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Multi-District Summit 26 - Horsham

The Multi-District Impact Summit took place over the weekend in the Wimmera Region city of Horsham. It brought together some 400 people from Districts 9800 (ours), 9510 and 9780. Six of those present were associated with Rotary Melbourne. 

At the opening reception Sana Malik was presented with the District 9800 EnviroClub Award - Gold for continued achievement in enviroment and sustainability, covering the following projects The Melbourne Arboretum, Growing Futures in Timor-Leste, Carbon Social Certification, Sustainability Awards, Environment and Sustainability Lunches, World Environment Day raffle, SecondBite volunteering and 5000 Acts of Kindness indigenous seedling project.

For some, the Summit started in an old shearing shed at the Showgrounds with a Breakfast Meeting that focused on the Rotary Foundation, after which the hundred or so delegates had an ‘End Polio Now’ stroll to the Town Hall, where the Summit was based. As usual, various Rotary projects were showcased in a special display hall.

A star attraction was Past Rotary International President Jennifer Jones, who had addressed our meeting last Wednesday 25 March 26. She was the official representative of current RI President Francesco Arezzo, and also assumed her role as a Trustee of the Rotary Foundation. Jennifer encouraged us as Rotarians to imagine a world where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference. Through her real-life stories, magnificently related, she motivated us to make the most of our Rotary membership.

Other speakers included:

• Stand-up comedian Marc Ryan, who made us laugh a lot, while also challenging us with his “mental fitness” lessons from living with suicidal thoughts every day
• Wayne Holdworth, who lost his son to suicide following an incident on his mobile phone, leading to Wayne’s advocating for a limit to the use of social media by young people
• Misha Coleman, CEO of Interplast (providing surgery to patients in the Pacific and Asia), which was founded by a past member of Rotary Melbourne and which we continue to support
• Olivia Wellesley-Cole, who shared her experiences as a former UN emergency responder with core skills in humanitarian protection and coordination  
• Jessie Harman, current Chair of Rotary Foundation, who told her extraordinary story of trekking to Everest Base Camp last year to raise funds for our ‘End Polio Now’ campaign.

The Summit Dinner Dance, complete with boot scooting band, took place in a huge shed at the Showgrounds, and included a demonstration of sheep shearing!

Events like these are inspiring, not only demonstrating how amazing Rotary is but also providing networking and learning opportunities. This was no exception.

Robert Fisher
Director and Past President – Rotary Melbourne