The guest speaker this week was Chris Purton who did a member presentation. Chris was born in Dandenong  and has moved regularly between metropolitan and regional areas during his life. His father was a share farmer in the dairy industry which took the family to many country towns. Chris attributes his ability to form friendships and relate to people down to the fact that he moved schools so regularly. He still hates the smell of cooking rabbit.

 

For the most part Chris has had a career in sales and marketing. His Myers executive training taught him that selling is a Science. There was an emphasis on empathy and being conscious of the importance of others feeling better after you meet with them. He worked in his own Art Supplies Business and enjoyed being his own boss. His work with a French paper company involved some overseas travel. Chris was based in Melbourne for much of this time and his work included management at state level. The high expectations and high pressure of sales took its toll on many of his colleagues.

 

Life has provided many other twists and turns for Chris. He took himself to Darwin where he worked as an unqualified electrician in the rebuild after Cyclone Tracy. The fact that he was able to freely share in the produce had a lot to do with the enjoyment he derived from working in the fishing industry. Chris got to know the "tradies" and those suffering from hangovers better when he worked as a manager in fast foods. He has made the most of his love of cars in his travels around Australia.

 

The fact that Chris was able to identify the last eight years of his working life as the highlight says a lot about his self-knowledge and awareness. It's always good to go out on a high. Members were especially impressed about the way in which Chris has embraced life and made the most of the opportunities which have presented. We were pleased to know that he loves Bendigo and even more delighted that he has chosen our Club. We thank Chris for his very engaging presentation and we look forward to our journey together in Rotary.

 

Dear Presidents, Presidents-elect, Rotarians and Rotaractors,

You are invited to attend this year’s District Assembly 2020 via Zoom on Sunday 24th May 2020 commencing at 10:00am and concluding at 12.30pm.

District Assembly is a wonderful opportunity to learn, to connect with other Rotarians and Rotaractors in District 9800, and to hear from the incoming District Leadership Team.

The day is structured to give individual members including Rotaractors, the chance to learn more about their areas of interest and their portfolio in the upcoming year in the club. This year you will also be able to meet members from around the District on Zoom.

A session for new members is extra special, as it will show them the scope of Rotary within the District and beyond.  All members, particularly incoming board members and new members of the club within the last 12 months are encouraged to attend.

The Assembly will have presentations about the year ahead and introduce the District Leadership Team during the main plenary.

 

There will be additional presentations from the following:

And there will be the choice of the following breakout sessions for you to join after the main plenary session. You will be asked to nominate one of the following during the online registration process:

Can we please ask you to register your attendance by Tuesday 19th May or earlier if possible, via the following TryBooking link: https://www.trybooking.com/BJPCZ

 

 

The District Leadership Team and I look forward to welcoming you on Zoom for our District Assembly 2020.

Here is a link to the most beautiful gardens in the world the Keukenhof gardens in the Netherlands;