Hello Daybreakers,
We had another great meeting on 7 December 2022.
Our member Peter Inverarity was given a Certificate of Appreciation for the fantastic catering at the Christmas party held on Sunday 4 December 2022.
We are very lucky to have a Resident Chef who put on a great spread for all of us who attended.
It was such great food and made the day even better.
Thank you Peter for your effort and contribution.
We were also able to raise funds for our selected cause of Rise to Shine.
Rise to Shine had been previously highlighted in in my chats. This is certainly a worthy cause. Given the low costs Peter proposes to charge for only the food, let alone no charge for his time and effort, is a wonderful contribution to our Rotary causes.
The Board on 5 December 2022 resolved on our Bi- Annual Giving Program and allocation of funds to our various causes.
We continue to support Shelter Box Australia, Backpack for Kids, Clontarf Academy, Rise to Shine, Water supply for Papua New Guinea, Australian Rotary Foundation and the Board considered the flood crisis in Northern Victoria and has allocated funds for Flood Relief in Benalla.
We have had great assistance from the Benalla Rotary Club in acquiring a caravan out of the Benalla District for our homeless project.
It was considered appropriate to maintain the connection through the Benalla Rotary Club for these purposes.
The Kalay Academy was also considered and the Red Cup funds that have been previously collected over the last two years with rounding up to $1,500 will be also paid to the Kalay Academy for their needs.
Although some of the causes are international, the next allocation of funds will be in or about March / April 2023 which will be concentrated on local community causes.
Though not mentioned at our meeting the Ballarat East Rotary Club Car Raffle participation required a project to be identified.
We will be receiving approximately 50 books, and 20 tickets in each book. I encourage all members to take a book as the funds raised by our participation will be directed to St Vinnies. The more we sell the more we can give to St Vinnies.
Again, I thank Glenn Rundell for coordination of our R100 project and his attendance on Wednesday 30 November 2022 for the tree planting and barbecue with the other three Rotary Clubs and the revealing of the Rotary R100 Plaque at Lake Pertobe at the Casuarina section of the redevelopment. The official opening by Council is on Friday 9 December 2022 at 3.30pm at the playground region. As Glenn indicated there is a lot of indigenous features of interpretive stories of animals, waterways, etc.
It appears Council will insert a QR code so that an explanation can be provided to visitors and members of the community.
Please don't forget to put your name down on the roster for the summer barbecue program as well as reminding members a group photo will be taken on 21 December at a morning breakfast. So please ensure your attendance to be in the group photo.
We had a wonderful guided tour of the Canning Stock Route track in Western Australia by our own member Geoff Grec with his son Dan over 10 days and 1700 kms. The longest stock route in the world and the most pristine terrain and challenging terrain over desert country as described.
Beautiful photos were shown of our outback region in Australia.
I have always enjoyed travelling in the outback region on my own caravan trips.
It is tranquil, picturesque and breathtaking. I encourage everybody to try and make a trip in the outback even on one of the guided tours that are available. It certainly should be something on your bucket list.
Please don't forget to book if you are attending the District Conference in Ballarat as there is early bird rates for registration.
The email has been circulated by Cheryl to everybody which you can click on, which takes you to the District Website. It is a very easy prompt to register.
There are group bookings at the BIG4 NRMA Caravan Park in Ballarat which is in close proximity to the Rotary District Conference venue at The Mercure.
Again, I would like to thank Ian Harper for all his hard work with the assistance of other members in the Homeless Program during the pilot period which ended at Surfside 2 on 5 December 2022 and the relocation of vans to both Mortlake and Koroit in the interim.
Chris Preston PE indicated from PETS of Rotary’s association with domestic violence awareness next year.
Our Homeless Program surrounds women who have been subjected to domestic violence, not necessary as physical violence, but also financial and emotional abuse.
Hopefully Council will get on board to understand this part of why the Homeless Program is so important with all the demands on the Salvation Army and Emma House.
Please also be aware our last meeting this year will be 21 December and the next meeting will be on 4 January 2023.The next Board meeting will also be on 6 February 2023.
So until next week, let’s imagine, Rotary!!!
Your President,
Sergio Bacchetti
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| Janey with contributions members provided to Warrnambool & District Food Share | Chez and Janey holding some of the 42 Santa Sacks that Daybreak members and friends have filled this year. |
Rotary Celebrations
Birthdays:
Jennie Miller - December 5th
Ann Barker - December 6th
Ronika Patel - December 12th
Rotary Anniversary
Sue Cassidy - 6 years - 21st December
Room 711, Rotary's Birthplace
The number 711 has a very special significance for Rotary. Room 711 of the old Unity Building, formerly located
at 127 North Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, was the birthplace of Rotary International. That historic room, which was the office of engineer Gus Loehr, was the location of that first meeting when Paul Harris met with several friends to discuss his new idea of a club for professionals and businessmen.
A few Chicago Rotarians set about to preserve the room and restore it to its 1905 authenticity. For years, Room 711 was preserved as a miniature Rotary museum by Rotarians around the world who voluntarily belonged to and contributed annually to the “Paul Harris 711 Club,” which provided funds for leasing, maintenance and preservation. In 1989, the Unity Building was about to be torn down. Members of the 711 Club carefully dismantled the landmark room and placed its contents in storage. There it stayed until 1994, when the recreated Room 711 found a permanent home, and this piece of the Rotary heritage is preserved at the RI World Headquarters in Evanston.