PERTH ROTARY - PRESIDENTS UPDATE - 1st October 2019
Fellow Rotarians and friends of Perth Rotary,
Last Thursday at the Family Buffet at the Hilton, we officially welcomed back to the Club our Very Reverend Dr. John Shepherd AM who had been at the Vatican as the Interim Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See.
Very Reverend’s John presentation was a collage of the monuments and the historical attractions of Rome, the “eternal City” (La cita eterna) with a plethora of pictures showcasing the wealth of history that is hiding in the ruins of the glorious Roman Empire and the inspiring influence of Renaissance in painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, music, philosophy and science.
After exploring Rome, Very Reverend John presented the Vatican, an independent city-state within Rome. It was established in 1929, it covers only 110 acres and has a population of about 1,000 only. Vatican City is an elective monarchy, in which the head of the Roman Catholic Church – the Pope –exercises principal legislative, executive, and judicial power.
Very Reverend John gave special emphasis on the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the armed guards protecting the Vatican City and the Pope but who also played historically a ceremonial role as honour guards. Since the assassination attempt on John Paul II in 1981 though, a much stronger emphasis has been placed on the guards’ non-ceremonial roles who have developed into a modern Guard corps.
Before the Very Reverend’s John presentation, we had another brief presentation from a group of 3 young and very motivated students from ECU. Past President’s Steven Inouye eldest daughter Savannah and her nursing class friends and classmates Stephanie and Michelle are heading to South Africa, undertaking an international placement for 2 weeks with the nursing school As part of their trip, the young ladies organised a fund raiser to benefit the people they will be coming into contact with over there.
Our members very generously donated more than $1,500 for those in need in South Africa and Savannah and her friends will use 100% of these funds to bring comfort to them.
Another much anticipated highlight of the Family Buffet night was of course the buffet itself! Many members expressed their excitement with the variety and the quality of the food that was prepared by the Hilton which made us visit the buffet again and again for multiple servings especially for dessert.
Last Thursday’s meeting is followed by this Friday’s lunch which has already gathered more than 80 RSVPs!
Celia Hammond MP, elected to the House of Representatives for Curtin, in 2019 will be our guest speaker and we will also have the induction of 2 very special members.
Celia Hammond is well known for her outstanding achievement as Vice Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame. Under her leadership, Notre Dame achieved outstanding quality ratings, financial growth and recognition by its students as the best university in Australia for overall quality of the educational experience.
Celia is visiting our Club with a group of other dignitaries including: The Leader of the Opposition, The Honorable Liza Harvey MLA, Former Minister for Child Protection and Minister for Mental Health Andrea Mitchell, Former Federal Minister The Honorable Judi Moylan AO and the Former Member for Perth and currently CEO of the 500 Club Eleni Evangel MLA.
However, the new members who join our Club are always very important as well and this Friday we will have the induction of Prof. Jorg Imberger and Lachlan Ottley to the Club, a double induction that we were all looking forward to.
Also, our member Rebecca Tolstoy AM will give a very special presentation on the Path of Hope, including updates on the latest achievements of this lifechanging project.
As we all know very well, Rotary sits above and beyond any political or religious dogma and unites people under the 4 Way Test and the Rotary culture of providing service to those in need. Under this spectrum, everyone is welcome in Perth Rotary, we respect and we honour the value hiding in the uniqueness of every individual while our members establish genuine friendships, inspired by the common goal, to serve the humanity.
I’m inviting you all to join us in this important lunch meeting.
Yours in Perth Rotary,
Vangelis Katsaitis
Perth Rotary President 2019-2020