10th Edition                                                                                  April 2022 
APRIL MESSAGE from DISTRICT GOVERNOR Dr Daryl Moran
 
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2022 DISTRICT CONFERENCE
 
Congratulations to all those who organised such a wonderful 2022 District Conference especially in the middle of a global pandemic and with numerous obstacles along the way. The Conference Committee, ably led by Steve Macdonald (Rowville-Lysterfield), has been working since 2019 to bring the event together and we can all be well pleased with the final result. The Conference Committee and other helpers consisted of Murray Wilson, Jenny Moran, Lynn Whelan, Peter Murie, Brian McPhail, Peter Behm, Trish Carr, Les Marton, Netania Lim, Pat Armstrong, Mark Balla and Marg Vesey.
 
The event featured a number of innovations for D9810.
  • A shortened program saw one segment streamed on a Friday night.
  • The one-day program featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions and a Gala Dinner all at the one venue.
  • The use of the event app Whova, meant that no paper name tags or programs had to be printed and the app also enhanced a greater sense of connectivity between attendees. In addition, a digital space was created for Exhibitors which received well over 1000 visits.
  • The Conference was subjected to a Carbon Audit to measure its carbon footprint and was intended to create a starting point for other Rotary events.
  • The use of members of our Interact and Rotaract clubs as MC crews.
 
My thanks are directed to all members of this District who worked so hard over a long period of time and in the face of many obstacles to put our Conference together. Thank You from all of Us!
 
THE DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S FOUR CHALLENGES
 
Since I was appointed to the position of DGN some years ago, I set each of the Presidents and their clubs Four Challenges from the District Governor and they have been listed in every edition of this Newsletter. With just three months of this Rotary year left, it is time for all of us to revisit them and to measure how we are going in our Rotary work and especially when measured against the Four Challenges. I encourage EVERY member of our District to examine how their club is progressing in this Rotary year and see what else could be achieved to help your President and club reach their Rotary goals for 2021-22.
 
How is your club going?
 
 
 
HYBRID MEETING in BOX
 
By the time you receive this email, the next online training session of our District’s Hybrid meeting in a Box will have been completed. On behalf of the District, I would like to express my thanks to all members of the D9810 Tech Comm Committee, so ably chaired by Trish Carr (Box Hill Burwood) and its members, Peter Dalwood (Boronia), Gus Roszycki (Belgrave and Joady Barnes (Doncaster). As you can see by the accompanying list, 24 clubs have received District Grants to assist them as they embrace the world of Hybrid Rotary meetings. No other District in Zone 8 (Australia, NZ and 14 PI nations) has embraced this innovation to such an extent and for these clubs it gives them greater flexibility in how they meet and opens us the whole world to any guests or speakers they might choose to invite to their club. Well done to these 24 clubs, and at least 5 or 6 other clubs who were already working in a hybrid fashion, who see that this is the way of the future and are prepared to accept the challenge and make it work!
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
This month in the Rotary calendar is Maternal and Child Health Month and I would encourage those of you who visited the Mini Green Expo at the District Conference to keep some of the ideas you gained in mind as you consider how you could complete your community service in the remainder of this Rotary year. Days for Girls, Water and Sanitation programs, Operation Toilets, Donations In Kind and Light up Timor might just be the projects you were looking for to ensure that you keep,
 
‘Serving to Change Lives.’
 
Dr Daryl Moran
District Governor 9810
                                                                                                
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DISTRICT 9810 CONFERENCE 2022
 
RI Theme for 2021 – 22
 
Serve to Change Lives’
 
 Stories | RMDTI
             
This year’s District Conference was billed as the ‘Family of Rotary Conference’ and had two major themes of ‘Healthy World’ and ‘Healthy People.’ Staged for one hour online on Friday 25th March and in-person at Caulfield Racecourse the next day on Saturday 26th March, well over 200 guests were in attendance, with over 160 guests at the Gala Dinner on Saturday evening. With this Rotary Year seeing the launch of ‘Supporting the Environment’ as Rotary’s seventh area of focus, this conference featured keynote speakers and breakout sessions that presented the latest findings and research to help guide our thinking. The Breakout Sessions had a particular focus on offering advice and solutions for clubs looking to enhance their projects and efforts in both key theme areas. The Mini Green Expo presented 16 different booths designed to present clubs with practical and ‘hands-on’ projects and activities to further enhance their work in their various communities. In addition, the inter-connectedness of topics and speakers meant that attendees were better able to grasp the relationship between ‘Healthy World’ and ‘Healthy People’ and apply those principles to their actions and community service. The Conference used an event app ‘Whova’ which meant that a great quantity of paper was saved and greater connectivity between attendees was achieved. In addition, 19 Exhibitors posted digital booths for people to interact with, which saw over 1200 online visits.
 
