District Governor’s Bulletin Rotary District 9675 October 2016World Polio Day on 24th October...
Transcript of District Governor’s Bulletin Rotary District 9675 October 2016World Polio Day on 24th October...
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Judith and I have had another amazing month visiting clubs and
joining in with club events and celebrations. We are humbled by the
welcome that we have received at every club. Each visit is unique and
special. Judith and I particularly enjoy hearing about the many and
varied projects which clubs are supporting.
Two of the very special events that we have attended were the 50th
Anniversary Celebrations for both the Rotary Club of Picton and the
Rotary Club of Kings Cross. Both occasions were great celebrations of the achievements of both
clubs over the past 50 years. Congratulations to all current and past members of both clubs.
November is Rotary Foundation Month and in our District the highlight will almost certainly
be the Million Dollar Dinner where we are joining with District 9685 at The Epping Club on
Monday 28th November to celebrate 100 years of ‘’doing good in the world’’. Guest speaker is
Past RI President and current Chair of the Trustees of the Rotary Foundation Kalyan Banerjee. I
would like to encourage all Rotarians in our District to attend this exciting event.
And talking about The Rotary Foundation, all the clubs that we have visited so far will be
aware that I have been encouraging all clubs to maintain, or even increase, their support for the
Foundation in this very special year, and, at the same time, encouraging Rotarians to consider
the Foundation as one of their charities of choice. In the year of the Centenary of The Rotary
Foundation my wife Judith’s project is also to encourage support for The Rotary Foundation by
clubs and individuals.
As a direct result of donations from our District to The Rotary Foundation 3 years ago we were
recently ably to announce the distribution of $93,000 in District Grants to 30 club projects.
World Polio Day on 24th October provided an opportunity to celebrate progress towards a
polio-free world and the tireless efforts of many towards this goal. Rotarians and other partners
across the world celebrated the day by raising critical awareness of the need to complete the
job. Click the following link for Rotary’s Annual World Polio event www.endpolio.org/
October also saw two very successful fundraising activities for Australian Rotary Health
(ARH) in aid of mental health research. Friday 7th October was ARH Hat Day where many clubs
took the opportunity to wear funny hats at their meetings to show their support while many
others were raising funds and awareness at Bunnings and railway stations. Judith and I enjoyed
our Hat Day visits to the Rotary clubs of Corrimal, Kiama & Sydney Cove. The ARH Race Day at
Hawkesbury on Sunday 9th October at Hawkesbury racecourse was another very successful day
with a large crowd in attendance. The Annual ARH Golf Day is coming up on Wednesday 16th
November at Camden Lakeside. See the flyer elsewhere in The Bulletin.
District Governor’s Bulletin
October 2016 Rotary District 9675
DG Stephen & Judith
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RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute) is to be held on the weekend of 26th & 27th November. This
course is an amazing knowledge builder of all things Rotary and I recommend it to all
Rotarians, most particularly anyone coming into a leadership position within their Club. There
are still a few spots available so if you would like to attend please contact our District Training
Chair, Bruce Farquharson, on 0419 427 033 or [email protected]
The NSW Police Officer of the Year Awards are getting closer. To be held on Friday 4th
November these Awards are a very special night in the Rotary year where we recognise our
police officers for the work they do in our community. You still have time to buy a ticket for this
very important event in our calendar.
World Diabetes Day is on Monday 14th November. The diabetes epidemic will soon reach 500
million people in every corner of the world. No country is exempt. This year’s push is blindness
prevention. Most are unaware that diabetes is a leading cause of blindness and is preventable.
Help spread the word. Further information can be found at: www.idf.org/wdd-index/resources.html
Following the recent Category 4 storm Hurricane Matthew which caused massive damage in
Haiti, the ShelterBox response team is starting to assess the level of damage and the best way
to support people left without shelter. Your support is needed so that aid may be sent as quickly
as possible and as many people as possible may be helped. See: www.shelterboxaustralia.com.au
Recently all clubs were asked to complete a Sexual Abuse Liability Questionnaire, a new
requirement of Rotary’s insurers. Last week I received an email from the National Insurance
Committee reinforcing the need for a consistent national screening approach for all youth
programs and activities. This will almost certainly result in an upgrade to the District’s Child
Protection Policy. All Rotarians and clubs are again reminded that the Working With Children
Check (WWCC) is a basic requirement for involvement in Rotary’s youth programs.
