OCTOBER MESSAGE from DISTRICT GOVERNOR Dr Daryl Moran
What a busy time was the month of September for Jenny and me. We have now completed 35 of our DG Club Visits. It has been heartening to see the range of activities that many clubs are completing in lockdown and the plans and actions that are coming to fruition. In addition, attendance at District events and meetings has been very pleasing indeed. For example:
Nearly 30 attendees at the ‘Connecting and Re-engaging with Rotary Alumni’ seminar conducted by Kehela Vandenberg and Kathy Monley.
FUN FACT – Did you know that over 500 Rotary Alumni reside in D9810 and that 72 are currently Rotarians and 27 are Rotaractors?
Just on 60 attendees came to the Foundation/International seminar to learn about District Grants, the District Resource Networks and lessons to be learned from an international club project in Kiriwina Island, PNG.
FUN FACT – Did you know that $67,100 is available for District Grants in 2020/21?
Over 80 people from across eastern Melbourne and Victoria attended the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program launch. Based around the development of character, leadership, personal development and good citizenship, the program for January 2022 will be a joint venture between D9810 and 9820. Look for the advertisement and more information in this issue of change maker.
FUN FACT – Did you know that our joint RYLA will take 60 candidates and that applications are already being received by our RYLA Chairs Trish Carr and Les Marton from Box Hill Burwood?
Almost 60 Club Presidents, AG’s and members of the District Support team attended the monthly online meeting to see Conference Chair Steve Macdonald launch the Speaker program for the 2022 District Conference. Registrations have opened and all details are available on the relevant pages at the dg website at www.dg9810for2021-22.org
FUN FACT – Headlining the Keynote Speaker program will be well known ABC medical commentator, Dr Norman Swan, the founder and CEO of Days for Girls, Celeste Mergens and well-known Australian actor Samuel Johnson.
While our District membership numbers currently stand at 1031 there are some very interesting trends to note in membership, especially given that our District has been ‘locked down’ longer than any other in the entire Rotary world. PDG Alma Reynolds, our current District Membership Chair has provided some revealing statistics about the state of play for D9810 since 1st July 2021.
ONE-QUARTER of our clubs have increased their membership numbers.
ONE-HALF of our clubs have maintained their membership numbers.
ONE-QUARTER of our clubs have decreased their membership numbers.
‘Pollyanna’ might say that the great majority of our clubs are holding the line or increasing their membership and as District Governor I tend to agree. We need to be well pleased with our efforts to date and take heart that, although times are tough, our Rotarians are still enthusiastic and positive, especially about ensuring that they are still providing vital community service.
These are very encouraging signs indeed because it tells us that even in lockdown and with all meetings being held on Zoom, clubs CAN attract, engage and retain members.
Having visited all of these clubs, I can state that among a myriad of reasons for their growth, they have inviting and active websites and Facebook pages. They have interesting and engaging and welcoming meetings and club activities. They have active community service programs, even in lockdown. We have much to learn from these clubs and I encourage you to find ways to bring some of these positive practices into your own club.
One key aspect of our work right now is the frequency, standard and general attractiveness of our online Club Meetings. To provide advice from what I have observed from my DG Club Visits, I have recorded another FIVE-MINUTES with the DG video message. I have provided Four Hints for Better Rotary Online Meetings and have also included them in printed form below. Feedback and other ideas always welcome.
TO VIEW the FIVE-MINUTES with the DG please use one of the following links.
Mind you, despite all our good intentions there are times when our online Meetings look a little like the cartoon below!!
OUR job right now is to ensure that we don’t retreat into our Rotary Club Castles and hide to try and ride this pandemic out. Our clubs, our members and our communities need us! If we are to continue to serve our communities and ‘Do Good in The World,’ we MUST ensure that our clubs are meeting, operating and doing what they can to help others given the circumstances of ongoing lockdown.
ABOVE all as leaders in our communities, we need to demonstrate Optimism and Hope for a future that although changed forever, still holds the promise of all the joys that life can hold.
LET’S continue to work together to support each other, our families and our communities in these difficult times. Thank you for all you are doing and will do in the coming months. We can come through this and at the same time ensure that our motto of being able to ‘Serve To Change Lives’ rings true.
The Victorian Government recently published Vaccine Mandates for Authorised Workers in this state an among a long list is the potential for Rotary Volunteers who are working at Farmer’s Markets. Each of our Club Presidents has received a letter outlining advice as to how to proceed in a safe manner. In essence to participate in the Farmers Market, every Rotarian volunteer and stall holder must be double vaccinated. The Rotary club involved must sight and verify a record of those vaccinations. The Rotary club must also maintain an up-to-date list of these people at all times. We live in interesting and challenging times and whether we see these Vaccine Mandates extended to other areas of our Rotary work such as Op-Shops is yet to be seen. This information is in contrast to advice we had received concerning Rotary Clubs and Vaccinations contained elsewhere in this Change Maker Newsletter. Flexibility needs to be our watchword!
