MC for the day, Past President, Bob Glindemann welcomed everyone and opened Rotary Melbourne’s 20th Meeting for the 2024-25 Rotary year and our 5057th all time Club meeting, and paid respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our club meets.
President Elect Philip Cornish delivered the weekly reflection (transcript is published later in this bulletin) and President Catherine Baxter proposed the loyal toast.
On return to the podium after the meal break, President Catherine welcomed guest speaker Dr Peter Larkins, Specialist Sport & Exercise Physician, Author and Media Personality with his colleague, Antonia Andrews, as well several other visitors to the Club whose details are published at the conclusion of this bulletin.
Past President, Bob Glindemann then came to the podium to highlight the celebration in November of the Rotary International Foundation Month. Bob highlighted the impressive scale and reach of The Rotary Foundation which is a USA based public charity on 30 June 2023 it held USD$817 million in unrestricted assets and a further USD$673 million in Donor restricted assets. Its leadership in ending the spread of the polio virus is well understood and of course Rotary Melbourne members know that our Club has been both a major contributor to the foundation, but also in nominating more successful Rotary Peace Fellowship Awardees of any Rotary Club in the world.
Bob noted that we all may know someone who early in their careers with a university degree, and at least 3 years of experience relevant to peace building who could be a worthy candidate for a Rotary Peace Fellowship Award. Please let the Club’s Foundation director, Dr Carol Bond, or Hon Member Bob Fels know their names and contact details and the International Service Committee will take it from there. Details of the Peace Fellowship application process can be found at https://my.rotary.org/en/peace-fellowship-application.
President Catherine then read notice of the 103rd Annual General Meeting of The Rotary Club of Melbourne Inc. to be held during the regular weekly luncheon meeting at No 35 Sofitel, 25 Collins St Melbourne on Wednesday 20th November 2024 at 1.05p.m. and on ZOOM.
An Agenda, Minutes of the last meeting and Financial Statements were circulated via email to all members later in the day on 6 November 2024.
President Catherine advised that the Club’s Nominating Committee has met and has put forward Dr Carol Bond for the position of President Elect 2026-27. She reminded all Members are able to nominate a candidate for this Office and other Office Bearers and Directors for the 2025-26 Board under President Elect Philip Cornish.
All Nominations must be in writing, signed by the nominee and their nominator and proposer, and be lodged with Honorary Secretary John Saunders by 2.10pm Wednesday 13 November 2024. If required, a ballot of members present will be conducted at the Club’s AGM during the lunchtime meeting on 20 November 2024.
Catherine emphasised the importance of members attending this meeting, either in person or on Zoom.
After the drawing of the weekly raffle, Sam McLarty came to the podium to introduce guest speaker Dr Peter Larkins. Peter is well known to most of us as a celebrity and specialist commentator at AFL football matches.
Speaking on the topic: Topic ‘Exercise is the Key to High Performance in Life’, Peter gave an engaging address which was relevant to everyone in the room. Drawing on his new book: The Healthy Hundred, 100 Ways to a Healthier, Happier and Longer Life to explain how much of our health destiny we can control. While our genetics can include risk factors, healthy lifestyle is the key for us all. Some key points
Peter stressed even just 10 minutes exercise a day can have an impact and provides the foundation to build. He noted that cardio should feature in our daily routine but focusing on our strength 3 days per week matters a lot, and don’t forget the occasional rest day.
Peter highlighted that exercise needs only to be around 30 minutes a day and over 6 days that adds up to around 1.5% of the 168 hours in a week.
Unfortunately, technical issues degraded badly the quality of our recording of Peter’s presentation. This will be rectified with technical help in time for the AGM.
After the meeting there was strong demand for Peters book and autographed copies will be a major festive gift this coming season. If you missed the meeting and want to to purchase copies of his book you can do this online at: https://www.drpeterlarkins.com/. The book retails for $36.95, but when you check out, enter ROTARYMELBOURNE in the discount code box and click ‘apply’ and you’ll get a discount.
All the books sent out will be signed by Peter, but should you wish to have them personalized, email enquiries@drpeterlarkins.com immediately after you have ordered to personalize.
After the Q&A session Sam McLarty thanked Peter and presented him with our traditional Rotary Socks gift.
Sam reminded all present that our meeting next week is at 6:00pm on Wednesday 13 November 2024 and will be a fun and entertaining experience celebrating World Kindness Day. Full details are provided in this bulletin.
Please note that a recording of this meeting will not be posted due to the quality of the audio.
