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President's Message
Trevor Pickles
President's Report No 15
A good attendance last Monday night listened to our guest speaker Councillor Rose Hodge as she took us through her years as a Councillor on the Surf Coast Council. The visual presentation was excellent and included images of her early years through to the present. Quite a number of questions were asked after the presentation, all of which she answered with her continuing enthusiasm.
After that, she judged the winners of the ‘silliest hat’ competition which was in aid of the ‘Lift the Lid on Mental Health’ day. The winners were Linda Neal, Neil Henderson & Maggie Isom.
The good news is that Greg Birchall returned home from hospital yesterday and we believe he is progressing well – best wishes from us all at Rotary Greg!
Congratulations to Mackenzie Hough and fiancé Luke Billows on the announcement of their engagement last Sunday.
Next week is a Club Assembly – let’s all put the grey matter into gear and see if we can come up with suggestions for not only WHAT we would like Torquay Rotary to achieve but HOW we do it.
BBQ's are in full swing with Peace of Mind yesterday and Cowrie Market tomorrow so thanks to everyone who has volunteered for those.
In the meantime, have a great rest of the week and – catchy’all on Monday.
What a great presentation by Paul Harris Fellow, Cr Rose Hodge,
First elected onto the Surf Coast Shire Committee in 2004, was elected Mayor 3 times:2006-07, 2012-13, 2015-16 and Re-elected: 2008, 2012, 2016.
She’s a Patron of all things Community, she has worked as a dental therapist and is now a partner in a bricklaying business.
She’s a board member of Gateways Support Services and Torquay Community Enterprise as well as an active community member who has served on committees for Spring Creek Community House, Torquay Cricket Club and as president of the Jan Juc Kindergarten. She is also a life member of the Torquay Netball Club, and maybe one day we can entice her to become an Rotarian (I did ask her but her reply was that her husband would never forgive her for donating yet another night of her time to something other than him..!!) but she did volunteer to help sizzle some snags at any one of our BBQ’s..!
Rose showed us many slides of her activities, the people she’s met along the way even some famous ones, all were shown with such enthusiasm you can’t help wonder where she gets the energy, but that’s Rose and in those 14yrs of service she has achieved a great deal and continues to fight for what is fair in our Shire. She also hopes, and is working towards an Art/Gallery area somewhere in Torquay
We were invited to have a tour around the Shire Offices as well as the Council’s Community & Civic Precinct known as Banyul-Warri Fields at the northern entrance to Torquay. This precinct is used by a diverse range of sports clubs, community groups and individuals for a variety of activities including AFL, cricket, soccer and other well-being activities. We even did the last ‘Relay for Life’ on the fields. The Grant Pavilion is also part of the precinct which has all the amenities every good sports pavilion can offer. Sounds like a good Vocational night sometime soon.
Apart from all that she was such a good sport in acting as Judge & Jury when it came to making a decision on who won the 3 prizes for the night in our ‘Lift The Lid’ on Mental Health crazy hat comp. Well after much deliberation a decision was made to award Neil for his Fluffy, woollen, colourful something hat which apparently was from South America, then there was Maggie with her ‘I just chucked this together’ hat with a bit of tinsel & feathers and then of course Linda with a very clever hat made with the lid of an Ice Cream carton (I think) stuck with Sellotape with the words ‘Lift The Lid’ on top, well done all three and well done everyone else too for their efforts.
As you will know by now that through the fines session and kind donations of everyone on the night we made close to $300 which was matched by the Club which bought it to a total of: $600. Thank you all again.
Rose asked me to say, “Thank you to you all and for our always welcoming nature and sense of purpose but yet fun”.
The amount collected at last weeks meeting from Fines and Donations was $ 272.35
In accordance with the Board decision last week where it was proposed to match this amount from Club funds and then increase that to the” next $100” we will forward a cheque to ARHR for $ 600. Congratulations to Jan Emmett on organising a great Rotary meeting and to everyone who supported this cause with the wearing of some very interesting hats. Congratulations to the Winning hats worn by Linda Neale, Neil Henderson and Maddie Isom.
which will be held on Australia Day Weekend, 24-27 January 2019 and we would love your support to raise some much valued funds for our Club!
What better way to enjoy the long weekend and fundraising for the Rotary Club of Torquay whilst watching one of Torquay's iconic sporting events up close?
Every session that you volunteer will earn $50 for The Rotary Club of Torquay
Volunteering opportunities exist for course marshalling:
Course Marshalling
Athlete Services
Venue Operations
Media Operations
General Workforce Duties
All volunteers are welcome to volunteer for one day or multiple days.
Plus all volunteers receive an event T-shirt and cap as well as food and water for your shifts.
An updated roster has been emailed out that reflects a few swaps that have already taken place.
Please note that to avoid any confusion what was previously known as the BBQ Roster has now been rebranded as the "Events" Roster. to reflect that it includes things like Night Jar Parking, the Book Show etc.
I have also included the dates for the Cadel Evans race (we make $50 for each shift so please register under Rotary)
Thanks to all who helped with the "Peace of Mind" BBQ in Geelong 19th October and of course we have the Cowrie Market on Sunday
If you make any more swaps please let me know and I will update the roster which can be found in documents in club runner
If you do require to swap a date for any reason you will now need to find someone to do this with yourself. I would suggest that you send the request to Greg who has offered to advertise on a BBQ Roster Trading Post in the bulletin
OK folks...... here's a opportunity not to be missed!
