DECEMBER MESSAGE from DISTRICT GOVERNOR Dr Daryl Moran
‘What Makes You Optimistic?
This is the key question being asked by our closing Key-Note 2022 District Conference Speaker Victor Perton on Saturday 26th March at Caulfield Racecourse. Victor is the Chief Optimism Officer (COO!) at the Centre for Optimism, based in Melbourne and for 16 years was a member of the Victorian Parliament. You can read more about him and the Centre for Optimism on our 2022 Conference website atwww.dg9810for2021-22.org. Victor has stated that,
Taking Victor’s words to heart, we are beginning to see our own D9810 Rotarians emerging from lockdown and making the absolute best of their opportunities. Many in-person club activities have returned in the form of regular club meetings, bbqs at Bunnings, weekend markets, open op-shops and many friendly social activities have resumed. Best of all, we are looking forward to celebrating at Christmas Parties with our clubs and Rotary friends and especially with our families and close friends.
For example, pictured below are some of the happy D9810 College of Governors and partners at last weekend’s Christmas Luncheon, the first time they have been able to gather in such a manner since 2019. Part of the festivities also involves suitably ‘roasting’ and sending off DGE Ken Miller to January’s International Assembly.
There are many other optimistic signs around District 9810 and some are highlighted elsewhere in ‘Change Maker’, but here are just a few.
Over forty attendees have signed up for a Joint District 9810/9820 RYLA in January with one of our clubs sponsoring THREE students.
Nearly eighty attendees including Interactors, teachers and Rotarians from D9810 and D9800 participated in the online Interact District Assembly Day.
Fifty people attended our very first in-person/hybrid Monthly Meeting of District Leaders with another sixteen attending online.
Nearly every weekend Rotary Market and Op-Shop is back in operation.
Just on 30 candidates from this District have been selected to attend NYSF in January 2022 and two of the staff members are being sponsored by RC Mitcham and Hampton.
Bookings are building for the 2022 District Conference on Friday 25th March (on-line) and Saturday 26th (in-person). The opening Key-Note Speaker, Professor Veena Sahajwalla, was recently named Australian of the Year (NSW)
The Conference app, Whova was launched recently and provides attendees with a full program of events on their mobile device, as well as access to the digital Exhibitors Hall, speaker profiles, the ability to network with other attendees and the opportunity to participate in online Q and A sessions. It’s FREE to download with full instructions also being delivered to attendees as part of the Conference sign-up package.
Please note that Sunday Sundowners and Monday Morning tea with the DG will resume in mid-January and that there will be a very brief ‘Change Maker’ issued in January.
Both Jenny and I take this opportunity to send our best wishes to you all at Christmas and hope that you are able to celebrate it really, really well with your family, friends and loved ones. We would like to thank all of you who have welcomed us so warmly at Club events during the year, and even if 36 out of 40 of our Club Visits were conducted on-line, we did greatly appreciate your good humour and willingness to share the time with us.
We would also like to publicly acknowledge the wonderful work of all Club Presidents, Assistant Governors and District Support Team members who have ensured that D9810 is still standing and that we have emerged from our long lockdowns with our heads held high, a spring in our step and an optimistic approach to all of our Rotary activities. We still continue to ‘Serve To Change Lives.’
For the first time in two years, we will see the return of the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA). This multi-district event arranged by D9810 and 9820 will take place at Rawson in Gippsland in mid-January 2022 and will be attended by 42 RYLArians! Congratulations to many people across both Districts for bringing this program back, but special thanks are directed to Rotarians Les Marton, Trish Carr and Rex Carter and other committee members.
MANNINGHAM CONNECTS BIG-TIME!
Much attention was directed toward screens and monitors recently when Rotaractor Daniel Martinez presented a video report about the ‘Connecting Manningham’ project to the Rotary International President’s Asia Pacific Conference. The ‘Town Hall’ segment was part of this amazing event which was broadcast in 21 Asia-Pacific countries and viewed by over 15,000 attendees.
