Robert Fisher was inducted into the Rotary Club of Melbourne on 22 November, 2006 with the classification of Consultant – Media and Retail. He was sponsored by Peter Marfleet who ensured he was allocated to the Balwyn Group.
At that stage of his life, Robert was winding down from a life-long career in the book industry. Born and educated in Glasgow, he joined the international publishing firm of William Collins. Sent by Collins to Johannesburg in the 1970s, Robert was heavily involved in the development of their regional interests, eventually leading to his appointment as Managing Director – Southern Africa.
There followed postings in New Zealand, the UK and Australia where he was MD of Pearson Education, MD of The Ink Group in Sydney and then CEO of Collins Booksellers based in Melbourne. He was also a Director of Penguin Books in both Australia and New Zealand and later a Director of the Australian Publishers Association and Copyright Agency Limited. He now puts his international leadership skills to good use as a management consultant and executive mentor, and we at Rotary Melbourne are also beneficiaries of this extensive skill-base.
Robert was not slow to become immersed in Club activities and in no time it was total immersion as it is to this day. He has chaired the Inter-Club Visits Committee and served on the Welfare of the Young, Arts, 0808, Vocational Service, International Service, Welfare of the Young, Membership Engagement and R100 Committees. While on the Vocational Service Committee he was involved in the Victoria Police Mentoring Program.
Like most of us he was an innocent bystander who was recruited to committee service but his involvement has always been committed, strategic and with a view to achievement and making a difference. He was long-time Chair of the Corporate Members Committee and is still a member.
He chaired the Membership Review Committee last year and has always been a supporter of the Evening Meetings Program. He is also on the recently established End Hepatitis team. Mentoring and young people loom large in his priorities, having formalised an MOU with Rotaract.
Like so many in the Club, Robert remembers the support he received from David Wittner when he was a new member and was pleased to be involved in the establishment of the David Wittner Mentoring Award. More recently Robert has worked on developing closer ties with the City of Melbourne and more particularly is leading an initiative to mentor and assist international students find work and survive the lockdown.
Members will remember pre-COVID days, when we all gathered for weekly meetings and occasional fun days. Robert once won best dressed at a Melbourne Cup Day meeting. His Presidential year in 2018-19 was stellar. On the dais he was relaxed, warm, engaging and inclusive. He could have been hosting the Oscars! Board meetings ran like a well-oiled machine.
As President he was awarded the District Governor’s Recognition Award for organising flood-lighting of the Melbourne Town Hall on Rotary End Polio Day. As President Elect he had put in the hard yards with a commitment to understand and be involved with every aspect of Rotary machinery at both Club and District levels.
His preparation for his Presidential year was exemplary and the Club’s standing in the District and the Cluster was greatly enhanced and we are still reaping the benefits. Working closely with Chris Wang, Rotary Give Every Child a Future, one of three Centenary projects, was a priority project during his Presidency. Robert gave the project momentum and profile with a raffle that raised $20,000.
While Robert thrives on hard work, he also enjoys the fellowship of Rotary. Always a regular and enthusiastic participant in the Balwyn Group, Robert was Group Captain for three years, ensuring a full program of monthly activities and a high level of member engagement. Robert and Myra are regular attendees at the annual District Conference, not to mention the pre-Conference activities, indeed they led the ‘On-to-Conference’ tour to Shepparton in 2017.
Robert has also enjoyed his long-time involvement with SecondBite sometimes attending with one of his grandchildren.
We all know Robert Fisher as smiling, engaging and affable and also dynamic, strategic and focused. He ticks all the boxes and his contribution to the Club and humanity has been immense and we are proud to honour him as a Paul Harris Fellow.