Judith and I extend a personal invitation to all Rotarians, family and friends of Rotary to come to
our District Conference at the Novotel North Beach at Wollongong from 10th to 12th March. The
speaker program is looking great and I am very confident that you will have a very enjoyable
and fun experience. We have priced the Conference at a very affordable rate with options for the
different sessions. You can attend the whole Conference, Friday night to Sunday inclusive, for
the combined cost of attending the Saturday session and Saturday night dinner. Amazing value!
Please follow the District Conference page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rotary9675Conference2017
District Governor’s Bulletin – October 2016
Hat Day celebrations at the Rotary Club of Kiama
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Bookings for the District Conference will open 1st November through our District website:
www.rotarydistrict9675.org.au
Assistant Governor of the Macarthur Clubs, Margaret Favelle, is currently in hospital
recovering from emergency surgery. I spoke with Margaret’s husband, Robert, on Friday night
and he reported that, one week after her operation, Margaret was beginning to feel better. Our
very best wishes are extended to Margaret for a speedy recovery.
On a very sad note though, Jill Williams, Past President of Holroyd Rotary Club, has passed
away after a long illness. Our sincere condolences are extended to Jill’s family.
Yours in Rotary Serving Humanity,
Stephen
Monthly ARH News Item - October 2016
Hat Day and newly created mental health research campaign, Lift the Lid, have both proved to be quite successful yet again in 2016.
On Friday, October 7, we saw Rotary clubs, businesses and other groups right across Australia, enthusiastically donning their weirdest and wackiest hats to support mental health research. Some went to their local Bunnings store or railway station to collect donations from the public, while others held themed trivia nights, morning teas and fundraising dinners.
ARH is very grateful for the support and donations that have been received so far and expect they will continue coming in throughout Mental Health Month and the rest of the year. To say thank you, we have compiled some photographs from Hat Day and Lift the Lid to create a short video. We invite you to watch it on our YouTube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMEQnMSVNPg
Feel free to continue sending through photos from Lift the Lid and Hat Day to: [email protected]
for a special mention on our Australian Rotary Health social media pages.
Remember, it is never too late to support us in our endeavor to help the 1 in 5 Australians suffering from a mental illness every year. Donate today: https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donations/donate-now/
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ROMAC and Max Walker
It is with great sadness we learnt a great Aussie cricketer and a huge supporter of ROMAC passed away on the 28th September 2016.
Max Walker was a key contributor to the establishment of ROMAC – Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children.
In the early days he provided invaluable assistance to Barrie Cooper in bringing an awareness of ROMAC and championing the concept of bringing life giving and dignity restoring medical aid to children of our neighbouring developing nations within the Oceania region. He was proud to be the national Patron of ROMAC and made himself available on countless occasions to energise support for ROMAC.
Without that support, ROMAC may not have become a Multi District Project of Rotary in
Australia and New Zealand and 400 plus children would not have been the beneficiaries of that
medical aid.
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District Governor’s Bulletin – October 2016
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Anyone got a million dollars to spare?
The two Sydney Rotary districts are combining to unleash our first “Million Dollar Dinner” on Rotarians, friends and colleagues in the Sydney region. The object of the exercise is to awaken all to the enormous potential bequests have in terms of providing for the future, and to encourage enough people to take action to reach the million dollar target.
Bequests are simple enough. You allocate a proportion of your estate to the charity or charities of
your choice and you are being asked to consider The Rotary Foundation as one of those charities.
A bequest is a simple way of supporting The Rotary Foundation. It costs you nothing and in most
cases it’s done jointly so there are no movement of funds until both husband and wife have
departed. We’ve all given a large part of our lives to Rotary and its mission, so leaving a bequest
allows the work you have done over all those years to continue. Bequests go into the Endowment
Fund meaning the money is never spent. The funds are invested and the earnings go to projects, so
the contribution you make through a bequest will go on working forever.
