2020-21 Rotary International president
By Ryan Hyland
Holger Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany, has been selected to serve as president of Rotary International in 2020-21.
The Nominating Committee’s decision follows the resignation last month of President-nominee Sushil Gupta due to health reasons. Knaack will officially become president-nominee if no other candidates challenge him by 31 May.
To build a stronger membership, Knaack says Rotary must focus on increasing the number of female members and transitioning Rotaractors into Rotarians.
Knaack believes that the People of Action campaign offers new public awareness possibilities for Rotary. “This campaign conveys our global image while still respecting differences in regions and cultures,” he says.
A Rotary member since 1992, Knaack has served Rotary as treasurer, director, moderator, member and chair of several committees, representative for the Council on Legislation, zone coordinator, training leader, and district governor.
He is an endowment/major gifts adviser and co-chair of the Host Organization Committee for the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg.
Knaack is the CEO of Knaack KG, a real estate company. He was previously a partner and general manager of Knaack Enterprises, a 125-year-old family business.
He is a founding member of the Civic Foundation of the City of Ratzeburg and served as president of the Golf-Club Gut Grambek. Knaack is also the founder and chair of the Karl Adam Foundation.
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Please make you donations as below:
EFT Payments please make out to:
Account Name: The Rotary E-Club of District 9700 – Service/Projects,
Reference – Name plus ‘TRF’
BSB: 032769 Account: 697413
Cheque Payments by post make out to: Rotary E-Club of District 9700-Serving Humanity
Reference – ‘TRF and your name’, and mail to:
Treasurer,
Rotary E-Club of District 9700-Serving Humanity,
PO Box 25, YACKANDANDAH, VIC 3749
At our last meeting held Tuesday 11th December our fellow member Rev. Mal Dunnett delivered a Christmas message titled
Wantok
English Noun
wantok (plural wantoks)
(Melanesia, Papua New Guinea) A close comrade; a person with whom one has a strong social bond, usually based on shared language.
Usage notes: May be used to casually address a friend: Hello wantok.
Noun wantok 1. a close friend, to whom one gives complete loyalty 2. any person with a shared set of Melanesian cultural values, usually based on speaking a closely related language.
Mal explained to us that in the Solomon Island Christmas is celebrated with the knowledge that although Jesus was born with nothing to poor parents, however he was rich as he had wontok. He was loved by his family and he had mercy, compassion and he cared for others. Wantok is belonging and being loved and valued within the family and extended friends. Mal suggested we use Christmas to celebrate our wantok.
Thank you Mal for your effort.
Mal also told us about his plans for another trip to the Solomon Islands in September 2019 with a team of 8 Indigenous members, 4 members of Anglicare, 4 teachers and 1 CPA. There is room for more participants. If your interested contact Mal.
Hi all,
This is my first post as President. Firstly, I must thank you all for your encouragement. I am very proud to be part of this club and to be working with such fine people. It is a pleasure to be part of such a club in it’s formation years. To be a member of a club with members who have been such experienced Rotarians with other clubs in D9700 , who then took the major step to become Charter Members of this E-Club is an absolute pleasure and their advise and encouragement is valuable to me. I have admired these members for many years, it is a privilege to work alongside you all.
I am a new Rotarian with many years as a partner of a Rotarian and I am still amazed that I now can be part of the District working alongside such dynamic people. To all our members who a relatively new to the club, although you have many years experience in International Projects, it is a pleasure to have met you and hear your stories, I know together we are going to have such an informative year and we will work hard to complete the next steps to ensure the growth of our club.
My major goal is to grow the club and ensure that we can work as a cohesive team with our projects, and hopefully include some ideas to help you feel proud of your club to give you confidence to engage with others in “your little corner of the world”, and hopefully have them join us.
The major ideal of this club is to continue to do community and international service, however, make the meeting schedule and club demands easier and less time consuming for members. Our club is achieving this ideal and yet we have achieved so much in our service.
