It was a real pleasure to join the Rotary Club of Orbost in celebrating Gordon Andrews' 60 years since his induction on the 1st of August 1959. Just imagine the changes Gordon has seen in Rotary.
It was also a real privilege to present a personal letter of congratulations to Gordon from Rotary International President Mark D Maloney. Gordon’s wife Nina and daughter Angela were also present to celebrate this amazing milestone.
Many members from throughout the District will remember Gordon from the many years of Orbost Fishing Weekends, where he was always on hand to help. Gordon is still an active member of the Rotary Club and attends meetings regularly.
Congratulations Gordon from all of us.
Welcome to New Members:
After what was a very disappointing year in 2018-19 for membership, it is fantastic to see we are beginning to climb again. RI President Mark is very keen for us all to Grow Rotary, though he does caution we need to make sure we fine tune our clubs to keep very high retention rates. As he so clearly puts it, “…there’s no point pouring water into a bucket full of holes…”.
While sadly we have lost 3 members to higher service, the great news is we have welcomed 15 new members to the District family, giving us a net gain of 12 so far this year. Congratulations to the clubs enjoying this early success.
A very big welcome to these new members of our District 9820 family. I hope you all thoroughly enjoy being members of this great Rotary organisation.
District Governor 'Breaking the Chains' Cluster Tour:
The cluster tour has now visited East Gippsland, Central Gippsland, West Gippsland and Peninsula Clusters with Nepean, Melbourne South East and South Gippsland to follow. I have chosen to start the year with the cluster tour because it gives the opportunity to get very important messages out to the clubs quickly at the start of the year.
The format is a combination of RI President Mark Maloney video clips, comments from me, group discussion of key issues and a noticeboard section. Interest and participation have been excellent at all events so far and I have been particularly impressed with the depth of discussion and the quality of the reports back from the groups.
I am collecting the group notes and will be circulating these when typed up. It’s a great way for the Assistant Governor to meet and interact with cluster members in a dynamic and collegial atmosphere. Clubs also are given the opportunity to promote their upcoming special events and projects.
“I would like to compliment you both for the way the Cluster Meeting was run and orchestrated and so too for the level of participation from our Cluster Club representatives.
Speaking with our PE Roger and Wayne over breakfast this morning (morning after), we all felt a very positive vibe in the room and some great opportunities presenting themselves, both within our Clubs and across the Peninsula Cluster.”
President Peter Rawlings, President, Rotary Club of Mt Martha
East Gippsland Cluster -
Ken Sheather Reports on
his Table's Discussions
Thank you, President Peter and all the others who have sent in great feedback. I am looking forward to the next stop on the tour with the Nepean Cluster on 29 August at the International Motel, Frankston then onto Melbourne South East and South Gippsland.
District Environment Chair:
I am very pleased to welcome Robin Stewart to of the Rotary Club of Frankston to the District Team.
Robin has accepted the role of District’s Environment Chair, a new role that is very relevant to the times we live in.
Robin will be wanting to make contact with existing Club Environment Chairs with a view to establishing a collaborative district effort on the environment.
As District Governor, I would encourage all clubs to consider appointing an Environment Chair and developing programs and some focus in that area.
Thanks go to the Rotary Clubs of Bairnsdale and Bairnsdale Sunrise who are leading the way on the environment in East Gippsland.
Josie Wilson of the Pakenham Club has accepted the role of Interact Chair in addition to her current role of Earlyact Chair.
One of Josie’s first duties is attending a planning meeting for a Victoria wide Interact Multi District Interact Conference that is being planned for May 23, 2020. Thank you for taking this on Josie.
Message from Mark Daniel Maloney - RI President 2019-2020
During 2019-2020, I am encouraging Rotarians and Rotaractors to grow Rotary. We must grow our service, we must grow the impact of our projects, but, most importantly, we must grow our membership so that we can achieve more.
Let us try a new approach to membership, one that is more organized and strategic. I am asking every club to form an active membership committee consisting of people of different backgrounds who will look methodically at the leadership of the community.
Your club's membership committee will then apply Rotary's classification system — designed to ensure that the range of professions in your community is well represented — to identify potential leaders with the skill, the talent, and the character that will strengthen your club.
If your club's membership committee is unsure how to proceed, look to the club membership committee checklist on Rotary.org for clearly defined steps to organizing its work.
