PERTH ROTARY | PRESIDENTS UPDATE | 13th October 2020

Posted on Oct 13, 2020
Members & Friends of the Perth Rotary Club,
 
Summer is knocking on the door with a week of beautiful sunshine ahead.  Club Services Director Darren Perera, Perth Rotary Nominee Eileen Hao and their daughters flew the flag for Perth Rotary at the Mullaloo Beach Clean-Up, Sunday 11 October.  I particularly wish to thank and acknowledge Darren for his dedication to providing opportunities for Perth Rotary members to volunteer in our community and I urge all members to seriously consider joining the team.  It is great fun, rewarding and has an immediate positive impact on the organisation who we are assisting.  Please check in on the link http://bit.ly/VolunteerPerthRotary for updated information on upcoming opportunities and consider volunteering some of your personal time over a weekend. 
 
Our R100 Liquid Gold Polio Dinner Fundraiser, Thursday 22 October is shaping up to be the most inspiring of evenings, if you have not already done so, please visit http://bit.ly/LiquidGoldDinner to secure your ticket.  I promise you, it will be an amazing evening that you will consider well worth your time and cost of the ticket.  It is also an opportunity for Perth Rotary to lead the way in donating to this worthy cause.  
 
 
The purpose of the evening is for Rotary of Crawley and Rotary of Perth to meet their annual RI funding requirement while re-inspiring those around us on the need to stay vigilant towards the End Polio Now Campaign.  It has been quite an eye-opening experience to look at the D9455 data for the past ten years and to understand where the Perth Rotary Club sits in relation to the District’s contributions.  We have interviewed 3 survivors of Polio along with the son of a polio survivor and will play snippets of their Living Stories throughout the evening along with our key note speaker, The Honorable Kim Beazley AC, Governor of Western Australia and a polio survivor himself.
 
Along the way, we have had the opportunity to look back in time through the lens of Rotarians who experienced this pandemic.  Below is an excerpt from an email I received from Perth Rotarian Judith Pincuzk. 
 
“In my first year in Perth at boarding school, I was one of the lucky children who, in 1956, received the Salk injected ‘killed virus’ vaccine, effective against all three types of poliomyelitis, which guarded against the worst effects of polio, although some still suffered a milder dose of this terrible disease.  American Jonas Salk (1914  - 1945) completed trials of his vaccine in 1955 and released it worldwide, refusing to patent the vaccine or profit from its discovery.  When Polish /American researcher Albert Sabin developed his oral vaccine the next year he also made this available worldwide but also campaigned for years for his two elements for success: the use of the oral vaccine and the need to administer it to an entire population at once. 
 
In Western Australia, Robin Miller (8.12.1940 – 7.12.1975) - daughter of Mary Durack and Horrie Miller (MacRobertson Miller Airlines)  - studied nursing, topping the State.  Robin also obtained her pilot’s licence and later her commercial pilot’s licence. This meant that Robin could not only be a RFDS nurse but pilot the plane as well.   In  1967 Robin’s concern for the remote,  unvaccinated North West, particularly  Aboriginal communities, led her to make an offer to the WA Health Department, which they couldn’t refuse.  Horrie Miller provided a plane and Robin became the “Sugar-Bird Lady” distributing the Sabin vaccine on sugar cubes throughout the North-West.  Robin also treated the remote communities for the eye disease, trachoma.  Robin administered 37,000 doses of the oral vaccine, covering 43,000 air miles in north-western Australia in the two years of the campaign.”  Judith Pincuck 8 October 2020.
 
In the event that you are not able to join us at The Westin Hotel, Thursday 22 October, we would be grateful of your donation – http://bit.ly/LiquidGoldDonations .  All donations in lieu of attending will be processed via the try booking site as a donation to the Sir Norman Brearley Trust (SNBT) which has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.  All donors will receive a tax receipt from SNBT.   We thank you in advance for your kind donations towards eradicating Polio from the last two endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  We are THIS CLOSE! 
 
FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER 2020 | PERTH ROTARY AGM | HAVE YOU RSVP’d?
 
It is not uncommon for the words ‘Annual General Meeting’ of any club to inspire fear, dread, loathing and an urgent need to be anywhere else other than at the AGM…. 😊 However, Perth Rotary AGM’s are actually a cause for celebration, enlightening and positive meetings which I know will inspire you to be even more connected with our club.  It is important that we have as many members in attendance as possible to meet our quorum requirements & your presence and effort to attend this meeting is greatly appreciated.  Past President Vangelis will provide an overview of the 2019/20 year and Treasurer Joseph Wambua will present an overview of our financial position.
 
Strategic Plans can be a little overwhelming, seem like a lot of work and then after all is said and done, not always implemented…. However, they are the backbone of any organization and in times of crisis provide clarity and direction to the Board and Members.  It is important that we are pro-active as a club rather than reactive.  That we have clear priorities and control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of our strategies for positive outcomes with our projects and also financial security.
 
