This is my last Bulletin message as President of the club with Changeover coming up on Tuesday. Almost all of our members, many partners, family and friends have registered for our first ever Zoom Changeover. We are making history!
As I prepare to hand over the Chain of Office to PE Mark Ellis I have reflected on my year as President. It has been challenging at times and rewarding as well. I have met many inspiring people, made new friends inside and outside of Rotary, learned new skills, enjoyed many new experiences and come to a much deeper understanding of what it means to be a Rotarian.
The Rotary Wheel will turn again on Tuesday evening as the club welcomes its new leadership team, and celebrates the accomplishments of a defining year under President Thelma. In a year themed by Rotary connections, and challenged like no other by the global pandemic, members of the Rotary Club of Glenferrie have made a difference to the lives of many, from school children in Boroondara benefitting from the Chances Scholarship Program, young mothers nurtured through the Boroondara Family Network, villagers on Sumba, Indonesia, who have been restored to good health and productive life through the Sumba Eye Program, or young indigenous people who have learned a new trade through the Bike Rescue Program. Working collaboratively with local government, community organisations and other Rotary clubs, and leveraging the power of The Rotary Foundation, the club's activities have honoured the theme: Rotary Connects the World.
The first chapter of the club's planning process was completed last Tuesday night with an outstanding presentation by workshop coordinator Warwick Cavell. Warwick, professional business strategist, MD of Linnergy and current President of the Rotary Club of Central Melbourne, emphasised the benefit of focusing on impact rather than activities in our internal and external communications, and posed three questions for us regarding the future, in preparation for stage 2 of the process - the Planning Workshop on June 23rd via Zoom. Members of the Rotary Club of Glenferrie, with our eye on the future, are asked to give some thought to the answers to these questions in the lead up to the June 23rd workshop.
Helena had organised a Bunnings' BBQ to be held on 4th April but it had to be cancelled due to COVID 19. Our intention was to use the proceeds to support the work of Australian Rotary Health (ARH). Bunnings has now very generously given us a donation of $500 to make up for some of our lost charity income. We will forward this to ARH and we thank Bunnings Hawthorn for their generous support.
As Webmaster I must say that ClubRunner have been nothing if not responsive to our requests for help with our new website. A few weeks ago I asked if it was possible to set up a function such that members' individual rostered duties could be listed at the end of the Bulletin, drawing the data from the ClubRunner module. Well blow me down, but ClubRunner came good. If I have done it correctly, your very own upcoming commitments should be listed at the bottom of this bulletin (you may have to click on the view entire message link at the bottom of your Bulletin to see it). By the way, ignore the meeting duty roster. Those duties are only effective for meetings at Kooyong which, we hope, will resume soon. Farmers Market and Bread Run both current however.
District Governor Grant Hocking with Melissa and the District 9800 team have provided outstanding leadership in a challenging year. The Rotary Club of Glenferrie has had the pleasure of DG Grant's company at a couple of club meetings this past Rotary year, one in person and one via Zoom. If there was one disappointment it is that, due to the Covid-19 public health crisis, we were unable to celebrate and pay tribute at District Conference this year. Now the new District team is ready to take up the mantle and all members and friends are invited to join in via Zoom on Saturday June 27th , to say thank you to DG Grant and to welcome to the front row DGE Phillip Archer. To access your invitation and to book, click on 'Read More' below.
If you have been around long enough to have enjoyed the humour of Irish comedian Dave Allen, this may recall a guffaw or two.
What causes people to have arthritis?
A man who smelled like a distillery flopped on a subway seat next to a priest. The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading.
After a few minutes, the disheveled guy turned to the priest and asked, "Say, father, what causes arthritis?" "Mister, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol and a contempt for your fellow man." "Well I'll be." the drunk muttered, returning to his paper.
The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long did you have arthritis?" "I don't have it father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."
The Electoral College is a complete mystery to most Australians with our Westminister style of parliamentary democracy. And yet it is the very mechanism by which the President of the United States is elected. Stephen Marantelli lives in Melbourne, Australia, where he is, by profession, a barrister. He has a passion for American history, in particular, the history of the presidency. The nature and trend of the American-Australian alliance is better understood in the light of that history. A successful author, Stephen's imaginative and thought provoking book recounts an imaginary meeting in London between Edmund Barton, Australia's first Prime Minister, and George Washington, the First President of the Unioted States.
In the course of Stephen's presentation, we will get an insight into what is going on in the United States at the moment in the lead up to the Presidential Elections in November, and perhaps a little insight also into the strengths and tensions in the long established Australia-United States relationship.
