It is clear that until vaccination targets are reached, on-again, off-again uncertainty will continue to be part of our lives individually, as a club and as a community. We all face the struggle of maintaining a positive attitude in dealing with this and I hope we can all redouble our efforts to stay connected and support each other as we approach a more open community environment which could be just 3 months away.
Rotary Melbourne has demonstrated its agility and I am confident we will get through this.
A restricted number of only 66 members and guest were permitted to attend our Club’s meeting at the Sofitel on 4thAugust. Those of us allowed to attend heard an outstanding address delivered by the awardee of our 2021/22 Monash Medal, Professor the Hon Barry Jones AC.
For me the meeting showcased Rotary Melbourne at its very best.
My commitment is that we will not miss an opportunity to ensure as many weekly meetings as possible will be conducted in-person. When our new audio-visual equipment arrives, hopefully in a few weeks, we will deliver the best of our Zoom experience and our weekly lunch together at the Sofitel in parallel.
Visit by the Governor General: At our 4 August meeting I announced from the podium that members should save the date of Saturday morning 28 August for a reception with His Excellency, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley. Within hours of this announcement, I learned that the visit must be postponed to a future date to be determined due to the COVID restrictions. We will keep you informed of revised timing of this marvellous opportunity for fellowship and to meet the R100 Chief Ambassadors.
Board Membership Update: A member has pointed out to me that members had not been informed about changes in Board membership as the 2021/2022 Rotary year began.
At the change-over I introduced all Board members, but several were not those whose Board membership was affirmed at the Annual General Meeting of the Club in November 2020.
Why the change? As the new Rotary year approached, three Board members: Chanthi Bou, Kerry Kornhauser, and Mikaela Stafrace advised that they we unable to continue as Board members to complete their 2-year elected terms and resigned. Hence there were three casual vacancies that Rotary Melbourne rules require the Board to fill for the balance of the term the resigning Directors would have served. At the Board meeting on 19 May 2021, Directors approved the following Board appointments: Communication Partnerships: Caroline (Cas) Ballagh; Membership: Bernie McIntosh; and Club Events & Fundraising: Nick Pelham.
I am delighted that Cas, Bernie and Nick were willing to accept Board membership and are already working in their roles.