The dinner is at the Epping Club on Monday 28th November and details are included below.
Anyone agreeing to a bequest in excess of US$10,000 will be recognized as a member of the Bequest
Society on the night but even without a bequest involvement it will be a night worthy of your
attendance. Keynote Speaker will be past RI President and Foundation Trust Chair Kalyan Banerjee
who is an exceptional speaker.
For more information contact: Yvonne Scorer (Endowment Committee Chair 2016/2017):
E. [email protected] or M. 0418 659 127
Keynote Speaker: Kalyan Banerjee, Past RI
President and Chairman of Trustees of the
Rotary Foundation
Dress: Business attire
Cost: Table of 10 - $700 or $75 per person
Bookings and payment: https://www.trybooking.com/mmrt
or
by cheque to: Rotary Club of Epping, PO Box 77,
Epping NSW 1710 with attendees’ names, club
and dietary requirements
Enquiries: District 9675 PDG Paul Reid – M. 0424 026 343; DG Stephen Humphreys – M. 0412 993 561
District 9685 PDG David Rands – M. 0408 255 015; PDG Monica Saville – M. 0423 353 975
WHY A MILLION DOLLAR DINNER?
The Rotary Foundation has set a fundraising goal of US$300 million for the Centennial year. The
Million Dollar Dinner has become a popular event worldwide, including Australia and New Zealand,
in encouraging Rotarians, clubs and districts to meet this challenge. Districts 9675 and 9685 are
joining together to raise US$1 million in this Centennial year.
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Mindanao Visit
Recently a group of Rotarians under the leadership of Walter Bock went to Gingoog on the island of
Mindanao in The Philippines to see where the container loads of goods collected through DIK went.
The plan was for us to see how four of Walter’s programs were progressing. The four programs that
he, with help from both the Rotary club of Burwood and fellow Rotarians have achieved is fantastic.
The first program that we visited was to see where the goods from the containers were distributed
out to and this is done by Minpra (Mindanao Poverty Relief Association) which is headed by Juvie
and Jung. This program is a great success.
The second program was to unite the local Rotary clubs in helping Minpra. Another success as both
clubs are now eager to help.
The third was to check up on a program called Sew Aid started by Walter, Peter Hamer and a
Rotarian from D9685, PDG Tony Castley. This program was started over two years ago when Sydney
Rotarians went to Gingoog to teach some very poor women how to sew, with a plan to have them
start a small business making clothes for the schools etc. It is an even greater success than envisaged
as they are now in need of larger premises as their workload is getting bigger by the week with more
and more orders.
The fourth program was "Days for Girls", a sustainable personal hygiene kit for girls which enables
girls to reduce considerably the time that they miss school and allows them to not get behind with
schoolwork. We were lucky to have with us the founder of this program, Celeste Mergens, and her
husband, and also the Australian representative Gloria Butterworth. During the week we were there
we spoke to many girls and were very pleased to report that every one of them was using their kits
and they were much more aware of hygiene.
There are many people doing good things in this world but if we could bottle and sell Walter Bock's
contribution to the poor, Rotary would be very wealthy.
AG Pip Lovely
*****
For the November 2016 edition of the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter, please click
HERE.
*****
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District Governor’s Bulletin – October 2016
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A reminder to all club Presidents & Secretaries ... Please send details of your
members’ volunteer hours each month to: Maureen Busst -
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Vocational Visit to Barangaroo – 20 October
A small group of six Rotarians from our District were fortunate enough to visit the new
Barangaroo precinct in Sydney, as part of a Vocational visit arranged by Vocational Service
Chair, Charles Mille.
The group met at the Barangaroo Exchange and were greeted by Ron Wright and Neal, who was
the High Risk Trainer from TAFE NSW. We were given an overview of the site from the early
colonial days to present.
We were then geared up with our ‘PPE’ (personal protective equipment) clothing and departed
the office and walked across the road towards the Barangaroo construction zone. We clocked in
at the main entrance and went underground to the shared basement for all three Towers.
