Dear Perth Rotarians,
Pulses were hammering away last Friday as I took to the podium for the first time as President. Like watching our favourite football team run on to the field. Which way will it go? North or South? Elation or despair.
Well, you needed to have been there. To pick up the thrill of it all. You could see the tension on the faces of the crowd. Will he make it? The bookies were working overtime. Great theatre.
Which lets me segue seamlessly into a theme that will pop up regularly this year. And it is: it’s better when yo’all are with us, as they say in downtown Louisiana. Come along. It’s fun. We get to catch up with friends, old and new. And we raise money for important causes.
And there’s Larry. Larry is a class act. In constant demand, Larry is tied up here in Perth momentarily until the Plague subsides, then his agents will snatch him away for gigs on Broadway. Well, Off Broadway. Larry became a grandfather (again) during our Changeover Celebration. Superb timing. Congratulations to all concerned. The parents. Obviously. And Larry. Naturally.
Our Guest was Louise Pekan, of Ark Australia. She spoke of the importance of foster parenting.
Three new Board positions were announced: Nan Walker becomes Fellowship Chair, Manu Gupta moves into Youth Services and our much-loved and admired Past President Jill Dawson takes over Membership. She will fit this in effortlessly whilst simultaneously steering me through the labyrinth of Rotary business. Still, I have done my bit. I have upgraded my technological prowess by getting a new type-writer ribbon installed into my trusty Olivetti, I have purchased a half-dozen tubes of correction fluid. And a carton of window cleaner to get the correction fluid off the computer screen. I’m Rotary Ready.
We congratulated Jeff Leach on raising $68,000 over the last ten years by sleeping rough in support of the homeless, this year alone clicking over $20,000. An amazing effort for which Jeff deserved the highest praise. We reminded him that if he’d only sleep out more, he’d raise more. From the look on his face it was hard to tell how he took this. Time will tell.
ROTARY MEANS BUSINESS meets in the front bar of the DUXTON on 6 JULY. Ross Robertson of the Perron Group will be in conversation with our esteemed and incomparable former Governor Ken Michael. Show you Mean Business and join us.
SUBSCRIPTIONS for this year are well and truly due. Please pull out your card and just do it. Our charitable works, humanitarian initiatives and support for the needy in our community depend on our commitment, both in effort and money. Please help.
And in the meantime, take care, stay safe and do the 3
- Wash your hands
- Be aware of the physical distance
- Check in on your Safe WA App
President John.
Please also note club events and meetings that are coming up listed below.
- Thursday 1 July – Crawley Rotary Club Changeover Night. join us for dinner as we celebrate the Rotary new year. You are welcome to a arrive from 5:30pm for a 6pm sit-down. This will be a dinner to reflect the year past and hear the vision for the year ahead. We look forward to celebrating the Rotary new year with you! https://www.rotarycrawley.org/ POSTPONED UNTIL THURSDAY 15 JULY. FURTHER INFORMATION TO COME.
- Friday 2 July – Meet the new District Governor, Dee Buckland. Dee will speak to us about Rotary – the next 100 Years…. $50/pp. Lunch meeting at the Parmelia Hilton. Booking link https://www.trybooking.com/BSELI POSTPONED - NEW DATE TO BE CONFIRMED
- Saturday 3 July – District Changeover. Burswood on Swan, 1 Camfield Drive, Burswood. 6.15pm – 8.30pm. Light cocktail food and welcome drink. $60/pp booking link – https://www.trybooking.com/BRITD WAITING ON AN UPDATE FROM DISTRICT.
- Friday 9 July - Colleen Hayward AM (NAIDOC Week) - "We're in this together" | Perth Rotary Business Lunch. Tickets on line at https://www.trybooking.com/BSFDC
PERTH ROTARY 2021/22 BOARD EMAIL - Our Next Board Meeting – Monday 5 July 2021
President: Rev Dr John Shepherd AM president@rotaryperth.org.au ; john.h.shepherd@bigpond.com
Past President: Jill Dawson pastpresident@rotaryperth.org.au
President Elect: Maree Gooch maree@valuecreators.com.au
Treasurer: Joseph Wambua treasurer@rotaryperth.org.au
Secretary: Jacques Phillips secretary@rotaryperth.org.au
Rotary Foundation Emma Cork ecork@hphsolutions.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 Jill Dawson 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 Manu Gupta youth@rotaryperth.org.au