At the first board meeting this Rotary year as co-presidents, we welcomed our new board members and thanked all who served on the board last year for their work, advice and skill in the operation of the club last year.
Our thanks go to retiring board members Judy Miatke (Past President), John Harkin (Secretary), Cathie Miller (Club Service) and Rob Rosaia (Community Service), and to continuing board members Kevin Reade (Fundraising), Geoff Michell (International Service), Madeleine Schoo (Treasurer) and Stewart Annan (Youth Services and Environment).
Our new directors are Paul Henderson (Secretary), Ted Gretgrix (Minute Secretary), Liz Commadeur (Community Service) and Jim Rolfe (Club Service), and we thank them for putting their hands up to fill these roles in the year ahead.
After a short induction in regard to our roles and governance requirements, particularly those required by Consumer Affairs Victoria and the ATO, the proposed budget was discussed to guide the board this year.
One decision was to keep the annual fees the same as last year, ie, $300 per member, with an additional $10 per annum if a member wishes to receive hard copies of the RDU magazine by post.
Some other decisions taken were to continue supporting valuable Rotary programs such as RYLA, RYPEN and NYSF, with the proviso that suitable local candidates are identified; ongoing support for Reclink; continued support for the Body Safety Program at Lightning Reef Primary School, our scholarship program for Timor Leste students; and involvement in local environmental projects as deemed appropriate.
The next board meeting has been set for Tuesday, 10th September at 5pm, at the home of Adrian and Madeleine, and club members are always welcome to attend in person or via Zoom.
The farewell dinner for Maurice and Pauline Woodburn, held at the inimitable Rising Sun Hotel, was very well attended, and a very pleasant night indeed. We hope they have time to visit us when they are in Bendigo, and we wish them good health and good fortune in their new life at Lake Boga. Our loss of Maurice and Pauline will be the gain of the Swan Hill Sunrise Rotary Club for certain.
The same can also be said of Barbara Mitchell, as she intends to join the Williamstown Rotary Club in the near future.
It was also nice to see Pat Sheehan back from his overseas trip, making sure that we were well looked after and behaved well.
This week, Doug Lougoon reported on the successful site marking for the Sheep and Wool Show that we took on this year for the first time. The show days will be attended by members of the team at intervals to see how it all runs from start to finish. This will give us a fuller picture of what is required in total, so we can make an informed decision as to if we decide to continue on after this year.
Stew provided an update on tree planting at Comet Hill Reserve, next to Lightning Reef PS, on Sunday 28th July, which is National Tree Planting Day. The Australia-wide event is promoted on the websites of Planet Ark and the City of Greater Bendigo, among others.
Thank you to the BBQ team that continues to support RecLink. As usual for this time of the year, the weather was a bit cool, so the hot food is always looked forward to by the umpires, the players and their supporters.
Our guest speaker Cheryl Deguara, from Australia Rotary Health in Sydney, presented on the program she leads, and focused on the indigenous scholarship program we supported to enhance rural and remote health service access, particularly for First Nations people. It was nice to see that our donation of $7500 to the program was acknowledged and appreciated, and the generally excellent outcomes this well-governed program delivers. (see more detail below in Jim Rolfe’s report).
Graeme Lynas also reported on his trip this week to the Donations In Kind warehouse last week whereby he was able to bring back to Bendigo an astonishing amount of warm clothing and footwear. These badly needed items were distributed to members of our local Karen community, 5 RecLink football clubs, and to Bendigo Community Health’s Refugee Transition Support agency. Our sincere thanks go to Graeme for his efforts to help others in great need of physical and moral support in our area.