INTERACT is BACK!
The first Monday in December has for over ten years seen the staging of the Interact District Assembly Day (IDAD) and 2021 was no exception. For the first time ever, our clubs were joined by some from D9800 which meant that just on 80 enthusiastic students and staff attended the online multi-district event. Given the difficulties of the past two years and the effects of the global pandemic, it was just wonderful to have D9810 Interactors from clubs at PLC, Kingswood College, Lilydale Heights SC and Scoresby SC participating in the day.
WARRANDYTE-DONVALE in PRINT
Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Warrandyte-Donvale on gaining a two-page spread in the recent issue of ‘Rotary Down Under’ magazine. Featured was the club’s wonderful Op-Shop which has been operating for over 17 years and has now become Warrandyte’s second largest business venture. A key feature of their operation has been their efforts with re-cycling a host of different products as well as providing food for those in need by using a fridge positioned outside the store.
Clearance of fallen trees and debris is a major problem facing the people of the Dandenong Ranges following the storm of June this year.
Habitat for Humanity is working closely with Anglicare and the Dandenong Ranges Council to assist people to clear their properties following the storm damage.
Focusing initially on the elderly, the financially limited, residents with disabilities or experience with domestic violence, Habitat for Humanity has been running Volunteer Days helping homeowners in this task. This is especially important considering the upcoming bushfire season.
There are a wide range of tasks that are suited to all volunteers. This does not mean that you will be on the end of a chain saw, there are many light tasks and administration requirements that you may be able to help with.
You can find out more and register as a volunteer on the web site – follow this link.
For the first time since 2018, D9810 will be holding its own District Conference on 25th and 26th of March 2022. Friday 25th will be held online whilst Saturday 26th will be staged in-person at the Caulfield Racecourse. Find out more details in the short clip below, especially the theme for the Gala Dinner!
SATURDAY 26th March - IN-PERSON at the CAULFIELD RACECOURSE
SAMUEL JOHNSON OAM
Samuel Johnson OAM is a much-loved Australian actor, best known for his work on THE SECRET LIFE OF US, CRACKERJACK, UNDERBELLY II, RUSH and as the star of the hit biopic MOLLY. He won a Gold Logie in 2017 for his work on MOLLY, danced his way to winning the mirror-ball trophy on DANCING WITH THE STARS in 2019 and was named the 2018 Victorian of the Year for his charity work to vanquish cancer.
In recent times he is most proud of his work as a cancer advocate and determined unicyclist. So far, the charity he set up with his sister Connie, Love Your Sister, has raised over $13M for medical research.
Learn more about Sam, Connie and Love Your Sister by watching the short video below.
Victor Perton is the Chief Optimism Officer of The Centre for Optimism. The Centre for Optimism you ask? Chief Optimism Officer? A title you'd like to introduce in 2022 for very optimistic Rotary clubs and Rotary International? The offspring of stateless refugees from the Baltics, Victor's early working years were spent in the law, politics and public policy culminating in 18 years in the Victorian Parliament. After politics, Victor worked as Commissioner to the Americas working across North and South America on Foreign Direct Investment and Export Promotion. This was followed by service as Senior Advisor to the Australian G20 Presidency. Returning to Melbourne, Victor was surprised by the negativity around Australian leadership and increasing levels of anxiety and depression on our community. This led to the founding of The Australian Leadership Project and, after a Eureka moment, the founding of its offspring The Centre for Optimism. Today Victor's work centres on asking people the question, 'What makes you Optimistic?'
Learn more about Victor Perton and the Centre for Optimism below.
2022 DISTRICT CONFERENCE - WHOVA EVENT APP LAUNCHED
As a practical step towards trying to conduct an environmentally sustainable event, our 2022 District Conference will make use of the virtual event platform Whova. Once registered for our Conference, attendees will be able to download the free Whova app to their phone or tablet and then have access to the entire program in digital form. In addition, the app means that we can stage a digital ‘House of Friendship’ where Exhibitors can display their wares, services and programs for much longer than just a few hours on the day. No printed program needs to be produced and all Q and A sessions on the day will be handled through that function in the digital platform.