We need to search out others in the community who would like to be Rotarians who don’t know about the our E- club and who would be suited to the less demands of the club and encourage them to be a part of this new club format. We, the members, fully understand, that time is precious and I am a firm believer in the saying,” If you want something done, ask a busy person”.
I am aware that our members are all busy with their own projects, work and family and yet together we achieve so much with relative ease. I believe this club format is perfect for today’s lifestyle.
Meeting fortnightly is easy and our club is not demanding, and yet we are able to achieve successful outcomes, along with having such fun and our fellowship is so enjoyable.
For those who a reading this message and are interested or curious about E-club’s, don’t hesitate to contact me, either by email or phone, I will be happy to answer you questions.
Everyone, members and non- members are welcome to join our meetings, the next one is on the 28th August, 7.30pm. If you would like to join us , contact me and I will send you the link.
Take care and stay well.
Marilyn
CHANGEOVER MEETING – Tuesday 17th July at 7.00pm EST
Meet Our DISTRICT GOVERNOR 2018‐19
JOHN GLASSFORD and SUSAN WINGATE‐PEARSE
Member of the Rotary Club of Coolamon
Mobile – 0498 190 880 Email – jacksflat@gmail.com
John joined the Rotary Club of Coolamon on 29th September 2003. He has served for 12 years as a Director in various positions with President in 2008-2009. He also served on the D9700 RAWCS Committee as well as being a Board member of the first Rotarian Action Group, RFFA (Rotarians For Fighting AIDS).
In 2014 John founded the Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species, RAGES.
He was International Chair for 2013-2014.
John has attended 7 RI Conventions and every D9700 Conference since 2004. John has led 3 Rotary teams climbing the three highest mountains in Africa for the AIDS orphans of South Africa, Kenya and Uganda as well as supporting the School of St Jude’s in Tanzania.
John married Susan Wingate-Pearse 30 years ago. John has 3 children and 7 grandchildren from his first marriage. Susan has one son and two grandchildren.
Together they formed Huff ‘n’ Puff Constructions in 1997 and have now built over 200 straw bale buildings including several large wineries and commercial buildings in Australia.
They live in Ganmain where they operate their straw bale building business.
Hi All,
Just a reminder of our NEXT MEETING – Tuesday 26th June at 7.30 pm EST – Social meeting. An email will be sent on Monday 25th with the link to the meeting.
CHANGEOVER MEETING – Tuesday 17th July at 7.00pm EST
Capture the Moment in Hamburg |
| In 2019, the Rotary International Convention will travel to Hamburg, Germany. Registration is now open! To get the best possible rate, register by this Wednesday, 27 June and you’ll pay just $350. With so much to see and do, the convention is an experience you won’t want to miss.
Register and pay today, because this special price of US$350 is good only until 27 June. |
Hi All,
Our meeting on Tuesday, 12th June was well attended and I would like to thank members for their contribution on the evening.
GUEST SPEAKER – BEV COONEY
Our guest speaker, PP Bev Cooney, from the Rotary Club of Bathurst gave a great presentation that I am sure inspired us all to commit more to our project work. Over more than a decade Bev has funded and worked to establish a school for the disabled in a remote location in Peru. In addition she has been instrumental in the building of Peru’s first Cancer Clinic and providing teams of Australian doctors and nurses travelling to train and assist the local Peruvian medical personnel. She continues this great work.
Bev has received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2015 in recognition of her work, as well as an award from Peruvian president Alan Garcia in 2008 for being a ‘Notable Carer’.
INDUCTION OF NEW MEMBER – TEBAO AWERIKA
It was also a privilege for me as President to induct Tebao Awerika from the Republic of Kiribati as a member of our Club. Members of E-Clubs can reside in any locality and we are thrilled that Tebao is our first international member.
Tebao Awerika is the Member of Parliament for Betio, from Ambo, Tarawa, Kiribati.
Kiribati (pronounced Kiribass) is a small developing island state located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises 33 atolls in three sub-groups namely the Gilbert Group, Line Group and the Phoenix Group. The atolls are scattered across the equator over five million square kilometres of water.