How else will we connect to grow Rotary? We will also form new types of clubs — either independent clubs or satellite clubs — with different meeting experiences and engaging service opportunities, not just where there is no Rotary, but also where Rotary is already thriving. No Rotary club in the world can possibly serve all segments of its community. Therefore, we must organize new clubs to engage the community leaders who cannot connect with our existing clubs.
Growing Rotary is all about taking the connections that make our organization unique in the world and strengthening and multiplying them. Let us commit ourselves to growing Rotary and to welcoming the next diverse generation of women and men as Rotary Connects the World.
The day is open to Rotarians, families, friends, strangers met on the street – basically anybody.
We want to thank Gumbuya World for their very generous support of District 9820 by having big numbers booked through our Rotary portal. Special prices apply and 10% of our gate will be remitted back to us, as further sponsorship.
Poliomyelitis (Polio) is a highly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. It is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease.
There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. It can be prevented through immunization. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.
The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.
Rotary and our partners have used the vaccine to immunize over 2.5 billion children worldwide.
Unless we eradicate polio, within 10 years, as many as 200,000 new cases could occur around the world each year.
Since 1988, we’ve seen a worldwide reduction in polio cases of 99.9%. For more than two years, we’ve seen wild polio cases in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In the past few years, only two countries have reported cases of polio caused by the wild virus, but no child anywhere is safe until we’ve vaccinated every child.
What can you do to End Polio Now? With your help, we can end polio for good.
Just 3 Actions in less than 3 Minutes you can make a world of difference.
Learn - Get informed and help make polio a subject of conversation in your community.
Share - Most people have heard of polio, but few know that the disease still affects children around the world. You can help by spreading the word.
Donate - Every donation helps us obtain the vaccines, transport and materials needed in the fight against polio.
For the District Governor's Partner Program, Wendy is asking all clubs to do something extra, over and above the support normally given to the End Polio cause. This could be holding a special Polio - Endgame activity to raise funds for this Final Push.
Please tag these funds as '9820 Partner program' and channel them via District Treasurer, Jim Wilson. Foundation credits will still apply.
Congratulations to Past Assistant Governor Alan Collier, who was awarded an OAM in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his "Service to the community of Dandenong".
His service involved long-term contributions to many local organisations including the:
Dandenong Community Youth Movement
City of Dandenong Council
Dandenong High School Council
Greater Dandenong Australia Day Committee
1812 Theatre
In addition, he was recognised for his contribution to Rotary International as a member of the Rotary Club of Dandenong for 25 years, Past President of the Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and as a former Assistant District Governor.
Much-loved Aussie philanthropist Dick Smith has once again pledged $1 million to Rotary towards alleviating the suffering of Aussies in need.
The pledge comes on the back of Dick’s initial $1 million-dollar donation to Rotary in November 2016, which helped make a difference to the lives of many Australian families and individuals suffering personal hardship.
Delighted with the scope and success of projects his original donation enabled, Dick says this second pledge is a much-needed cash injection for people doing it tough in our own backyard.
Some of the grants included drought relief and suicide prevention programs.
Grants for projects will be administered by the Rotary Australia Benevolent Society and distributed to disadvantaged Australians identified by local Rotary clubs or Rotary districts as being in need. As with the initial donation, grants will be matched dollar for dollar by clubs and/or districts.
Dick says he was thrilled to see his first million-dollar donation reach a total of $2.5 million dollars through the matched grant funding and is hoping for a similar result second time around.
The donation continues Dick and Pip’s ongoing relationship with Rotary. Dick has previously given a significant amount through Rotary towards the eradication of polio; once widespread across the globe, but now isolated to just a few small enclaves in remote regions.
Dick joins the likes of world-renowned philanthropist Bill Gates as a major supporter of Rotary and its various programs worldwide.
On Saturday 3rd August, a team made up of members of the Rotary Club of Berwick had a mission!
The team consisted of a mix of professionals including a nurseryman, boilermaker, kennel owner x 2, builder, environmental consultant, weatherman, educator, storage expert, building maintenance and finance expert. An unlikely mix that use their free time to help others.
The mission was to deliver some dental equipment that we had collected for our project in the Solomon Islands to Rotary Donations in Kind in West Footscray (https://www.facebook.com/RotaryDIK/).