If you enjoy great live music, shakin' your tail feather, a few drinks on a Rockin' steam train and have not done the Blues Train before then you have seriously missed one of lifes MUST DO experiences.
We have secured a booking for 52 people, which will give us our own full carriage, on Saturday 3rd November.
The cost is $118/head which includes a buffet dinner at the Queenscliff Station prior to departure, but you will need to purchase your own drinks at stops along the journey and there is NO BYO.
Ok so it’s not a cheap gig but it will be a guaranteed fun night and while we are having fun we will be helping our Farmers in NEED……This event is a fundraiser with the proceeds of the group booking discount of approx. $1,000 going to the Rotary Drought Relief fund.
CLICK HERE to see just how the evening rolls and to view the artists playing on 3rd Nov CLICK HERE
As seats are strictly limited, bookings will be on a "First in - First Paid" arrangement. In the first instance please advise Treasurer John McDonald, by msg on 0405146443 or email, of your booking but once the 52 seats are booked if you haven't paid your money then you may get "Bumped" off by someone who pays up ahead of you.
You are welcome to invite "Friends of Rotary" but remember we are limited to 52 in the carriage....so be quick!
Payments may be made by
EFT into the Club Bank A/C BSB 633 000 A/C 149717803 (please use "BTrain + your surname" as the reference
Via EFTPOS at an upcoming Rotary meeting
We will look at running the bus again, as we did for the Wilbur Night, with Multiple Pick-up points which will most probably work out at $50/head return. Please advise John of your interest in this when you book.
If you're still not convinced then take a look below at what happened the last time some Torquay Rotarians hit The Blues Train.....
Join Rotary President Barry Rassin at the 110th Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany, 1-5 June 2019. The historic port city of Hamburg offers something for everyone. Germans call it “The Gateway to the World” — and the 2019 convention will be your gateway to the world of Rotary. At the convention, you’ll connect with people of action from across the globe while learning the latest news and strategies for keeping clubs strong.
As a past convention attendee, you know that every convention is an opportunity to learn. Not only will you be inspired by the energy and enthusiasm that surrounds you, you’ll also make new, unforgettable memories that can last a lifetime.
Join your Rotary friends in Hamburg at the 2019 Rotary Convention where together, we’ll Capture the Moment.
In Australia, farmers are the lifeblood of our country and they are in crisis. Record breaking heat and lack of rain means farmers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle, and keep crops alive. Families on the land are suffering and they need our help. Channel 9 and Rotary Australia have partnered with the National Farmers' Federation, launching an appeal to big business and everyday Australians, so we can provide some emergency relief. 100% of donations goes to the farmers and is tax deductible via Rotary and RAWCS. Every dollar counts.
The link for the donation page for the project is:
We are now fully operational with our new system for registering for our weekly dinner meetings. Called Whoozin, this program is used by other local Rotary Clubs with great success.
To make it easy for everyone I have prepared a Whoozin User Manual which is stored on Clubrunner under "Club Documents" that you will be able to print off if you wish.
In Summary the way it will work is:-
You will receive an initial email invitation each Monday for the following week's meeting.
You can immediately accept or decline, leave until later.
You will receive a reminder email on the Friday Prior
You will have until Midnight Sunday to register your RSVP and can change your decision right up until the closing time.
You can register up to 5 guests
You can specify any Special Dietary requirements
Please Note that if you do not register your intentions you will be charged for the dinner fee.
If you have any problems please free to contact myself Greg Plumridge 0418521321 or Michael Reed 0418524315 for details on how to work the program.
If you cannot meet one of your assigned duties, Please contact Bruce Smith to advise.
The duty team should arrive no later than 6:00 p.m. Besides the below duties, the assigned team is responsible for Room Setup, Greeting Members and Guests, and Room Tidy at the end of our meeting - see checklist in storeroom or click here .
Notifying someone about changes to your meeting attendance is your responsibility!
Our meetings have catered dinners, so if you are unable to attend a meeting, or if your partner is unable
to attend a designated Partner's Night, YOU MUST ADVISE us of your or your partner’s absence.
This also applies if you are attending the meeting but not dining.
How to Book in for our Dinner Meeting?
For Members, Partners and guests of Members
you will receive email invitations to each meeting via Whoozin.
It will be your responsibility to RSVP using Whoozin by Midnight on the day prior to the meeting.
The only exception to this will be if you are expecting to be out of internet connectivity for an extended period.
In this instance you can notify Richard Mierzejewski at LET Surfcoast on03-5261 2777 by 4.00pm on the Saturday prior to the Monday Meeting.
Please Note there is NO Answering Service on this number.
Remember if you are bringing guests or your partner (to a non-partner night) you need to RSVP for the extra number of person/s who will be attending.
If no RSVP is registered as per the above process, the absentee member will be issued with an invoice to pay the Club the usual dinner fee of $25 for your non-attendance, and/or that of your partner if it is an official Partner's Night.
For Visitors to the Club
Any Visitors not being registered as a guest of a Member must call Richard Mierzejewski at LET Surfcoast on03-5261 2777 to Book in. RSVP's must be made no later than 4.00PM on the Saturday prior to the Meeting
Please Note there is NO Answering Service on this number.