DG Charlie's Message May 2015
May is time to promote the International Convention in Sao Paulo and so if you are not enrolled yet, you had better get moving. However, for those enrolled and planning travel imminently we wish you a safe and inspirational journey as you meet fellow Rotarians, share experiences and are inspired by speakers as you continue to Light Up Rotary. While the Convention celebrates Rotary, many of us continue to deliver Rotary Programs that have been in the planning stage for some months now. Programs such as the YEP completing the annual Rock to reef expedition, MUNA weekend, the GSE team’s return and ‘Shine On’ have all kept a variety of people busy! Phew! Then we have RYPEN coming up on the last weekend of May! These events have kept many diaries committed over the past month as Rotarians involved have given their time and service to bring the programs to fruition. These activities are closely followed by the Club and District Changeovers (Pakenham - Cardinia Cultural Centre - on the 28th June) that are creeping into our diaries as we head into another Rotary year. The transition of the Leadership of Rotary is important to do as seamlessly as possible as we complete programs and start implementing next year’s plans. Regardless of the leadership change, our challenge is to maintain the Rotary presence in our community both Locally and at an International level.Download the May Bulletin (pdf) CLICK HERE
At this time we will also be focused on the dispersement of the funds we have raised and I ask all Rotarians to keep in mind the Rotary Foundation and The End Polio areas of Rotary service to make sure we support these as well as our planned Club Projects. As I look around I feel we have had a good year and supporting these International Funds will ensure we have future funds to continue to do great work in our Communities and Support Rotary International in its work in the our larger World Community. As mentioned above, the District had a busy weekend with the MUNA program being run at Forrest Edge with 28 teams from around the District representing their allocated countries in debates on Internationally relevant topics. It was great to see the costuming and the level of research that had been put into the weekend by the Students and also great that the prizes were shared around as well. In parallel with this activity we also had the Southern Region ‘Shine On’ Awards Ceremony at Maryborough which saw 15 individuals with a disability being recognized for their outstanding contributions to their community as they volunteered to make a difference. It was touching to see the smiles as each participant was awarded for their efforts despite their disability.