While we were there, we presented a cheque for $2,000 from the Club, to assist DIK with their work.
Then we had to backload an even bigger consignment of medical equipment from DIK for the Hallam Valley Trade Training Centre, to enable them to set up their medical training classroom. This latter activity was a significant project, as the equipment was for a local program instead of an overseas one.
All sorts of equipment were delivered and the Principal was very appreciative of our slick delivery techniques.
We will be back to see it fully installed and being put to good use.
The Australian Anti Ice Campaign (AAIC) in partnership with a number of Rotary Clubs across Australia, including D9820’s Rotary Clubs of Mitchell River and Rosebud Rye, will be participating in 'Walks Against Ice' in their communities on Sunday 15th September.
The walks are aimed to spotlight the drug 'Ice' for what it really is, an insidiously poisonous chemical concoction that eventually, and often rapidly, destroys the physical and mental health of almost everyone who uses it. It destroys families and friendships, with suicide often the ultimate outcome.
Food vans will be available so that participants can purchase egg and bacon rolls, doughnuts and coffee for sustenance. Rotary, AAIC and Community speakers will be in attendance to provide advice and speak at the end of the walks.
The AAIC employs and trains recovered Ice addicts to integrate their own often horrific stories into a high impact Education Workshop promoting their core message – 'Not Even Once'.
We are quickly approaching that time of the year when Australian Rotary Health (ARH) promotes its publicly promoted fundraiser, 'Lift The Lid'.
100% of funds raised through 'Lift The Lid' activities go directly toward research into areas of Mental Health.
Bunnings is, as always, a strong support for any club booking a barbeque to raise funds. It is a good opportunity to engage with the public and tell them a little about a program of Rotary working toward the health of all Australians.
The Rotary Club of Traralgon recently held a 'Lift The Lid' night enjoying some fun all in a good cause.
I would like to give a special mention to the home of Ian Scott, the Rotary Club of Mornington. On top of their generous donations given yearly, they have funded an Indigenous Nursing Scholarship. Such scholarships enable nurses to work within their own communities, visiting their schools promoting health behaviours, work within their clinics and promote positive change in their communities. From an initial intake of 4, there are now 90 nurses trained through this program.
I have a couple of ARH talks to clubs coming up and look forward to visiting those clubs in the near future.
In the meantime, please think about running an event for 'Lift the Lid', to promote the work Australian Rotary Health does to help improve the lives us of all.
Article submitted by Colin Byron - Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong
The Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong held their free community “Mental Health Forum” on Wednesday 21st August, in the theatre at Dandenong High School. It proved to be a great success.
The Forum was informative and inspiring with 3 outstanding speakers and Viv Armstrong (District Rotary Heath Chair) doing a fantastic job as MC.
Great feedback was received from the audience of 120+ during the tea, coffee and refreshments held after the event. Many spoke of the positive practical strategies given by the speakers in dealing with youth Mental Health.
The speakers included Christina Molina from Headspace, Sara Villiers from the Metanoia Movement and key note speaker Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Greg de Moore, from Westmead Hospital Sydney. Greg also donated 100% of the sale of his 2 books to Rotary Health.
The Club is now planning to run monthly peer support coffee mornings for parents, families and friends affected by youth Mental Health. Headspace Dandenong is co-branding this initiative with Rotary and has offered meeting rooms and resources in their Dandenong facility.
The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) for East Gippsland is a fast-paced and interactive programme run in a series of one day courses by trained Facilitators.
These are fun, topical, interactive courses, which are valuable for leadership roles in Rotary and for life outside Rotary, with each session building on the skills gained from the previous session.
In line with DG Adrian’s commitment to bring District events to East Gippsland (providing East Gippsland Rotarians are willing to support them), the 3-part Rotary Leadership Institute training is being offered at Bairnsdale International (355 Main Street, Bairnsdale) on 19th October, 9th November and 30th November (9.30am to 4pm). Cost is $100, with clubs most often paying for their participants.
If you are interested in attending this course, and available for all three dates, please contact Helen Lanigan on 0409 030 918 or helenlanigan@bigpond.com to register.
RYLA in District 9820 is evolving. We have sought partnership with Swinburne University in an Australian Rotary first!
Rylarians can now achieve a Certificate IV in Business
Normally you would pay between $2,900 and $4,980 to gain this qualification. However, Rotary is able to offer this program in partnership with Swinburn University, for the cost of your RYLA sponsorship.
