disappointing development considering we have given much time into building our programs and services within the community. However, this is a global crisis unprecedented in our time and we need to work through it as best we can.
The Board are exploring ways in which we can communicate with our members during this period, in particular a meeting application called Zoom which is proving successful with other organizations. The District is also looking into this and other applications and may provide assistance in how best to use technology in our current situation. I will keep you informed as we progress our discussions.
Cancellations
The District Conference scheduled for this coming weekend March 20-22 has been cancelled together with the District Assembly which was scheduled for April 26. A tremendous amount of work has gone into these events, particularly the conference, and we feel for the Rotary Club of Swan Hill and our DG Roseanne Kava. It is likely the presenter’s sessions that were scheduled will be videotaped and will become available for Clubs to show at their future meetings. In terms of the Assembly, those wishing to qualify for grant application can do so via a training module on the Learning Centre. The link is http://learn.rotary.org/members/learn/catalog Once you are in the learning centre type GMS in the search box and this should take you directly to the modules you need to complete your qualifying course. If for any reason the link does not work go directly to the learning centre on Club Central where you will find all the training available. I have been informed that if you did the course last year this does not qualify you as the information changes from year to year and it is a requirement to undertake the training yearly. District will soon be sending out an email with links to all online training modules associated with other executive positions.
At this stage there has been no directive given by Rotary International regarding the Rotary International Conference scheduled for Hawaii in early June. Given the ever changing landscape it is looking very likely that the event will be cancelled.
Closer to home, the RYLA program at Kangaroobie has also been cancelled. However, we are hoping that our candidate can undertake the program when it is rescheduled. We also have other people interested in applying for the program.
Please note that all our service projects have been suspended including the Care Program and the Soup Kitchen. Fundraising projects cancelled include the Community Network BBQ on March 25, the Bunning’s BBQ on April 25 and the Foundation Movie night on May 21. Our annual May Race Day meeting on Thursday May 7 will also not go ahead.
Clean-Up Australia Day – we had a good attendance of members for our Clean-Up Australia Day on Sunday March 15 with ten people assisting our cleaning of Victoria Park. We collected approximately twelve large bags of rubbish and completed the clean up in just over an hour. We then headed to Cafe Lava for teas and hot chocolates. Chris was rather hung over and was found snoozing in the car at one stage; however he has avoided a fine as we had no meeting this week to collect! We will have to think of a creative way of recording and collecting fines in our time of isolation, so if anyone has some ideas please forward them to me.
Membership and Changeover Meeting– We had a membership Assembly scheduled for our weekly meeting on April 15 which now may not occur unless we can organize an electronic meeting. We will also be inducting Jenny Millar as a new member of Daybreak and ideally would like to induct her before the changeover date of June 24. We are exploring avenues in which to do this, possibly recording the process via videotape and circulating to members. A further ceremony can take place when we resume our usual meetings. If our meetings are still in recess on the changeover date we will do a similar process may occur for the induction of our current PE and 20121 Executive Committee.
Constitution – The District has circulated a new Constitution which needs 80% of our members vote to be adopted. The Board at its recent meeting suggested that the Club adopt the Constitution. As a result Secretary Cheryl will circulate the Constitution and the motion to all members via email with a request that you respond with a yes or no vote within 14 days. This is an important part of our administration process so please keep an eye out for the email and respond with your vote within the required time.
Club Laptop and AV equipment – The Board recently passed a motion to purchase a laptop and audio visual cables for Club and meeting purposes into the future.
Motorcycle Trip - While most of our members are adjusting to changed aspects of their normal life, two of our members have taken to the road for a relaxing motorcycle tour. Barry Moran and Geoff Grec together with eight other members of the Warrnambool Motorcycle Club have, over the past two weeks, been travelling through several locations in South Australia, up to Broken Hill in New South Wales, and as we speak, they are on the home run to Warrnambool. By the look of the photos shared on Facebook, the guys had a fantastic trip and we look forward to having them speak at one of our future meetings.
Brag Session – While our meetings are in recession there is a need to try and keep some of our usual practices in place such as our brag sessions. Therefore I would ask members to email me any news of interest and personal brags they may have so that I can circulate to other members through the Bulletin; I will kick it off here with a huge family brag. My son Paul and his wife Kristy are expecting their first baby in September. This little boy will be the eleventh grandchild for Wayne and I and will tip the gender balance which currently sits at five boys and five girls! We can’t wait to welcome him.
You will find the newsletters may look a little briefer in the coming weeks as there will be no rosters or upcoming Rotary dates included. I have no doubt that our clients within the community will miss the services that we usually provide. It is important to remember that this period of semi isolation is relatively short term and pales in significance compared to what our ancestors experienced in wartime and what many people currently experience in other parts of the world.
Keep yourselves and family safe
Liza