President’s Comment – 11 Sep 16 (11 September 2016)

Thank you to all who attended the Guest Speaker and Board Meeting on Wednesday 7th September. Matt Eakin gave a great presentation that you can access under Member Login/ Video Meetings on this website.

This is Basic Education & Literacy Month and I believe the comments below are very relevant  and explain the power of the Rotary Youth Exchange program to change lives and the world.

 

Making peace, one exchange student at a time

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Belgian Exchange Student Marcellin Niset in Alaska

Belgian Exchange Student Marcellin Niset in Alaska

By Marcellin Niset, Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Belgium to Alaska

The Italian-American author and actress Vanna Bonta wrote, “There’s no hospitality like understanding.” That quote stuck with me as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Alaska in 2015-16. I arrived in Alaska, a wilderness filled with beauty and love, determined to make my exchange purposeful and beneficial for myself, my host community, and the world.

An exchange is not only about a student going abroad, it is about all the people who make this exchange possible, and the ones that are impacted, directly and indirectly.

Niset addresses a Rotary club.

Niset is using his exchange year as an opportunity to promote tolerance and respect.

I come from a small village in rural Belgium and the exchange is a unique chance to accomplish something bigger than myself. To be selected as an ambassador for Rotary and my country meant being the custodian of national values and beliefs.

Sometimes, the mission was easy. I brought happiness to people by making countless Belgian waffles. I presented facts about my homeland to my host club and community. But going deeper, and sharing what makes people from my country unique, explaining why we think and behave differently, without judging, is harder. There is not just one way to do things, and one way isn’t better than another, just different.

At my first orientation with the other exchange students in Alaska, our coordinator told us that the Rotary Youth Exchange motto was to “Make peace in the world, one student at a time.” I only understood the real meaning of this sentence later in my exchange.

Terrorist attack

On 22 March, Belgium became the target of a terrorist attack. I saw the last place I had been in my country, the airport, blown up by people who didn’t understand differences. I saw a symbol of globalization exploded and my beliefs harmed. I had a friend from France, two from Indonesia, one from Germany. All of them felt the weight of terrorism. It oppresses you, makes you fearful, sad, and angry.

How in a world interconnected, multicultural, and full of exchange students, can terrorist attacks still happen?

But then it suddenly made sense to me why I was on exchange at this time. I realized how I could explain the values my country stands for, and show how Rotary members and exchange students can work together to help solve the world’s problems. Rotary members already have a drive to change the world. Exchange students promote tolerance and respect.

Thanks to my exchange, I had the opportunity to share my values, my beliefs, my identity. I try to make the world stronger, one speech at a time, and am inspired to strive for greater things.

This is the power of Rotary Youth Exchange. And it can be the pride of Rotary, too.

Learn more about exchange opportunities through Rotary

President’s Comment – 4 Sep 16 (5 September 2016)

Reminder – Board meeting & Guest speaker – MATTHEW Eakin

On Wednesday 7th September at 7.00pm EST. All welcome to attend but you need to contact me at johnroberson@bigpond.com by 12.00 noon Wednesday 7th if you want to be sent the email with the link to the GoToMeeting

Co-Chief Mountaineer and International Representative

Matt grew up in country Australia, approximately 300kms from Sydney. He first visited the Australian snowy mountains when he was 7, from then on he was hooked and began travelling and vigorously exploring mountains everywhere. This continued throughout the completion of his University Studies, graduating with a bachelor of Commerce and Law. He then began work as a tax solicitor while he pursued his passion part time. His love for adventure has seen him travel all over the world avidly pursing his sporting interests – trail running, rafting, trekking, climbing, paragliding, mountaineering, mountain biking and snow skiing. His love of adventure was so strong he attempted to become a full time professional athlete, being sponsored by an international shoe company. He also became preliminary talks to establish an adventure company in Australia, which was not to be. It was on a fateful trip to Nepal in 2009 to explore more mountains and culture that he met Prakash. They instantly bonded over their mutual love of Nepal – her people, her mountains and her culture. Matt particularly loves the spiritual and peaceful experiences that result from all these aspects together, in particular being in the high mountains. His goal with Hike Himalaya Adventure (“HHA”) is simple, share these experiences and feelings of what it is like being in the mountains with others – the high altitude, the humility of the mountains, engaging with the mountains and the healthy lifestyle of being outdoors. Matt has spent much time undertaking expeditions throughout the Himalaya’s and broader Nepal since first arriving and especially enjoys the Annapurna region. His latest expedition in March 2013 involved running the trails up to and around the Annapurna Base Camp region and surrounding lower peaks. During a two week period at altitude he ascended some net 17,000 vertical meters.