We proceeded up to Level 33 of Tower 3 and saw spectacular 360 degree views of Sydney. Ron
and Neal gave us some background information as to the construction going on in Tower 3 as
well as the recently started work with Stages 1b and 1C (being two high rise and one low rise
apartments and Crown Casino and Tower).
We returned back to the office and thanked Ron & Neal for the very informative session and
their time & providing each member of the group with a lovely present - a book commemorating
the Barangaroo precinct. I would like to thank Simon, Vera, Bruce, Patrick and Maureen for
attending.
Charles Mille
Vocational Service Chair
Here are some important dates for your diaries:
Date Event 4 November 2016 (Fri) The Rotary Clubs of NSW Police Officer of the Year Awards
18 November 2016 (Fri) District AGM & Presidents’ Meeting 21 November 2016 (Mon) Parramatta Rotary Club’s 90th Anniversary
24 November 2016 (Thurs) Committee of Association Meeting 28 November 2016 (Mon) Rotary Foundation Million Dollar Dinner 8 December 2016 (Thurs) Australian Rotary Health Christmas Dinner
8 – 14 January 2017 RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) 11 February 2017 (Sat) Presidents Elect Training (PETs 1) 17 February 2017 (Fri) Presidents’ Meeting
10 – 12 March 2017 District Conference 28 March 2017 (Tues) District Governor 2019-2020 Selection
31 March 2017 (Fri) RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) 1 April 2017 (Sat) Presidents Elect Training (PETs 2) 6 May 2017 (Sat) District Assembly
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Please use World Toilet Day to promote the importance of global sanitation and hygiene to your
club or district.
Why?
Water and Sanitation - WASRAG's raison d'etre. In our early years the focus was often on
water. Now however we've come to realise that sanitation is just as important, maybe even more
so.
Such a basic human need - everyone visits the toilet several
times a day. Yet, the impact of inadequate (or no) sanitation,
especially on women, is devastating. One in three women
worldwide risk shame, disease, harassment and even attack
because they have nowhere safe to go to the toilet. Some 526
million women have no choice but to go to the toilet in the
open. Women and girls living without any toilets spend
approximately 97 billion hours each year "finding a place to go".
This has to be an irresistible challenge for Rotarians! The very first Rotary public service project
instituted in Chicago in 1907 was the construction of public toilets (often coyly referred to as
"comfort stations" in those days!).
Help spread the word! There are some great resources to help you at World Toilet Day. Is your
club interested in getting involved in a sanitation project? Go to www.wasrag.org and click on
"projects". There are several WinS (WASH in Schools) projects listed that are in critical need of
support.
You will be hearing a lot more about sanitation and hygiene in upcoming newsletters. Please stay
tuned!
THE WASRAG TEAM
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Another event coming up this week that is worthy of your participation & support!
More and more supplies available from Rotary Down Under!
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District Governor’s Bulletin – October 2016
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Upcoming membership webinars for 2016-2017
Learn more about the ways you can strengthen Rotary by participating in
these membership focused webinars. Hear how other clubs have adopted
new club structures, increased membership, raised diversity, enhanced
member satisfaction and raised the profile of Rotary in their communities.
And understand more about the resources available to support you in your
efforts to strengthen Rotary.
Each webinar features guest panelists with direct experience, as well as a host of useful ideas and
tips for Rotarians. Webinars last forty minutes, and are recorded for wider distribution. No special
software is required to participate in a webinar; you simply need to register via the link provided.
Focusing on retention: Strategies to enhance member satisfaction
Tuesday, 22 November 2016, 8.15 a.m. (AEST) Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3308538616889128707
RI Director’s Update, RI Director Noel Trevaskis Thursday 8 December 2016, 5.00 p.m. (AEST)
Monday 12 December 2016, 8.15 a.m. (AEST) Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/1913432084078720513
For those keen golfers
among our Rotarians and
friends … here’s a
worthwhile event coming up
from
Australian Rotary Health
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District Governor’s Bulletin – October 2016