 
 
This was the  first time, as far as is known, a major Rotary event such as this conference was subjected to a Carbon Footprint Audit (Carbon Calculator) which measured such categories as attendees’ accommodation, car travel (petrol/diesel/electric), train/tram travel, meat-based meals, vegetable-based meals, drinks, event waste and electricity waste. One trend that was noted for our 2022 Conference was that, ‘far more people shared cars, used public transport or walked than had been anticipated. This is an extremely positive message.’
 
The Carbon Calculator estimated that our event produced 3.246 tonnes of carbon emissions, which as a benchmark gives other events a good starting point to measure their respective carbon footprint. It should be borne in mind that all conference events have an environmental impact, which inevitably increases proportionally to the size of the event. According to a 2020 report, the average conference attendee produces over 170 kilograms of CO2 emissions per day. To put that in perspective, the annual Australian household average is 15 to 20 tonnes.
 
 
A special highlight was the involvement of the ‘Family of Rotary’ in the form of four Interact Club members from PLC and Lilydale Heights accompanied by the Co-Presidents of the Whitehorse Rotaract Club. Tiffany Huang and Tanisha Ratnachandra (PLC) and Alice Terrill (Whitehorse) formed the Morning MC Crew, while Laura Dangaard and Anthea Rose Marana (Lilydale Heights SC) and Daniel DuBois (Whitehorse) comprised the Afternoon MC Crew. All six of these young people contributed greatly to the smooth running of the event and with confidence and aplomb ensured the smooth running of the conference. Alice and Daniel in particular, were able to curate the Speaker Q and A sessions through the use of the Whova app, which meant that these segments were clearly focused and timely. All these young people performed a wonderful job and received much praise from many attendees who saw them as a major highlight and feature of the event. Our sincere thanks are directed to the Conference Committee, chaired by Steve Macdonald, that has been working for some years to bring this event to fruition. Congratulations to all those who contributed to the success of the event.
 
 
 
Morning MC Crew Alice Terrill, Tiffany and Tanisha with Guest Speakers Jill Riseley (L) and Samuel Johnson (R)
 
 
 
Afternoon MC Crew Daniel DuBois, Laura and Anthea with Guest Speakers Pat Armstrong and Mark Balla (L) and Victor Perton (R)
 
 
 
Guest Speaker Pat McCafferty, the Managing Director of Yarra Valley Water
 
 
 
Guest Speakers Dr Pat Armstrong and Mark Balla
 
 
 
Guest Speaker Celeste Mergens, CEO and Founder of Days for Girls has her video introduced by DG Partner Jenny Moran
 
 
 
Guest Speaker Victor Perton, the COO of the Optimism Institute
 
 
 
Breakout Session led by Dr Pat Armstrong which highlighted the carbon calculator
 
 
 
Breakout Session Speaker explaining the importance of bees in our environment
 
 
 
Breakout Session Speakers Erica Gwynn (L) and
Mark Balla, Meredith Hickman and Phearak Svay (R)  
 
 
 
Guest Speaker Samuel Johnson OAM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some of the booths at the Mini Green Expo
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some images of the Gala Dinner with great food, a great band, good company and a comprehensive win by Emerald and District in the Fancy Dress competition.
Ancient Egypt never looked so good!
 
2022 CONFERENCE REVIEWS in SOME CLUB NEWSLETTERS from
THOSE WHO WERE THERE!
 
  • There were several very good speakers, the venue was great, with good food. The dinner was really good and the band was jumping.
  • The FRIDAY night session was a rapid-fire overview of rubbish as a resource that was followed by Dr. Norman Swan who gave the most cogent explanation I have heard of what has happened with Corona Virus and why we should all expect to have three doses of vaccine and that there would be an going need for top ups. The pizzas were delivered halfway through his talk and it is a tribute to him that we did not leave the screen, to eat them, until he finished.
  • On Saturday we got to Caulfield racecourse early and started right on time. The whole conference was run very tightly and professionally, keeping speakers to time.
  • The dinner was still at the Caulfield racecourse in one of the rooms, there was a great band and the food was very good, as it had been all day.
  • Congratulations to all on the organisational team. The planning, attention to detail and commitment was obvious. The venue perfect, good quality speakers and the theme of “Healthy World, Healthy People” was carried throughout the sessions.
  • Congratulations to DG Daryl and Team for an excellent Conference.
  • We are pleased the conference was a great success and our business was pleased to have been a part of it. The sessions l sat in on were very informative and motivating.  Rotary does fantastic work in the community (worldwide).
  • The Saturday night Gala Dinner was so good.  The organizers did a great job with the food and beverage selection.  And that band, they were so good! But my hamstrings were a little sore on Sunday morning.
  • It was a very well-run conference, with some great speakers, great food and a great venue. Well done to you and your team. I Ioved the Whova app! What a great way to organise a paperless event!
  • The well-crafted way the speakers all tied into the theme and added breadth and depth to our understanding of some of the issues facing us to maintain a ‘Healthy World & Healthy People’ was great.
  • A pre-lunch session with the entertaining and inspiring Samuel Johnson, with the chance for selfies during lunch, was a real highlight.
  • The venue, the food, the professional way in which all the AV operated and the joy in the room all added to the wonderful atmosphere.
  • I think it was the best Conference I have been to, bar none.
 