Whilst Matt vigorously pursues physical activities in Nepal he is equally interested in exploring the spiritual and cultural side. He has recently undertaken a 10 day Buddhist sit meditation and would like to explore similar experiences further

Importantly, Matt is also passionate about ensuring HHA supports and benefits local people, currently focusing on the Dhading region of Nepal where Prakash is from. HHA aims to achieve this by working with communities to establish sustainable community projects. This has involved teacher training, dental health initiatives and building programs. Finally, when Matt isnt mountaineering crazy and exciting expeditions in the Himalayas he is found running trails, riding his mountain bike or skydiving.

Posted by DG Michael Milston FOR Basic Education & Literacy Month

 “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free” – Frederick Douglass
This month when we can think about the reasons why we give such emphasis to basic education and literacy in our work serving humanity. Sometimes, what we think of as self-evident truths, require a review to ensure we have sound reasoning and therefore our efforts can help bring about change.
Now you may have an education background, and then again you may find the following very interesting. Did you know that:
“The brain is the only organ that is not fully formed at birth. During the first three years, trillions of connections between brain cells are being made. A child’s relationships and experiences during the early years greatly influence how their brain grows” [Zero to Three, in its booklet titled ‘Getting Ready for School Begins at Birth’].
So these very early months and years are most important for learning. Many of us in the developed world take learning for granted, but in fact it was not always so. Over the generations parents have been encouraged to read to their child, sing with them and play. But how does an illiterate parent read to their child? And how does the family in poverty afford a book or an education?
And of course there are many other influences; these have been summarized by the Victorian Government in their publication – ‘Making the most of childhood: the importance of the early years’ 2010 – as follows…
Children’s development and learning are affected by:
  • influences within themselves – their genetic inheritance, temperament, gender, and health
  • influences within the family – family relationships, parenting styles and values, the family’s financial situation, parents’ level of education, parents’ occupation, and parents’ physical and mental health
  • influences within the community – children’s services (both availability and quality), support for parenting, housing (both quality and security of tenure), safety and crime in the neighbourhood, unemployment levels and the general feeling of trust among the residents
  • influences within their culture – with different cultures marked by differences in parenting styles, beliefs and values, and different views on how children should be educated.
Rotarians in our District have understood the needs of our communities for many years. And the focus on literacy is often supported from the very beginning, with projects (as recently publicised by the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga) to give every new-born a book for mum to read to them.
Consequences of failing to effectively improve literacy
Of course, we all recognise that when poverty is involved it is much harder to ensure the necessary early childhood learning practices. In a US study it was concluded:
“A large body of research continues to document the negative effects of poverty on children and their later life outcomes. Children growing up in poverty complete less schooling, work and earn less as adults, are more likely to receive public assistance, and have poorer health. Boys growing up in poverty are more likely to be arrested as adults and their female peers are more likely to give birth outside of marriage. [Poverty And Education: Finding The Way Forward by Richard J. Coley and Bruce Baker, 2013 Educational Testing Service, USA].
And then “there is … research indicating that high crime rates are typically concentrated in small geographical areas characterised by structural disadvantage, including low economic status, poverty, segregation, a high proportion of single parent families, residential instability and a large proportion of racial/ethnic minority groups” [T.Allard, A. Chrzanowski and A. Stewart Targeting crime prevention: Identifying communities that generate chronic and costly offenders quoted in Rethinking Justice – Vulnerability Report 2016, Australian Red Cross].
The importance of this education and literacy therefore starts from the day we are born for that’s when the foundations for the future are laid, and when we begin moving down the path that will take us through childhood, the teenage years and ultimately into adulthood.
The importance of the early years is now well known throughout Australia and the rest of the world. These years are a time when the brain develops and much of its ‘wiring’ is laid down. The experiences and relationships a child has, plus nutrition and health, can actually affect this enormously. Positive experiences help the brain to develop in healthy ways.
Rotary Clubs have been providing important support over many years. And it is emerging now that in our local early childhood learning space – preschools and childcare centres – that children are learning the Wiradjuri language. This development is doubly important as it provides the Aboriginal child with a connection to and validation of their culture, and for the non-Aboriginal child it opens there thinking to understanding diversity and their place in it. The examples of these language practices are evident in Wagga Wagga and Orange, and quite likely in other communities in Wiradjuri country.
So What do children need to support learning in the early years?
They need:
  • adults who help them to stay safe and healthy
  • positive caring relationships that are ongoing – the most important factor in supporting a child’s learning. All children need people, or at least one person, who believe in them, care for them, and want to support them as learners. Children do some of their most powerful learning from copying what people around them do, so it is important that they are with adults who are learners themselves
  • adults who appreciate the uniqueness of each child, and who respect and respond to the child’s feelings, needs and interests
  • help to learn to control their behaviour and patient teaching about what behaviour is accepted
  • opportunities to ‘be in the world doing things’. Children need to be actively involved in meaningful experiences
  • books to look at and read, stories to listen to and people with whom to have conversations. Loving language and books makes a great and strong start to developing a wide vocabulary and literacy skills
  • time to really get involved and build relationships with other children and adults
  • a group experience – this might be a playgroup, a childcare or occasional care centre, a family day care home, a kindergarten program, school or outside school hours care
Information in this Conversation was sourced from:
Getting Ready for School Begins at Birth Zero to Three, Washington, DC.
Making the most of childhood: the importance of the early years, State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) October 2010
President’s Comment – 28 Aug 16 (28 August 2016)