The app has many functions, but we shall only be using some of them as we ‘dip our toe in the water’ of this new way of staging a conference. Full instructions and support will be available both before and during the event to help all attendees make the most of this technology which is used by organisations and companies such as Ford, Microsoft, IKEA, Lego, Yale University and the United Nations to stage their conferences and training activities.
Rotary International Conferences overseas have been utilising this technology in the staging of their conferences and events and we look forward to moving our event to this platform. Pictured below is the opening page of our 2022 District Conference event on the Whova app.
To meet an emerging interest and a growing need in 9810, our District Board recently approved the provision of nearly $13,000 from its District Development Fund to provide 20 grants to clubs to help provide and improve their ability to facilitate Hybrid Meetings. Hybrid meetings mean that some attendees are physically together in a meeting, while other attendees are attending the meeting online. Twelve grants of $800 were provided to 12 clubs to outfit them with sound, video, internet connectivity and other associated equipment, to make it possible for them to stage hybrid meetings as their main way of presenting club meetings and other events. The District Tech. Comm team has called for tenders for the equipment and anticipates that it will be able to be issued to these clubs in mid-late January with both in-person and on-line training taking place in mid-February. Eight grants of $400 were made to clubs that are already using hybrid technology for the purpose of upgrading their equipment. Given that some clubs are already using and setting the pace with Hybrid meetings, this will mean that by early 2022, well over half of the clubs in our District will be staging hybrid meetings as the normal state of affairs in their club business.
‘$800 Clubs’
Templestowe. Monash. Box Hill Burwood. Maroondah. MASH. Mordialloc. Belgrave. Knox. Lilydale. Croydon and Montrose. Mt Waverley.
‘$400 Clubs’
Emerald and District. Rowville-Lysterfield. Monash Rotaract Club. Ferntree Gully. Glen Waverley. Hampton. Monbulk and District. OCH.
If any club is interested in finding out more about how to stage a Hybrid meeting, here is a link to further information on the D9810 website.https://www.9810rotary.org.au/page/it-help
Yes, it’s back. After a pandemic delayed start, the next annual “Ride For Medical Research” will take place March 6 - 11, 2022. Having now raised over $1.2 million for Australian Rotary Health we look forward to pushing this to over $1.3milion in the near future.
Registration for this popular fundraising event will open on the 14th of November 2021 with strictly limited numbers, so get in early to secure your place.
Join us for the “Kelly Country Encounters Tour” 2022
The ride next year will be centered around the great cycling area of Wangaratta, taking in the King Valley, Beechworth, the painted silos in the region and more. See the web site for more information and registration details.
If you can’t make it why not consider joining in with the Mad March Cycle Challenge which will run in conjunction. Details of this will be released closer to the date.
Please note we are also seeking support drivers for the ride, if interested please see the web site for contact details or ring Ken Barrett on: - 0408 682 244
‘Rotary Ride for Research Dollars’ - The Rotary Club of Boronia
Founded in 1986 by the RC of Knoxfield and PP Graham Shaw, the concept of a ride to Conference eventually grew to be adopted by other clubs and in 1995 Rotary Club of Boronia set up an Organising Committee. Aimed at creating awareness of and to raise funds for Australian Rotary Health, some 33 riders and support crew rode the 676 km route to Ballarat for DG Bob Laslett’s 1994 Conference. These riders came from 13 District clubs, and participants included Rotarians and their families and Youth Exchange students from Belgium, Japan, France and Sweden. In its first eight years of operation, the event had raised some $160,000. Pictured are riders on the 8th annual ride in 1994.