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DISTRICT 9810 CONFERENCE 1983 from the ARCHIVES (Our first ever!)
 
RI Theme for 1982 – 83
 
 ‘Mankind Is One — Build Bridges of Friendship throughout the World’
 
PDG Curtis G. CortelyouDistrict Governor (504) 1982-1983 | Rotary District  5040‘The annual District Conference is the foremost event in the Rotary Year for many Rotarians. The conference provides an opportunity to meet together in a spirit of fellowship, to renew old acquaintances, to hear inspirational and thought-provoking addresses on subjects embracing the Four Avenues of the Rotary Service and to discuss matters related to the affairs of Clubs in the District and Rotary in general. Many months of meticulous planning are required by members of the committee whose responsibility it is to host a conference. The continuing success of this important event has been ensured by the high level of the professionalism consistently achieved over the years.’
 
Kleine. R. ‘From the Bay to the Hills – A Story of Service.’ Rotary District 9810 District History. 1982 – 1995. Page 13.
 
In 1995 Past President Richard Kleine, a Charter member of the Rotary Club of Forest Hill, authored a history of the first years of D9810 and wrote about the annual District Conference. He noted that the first ever D9810 Conference was that of District Governor Fred Hay (RC Waverley) held in mid-March 1983 in Launceston, Tasmania which attracted over 700 guests. Keynote speakers who addressed the theme of ‘Courage Australia’ included the Chairman of Enterprise Australia, Mr Stan Owens, leading Australian financial writer, Mr Robert Gottleibsen, and the founder of Interplast, Dr Donald Lamb, plastic surgeon from California, USA. The host club, the Rotary Club of Waverley, was to be congratulated for setting a first-rate standard for the new District in conducting a memorable conference.
 
 
 
Hiroji Mukasa
Rotary International President 1982 – 83 and the second of only three such office holders from Japan.
 
 
 
 
 
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Rotary International Convention 2023 Melbourne
 

Hi all

We are rapidly reaching the date - 4th June 2022 - when registrations for the Melbourne 2023 Convention will open.  Before we know it the 2023 Convention will be upon us.  As one of the five Victorian host districts, there is much for us to do.  As our District's representative on the Host Organising Committee (HOC) and one of the two Vice Chairs of the HOC, I would appreciate the opportunity to address your Club on our preparations for the Convention and opportunities for your members to volunteer, and to host international visitors at a hospitality event.  

Regards

Tony Monley OAM

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Click Here for full details
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Rotary Ride For Medical Research 2022
 
Kelly Country Encounters, the 35th annual ride, has now been completed. A great time was had by everyone, both riders and support crew, touring around the area of Wangaratta in Victoria’s North East. The weather was kind to us with perhaps the exception of the high wind on the first day. The injection of funds into the local area’s economy was much appreciated, with one business opening on a day of normal closure to provide lunch to the team. The painted silos from Tungamah to Goorambat were certainly spectacular, as was the diverse scenery we rode through to complete the challenge, including the King Valley, Rutherglen, Beechworth and Eldorado.
 
In excess of the a third of the participants this year were non Rotarians, this number seems to be growing with each ride, and some of these people have become some of our largest fundraisers. Great new friendships were formed and many renewed, the camaraderie was terrific. The profile of Rotary and Australian Rotary Health was lifted as we progressed, with many of the non-Rotarians ramping up their fund raising on return from the ride, once an understanding of what we are about was gained.
 
Much enthusiasm for another ride next year has already been expressed by the participants this year. Basing the ride in a single location, although a challenge to organise, was much appreciated, so we will have to see what evolves as not many places provide such easy access to such a great range of riding routes from a single location.
 
Along with the Mad March Cycle Challenge, this year we have raised in excess of $30,000.00 for Australian Rotary Health, bringing the total raised to $1,240,500.00.
 
Stephen Spiers
Ride Co-coordinator
 
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Rotary Club of Belgrave donates Farm Equipment to TREK Learning Centre
 
 
Rotary Club of Belgrave donates Farm Equipment to TREK Learning Centre
Belgrave RC sent an urgent call through its friend's network for farm equipment to help
The Hills Trek Learning Centre. Trek caters for children, teenagers and young adults with Autism.
They are taught valuable life skills and learning programs including farming in order to find sustainable careers into adult hood.
 