 
We have taken a slightly different approach this year with Rotarian Emma Cork widely consulting with members of the club on an individual basis and then drafting a strategic plan for the whole club membership to review.   Emma's brief was to look at the following aspects of our club:
 
  • Purpose – What is it that Perth Rotary achieves?  Is our Mission Statement still current? 
  • Club culture – Who are we? 
  • Membership – Who do we wish to attract as members?  Is our club a welcoming and diverse club? 
  • Organizational Structure – How do we survive into the future?  Which organizations outside of Rotary can we partner with to further strengthen our base?  
Emma has pulled together a strategic plan which she will present to members at the AGM.  We then request members to take away a hard copy and/or electronic copy to review and comment on.  The reviewed strategic plan will be available to members to comment on.  At our meeting, Friday 20 November the final draft will be presented to members and then forwarded to the Board for approval and implementation at the board meeting, Monday 7 December 2020. 
 
This week has also been designated Rotary Mental Health Awareness Week.  We have two initiatives occurring – one at club level and the other at a District level.
  1. Australian Rotary Health Lift The Lid On Mental Health Hat Day Campaign - Perth Rotary will combine our AGM with a Lift the Lid event.  Please wear your BEST, MOST LOVED, EXTRAVAGANT Hat to lunch or risk the financial burden of paying up to the Sergeant.  All funds collected by Sergeant Larry will be forwarded to ARH in support of their important work in raising awareness and funding medical research into mental health.   The Board of Directors has resolved to match $1 for $1 funds collected during Sergeant Larry’s Lift the Lid session up to a max of $250. 
  2. District 9455 in conjunction with ARH are hosting a Statewide Rural Mental Health Virtual Forum Interest Meeting via zoom Friday 16 October 10am - 12 noon.  Mental health, particularly of young people, is often raised as an issue in country areas around Western Australia.  As ‘People of Action’ can Rotary with others in towns and shires across WA address this challenge?  Can our metropolitan club members’ expertise, efforts and networks help bring this initiative to fruition?  Can you help out with initiating practical vocational responses and community mental health forums and projects across country WA?
 
Join Rotary colleagues from rural communities across Western Australia to explore how Rotary and other service groups, local government, education and health services, community groups and others might address this challenge in 2021 and beyond.  How can Australian Rotary Health and Rotary in Western Australia open opportunities and make a difference in the lives and mental wellbeing of many across our great state?  To participate in this online discussion, please register your interest today.  .  https://events.humanitix.com/australian-rotary-health-wa-statewide-rural-mental-health-virtual-forum-interest-meeting
 
A reminder to all Perth Rotarians, we have been advised by DevelopmentWA that should any Rotarian wish to take possession of the well formerly located adjacent to the Bell Tower prior to the development of the Elizabeth Quay site, must do so by COB Friday 16 October, otherwise the well will be disposed of. Please contact PDG Graham Peden by email if you are interested in the well. 
 
 
PERTH ROTARY | HONORARY MEMBER | UNAAWA 75th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS 
 
We encourage all Perth Rotary Members to join with the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Div) to celebrate this special occasion at The Duxton Hotel, Friday 23 October 2020.  Booking link is https://tinyurl.com/ycontl8r .  
 
 
STEELTOES & STILETTOS | FUNDRAISING EVENT | SATURDAY 21 NOV
 
Please refer to the attached story for more information regarding this fun opportunity for Perth Rotarians to actively support this club project and support our young tradies to stay safe.
 
Early bird tickets are on sale for a limited time.
 
 
VIENNA POPS NEW YEARS EVE GALA CONCERT | 31 DECEMBER 2020
 
Devon Lake, Perth Rotary Vienna Pops Rising Star, took off like a rocket with his performance of ‘Per Te’ by Josh Brogan and we are excited to see what else Devon has in store for us come New Year’s Eve along with the return to the Perth Concert Hall of Rachelle Durkin, recently returned to Perth from New York.
 
We have two Concert options available for you:
 
 
 
 
Other Events you may be interested in: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PERTH ROTARY 2020/21 BOARD EMAIL - Our Next Board Meeting - Monday 2 November 2020
 
President:                  Jill Dawson               president@rotaryperth.org.au
Past President:         Vangelis Katsaitis    vangelis@excellenceps.com.au
President Elect:        Rev Dr John Shepherd AM john.h.shepherd@bigpond.com
Treasurer:                  Joseph Wambua      treasurer@rotaryperth.org.au
Secretary:                  Jacques Phillips      secretary@rotaryperth.org.au
Rotary Foundation  Emma Cork               emma@oneenergyfps.com.au
Club Service:           Darren Perera           clubservice@rotaryperth.org.au
Fellowship Chair:    Jo Morris                    fellowship@rotaryperth.org.au     
Media Chair              Barry Thornton         barrythornton@hotmail.com
Speaker Program     Nicola Johnston       programmechair@rotaryperth.org.au
Membership              Ashley Whitworth    membership@rotaryperth.org.au
Vocational                 Jonas Edner             vocational@rotaryperth.org.au
Community               David Wee                community@rotaryperth.org.au
International             Wesley Sim               international@rotaryperth.org.au
Youth                         Kelly Gibson             youth@rotaryperth.org.au