Riot Police were deployed at the Rotary Conference in Bendigo today when controversial Rotarian Able Simpson took the floor. His speech, snippets of which were leaked to the Press, has enraged the Jarminian community and their leader Armian Jawunga. The allegations, reported last Monday evening on the ABC Four Corners program, show that over a million dollars of Rotary aid to Jarminia has been used to line the pockets of the country’s elite.
These accusations led to immediate denials from the Jarminian embassy and threats by Leader for Life Jawunga that they are considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Australia. A large crowd of expatriate Jarminians and their supporters surrounded the conference centre and Rotarians needed to be bussed in under armed guard.
Yes I know that this scenario is fiction but my point is that “If it bleeds it leads”. An event needs to be dramatic, horrible or confrontational or the Press is not interested. How many Rotary Conferences can you remember that have made it to the news? None.
Rotarians are law-abiding people going about our lives and doing good in the world. It is time to use our knowledge, contacts and resources to raise issues of concern with government. When has a “Rotary Australia” position been presented on issues such as reduced overseas aid, disease rates in neighboring countries or on Trachoma within our indigenous communities? Why not put together a submission to government on the health of the Timorese people based on the extensive knowledge gained first-hand from Rotary Clubs?
Standing out from the pack should result in more Members because Rotary will be seen to be standing for more than dinner meetings and sausage sizzles.
The 2018 International Womens Day Breakfast will be held at Box Hill Town Hall on Thursday 8th March. This event is organised and run by the two Whitehorse Clusters together with the Manningham Cluster.
This Years Theme is "One Day I Will... Todays Girls, Tomorrows Leaders"
The panel :
Lee Hamley, Chief Medical Officer at the Alfred Hospital,
Peter Stubbs of Grubby and Dee Dee fame on 3AW
Sophia Grubnik, a young leader already making her mark
Detective Superintendent Deb Robertson
The funds raised will go to The Butterfly Foundation.
Bring, your partners, friends, business associates, children etc and help make this event a success.
BOOK NOW
Early Bird Tickets (until Feb 2) are $55 per person. (Afterwards $65.00). Concessions are available for VCE and Uni Students. Click the link here for details.
Rotary International President-elect Barry Rassin laid out his vision for the future of the organisation, calling on leaders to work for a sustainable future and to inspire Rotarians and the community at large.
Rassin, a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, unveiled the 2018-19 presidential theme, Be the Inspiration, to incoming District Governors at Rotary’s International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA. “I want you to inspire in your Cubs, your Rotarians, that desire for something greater. The drive to do more, to be more, to create something that will live beyond each of us.”
Rassin stressed the power of Rotary’s new vision statement, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” This describes the Rotary that leaders must help build, he said.
To achieve this vision, the president-elect said, Rotarians must take care of the organisation: “We are a membership organisation first. And if we want to be able to serve, if we want to succeed in our goals — we have to take care of our members first.”
Rassin asked the incoming District Governors to “inspire the Club presidents, and the Rotarians in your districts, to want to change. To want to do more. To want to reach their own potential. It’s your job to motivate them — and help them find their own way forward.”
Rotarians are invited to apply to be a mentor for Ambulance Victoria (AV) senior management staff. Applications must be submitted by February 25th.
All D9810 Rotarians, and especially those living or working around Mulgrave or adjacent suburbs, are invited to apply - a senior female AV staff member, currently acting group manager and working in Mulgrave, will be the mentee.
You may be familiar with the Victoria Police (VicPol) Mentoring program. This was started in D9800 and is considered to be one of the more prestigious Vocational Service projects in Australia with D9810 having a major involvement over the last 3 years.
This newly-established AV mentoring program is similar to the VicPol program but with important differences - primarily that the mentor should have solid and recent business/management experience. This reflects the AV requirement that mentoring cover both business knowledge and skills as well as involvement with Rotary's community projects.
A Project Guidelines document is available which includes the selection criteria, time commitment and a link to the application form.
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