Belgrave members led by Community director Rosie Vulling, answered the call for badly needed farming equipment to be used as teaching aids in farming practices with local TAFE organisation certifications. Belgrave obtain and had serviced:
  • Cultivator
  • 22" Slasher mower
  • 22" Self-Propelled mower
  • Mulcher
  • Converted ride on mower converted into a small farm tractor with trailer
The equipment replacement cost with transport was valued in the $10K range.
Pictured is Trek CEO Meg with Belgrave President Gus receiving the first batch of farm equipment.
 
regards
Gus Rozycki
President RC Belgrave
 
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Rotary Centenary and Peace Poles
 
Rotary Club of Mont Albert and Surrey Hills (MASH) has been installing 9 Peace Poles at local primary and secondary schools. This project celebrates the Centenary of the first Rotary club in Australia. The idea was started by a Japanese citizen in 1953 who was appalled by the suffering caused by the atomic bombs.
 
What is a Peace Pole?
It is made of aluminium, stands about 160cm above the ground and has 4 sides. The words May Peace Prevail on Earth in English are on one side. The same message in 3 other languages (including indigenous) is on the other sides. Schools choose languages which are taught at the school or which represent a significant part of the school community.
 
Participating schools have embraced the concept enthusiastically. The message is an appropriate reminder at this time, given the situation in Ukraine.
 
Thanks to Richard Groom for organising this timely project. It has been extremely well received by our wider community.
 
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Medical Clinic Finally Opened in Zimbabwe
 
 
In December 2019 Doncaster Club members helped select and load medical equipment and consumables plus secondhand children’s books into a 20’ container at the DIK (Donations in Kind) warehouse in West Footscray for Zimbabwe.
 
The container arrived in April 2020 but due to the COVID pandemic there was a delay in the clinic opening. Doncaster Club received a District Grant to assist in the cost of transporting the container and membership of the DIK Warehouse. The Rotary Club of Alresford in England paid for the land freight in Zimbabwe. The project was managed by the Rotary Club of Plumtree and Rotary Club of Bulawayo South, the club who manages the Doncaster Club’s Bulawayo Orphan’s Education (BOE) project.
 
 
The medical supplies were for a new rural medical clinic at Gambo, a rural area south of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (near a town called Plumtree). The books were for a library in a community centre in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. The community centre is where the AIDS orphans (many supported by our Club and Club members) meet each week to do their homework, engage in cultural and social activities and read library books in a safe environment. The new medical clinic was financed by a Global Grant initiated by the Rotary Club of Borken in Germany and this included training nurses in Germany.
 
The clinic was officially opened in March 2022 by the Minister Ndlovu, a local MP and was reported in the local newspaper:
 
 
Doncaster Club Past President Niranjan Ramjee who immigrated from Bulawayo in 2001, was quoted as saying: “This is a great example of the power of Rotary with five Rotary Clubs from four different countries coming together to truly make a positive difference to others’ lives who are less fortunate than ourselves.”
 
 
 
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Challenge to Lead Program
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How many sausage sizzles do you need to earn $500?
 
The Rotary Club of Doncaster is seeking referrals from District Clubs for participants in their Challenge to Lead Program. With each successful referral, the RC of Doncaster will pay the referring club $500.   That’s a lot of sausage sizzles!
 
Learn more by clicking here
 
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ROTARY QUICK LINKS
 
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DISTRICT 9810 DATES
 
DAY
DATE
DETAILS for OTHER EVENTS
2022
Fri 22 Apr
  Monthly Meeting of DG with Club Presidents, AG’s and DST
  (On-line)
Fri 22 Apr
  President Elect Information Session In-person with DGE Ken 
  Miller 
Fri
29 Apr
  Malaria Awareness Day
Fri 13 May
  Foundation Grants – Club Qualification and Planning Seminar
  (Hybrid)
Fri 20 May
  Monthly Meeting at Mulgrave Country Club of DG with Club
  Presidents, AG’s and DST and joined by Presidents Elect, AG’s
  and DST for 2022-23. (Hybrid)
Sat-Sun 22-29 May   District Training Assembly (On-line)
Sat
25 Jun
  District Changeover Dinner (In-person)
2023
Fri-Sun 3 - 5 Mar   D9810 District Conference
Sun - Wed 27 - 31 May   Rotary International Convention (RICON 23) Melbourne
 
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Hi to all.
 
Just a reminder that in 2021/22 the District Governors Newsletter is a monthly edition. So please send me your photos and articles to highlights9810@gmail.com prior to the next edition which is published during the first week of every month.
 
If you would like to see any Newsletters from the current or previous years click here.
 
Also Please remember that "Highlights" will be sent out on the third Monday of every month with the next edition being on the 18th April. Please send me any events & functions that you have planned in 2021/2022.
 
In the meantime you can view all the current events here
 
All the best
 
Michael Ellinger 
Rotary Club of Oakleigh Clayton Huntingdale
Highlights Editor
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