‘History Pavilion at Finns Reserve’ – The Rotary Club of Templestowe
On 16th March 1993, the Rotary Club of Templestowe in association with the City of Doncaster and Templestowe opened the Templestowe History Pavilion at Finns Reserve. Inside the pavilion was a story with photos of the history of Templestowe together with a contemporary aerial map of the area. Built on the site of the original Finns Hotel which was destroyed by fire in 1967, it was open to the public at all times and a weekend of festivities was organised at the Reserve. Club President Max Bryan together with the Mayor, opened the pavilion with both Federal and State Parliamentarians present. The occasion was also the launch of the club’s new dress attire of hats and shirts. Rotary had contributed $10,000 and was successful in obtaining Council funding of $16,000.
Our District raised $102,000 for our RAWCS Dandenong Ranges Storm Recovery Fund and all proceeds are being directed towards recovery projects. Many of our clubs wanted to be involved in further recovery assistance work. Now is the time for volunteers to step forward as the Belgrave, Emerald and Monbulk clubs have combined to stage a ROTARY STORM RECOVERY FESTIVAL at the Monbulk Recreation Reserve on SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY 2022.
All D9810 clubs have been invited to be involved and provide support and assistance to ensure that the event is a great success. Having given much of our ‘Treasure’ all of us look forward to providing our ‘Time and Talent’ as we Serve to Change Lives in the Hills Communities.
Please save the date and spread the word about the event.
The funds raised from this auction are going to be shared predominantly between the Glenallen School and Canteen Australia with a smaller percentage to the Rotary Club for their ongoing projects.
Glenallen School situated in Glen Waverley has quite an age range of pupils with various physical and psychological issues and the pupils are attending from a wide range of the suburban area of Melbourne. It is a small school that attends to the pupils needs over a targeted tailored syllabus.
Canteen is the only organisation in Australia dedicated to providing tailored support for young people aged 12-25 who are impacted by cancer. Through Canteen, they learn to explore and deal with their feelings about cancer, connect with other young people in the same boat and, if they’ve been diagnosed themselves, Canteen provides specialist, youth-specific treatment teams.
All support services are underpinned by Canteen’s research and evaluation team who conduct world-class psychosocial research with the ultimate goal of transforming the lives of young people affected by cancer.
With the COVID-19 global pandemic effecting the fund raising capabilities of all three organisations, your support with the giving of goods, services or even financially, would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.
If there is a financial gift, we can have a tax deductable receipt provided for 75% of the funds donated which will happen after the allocation of the funds raised. Of course having auction lots pales into insignificance without bidders, so you and your friends would help to enable this function achieve a successful ending, so book a table and have some fun while helping a worthy cause.
Advice for clubs about making 'cashless' payments for club activities. A number of clubs are using the following means and no doubt there are others as well. Lilydale and Moorabbin - Direct debit. Boronia, Doncaster, Beaumaris, OCH, Box Hill Central, Mordialloc - EFTPOS machines. Nunawading - a Square device.
The Rotary Club of East Maitland in NSW has produced on Canva a very unique one-page graphic to illustrate their ‘Annual Report.’ It is certainly worth a look and could be most applicable to websites and Facebook pages.
A link to a non-Rotary website that explores the advantages and disadvantages of Hybrid meetings in the workplace, with some ideas for us to consider in our Rotary meeting environment.
Amanda Watkin, Rotary GB&I General Secretary, shares how Rotary clubs in the UK are navigating their way to normality post COVID-19 in the latest Rotary Magazine at the following link:
Just a reminder that in 2021/22 the District Governors Newsletter will now again be a monthly edition.So please send me your photos and articles to highlights9810@gmail.com prior to the next edition which is published during the first week of every month.
If you would like to see any Newsletters from the current or previous years click here.
Also Please remember that "Highlights" will be sent out on the third Monday of every month with the next edition being on the 20th December. Please send me any events & functions that you have planned in 2021/2022.
In the meantime you can view all the current events here