Your cost of sponsorship per participant is $949.00, or $899.00, if sponsorship is paid by 30th October.
Who needs club sponsorship?
35 participants.
10 past Rylarians as leaders.
All will need your sponsorship
What extra does the sponsoring Rotary Club have to do this year?
ENGAGE with your Rylarian!
Interview and select your RYLA Participant/s.
We will select the RYLA team leaders (and ask the club to sponsor them).
Nominate a Rotarian mentor.
Invite your Rylarian to a club meeting.
Involve your Rylarian in your club’s projects and events.
Help them to perform twenty hours of voluntary service with Rotary and Rotaract.
Have your Rylarian return to your club to present their RYLA report.
How else can your club help and have fun with RYLA?
Attend the mini RYLA on Sunday 27th October
Attend a Rotary dinner at RYLA on the evening of Wednesday December 11th 2019.
Showcase your Rotary projects on Thursday 12th December.
Collect your Rylarian on Saturday 14th December.
Attend your Rylarians graduation in April or May 2020.
The District 9820 Model United Nations Assembly was held on the weekend of 17th - 19th May at Phillip Island Adventure Resort.
54 Year-10 and 11 students formed 27 delegations representing allocated countries and debated six resolutions. The delegations debated the situations of North Korea, Syria, Yemen, Iran, climate change and refugees.
A formal dinner was held on Saturday night, where the students were joined by a number of Rotarians and teachers.
It was encouraging to see a number of Rotarians, parents and teachers visit the assembly over the weekend to watch the delegates in action. A couple of the debates were also streamlined live on the MUNA Facebook page.
Following our District 9820 Assembly, Rotarian Di Harrison from Hazelwood RC and myself accompanied a delegation of 3 students to Canberra.
The delegation, made up of Joanna Angeletos from Frankston High, Callum Mann & Trinity Joseph from Mount Eliza Secondary College, represented our district at the National Model United Assembly held at the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House).
During our visit in Canberra, we also visited Parliament House and the War Memorial. We were joined by three Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Mount Eliza.
MUNA 2020 will be held on the weekend of 22nd - 24th May 2020 at Phillip Island Adventure Resort and Rotary Clubs are encouraged to participate by sponsoring delegations from their local Secondary College.
Rotarians interested in this youth program, who would like more information or would like to be part of the organising committee, are welcome to contact me to discuss it.
John Caruana PP PHF & Di Harrison - District 9820 MUNA Co-Chairs
This year we were allocated 26 places for the NYSF to be held in Canberra and Brisbane in January 2020. Unfortunately we had more applicants that we had places available and there were a number of well qualified students who did not make it.
The selection process was held in Traralgon and Mount Martha and we had 16 Rotarians and Teachers select the successful students.
The students participated in a group orientation, an individual interview and a collaborative problem solving task. I can assure Rotarians that our youth are getting better and better every year and I am confident that our society will be in good hands.
The NYSF is not just about producing future scientists, but ensuring that leaders in industry and government have a strong understanding in science and are well connected to the science community, to ensure that sound decisions are made for our benefit.
Of the 26 successful students, 4 were from Gippsland, 4 from the South-Eastern Suburbs and 18 from the Mornington Peninsula. There were 15 girls chosen and 9 boys.
Of the schools from which the students were chosen, 14 attended government schools, 3 attended select entry government schools and 9 attended private schools.
The NYSF Orientation was held on Sunday 25th August at Federation University Churchill.
We mentioned at District Assembly that District Grant funds can also be used for Educational Scholarships and this year we are introducing a new scholarship.
Paul Mee has provided a project outline and scope (below), so you can start your application following the Scholarship opening on 1st July, 2019.
D9820 Student Scholarship Grant:
There are many Secondary College students in D9820 who would greatly benefit from a Foundation – Student Scholarship Grant.
This Rotary year, D9820 will approve ten (10) Student Scholarship Grants (on a one per club basis).
The Scholarship Grants are for a total of $1,000 (made up of a D9820 grant of $500 with a matching Club donation of $500).
This grant will build a better relationship with your local Secondary College/School.
The Scholarship Grant will benefit from 1~4 students, to encourage them to fully participate in the school curriculum.
To submit a grant application simply: Complete Application/Read Criteria/One Report.
