As you read this, I will be on my way back to the country of my birth to see my father. It's been a while. That's partly a result of circumstances beyond my control, but I also just put it on the back burner for a while, probably too long.
I left the United States as a young man, in my mid-twenties. The culture of the USA shaped me, but I've changed quite a lot since then, in my new environment and new country. There's been a lot of growth, I'd like to think.
The USA has also changed a lot. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said 'a man cannot step in the same river twice'. Nothing is static. We are not the same and the river is not the same, and the only place it can stay fixed is in our memories. Rotary is the same. It's not the organisation it was when it was founded, when a handful of senior business leaders met in boardrooms -- it's much more open, more available to people from all works of life to join as members or volunteers. Rotary and our club will continue to grow and change and evolve, but with the same goals of serving others, of improving the lives of the people in our community and further afield.
I look forward to my trip and to returning home again at the end of it. I'll see you soon. President-elect Shia will be acting President in my absence.
What have we been doing?
We had a great presentation from Erin, one of our RYLA participants this year. It was particularly positive to hear that learning about the servant model of leadership -- a particular favourite of mine -- had raised new possibilities in her mind for her future career options.
Bob W organised another fantastic RYDA day, one day after he celebrated a raffle prize win at the Heathmont Jets Juniors Day.
The club was taken on a tour of Parliament House and got to see the fantastic chamber rooms and hear about the much-lauded scones.
Coral received well-deserved accolades for her first evening as Sergeant. Kudos to you, Coral.
A Bunnings sausage sizzle with some absolutely stunning weather. It feels like Spring is here, but this is Melbourne and you never, ever know for sure.
What's up next?
Kristy Porter, of the Umbrella Dementia Cafe, will speak to the club about the benefit of the program to those with dementia and also to their carers and will share how our club has helped with this work, this Wednesday, 10 September.
The Whitehorse Farmers Market is on Sunday, 14 September. For those with a shift, shake your tins like you mean it -- politely of course -- and for the rest of you it's a great chance to pick up some croissants and veggies.
The Wednesday after we will hear from Ethan Newnham about his studies, his time at Oxford, and his work towards his PhD - maybe even something about trampolining.
Another fantastic Blackburn Lake Sanctuary working bee. Don't let Lions hog the glory.
Erin McCulloch spoke to the Club about her attendance at the week-long Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp at Phillip Island with 39 other Rylarians.
Erin is a senior player with the Blackburn Football Club and was nominated by Julie Hoskins, Vice President – Womens Football Director.
President Mike inducted Erin as an honorary member of the club.
Jets Junior Football Club held its end of season awards afternoon on Sunday 31 August for teams ranging from 11-year-old players to under 18-year-old girls’ team. The 10 and under players had their awards ceremony on Sunday 3 August. Ian E, Judith, Bob W and President Mike represented the club and there were over 200 in attendance. Other club members were able to attend events during the footy season. Mike presented some of the awards. The coaches all spoke very well, and passionately about their players as they received their award.
From the outset, one knows that this is a very well-run club with a volunteer administration of parents of players and an organisation structure which could have some similarity to a senior suburban football club or even higher level. The Club President for many years Joanne Hart – Parker, has been associated with the club since 1981. There was a raffle, the top prize being a bicycle valued at several hundred dollars along with many other lower value prizes. First prize was won by Bob Williams who instantly became the owner of the bike. Bob tells me one of his grandchildren now has a new bike. It was a terrific afternoon, and Nunawading Rotary was mentioned many times in addition to a prominently located retractable banner as well as on a digital screen. Our Premium Sponsorship is very much appreciated and this season we sponsored the Sports and Life Training sessions held during May and June which some of our members were able to attend.
We had 27 participants contributing $35 each for a total of $945. $10 from each entry fee will be donated to Hope Katolo School in Kenya. To Hope Katolo: at least $327. It could be more; at least one tipster has asked that their prize money be donated to the school.
This leaves a prize pool of $675, comprising of $540 (80%) for end of year tipster prizes and the balance for weekly prize winners if they tip 9 winners. The AFL has made extremely difficult to achieve this. Many rounds did not have 9 games. Nine winners were only picked in 2 rounds- Round 17 (10 winners - $6 each) and Round 20 (2 winners - $9 each). The administrators made some executive decisions to make a couple of the payouts almost worth the price of a coffee.
Thanks for participating. Please invite your friends for 2026. Good luck if your team is in the finals.
Welcome to our new PBF Australia newsletter – our way of sharing the incredible impact that your support makes across Australia. At PBF, we understand spinal cord injury (SCI) because we live it. In fact, every day, we see moments that remind us of why your support matters. Perhaps it’s the relief in a hospital room when our peer mentors arrive. It might be the spark of understanding when a student hears a lived experience story. Or it might be the hope that grows when someone realises they are not alone in their recovery. These moments are only possible because of you. Your membership, your donation, and your belief in what we do fuels every conversation, every visit and every life which, together, we help to change. Incredibly, with your support our charity has nationwide membership and delivers a growing range of education, peer and financial support programs, along with employment opportunities. All of which is inspired and informed by our lived experience of SCI. In this first edition of our newsletter, you will discover how your support drives safer choices, creates safer communities, and not just changes, but saves lives. Thank you for standing with us. We are incredibly grateful; in fact, we couldn’t do it without you.