Some of our new members have requested an explanation of their access to Rotary websites.

First and foremost is our own Club website where we meet and communicate with each other. This can be reinforced with personal email messages, Facebook messages and phone conversations. In addition we propose to hold some face to face meetings of our members in when we are in someone’s locality. If your username or password do not work please contact me.

DG Michael Milston has introduced his District Governor Communications format for this Rotary year. His objective is to allow you to consider each piece of information and decide if it tweaks your interest and you want to read on, or if not then you delete it. To achieve this, each bulletin will mainly be single topic focussed. So how will it work?

He will be sending out, by email, regular short “tweets” in a bulletin format called “Quick News“; a (probably monthly) “Conversations” bulletin which will look at thoughts and ideas around the monthly Rotary theme; and finally, but not least, a regular (probably monthly too) “What’s On” bulletin (see read more link below).

All these bulletins will, where there is more information available, refer by linking, back to the D9700 website. All these bulletins will be sent to your registered email address. Needless to say I welcome any feedback, contributions, comments, and thoughts.

There will also be other items of interest to Rotarians and others on the D9700 website also know as ClubRunner, so do make a point of checking the site. Some of the bulletin stories above will also be on the Home Page. All Rotary Club members can login using their email address that they use for our E-Club. If you do not have or cannot remember your password  click on the link at the bottom of the login page.

Clubs have been asking for sometime about how they can use the web site for getting information to you and other Rotarians. The “What’s On” is an attempt to moderate this desire to tell the District Rotarians of these Clubs’ fundraising, social, and project endeavors.
Your Club can already put events onto the D9700 web site Calendar; so those items will be included in the “What’s On” and if you something also included, you will need to send the following information to our District Bulletin Editor, Ian Davison caa@countryad.com.au :
  • Type of activity (eg fundraising event, raffle, stall, etc)
  • Title of the activity
  • Purpose of the activity (support children/adults/etc improve/learn/ etc etc)
  • Dates
  • Location
  • Club involved
  • Contact details (for more info, buy tickets, name, email, landline or mobile); links to your Club’s website where there is more information would be the best for you to get your message across.

