The meeting was chaired by the Mayor Sophie Torney. It was held in The Chandelier Room at the Hawthorn Arts Centre and was scheduled for 3.30pm to 5.00pm. The purpose of the meeting was to bring the seven local Rotary Club representatives and community groups together to network, share information on projects and emerging issues and identify collaboration opportunities. The following clubs and their respective representatives were in attendance;
1. Rotary Club of Balwyn - Ian Davidson (President) and Julie Mulhauser (President Elect)
2. Rotary Club of Camberwell - Daya Govender (President Elect), Nadia Hamiliton (Chair of Community Services), Teresa Molella (Operations Manager Hawthorn Makers) and Peter Allen.
3. Rotary Club of Canterbury - Elizabeth Shepard and Dr. Jillian Woinarski (Co-Presidents)
4. Rotary Club of Glenferrie - Chris Raw (President Elect)
5. Rotary Club of Hawthorn - Ian Bentley (President)
6. Rotary Club of Kew - Joan Scott (President) and Barbara Brook (President Elect)
7. Rotary Club of North Balwyn - Greg Ross (President), Sam Hardikar (President Elect) and Gretta Williams
The following 3 other community groups were also represented;
· Ability Works - non profit social enterprise providing a welcoming and inclusive workplace from all walks of life.
· "It's Little Things" - provides home style meals and acts of kindness to the vulnerable, displaced, and disadvantaged in our local community.
· Alice Anderson Statue/Memorial Proposal - to celebrate the incredible legacy of Alice Anderson's life and achievements - including a statue.
Presenters from each of the above groups were given 5 minutes to present their projects. I presented 10 slides, rushing through our club's key projects.
I unfortunately did not manage to fully expand or express details of our major and exciting fundraising projects (The Art Show, The Hawthorn Makers Market, Camberwell Sunday Markets and Bunnings BBQ).
I humbly apologise to our hard working teams for not highlighting these events. I believe the 3 community groups presented to us with enlightenment with the view to exploring opportunities for support and collaboration from Rotary. Many of the presenters went well over their 5 minute allocation.
After 5.00 pm Mayor Sophie Torney appropriately brought this very informative and successful meeting to a close. Unfortunately since the meeting time was running over scheduled time, the Q&A session was abandoned.
With the valuable experience and information gained from this network meeting I will definitely equip myself with a more polished presentation for the next one. May even take the liberty of going slightly over the 5 minute mark if need be.
Thanks
Daya Govender