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President's Message 5th October 2024
Bruce Turner
President’s Message
Greetings and welcome. Thank you for joining our online news and updates.
To start our meeting, I was finally able to present the last of the Directors' badges to Kelly Binyon. Following quite a long and exciting holiday, we welcomed Kelly back at our social night last week and it was great to have her back in attendance at a regular meeting. The presentation of this badge marks 84 days since our Club Changeover, and as I mentioned, I’m sure this has to be a record for a club changeover.
Another feature of the night was a presentation of awards to the Rotary Club of Torquay by District Governor Lesley Shedden. The awards which recognised our Club’s donations to The Rotary Foundation were:
Club Annual Donor; Level 1, 2024 for support of The Rotary Foundation with contributions of US$100+ per member
Bronze Club Major Donor for total contributions exceeding US$100,000
Congratulations to all current and past members who have made the donation of these generous amounts possible.
Following our Club announcements and dinner, it was a pleasure to have Roger Leask from the Rotary Club of Essendon as our guest speaker. I am sure the members who attended would have found the presentation on the Royce and Jean Abbey Foundation, its aims and its perpetuity through the Royce Abbey Awards very informative. You can read more about the presentation later in this bulletin.
A reminder about our meeting on Monday October 7th. This is our Club Assembly and we are also having our fabulous “Lift The Lid” Hat Night. Great prizes to be awarded on the night – you have to be in to win it. Please Note: this will be a face to face meeting only as the Club Assembly aspect of the evening will require members to join in discussions with their chosen committee.
As an extra “hat feature” for Monday night, John Oswald has requested that:
“Besides indicating a need for greater thought about mental illness, hats do provide protection from the sun. Lese Oalai has an over-abundance of sun! With this in mind, members are asked if, on Monday evening, at the Lift the Lid meeting, they might bring any spare hats or caps that they might no longer need.”
A great idea John, but the winning hat may be too valuable to pass on!
I mentioned at the start of my report that Kelly and Paul are back in Oz following their overseas travels, which were centred around their participation in the Paris Olympics. You will have the opportunity to hear their stories of volunteering in Paris at next week’s meeting, your invitation to register will be in your inbox shortly.
Updates for members:
Art of the Minds - HIS Story: Big Boys Breakfast Celebrating Stories of Courage, Wednesday Oct. 9, 2024; 8:30am to 10:30am Cost: $60Location Torquay Bowls Club.
Throughout history, many courageous heroes have left a lasting legacy for future generations to reflect upon and be inspired by. HIS Story - The Big Boys Breakfast celebrates these stories of real courage, often found in unexpected places. We are honoured to have Lance Picioane as our special guest presenter. Best known for his 8-year AFL career with Adelaide, Hawthorn, and North Melbourne (1998-2005), Lance is also the Founder and CEO of Love Me Love You, a Youth Mental Health Foundation. Lance will share his personal journey and his belief that no one should have to travel their path alone. This charity event supports the 15-bed men’s facility run by Foundation61. Join us to hear from Foundation61, the Support After Suicide Program by Wellways Australia, and Art of The Minds. Enjoy musical performances by Will and Casey, the encouragement award winners of The Art of The Minds Surf Coast Song Contest 2023. A scrumptious breakfast is included in the ticket price. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements. Book here
Please support the “Rotary Walk With Us” team Lesley has launched and throw the club’s weight behind World Polio Day.
Ryans IGA Community Rewards Program: The Rotary Club of Torquay has been selected to participate in Ryan’s IGA Community Rewards program. Our group will appear at Torquay for September and October. If you think your next visit to the supermarket will result in a spend of over $20, it is worthwhile making that trip to IGA
Save the date Friday 22nd November: Bayside Geelong RC Trivia Night, venue Christchurch Geelong Hall, tables of 6-8 people, BYO drinks and food. Cost and more information to follow.
Monday 7th October will be a revisit of Torquay Rotary's fabulous "Lift the Lid" Hat Night.
REMEMBER SOME OF THESE:
Along with the Rotary Walk with us - this is to raise much-needed funds in the fight against polio, and it is a partner’s night, so be sure to bring your partner
along as there will be prizes for the following Hat Categories:
Polio is the world’s forgotten disease and something that should have been made history a long time ago. It is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease. There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.
This October we are asking you to Walk With Us for those who can’t. We are challenging you to walk, run or roll 10, 20 or 50km throughout the month and raise vital funds that will help eradicate and prepare us for a Polio free world.
Save these dates to attend or assist at our conference:
Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd at 13th Beach Golf Club and Sunday 23rd March 2025 at The Sands, Torquay.
Home Hosting
Richard Hawker is the co-ordinator for this - rjhawker48@gmail.comThis is an exciting opportunity for you to offer a room or two in your home for Rotarians coming to the conference to stay for the weekend.
We are delighted to have Kieser as a key supporter of our District conference. As part of this, Kieser is offering all Torquay Rotary members 50% off an initial assessment with a Kieser Physiotherapist and $10 off membership prices per fortnight.
Hon Member Vernon D'Souza makes October his own - his birthday is the 16th, Wife Cha has her birthday on the 13th and he joined Rotary 52 years ago on his birthday - the 16th.