The other website that all Rotarians can login on is the Rotary International site at: https://www.rotary.org/en .  This website is for the public but all active Rotary members can go to MyRotary and login to access a lot of information on Rotary. You will need to quote your Rotary Club and your Rotary International ID number. If you do not have this please ask our Club Secretary to email your number to you.

You will note that you are identified as  a member of your Rotary Club and you can look up any donations you have made to the Rotary Foundations. You can subscribe to newsletters from any of the various Action Groups, Committees or interest groups that can be accessed from here. You also have access to the International Directory that lists all Clubs worldwide, their meeting place and date, their executive contact details  so that you can organise to visit them or contact them to carry out a mutual project together.

It is on the Rotary International website that YOU begin to feel part of an extremely large and effective organisation serving humanity.

President’s Comment – 21 Aug 16 (21 August 2016)

Thank you to all six members who have submitted their member surveys. I will contact the remaining four by email who still have to submit.

Attendance by some members has been excellent. I encourage all members to log on to our website regularly and record their attendance an learn more about Rotary.

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August is Membership Month, a time to celebrate your club, your members, and the good you do in your community and around the world! Many people join Rotary to serve others locally and globally. Rotary allows members to make a difference while promoting fellowship and international understanding.

We offer many programs that allow you to engage with fellow members and make new connections outside your club and district. Here are just a few ways to get more involved:

Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals. Read how Rotaract clubs are building stronger communities through sustainable service projects.

President’s Comment – 14 Aug 16 (14 August 2016)

This is an inspiring story that offers hope in a community that has been subjected to  extreme horrors in the recent past. Rotary does some marvellous work!

African youth construct kitchen gardens for genocide survivors

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Rotaractors take part in clean up

Rotaractors and guests clean up and create kitchen gardens in the village of Kinyinya, Rwanda.

By Peter King Oloo, a member of the Rotaract Club of Kie, Rwanda

Nearly 140 Rotaractors and guests from across the East African countries of Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda gathered in Rwanda on 26 March to participate in the monthly cleaning exercise in Rwanda called Umuganda.

The Rotaractors, through their award-winning annual project called REACT (Rotaract East Africa Impact), had organized a project to construct kitchen gardens and raise funds for medical insurance. Both these activities were geared toward helping the community of the 1994 Rwanda genocide survivors who were resettled in Kinyinya village in Kigali.

REACT-Fast-factsThese survivors were resettled under the Peace and Hope Initiative. We sought to carry out a project with some guests that would be sustainable and enable the people at this community to feed themselves for longer term.

The community was trained with practice to construct kitchen gardens in tight spaces and to balance their diet. By the end of the project, 50 kitchen gardens had been constructed.

Miss Rwanda 2016, Miss Jolly Mutesi, joined us and implored the young girls at the center to be hard workers and make wise choices. She told stories of girls who had listened to the promises of boys in the village, and then found themselves alone once they became pregnant.

We raised 500,000 Rwandan Francs for medical insurance, enough to cover 167 individuals for a year. The project was hosted by the Rotaract Club of Kigali City and the Rotaract Club of KIE and was the fourth annual REACT project after Uganda (2013), Burundi (2014) and Kenya (2015). The 2017 leg will be held in Tanzania and its concept is in development.

President’s Comment – 7 Aug 16 (8 August 2016)

This is Membership Month

Why don’t you invite a friend to join our Club? This may be the opportunity that some of your friends have been looking for. Please view the video below it may inspire you. Let see if we can get some more members.

Video on Membership – RIP John Germ

Through the Rotary community, you can exchange ideas and build lifelong friendships with like-minded people. Take advantage of the resources and activities available through your club, district, and Rotary International to make your experience with Rotary both rewarding and fun.