Applications open on 1st July, 2019 – Go To https://www.district9820.org/ click on the Foundation tab/ District Grants/ “D9820 District Grants Application& Guidelines – Low Level Scholarship Grants” District Support.
Disaster Aid Australia are looking to recruit people who have a passion for helping those in need as Disaster Aid Response Team (DART) members.
Volunteers will be available for a 2-week overseas deployment each year.
At Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) we focus on the delivery of humanitarian aid to people who have been affected by disasters, including the ongoing disaster of contaminated drinking water.
Run by volunteers, DAA helps people rebuild their lives and provides filters for safe water.
Established 10 years ago DAA was created as a project of the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills and is now a small, independent NGO providing aid in developing countries.
DAA works in partnership with Disaster Aid International, Rotary International and has partner agreements with organisations in developing countries.
ABILITIES / EXPERIENCE:
Leadership
Able to represent DAA in meetings with in-country government, and other aid providers;
Strong negotiation and reporting skills;
Capable of managing projects under challenging conditions;
Practical with ability to organise people; and
Good reporting skills.
You will also be keen to promote the work of DAA sharing your experiences at public events, schools and Rotary Club meetings.
At DAA you will make a real difference to people who need it.
For a detailed Position Description and Application Form contact us at:
The primary objective of 'Public Image' is to tell Rotary's story!
Worldwide, more than 2 million non-profit organisations compete for limited volunteer hours, donor money, and other resources.
Rotary has a great story to tell, but we need to tell it more simply and consistently. Our research has taught us better ways to frame our strengths and bring our core values to life.
By providing a clear, consistent image of Rotary — what we stand for and how we differ from other charitable organizations — we offer prospective members, donors, and volunteers a strong vision of what it means to engage with us.
The role of the District 9820 Public Image Group is to:
provide support and guidance to clubs
enable consistent messages
ensure branding is up to date
ensure clubs use ‘modern” communication tools
promote activities within the district
promote Rotary to the wider community
The current membership of the District 9820 Public Image Group is:
Acting Chair
Janet Pugh
0410 328 636
District Newsletter
Sam McCurdy
0416 045 071
Social Media
Rob Cook
0422 173 360
Website & ClubRunner
David Button
0409 191 822
Calendar of Events
Janet Pugh
0410 328 636
Graphic Design
John Tennnant
0448 310 722
Club Support
Tim Acton
0418 310 722
Webinars & Online Support
Anthony Mayer
0417 047 632
Event Promotion
Tim Willis
0490 849 466
To get assistance on any Public Image issues, please email us on:
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During 2019-2020, I am encouraging Rotarians and Rotaractors to grow Rotary. We must grow our service, we must grow the impact of our projects, but, most importantly, we must grow our membership so that we can achieve more..png)
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There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. It can be prevented through immunization. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life. 
Much-loved Aussie philanthropist Dick Smith has once again pledged $1 million to Rotary towards alleviating the suffering of Aussies in need. 
On Saturday 3rd August, a team made up of members of the Rotary Club of Berwick had a mission! 
Then we had to backload an even bigger consignment of medical equipment from DIK for the Hallam Valley Trade Training Centre, to enable them to set up their medical training classroom. This latter activity was a significant project, as the equipment was for a local program instead of an overseas one. 
The Australian Anti Ice Campaign (AAIC) in partnership with a number of Rotary Clubs across Australia, including D9820’s Rotary Clubs of Mitchell River and Rosebud Rye, will be participating in 'Walks Against Ice' in their communities on Sunday 15th September. 
I would like to give a special mention to the home of Ian Scott, the Rotary Club of Mornington. On top of their generous donations given yearly, they have funded an Indigenous Nursing Scholarship. Such scholarships enable nurses to work within their own communities, visiting their schools promoting health behaviours, work within their clinics and promote positive change in their communities. From an initial intake of 4, there are now 90 nurses trained through this program.
The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) for East Gippsland is a fast-paced and interactive programme run in a series of one day courses by trained Facilitators. )
Following our District 9820 Assembly, Rotarian Di Harrison from Hazelwood RC and myself accompanied a delegation of 3 students to Canberra. 
Why not have a meeting at the DAA Office?
We mentioned at District Assembly that District Grant funds can also be used for Educational Scholarships and this year we are introducing a new scholarship. 