Hi All,
Our next meeting will be held Tuesday, 12th June at 7.30pm EST.
Hopefully we will have an interesting guest speaker and we may also be inducting a new member. It promises to be a great meeting.
Carolyn and I are continuing to enjoy our travels in Queensland after a very enjoyable five days at Monto with the Highway Wanderers (picture below) most of whom live and travel in their motor homes all year round. Some very interesting people.
We are currently staying on a farm stay property near Roma and tomorrow we travel to stay for four nights at Canarvon Gorge. Apparently some spectacular walks and scenery. It is a little cold at night but should be good for walking.
This is a great story by a new member of Rotary.
Rotaractors: Find your road to Rotary
Rebecca Fry will be presenting a workshop on the Road to Rotary at the Rotaract preconvention.
By Rebecca Fry, a member of the Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley
In 2005, I made a seemingly small decision to apply for “science camp.” It happened to be the Rotary-sponsored, National Youth Science Forum. Fast forward 13 years and I’ve been heavily involved in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Rotaract and most recently I took the next exciting leap and joined the Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley. Selecting the best Rotary club to join was an 18-month journey.
As a past-president of Sydney City Rotaract, I had existing relationships with a couple of local Rotary clubs in the city, however it was challenging for me to attend their weekly meetings based on meeting location, time and in some circumstances, cost.
A Rotaract friend invited me to attend one of their e-club meetings back in early 2017. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant at first as I love the personal interaction, friendships, and networking that stem from being involved in my local Rotaract club and I was unsure if an e-club would be able to provide me with the same personal connection. Soon I came to appreciate the meeting format, online initiatives, and international network. But there were still some questions I needed to answer – Why was I joining Rotary? and What did I want to both give and get out of my Rotary membership? These are two critical questions that I anticipate many of us don’t answer, yet are essential for us to find the right club.
More specific questions that can help us understand our personal needs include:
- Have you moved to a new city and are looking to make friends?
- Do you have a preference for a morning, lunchtime, or evening Rotary meeting?
- Are you seeking practical volunteering opportunities?
- What skills would you like to bring to a Rotary club?
Upon reflecting on my internal motivations, I realized that with the amount of volunteer work I was doing for RYLA, Rotaract, and Rotary in the professional development space, I needed a club that could flexibly fit around my schedule. I also came to appreciate that I’d love to work overseas in the future, so a remote club with an international network was a big tick. I also found I resonated with like-minded members at Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley, who were so welcoming and set up Facetime and Skype chats so we could connect despite being thousands of miles apart!
At the upcoming Rotaract Preconvention, 22-23 June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Florian Wackermann and I will be presenting a workshop on the Road to Rotary for Rotaractors. Our goal is to help Rotaractors to understand the variety of opportunities to remain in the Rotary family and more specifically help you find your place in the Rotary world, where you can continue to create positive change in the world, develop your leadership skills and make long lasting friendships.
Raising funds to purchase a school bus for our RAWCS Project 5-2011-12, Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania – Orkeeswa Secondary School (WR-006-2011)
The raffle is being organised by our partner sponsoring Club the Rotary Club of Geraldton, D9455 for the project and I encourage your support for a really worthwhile cause.
Rotary Raffle $6000 Flight Centre Travel Voucher
Contact – PP Dianne Gilleland
PO Box 855, Geraldton, Western Australia 6531
This project aims to provide high quality secondary education to impoverished children by funding computer laboratory equipment, school bus, science building equipment and a sports pitch, Orkeeswa Secondary School, Tanzania. More info – 2017 IEFT Mid Year Report
Project Manager Rtn Sharon Daishe (M) 0488 628 555 Email: s.daishe@gmail.com
Deputy Manager PP Dianne Gilleland (M) 0419 854 413 Email: dennis@wn.com.au
Website – http://www.ieftz.org
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Geraldton, District 9455 and Rotary E-Club of D9700-Serving Humanity, District 9700