How do I start?

Get the most out of your membership by participating in club projects and activities.

Here are some ideas:

  • Serve on a club committee where you can use your skills
  • Identify a need in your community and suggest a hands-on project to address it
  • Work with a youth service program sponsored by your club, such as or
  • Host a student
  • Help organize your district’s programs
  • Recommend a colleague or friend for membership in your club

 A Fresh Approach

Give your members a meaningful Rotary experience by offering them opportunities to make a positive difference and connect with others. They’ll make valuable friendships and feel good about Rotary and the work we’re doing to make the world a better place.

Find ideas to help your club take a fresh approach with these resources:

President’s Comment – 31 Jul 16 (1 August 2016)

Thank you to all those members who have completed the Member survey and recorded your attendances. It would appear that most of the Club is starting to attend online as we intended. I will record your suggestions to the Club in  a future comment so that we can all consider the ideas put forward.

I think that the article below does not apply to most Australian Rotarians as we are known for getting our hands dirty and doing a bit of manual labour to achieve our goals. We have a reputation of volunteering to run BBQ’s to raise money for our projects. I think we operate as a third class, grass roots organisation in Australia.

So much is achieved by doing it yourself and motivating those around you. Please read on:

Are you willing to be third class, and serve?

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Tiffany and baseball players

Tiffany Ervin with participants in a special needs baseball league her club sponsors.

By Tiffany Ervin, past president of the Rotary Club of Four Seasons – Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA

In the days of the American wild west, if you wanted to travel a great distance, you had to go by stagecoach and it was a very long trip. There were three different classes of passengers – first, second, and third class. The seats were all the same, but the prices were different. Here’s why…

  • First class meant you remained seated during the entire trip, no matter what happened or what conditions might be faced.
  • Second class meant you remained seated until there was a problem along the way, when you had to exit the stagecoach and walk alongside.
  • But third class passengers not only exited when there was a problem, they were also the ones who had to fix a broken wheel or even push the stagecoach along, through the mud, up the hills, no matter what came along.

So I began thinking about this when it comes to our involvement in Rotary. Let me ask you – what class ticket do you hold?

Pampered, or detached?
Too many of us hold first class tickets – we expect to be waited on and catered to – even pampered! We’re willing to ride, but not push. We just sit back and let the others do the work.

But there are also those in our organization who hold second class tickets – detached spectators who show up but don’t want to get too involved. Their name goes on the roster, they even include their membership on their resume…but that’s about it.

“Is success really remaining seated while others get out and push, or is it getting your hands and feet dirty? Is success being served or serving others?”

But thankfully, there are also a few who are willing to hold third class tickets – willing to get out and push when the going gets tough.

We tend to equate first class with privilege – exempt from doing any work. But is success really remaining seated while others get out and push, or is it getting your hands and feet dirty? Is success being served or serving others?

What it means to be third class
Third class ticket holders have a heart for service. They don’t mind working behind the scenes. They are people who have made a conscious decision to get involved or join an organization whose entire reason for existence is to change the world! They are people who are willing to get out and push!

If we just sit in our first class seat and expect everyone else to get behind and push, what will happen to Rotary? We’ll never reach our goals – to end polio, to prevent other diseases, to bring about world peace – every organization in the world already has too many first class passengers. We’re looking for a few more third class passengers!

What are you willing to do? Are you willing to be a leader instead of a spectator? Are YOU willing to be a third class passenger?

NEXT BOARD MEETING

WILL YOU BE ATTENDING THE GoToMeeting –  Wednesday 3 August at 7.30pm EST

ALL WELCOME

President’s Comment – 24 Jul 16 (23 July 2016)

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ATTENDANCE

Well done to those members who have successfully registered an attendance on our website.

This is still developing and we are waiting for Cameron our IT specialist and Administration Director to write a program that will record everyone’s attendance when you log on and log off. Only attendance longer than 30 minutes in one session will count. Some of this time may be used to post on your page on the website, make comments or suggest changes that we can adopt for our Club.

