The club notes with sadness the passing of PP Dr Alex Buchanan AM (1997-98) on October 25th. Alex was an Ambassadorial Scholar at Iowa State University in 1959-1960, with the assistance of The Rotary Foundation. He was inducted into the club in May 1987, into the classification 'Medical Research'. He was already a Rotarian, having previously been a member of the Rotary clubs of Moorabbin and Bangkok South. At the time of his induction, Alex was Scientific Administrator at Monash University. His wife Jo was also a club member, inducted into the classification 'Psychology' in July 1995
Alex and Jo were key members of the team that sourced, repaired and shipped refurbished sewing machines to East Timor in 2001-02, a project the Rotary Club of Glenferrie adopted after Jo, a member of the D9800 East Timor Committee, attended a meeting addressed by Dr Jose Ramos Horta where he spoke of the need to assist the women of East Timor. In 2009 Alex, now a member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, was the recipient of The Rotary Foundation Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award, presented at the RI Convention in Birmingham UK. In that same year he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to food science and technology, particularly through research supporting aid programs in the South-East Asia region, and to the community.
Our thoughts, condolences and sincere thanks go out to Jo and family. Vale a fine Rotarian and an outstanding Australian.
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Rotarian Dr Alex Buchanan was the 2008-09 recipient of The Rotary Foundation Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award - see the award presentation and his acceptance speech at the RI Convention in Birmingham UK in 2009. For more information about Alex's remarkable career and Rotary story, read this article from Rotary Down Under in 2009, and this announcement regarding the awarding of his AM.