Being President of Rotary Melbourne is a privilege awarded to willing volunteers for just 12 months and as I near the mid-point of another life changing year, I see this as a good opportunity to share my reflections on the highlights of my year, so far.

As members of a community that has had to deal with 6 punishing pandemic lockdowns over 17 months in 2020 and 2021, I have been inspired by the resilience of Rotary Melbourne members in dealing with the challenges the restrictions of our customary freedoms have brought to us all.

Our club is powered by our members and our commitment to humanitarian service.  Despite these difficult times, we have been able to maintain the core activities of Rotary Melbourne which in turn has facilitated some memorable speaker experiences and outstanding service contributions to our community.

Despite only 6 of our 24 regular meetings since July taking place in-person, we have enjoyed powerful presentations from community leaders and innovators. While there are too many to mention, I was particularly struck by the responses made by impressive recipients of three important Awards from our Club. The recommendations came from three active Committees:  Environmental Sustainability, Vocational Service, and Community Service:

  • Claire Moore, founder of Sweet Justice, and recipient of our first Environmental Sustainability Award
  • Professor John McNeill AO, Vocational Service Awardee for 2021/22 whose research effort on Aspirin has been a game changer in cardio-vascular prevention and treatments; and
  • Emily Shepherd, founder of Usher Kids, recipient of the Sir John Reid Community Service Award

It would be remiss not to mention Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s impressive contribution on 17 November regarding the state of the City where she exuded confidence in Melbourne’s ability to respond to the key challenges of urban Australia going forward.

Humanitarian Service highlights:

The first half of the Rotary Year has seen significant Humanitarian service achievements:

  • An innovative partnership involving honorary corporate members; Brotherhood of St Laurence and RedR in logistics training for unemployed young people giving them a kick start in career employment;
  • More support for the Make A House a Home project with another 50 kits funded plus a grant from the City of Melbourne for more;
  • Another pleasing Around the Bay – Smith Family fundraiser resulting in presentation of $17,377 to the Smith Family on 1 December 2021;
  • Continuing strong performance of the Centenary Rotary Give Every Child a Future delivering protection against deadly childhood diseases in 9 Pacific Islands. Continuing Rotary support is needed, but the additional funding announced in early December by Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator the Hon Zed Seselja of $1.4 million to support immunisations in Kiribati and Nauru, will give the project a major boost.
  • There is much more to do in response to emerging community needs. A critical need identified at our “next big ideas” workshop in November highlighted the widening of the gap between haves and have-nots in access to digital services, the adoption of which has been accelerated by the pandemic.

Club Service highlights:

Rotary Melbourne has a lot to be proud of in our early and rapid adoption of digital technology, as demonstrated by the extension of this with our investment in our hybrid meeting technology.

We asked and you told us that more than 95% of our members are, or intend to be fully vaccinated.

Recognising our obligation to maintain a safe environment for living alongside Covid-19 in our meetings, gatherings and project work, our Board has recently adopted a sensible protocol to reflect the Club’s duty of care, as well as enabling members to be informed and make our own judgements regarding what risks of mixing with others we are willing to take.

Looking ahead:

We have a lot to look forward to in 2022.  The next six months promises many excellent speakers for our regular meetings.  Several are already listed in this Bulletin.

Please consider attending major events already planned:

  • The Australia Rotary Health / Freemasons Gala fundraiser to support mental health research on Friday 4thFebruary 2022
  • The Angus Mitchell Oration, featuring distinguished science research leader Prof James Angus AO, FAA, FAHMS (Hon), on Wednesday 23 February
  • The International Women’s Day Breakfast at the Sofitel on Collins on Wednesday 9th March 2022 in lieu of our regular lunchtime meeting promises to be another blockbuster event;
  • The District 9800 Conference now firmly scheduled for Albury from 22 to 24 April 2022 – also covered, along with our On-to-Conference plans in this bulletin.
  • The Environmental sustainability – Food Scraps Luncheon at the Sofitel on Collins, in lieu of our regular lunch meeting on Wednesday 1st June 2022.

Let’s collectively keep our fingers crossed that all of our planned gatherings for 2022 are able to take place without significant restrictions.  As I write this reflection, Sue and I are delighted that our family is together at home for the first time in 3 years.  I am sure this is an experience other members are sharing.

I am thankful for the support for our Club provided by the Board of Directors, committee Chairs and project Champions.  In particular we should thank Jo Mavros for her indefatigable commitment and support for the club’s work.

In closing, Sue and I wish every member and your families the very best for a peaceful, safe and joyous festive season. 

I look forward to seeing everyone when Rotary Melbourne activities begin again on Wednesday 19th  January 2022.


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