The website is interactive so you may post comments and give feed back to any of the posts made on the website. This is to be encouraged and hopefully we can all learn from doing this.

You will also receive an email from me this week with essentially the same message as appears here on the website. I want to encourage members to attend more regularly.

MEMBER SURVEY

I will also post a survey on the website in the drop down menu under Member Login, that I want all members to complete in the next 2 weeks please. We require some personal details  and it will also relate to what you want to achieve in the Club and what goals we should be setting for ourselves.

CLUB GOALS

Each year the Club executive set goals for the Club to achieve during the year. I am suggesting some goals listed below that I consider we should achieve in our first year of operation as an E-Club:

  • Increase our membership from 10 members to 15 members. The more members we have the easier it will be for the Club to function as the roles and tasks can be shared more. Each one of us should make a real attempt to introduce a new member this year.
  • Contribute to the Rotary Foundation a total of US$1000 both from the members and the Club.  We need to generate some income for  us to achieve this.
  • Support at  least two of  our overseas projects with funding and perhaps volunteers.
  • Develop our website to better reflect the requirements of Rotary International and improve our communication and fellowship as a Club.
  • A least one of our Club  working as a District Officer – We already have Lauren Slater who has taken on the role of District Youth Director.
  • A least one of our Club be a member of a Rotary Fellowship. I am a member of the International Fellowship of Skiing Rotarians (ISFR) and Carolyn and I will be attending the week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming USA during February 2017.

Please let us all know your thoughts on these by recording your comments on the website.

If we achieve these goals and any others that you might suggest our Club will be well on the way to becoming an effect E-Club and part of the wider community of Rotary.

President’s Comment – 17 Jul 16 (17 July 2016)

JULY IS LITERACY MONTH

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Welcome to our website. Every month Rotary International has a different theme to bring this to the attention of all Rotarians. July is Literacy Month, an area that has been the basis of many Club projects.

It may be as little as Rotarians conducting a project to offer their services to schools in their own community to children who are having difficulties in reading and just listening to and correcting their reading skills.

Other projects might be like Past Rotary International President Bill Boyd’s dictionary  project to supply primary school children in New Zealand with their first dictionary.

Worldwide, 67 million children have no access to education, and more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Rotary Club’s support educational projects that provide technology, teacher training, vocational training teams, student meal programs, and low-cost textbooks to communities. Rotary’s goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.

Video on providing Computer tablets to remote school in Fiji.

All Rotary Clubs are encouraged to consider a literacy project during the month of July. Look at this Rotary Resource that explains some strategies.

Basic Education & Literacy Project Strategies – 618en

 

President’s Comment – 10 Jul 16 (11 July 2016)

Each year the Rotary International President sets the goals for  a Rotary Club to achieve a Presidential Citation for their Club. The Presidential Citation  criteria are listed below. As President I and the executive will be discussing our Club goals and setting them in Club Central. I am not anticipating we will achieve all goals but it is worth setting them and at least achieving some of them in our first year of operation as an E-Club.

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The District 9700 Changeover Dinner was held in Orange on Saturday June 25th, and District Governor Michael Milston (front row 5th from the left) is pictured with his board and assistant governors.

D9700 WELCOME ADDRESS AT CHANGEOVER DINNER

DG Michael Milston has also set some goals for District 9700. He alludes to some in his speech at the Changeover Dinner.

Governor Michael Milston’s Welcome Address

In welcoming you to the 2016-17 Rotary Year I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Wiradjuri elders past and present on whose country we celebrate this great Rotary tradition.

Through our International theme of ‘Rotary Serving Humanity’, our year has a two-fold challenge: to engage with more people in our communities, and to help club Rotarians to achieve their endeavours.

Over 110 years Rotarians have developed, assisted in, and funded projects to meet local, regional, national and international needs. Our actions, as Rotarians, have motivated others to help and to contribute, and have seen many join Rotary, in pursuit of “making the world a better place”.

