At the start of the Rotary Year I presented the planning document for the year. In order to include all members of the club, I made sure that each member received a written copy of this document. As the year is now at an end I feel it important to refer back to this document when presenting my report for the year. By doing this we have an opportunity to reflect and see what goals we achieved, and what goals we might have missed out on, and in some instances consider what we need to continue to focus on in the future. Therefore the original objectives taken from the planning document appear in Red and my final comments will be in black.Presidents Comments.
It is my intention to hold a Horizons/ Strategic Planning Meeting during the year. It is my view that the long term viability of our club is now at a crucial point. We are a club that has a very high average age of members; over a third of our members are over the age of 70, with only a small number of members being actively employed. Our weekly attendance has dropped in my time at the club, and our ability to convince members to become involved in events that we hold, as well as take on roles of responsibility within the club, is getting harder all the time. Every aspect of our club needs to be examined, from the way in which we hold a meeting, to the program that we offer members and the events that we take on. This process of review might conclude with the need for change, it might not. It will involve an opportunity for all members to contribute to the outcomes and the direction that we take the club. Very quickly as a newly inducted President, and having undertaken the required training at Pre-Pets and Pets, I can see that there are some aspects of our club that are not consistent with other clubs and District. This is not to say that we are wrong in the manner in which we conduct a meeting, however it is an opportunity to see if these factors play a part in our ability to attract new members to our club.
The Board introduced some changes to the structure of our weekly meeting, removing some of the formality. This was very well received by the club and has made our weekly meetings a little less daunting for visitors. We had a number of opportunities throughout the year for member’s feedback, and our club forums saw some great discussions develop. We haven’t addressed the issue of being a club of older people however we were able to see the induction of Leigh Mathews, Young Victorian of the Year, to our club. I think there is some significance in this fact that is worth mentioning in this report as it gives us a link or access to a new generation that we weren’t exposed to previously. Whilst not wanting to put undue pressure on Leigh, the fact that she has joined our club may give us an opportunity to attract more like minded, and aged, people to our club.
Our program has been excellent this year, with some amazing speakers on a diverse range of topics, I think this has been a great positive for the year and I thank those that have contributed to the speakers throughout the year, particularly Merv Williams.
I purposely have not committed to too many events at a district level as I believe that the main focus is for us to have a good look at the structure of our club and how we can attract more new members, members that will become active in the life of the club and help to take it into the next 10 years. We currently have a number of members on our list that are not active in the life of the club for a variety of reasons. My aim is that we can work with all members to find ways in which the club can meet their needs and find ways in which they can contribute to the success of the club. When meeting with ADG Alan prior to submitting this report to Jim Studebaker I referred to it as Going Back To Basics and spending some time focussing on what we can do for the club as much as we can focus on what we can do externally for the community.
Whilst we concentrated on going back to basic, we were able to complete a couple of projects that were not in our initial plan, some as a response to special circumstances.
In addition to Garden Design Fest, the club ran an extremely successful Golf Day, and I would encourage the club to make this an annual event. This year’s Golf day was organised by Peter, Vern, Harry and Graeme, raising $4,400. The overwhelming response from those that participated in the golf day was that it was run perfectly and fun was had by all. We had great support from a number of sponsors to make the day the success that it was.
The club responded to the Bushfire Tragedy by raising $2,800 from members which was put towards equipment required to fit out the Hamer Court facility which has been used as emergency accommodation by those that have suffered from this tragedy. Sue Holiday became a great contributor at Hamer Court helping out for a number of days as this was setup ready to be used. I know from speaking from members of the council, Sue’s significant efforts were greatly appreciated.
As a response to the Bushfires, the club also made the decision to utilise some of our reserve funds to assist with the support of the CFA and in particular the Axe Creek Forward Command Vehicle which received significant damage fighting the fires. The money was spent to rectify some issues learnt from the bushfire experience in order that the vehicle was fitted out to be better equipped to handle extreme conditions in the future. As a club, we had members of the Axe Creek CFA speak to us about the Forward Command Vehicle only a matter of weeks prior to what was the worst day in Victoria’s fire-fighting history. The people that shared lunch with us were putting their lives at risk protecting those within their communities. The board felt strongly that this contribution was a tangible way to make a difference and support a large area, through the provision of this vehicle. The board agreed that the tragic nature of the bushfires, and the ongoing threat, warranted the use of club reserve funds.
This year the fourth Boroondara Paper was held, with the Rotary Club of Kew On Yarra acting as the lead club from our cluster. Don McKinnon represented our club on the organising committee and this excellent event saw a good crowd come to hear Prof David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, speak.
As indicated at a number of points in this report, the interaction with other clubs in our cluster has been enjoyable. In addition to the Boroondara Paper and the Indonesian Night, we had the cluster bbq in January at the Alexandra Gardens. The Presidents have had the opportunity to interact and meet regularly throughout the year, and the continued goodwill between the clubs is evident. Our Assistant Governor Alan Seale has been a regular visitor and supporter to our club, attending a number of events throughout the year with Robyn. I would like to thank Alan, he has become a great friend to the members of our club during the last 2 years whilst he has been our AG and I he is always welcome to come and visit his friends at the Rotary Club of Kew at any time.
In conclusion I would say that I haven’t spent much time referring to the theme for this year of Making Dreams Real. Let me put it this way; our plan will Make Dreams Real for the charities that receive our financial support this year and the people in the community that we interact with along the way. One Dream that I would like to Make Real is mine; and I hope it’s yours too. That dream is to put a strategy into place that secures the long term future of this club and establishes a foundation through its members that sees us achieve as much, if not more, in the next 40 years, as we have in the last.
The Rotary Club of Kew has made an incredible financial contribution to a wide variety of recipients this year, as mentioned throughout this report. Each recipient of a donation from our club has been extremely grateful and thankful to us for the contribution we have made.
In keeping it very simple, I believe the Rotary Club of Kew has made many Dreams Real this year and I am very proud of our clubs efforts throughout the 2008-2009 Rotary Year.
In conclusion I would like to thank the board members:
Vin, Graeme, Barry, Mike Mc, Mike D, Jonathan, Peter, Fred and David for their contribution during the last twelve months in serving their club.
I would also like to thank Murray and Robert for looking after the role of Sergeant with such gusto and enthusiasm, their contribution to the enjoyment of the weekly meeting was very much appreciated.
I wish Barry and his team the very best as their year begins, I am sure the club is in exceptionally good hands and our future as a successful Rotary Club is ensured.
To the members of the club, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you are your President, it has been an honour and it is something that I will remember forever.
See sections of the full report here
Four Key Objectives for the year
Executive Administration
Club Administration
Membership
Vocational Service Projects
Community Service Projects
Foundation
New Generations
International Service Projects
Donations 2008-2009