Book and pay now for the club meeting on Tuesday November 30th 2021
6:30pm for a 7:00pm start
Members and guests are also required to register upon arrival at the venue, preferably using the Victoria Safe app, providing proof that they are fully vaccinated for Covid-19
What a week we have had! Thanks all for turning up to the Annual General Meeting, which was basically a summary of the past year 2020-1. I look forward with excitement for the year ahead with the announcing of the new board to take up into 2022-3, under the leadership of Teresa Liu followed by Mark Howlett. Thus, our club is in for some good years with very strong leadership from these two excellent candidates.
With sadness I note that Cheryl Pisterman (Foundation) and Elizabeth Dumonic (Membership) are stepping down. I personally thank them for their assistance in my 2 year reign as President. I look forward to Charles Tran taking over the Foundation Chair. I look forward to co-chairing Membership with Thelma Hutchison. I also thank all Board Members, who are continuing their roles. Obviously, I didn’t put them off and I will enjoy being on the Board with them all (but not as the boss).
The opening of the playground at Yarra Bank Reserve Hawthorn on November 21st was a fitting climax to more than two years of planning and implementation work for the multi-club team coordinating the project. Initiated and led by the Rotary Club of Glenferrie, in partnership with the City of Boroondara, together with the Rotary clubs of Camberwell, Hawthorn and Canterbury, the project celebrated the 100th anniversary in 2021 of the establishment of Rotary in Australia. The clubs were joined for the opening celebration by the Rotary clubs of North Balwyn and Balwyn, and Melbourne Water.
Bathed in sparkling sunshine, the historic and beautiful park at Yarra Bank Reserve was opened at a Family Fun Day on November 21st, bringing to fruition a project that will long be remembered as a signature achievement for the club and for Rotary in Boroondara.
From left to right, declaring the playground officially open, District Governor Dale Hoy, Past President RC Camberwell Murray Anderson, Mayor of Boroondara Garry Thompson, and President of the Rotary Club of Glenferrie, Dr Mark Ellis AM
We were privileged to hear from Australian Diplomat, Singer/Songwriter and Comedian Iain (Fred) Campbell Smith on Tuesday evening. Fred is the recipient of the 2021 ACT Chief Minister’s Rotary Peace Award for his work in Afghanistan. He is also the author of “The Dust of Uruzgan” published in 2016.
Fred was posted to the Afghanistan province of Uruzgan in 2009 as part of the second mentoring and reconstruction task force.
He told us how life had improved for so many Afghan people during the 20 years of US and Allied Forces occupation with business, healthcare, and the economy all improving but, most importantly education for women and children.
I was chatting recently with Norman Gale, Coordinator of Community Services for the Salvation Army, and it seems that food insecurity remains a significant problem across parts of Melbourne, including Boroondara. As the Salvation Army emergency relief pantry was quite depleted, Geoff Widmer and I visited Campbells Bulkstore in Clayton. We managed to deliver two car loads of food items and some toiletries requested by Norman Gale. The photo below shows Geoff with some of the food and Meredith taking delivery on behalf of the Salvation Army.
Our Community Service Group is planning to also provide some Christmas hampers for the Salvation Army in Camberwell.
The club has been awarded a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation in support of a secondary school scholarship to be offered through Swinburne Senior Secondary College. Commencing with the 2022 school year, the scholarship will assist a talented and motivated young person facing financial barriers to successfully complete their Year 11 and Year 12 secondary education.
The scholarship is valued at $1,000 per annum, of which the club will contribute $1,000, with the remaining $1,000 provided from the District Grant.
The Year 11-12 Scholarship Program has been successful for the club in the past, with two scholarships having been offered previously through Auburn High School. In both those cases the supported students went on to commence tertiary education and it is hoped that this new scholarship through Swinburne will have a similar impact. More to come.
The Saturday 20 November's Farmers' Market saw a successful start to the sales of the famous Rotary Cakes and Puddings. Hawthorn Rotary David Pisterman and our treasurer Thelma Hutchison ensured that all visitors and stall holders learned of this quality product from Traditional Foods who have been supporting Rotary for many years.
In November 2021 - Projects have been run around the world.
Here is a selection.
Canada
Three clubs — Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact — collaborated on a cookbook project organized by the Rotary Club of Haliburton, Ontario. Ursula Devolin, the club’s New Generations chair, thought about what members could do during a pandemic: “Everybody’s been cooking through COVID-19, and it seemed to me it would be nice to have a community cookbook.” They illustrated and designed the spiral-bound book and members of all three clubs collected the 84 recipes inside. Book and ad sales generated about $2,800 for the Mahatma Gandhi Sishu Siksha Sadan school near Kolkata, India, which the Rotary club has supported for about 15 years.
The Member Behind the Badge talks are the most informative and enjoyable of all our meeting topics. The first object of Rotary is "The Development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service" and there is no better way to get to know our fellow Rotarians than through the Member Behind the Badge talk.
The scholarship is valued at $1,000 per annum, of which the club will contribute $1,000, with the remaining $1,000 provided from the District Grant. 