I believe that we have a challenge, on our own doorstep, to engage with more people in our communities. This engagement could be professional networking and service-oriented, to encourage more of our community to see Rotary as a way to help and serve; and it could include learning about, engaging with, and developing projects collaboratively with our Aboriginal brothers and sisters.

The media has given play to many reports, not only recently, but over many years, that demonstrate that policies and projects over decades have failed to “Close the Gap”.

We now find our communities, compared to previous years, often suffering worse employment rates, worse health outcomes, worse education levels, and disproportionately high incarceration of Aboriginal people.

Are we up for the challenge to do something?

Our Rotary District is in a unique position as our geographic district is wholly enclosed in Wiradjuri country. This provides us with a great challenge and opportunity to reach out to our local communities, to listen, to learn, to understand, and to think how we can collaborate to help bring about change.

NOW IS THE TIME TO START LOOKING AT HOW WE (ROTARY) CAN BE THE CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN OUR OWN LAND, IN THE LAND OF OUR FIRST PEOPLES!

Rotary has great networks, great youth programs, good service planning models, an international focus on health and education, on literacy, and on conflict resolution and peace.

We Rotarians from the first world fall over ourselves to support projects in Africa, Asia and other less developed countries. Let’s see what we can do in our country.

Rotary International President John Germ asks us to “Serve Humanity” I know you will and I hope you might also join the process in Wiradjuri country.

You know in our club we start the 4 Way Test with the statement, The 4 Way Test has been translated into over 100 languages, well tonight I can proudly inform you that the 4 Way Test is now in Wiradjuri:

In the things we think, say and do …

Dhulu–ya-rra

Yindy-a-marra

Marra marra Marang Mala-yarr

It is now my pleasure to present to you the District Leadership Team – Directors, Assistant Governors and the Learning & Devt Coordinator:

Immediate Past District Governor                                 Garry Roberts

District Governor-elect                                                      George Weston

District Governor-nominee                                              John Glassford

District Secretary                                                                  John McKenzie

District Treasurer                                                                  Doug Conkey

Director-Administration                                                     Sue Gordon

Director-Communications and Public Image              Jenny Somerset

Director-Foundation                                                           David Kennedy

Director-Membership/Club Sustainability                  Russ Martin

Director-Service Projects                                                   Peter Gissing

Director-Youth                                                                       Lauren Slater

Learning and Devt Coordinator                                       Lynette Bullen

Assistant Governors                                                            Don Jewell                   Group 1

Michael Horth            Group 2

Ray Pluis                       Group 3

Julie Poplin                  Group 4

Bryan Short                  Group 5

Miles Hedge                Group 6

In closing I want to thank some very important people:

  1. Past District Governors, would you please stand – you provide us all with balanced opinion and often sage advice, thank you
  2. Those amongst us who are Presidents in our year, please stand, you are the key leaders in your club and in your community, we are grateful your commitment and wish you well
  3. The Rotary Club of Orange Daybreak – these are the noisy ones. This is a great club and is now 21 years old, over which time they have been a great force in serving humanity;  and their support of me in this role and of the District is outstanding – thank you
  4. The other Rotarians across the District, some of whom are here tonight, your contribution to our collective well-being is stunning and I look forward to serving you all this year
  5. Lastly, but by no means least, our partners, our family and our friends – could you all stand. You all provide us with the strength to continue, you assist in our many programs, you balance our crazy yearn to do much more than is possible and you console us when things go awry – thank you
  6. I want to make a special mention of my family– they have travelled from interstate to be with us tonight, such a massive effort and you’ll never know how much that means to Ann and me.
  7. And then there is Ann [Ann Dib is Michael’s partner]. Ann put much thought into agreeing that WE go on this journey, and I sometimes think she feels it was the wrong decision. So far we have survived – just – and I just want to say to you, Ann: Thank you for everything you have done and will do to make our year memorable and, as a fellow Rotarian, to serve humanity.

Mung-dung-gool …Good evening