Rotary is taking action in response to the pandemic as our clubs support COVID-19 vaccination and continued prevention efforts around the world. Tapping into decades of experience in bringing polio to the brink of eradication, Rotary members worldwide are helping health authorities communicate lifesaving information about COVID-19 and vaccination, combatting misinformation, supporting fair and equal access to vaccines, and curbing the spread of the virus by donating protective gear and other supplies to clinics and hospitals that are under strain. Read more on the My Rotary website.
To ROTARY CLUB of TEMPLESTOWE and MANNINGHAM ROTARACT!
Every year the Rotary International President holds a series of Conferences in various locations around the world. RI President Shekhar Mehta is staging his Asia-Pacific Conference in Manila in the Philippines in late November this year. Five key themes are being highlighted as outlined below. Speeches, presentations and workshops will take place in at least eight different formats with one being so-called ‘Town Halls.’ This format involves a 12-minute presentation by Rotarians and Clubs to highlight their work in chosen areas. It should be noted that these virtual presentations will be made to an audience across the Asia-Pacific area of at least 21 countries with an estimated audience of 10,000 attendees.
Our heartiest congratulations are expressed to the Rotary Club of Templestowe and the Rotaract Club of Manningham for having been selected to be the sole Australian entry to make a presentation in a ‘Town Hall’ platform about their ‘Connecting Manningham’ project at this event!!
Rotarian Vicki Martinez and Rotaractors Stephanie and Daniel Martinez along with other members of both clubs have been the driving force behind this amazing and community focused program. We wish them every success and look forward to many positive outcomes from the experience. You might be interested to know more about the Presidential Conferences by looking at the website and perhaps even booking at $28 AUD for the event in late November.
Registrations for the Rotary Presidential Conference Manila 2021 https://www.rpc21.ph/
Find out more detail about ‘Connecting Manningham’ on their Facebook page at
At the Virtual Zone 8 Conference on September 11, a presentation by the CEO of Volunteering Australia, the national peak body for volunteering, illuminated the current issues facing Rotary, which are shared by all formal volunteer organisations.
The CEO, Mark Pearce, outlined that community participation in volunteering is not new and he identified the profound benefits gained by volunteers for their mental health and connection to the community. However, data shows that there has been a long-term decline in the rates of formal volunteering. In 2010, 36% of adults spent time in formal volunteer activities but this had dropped to 29% in 2019. The evidence in the response to disasters such as bushfires indicates there is no lack of empathy – no empathy deficit – but that the problems are structural. For example, changes such as the casualisation of work creates issues with the availability of spare time and the ability to commit to a regular meeting time. To bring new volunteers in, a volunteer organisation must recognize the need for flexibility. In fact, they must look through the eyes of the volunteers rather than through the eyes of the organisation.
Mark also outlined that volunteering has been “a victim of its own success”. For each worker employed in charity work, there are 3 volunteers supporting that work. As a result of this volunteer work, Governments have been able to focus their attention elsewhere.
Volunteering is a profoundly aspirational statement about the community we live in and how we want it to be. The challenge for organisations is to find the nexus between cause, motivation and outcomes.
Club Presidents were recently briefed about a ruling in the Australian High Court which has changed the landscape for organisations that administer social media pages, especially Facebook. The deliberations and implications of the High Court ruling are spelt our below and in addition Club Presidents have received a brief advice paper to help them ensure that their club’s social media is in order. Our District website has a short video to help Facebook administrators adjust their settings as suggested in this post and can be found at https://youtu.be/sFvnYlyPVWQ
Club Presidents were also briefed recently on a question that had arisen concerning Rotary clubs compiling lists of vaccinated and unvaccinated people for admission or non-admission purposes at in-person events. Our advice from Rotary International is that such a move is not a practice that Rotary Clubs could be or should be involved in organising. The advice is summarised in the two slides below and clubs were reminded that at all times the club should follow the prevailing laws of the land.
For the first time since 2018, D9810 will be holding its own District Conference on 25th and 26th of March 2022. Friday 25th will be held online whilst Saturday 26th will be staged in-person at the Caulfield Racecourse. Find out more details in the short clip below, especially the theme for the Gala Dinner!
Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of ‘green materials’ at the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre, where she is Founding Director.Learn more about Professor VeenaSahajwalla's work as one of Australia's top engineers, on this Youtube clip. https://youtu.be/9kO01ZJFZ0E
Dr Norman Swan hosts The Health Report on the ABC’s Radio National, which is the world’s longest running health programme in the English-speaking world. Norman has won many awards for his work including Australia’s top prize for journalism, the Gold Walkley. He was the third person to be awarded the prestigious medal of the Australian Academy of Science and was given an honorary MD by the University of Sydney on its 150th anniversary. Dr Norman Swan's Coronacast is a podcast that answers your questions about coronavirus. It breaks down the latest news and research to help you understand how the modern world is living through a global pandemic. Check it out at the ABC website. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/coronacast/
The Australian Fellowship of Golfing Rotarians are holding their annual tournament from the 27th of March 2022 to the 1st of April 2022 at the Claremont Golf Course situated in the suburbs of Hobart right next to the Cadbury factory. The golf course has been refurbished as has the Club House. I have a presentation video and registration forms as well as a flyer if you wish to publish it in your Club Bulletin. The brochure gives you a glimpse of what you can expect with the program. Be brave, be positive, and be confident that you will be able to meet with other golfing Rotarians or in some cases Past Rotarians and their partners in fellowship and the pursuit of golfing glory.
Our Alumni are Individuals who have experienced Rotary through participating in and completing Rotary related programs or are Rotary scholarship recipients such as:
Youth programmes
Earlyact and Interact
Youth Exchange
Speech Contests
NYSF and Science Experience
RYPEN and MUNA
Rotaract and RYLA
Peace Fellow
Group Study Exchange and Vocational Training Teams
Ambassadorial Scholars
District and Global Grant Scholars
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE??
Our Alumni are grateful for the opportunities that Rotary has afforded them and would like to stay engaged with Rotary in some way. It is up to us as Rotarians to stay connected or re-establish a connection to our Club’s Alumni and offer some alternatives that might encourage an ongoing relationship. Our Alumni are a valuable resource to you and your club
Speakers
How has their Rotary experience benefited them in their studies/vocation
Are they working in an interesting vocation?
Is their organisation of interest to your club and/or members?
Resource
Are they trained in an area that you are considering a project?
Could they be an advisor or mentor?
Is their employer a resource?
Is there a sponsorship opportunity?
Would they like to assist personally on one of the Clubs projects?
Would they like to contribute financially to a Club project or the Foundation?
Membership
This should not be the primary focus but “Have your Alumni ever been asked to join your Club?”
This may come after an extended association through working on Club projects.
They are really nice people .
Reconnect with your Alumni
Take the opportunity!
More resources to reconnect with your Alumni are available of the District 9810 Website.
The District Alumni committee are here to assist you with reconnecting with your Alumni. Please contact Kehela Vandenberg at kehela.vandenberg@gmail.com or Kathy Monley at kj.monley@gmail.com.
In 1978 the Rotary Club of Nunawading in association with the Ambulance Service Melbourne undertook a feasibility study of the need for an ambulance station to service the City of Nunawading and adjoining areas. The Rotary club decided to sponsor the project and initiated approaches to the Nunawading City Council, Victorian State Government and strong support was forthcoming from all sections of the community. Not long after the Ambulance Station was opened in May 1985, the Rotary Club of Nunawading was awarded a Significant Achievement for the project.
The ‘Paint Your Heart Out’ program was launched by Rotary International in 1992/93 with the aim of each club organising the painting of at least one house or community building. Houses owned by someone needy, elderly or disabled were preferred. PP Tony Stove of RC Mordialloc was appointed the D9810 Co-ordinator and arranged for 24 of our clubs to participate. Wherever possible, the project aimed for wide community participation to involve other community minded groups as well. Such was the success of the program it was repeated the following year.(Pictured are Mordialloc Rotarians painting the Life Saving Club)
Advice for clubs about making 'cashless' payments for club activities. A number of clubs are using the following means and no doubt there are others as well. Lilydale and Moorabbin - Direct debit. Boronia, Doncaster, Beaumaris, OCH, Box Hill Central, Mordialloc - EFTPOS machines. Nunawading - a Square device.
The Rotary Club of East Maitland in NSW has produced on Canva a very unique one-page graphic to illustrate their ‘Annual Report.’ It is certainly worth a look and could be most applicable to websites and Facebook pages.
A link to a non-Rotary website that explores the advantages and disadvantages of Hybrid meetings in the workplace, with some ideas for us to consider in our Rotary meeting environment.
Amanda Watkin, Rotary GB&I General Secretary, shares how Rotary clubs in the UK are navigating their way to normality post COVID-19 in the latest Rotary Magazine at the following link:
Just a reminder that in 2021/22 the District Governors Newsletter will now again be a monthly edition.So please send me your photos and articles to highlights9810@gmail.com prior to the next edition which will be sent out on the 1st November.
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 October. Please send me any events & functions that you have planned in 2021/2022.
In the meantime you can view all the current events here
Rotarian Vicki Martinez and Rotaractors Stephanie and Daniel Martinez along with other members of both clubs have been the driving force behind this amazing and community focused program. We wish them every success and look forward to many positive outcomes from the experience. You might be interested to know more about the Presidential Conferences by looking at the website and perhaps even booking at $28 AUD for the event in late November.
