I’m starting this bulletin with the fantastic news that the house has been sold and expected to settle next month!  This is a great result for our club and very exciting to think about the opportunities that we have to make a difference and create a legacy in our community.

Thank you to all of the members who helped out at the working bee’s, to Alan Roberts for his legal work and to Ashton for his work under difficult circumstances to secure the sale.  A huge thanks must go to Neil Fullard for his work on improving the house which ensured the best sale price.

It was good to hear from DG Linda Humphries at our meeting last week, especially when she congratulated our club on our amazing achievements.  Linda spoke about meeting RI President Gordon McInally, who she found to be very down to earth and relaxed.  Gordon’s focus for Rotary this year is mental health, building peace and empowering girls and how it is important to make sure that everyone is OK, including friends, family and fellow Rotarians.

Linda told us that District is planning a Mental Health Forum with 9810 and has asked Gordon to attend and he has pencilled it in which is very exciting.  At the moment the forum may be held in Frankston so stay tuned for information about that event.

Linda also shared her thoughts about the district merger and how this is an opportunity for a bigger pool of talent across 81 clubs and this will help with District roles and to reduce costs.  The new district number, 9815 was officially registered on Tuesday 5^th September.

Regionalisation is another impact to not only our club but all Australian clubs and Linda shared that this will stop lots of duplication and ensure that Australian clubs will have a voice and run our clubs how we want to.  This year the Zone 8 conference will be virtual on 28 29 October, check the district website for details.

Linda then asked her husband Mark to talk about Foundation, which he is passionate about.  Mark talked about the importance of supporting foundation and eradicating Polio.  This year there have been 6 cases, 5 in Afghanistan and 1 in Pakistan so there is still work to do in this area.  Mark also shared that our club has contributed over $120,000 to Foundation over the years which is a great achievement.  He then presented the club with an award for contributing $100 USD per member to Foundation last year, another great achievement under Leanne’s leadership.

Mark’s partner project this year is DAA which is more good news for our club.

This year Linda has started DG Live which are 1 hour sessions on Friday nights where you can join in and talk about our club projects, learn about other clubs projects and ask questions.  Details are on the district website.

Of course Linda championed the District Conference which is on February 23-25^th 2024 at Warrnambool.  As this is the last 9820 District Conference there is something special planned for Sunday; a celebration of achievements over the past 40 years of the district’s history.  There is also a special dinner on the Friday night.  Please consider going to the conference, they really are great events and this one will be extra special.

Next week (September 19^th), we have Greg King and PDG Alma Richardson speaking about Foundation and the Paul Harris Society.

Due to such a positive response we are cancelling our Footy night on the Tuesday 26^th September and changing our meeting for that week to Monday 25^th to attend the Casey Club’s cluster event, From Rags to Riches.  See below for information and the link to book tickets.

Please RSVP for club meetings through club runner or email Marty directly.