During the week we have said goodbye to Daylight Saving, enjoyed the Easter celebrations, possibly eaten too much chocolate, and seen COVID vaccinations get underway against a long run of zero new infections. As a bonus the weather has been beautiful and unseasonably warm, it's a great time to be in Melbourne.We had a very enjoyable Weekly Meeting last night, it was great to see some faces we haven't seen for a while, we had three members join us on Zoom, it was great to welcome Yvonne and Rob to their first meeting as Members, and it was good to have James Damches join us again as a guest. And in support of our Guest Speaker the Mayor of Boroondara, Councillor Garry Thompson was Councillor (and previous Balwyn Rotarian) Di Gillies with partner and Rotarian Rob Nethercote. With our own Patty Laufenberg, it seemed almost like a Council meeting!
It was my pleasure to continue the Club's long standing tradition and induct the Mayor as Honorary Member. Garry appreciates the long history of co-operation between the City of Boroondara and our Club, and is very keen to explore further ways the Council and it's officers and our Club can work together on current and future projects. I stressed during the Induction Ceremony that he now is an ambassador for Rotary, and will carry the ideals and principles of Rotary service to those who know him, and with those with whom he is associated - and I'm confident he will be an outstanding ambassador.
During his address, he covered his journey from Rhodesia as a child to growing up in Ballarat, and acknowledged the strong influence of his parents: his father had a deep involvement with Rotary, including building hospitals in Tonga, and his mother in her 70s ran for council! As a professional architect with a passion for urban design and the emotional connection with the built environment, he is in a great position to make an impact in the management of the City of Boroondara. Garry also handled the inevitable questions regarding council rate increases and higher density developments along the transport corridors! Well done Garry, and welcome to our Club as Honorary Member.
Thanks to the volunteers at the Camberwell Sunday Market on Easter Sunday, and thanks to the volunteers who dismantled the playground at Yarra Bend Park, transported it to DIK and packed it in a shipping container yesterday. The latter event was the first Rotary Overseas Recycled Playgrounds where Camberwell was the lead club, and this was well handled by John Walmsley, in spite of the late notice just before Easter. I have had feedback that after three playground harvesting events, Boroondara Council has great confidence in the Rotary Clubs involved, which bodes well for future projects. RORP is an excellent Club involvement - it doesn't require fund raising or cheque writing, just a bit of organisation and effort, and it's a win for the Council, a win for the overseas recipient of the playground, and a win for the environment as landfill is avoided!
Some other announcements:
- the Centenary of Rotary Celebration Dinner on 21 April at Amora Hotel is now available for registration and payment on the website. It should be a great night, partners are welcome.
- The District On-line Conference is on 1-2 May, 11am-1pm each day. Book now, it's free.
- The Rotary Peace Symposium is on 21-22 April, two half days. $66pp
- Morning Tea with the DG is on 17 April, 10am-11:30am. Free, informative and entertaining!
A final reminder: for those members who do not have a Working with Children Check, please obtain one as soon as possible. It's a District requirement that all Club members have a current WWC card, and it will be a requirement by Swinburne for all those working at the Art Show in July. If new Members have one please advise Secretary Fabienne, as the Club is required by District to maintain a Register of all WWC holders.
That's it from me, have a great week in Rotary!
(Below: Pictures of the Boroondara mayor Rob Nethercote, being inducted as is our traditional honour, as an honorary member of the RCC)
