Rotary Meeting 25 March 2025
- Welcome Kaye Moreland and partner Terry Pollock (RC of Berwick)
- Happy Birthday Vicki, John
- Pride of Workmanship - Congratulations to Ian Ash, Gayle Barrot and Kris Ash as well as the Vocational Team for all the wonderful organisation– thank you to Rotarians Marcus, Hita and Sangeeta for bringing employees to the event – we have had a lot of positive feedback and I know many members enjoyed the event.
- Apologies were read out by PP PHF Lorna Shaw
Anna St Clair – Chairperson
PP PHF John Richie Toast to the Elderly – Trevor Rickett
I lived in Upper Abbey Wood, England, with my younger sister and later, an adopted sister. My mother was in the Air Force, and when I turned nine, I went off to boarding school with my sister, while my sister was only seven at the time.
I have vivid memories of the war, especially one moment when a bomb went off nearby. We had to hurry to the basement bomb shelters. When I finally reached the bottom, I realized my leg was bleeding from glass that had shattered from the window.
My family were sponsored by a woman who lived on Silvan Road and was a penpal to my mother and we came to Australia in 1948. I came to Monbulk first and I travelled around quite a lot. After a year I moved to a flat in Hawthorn, and as a cheesemaker by trade manager a business in Doncaster. There was a couple in Monbulk were very good to me and I thought I’ll go and see them and of course by going to see them I saw their daughter Joan and as a result we’ve been married for over 60 years and took care of the news agency that my wife owned in Monbulk whilst I built our home.
My long list of achievements including becoming a longstanding member of the Monbulk District Men’s Shed since 2012.
I helped the Senior Citizens Club for over 35 years… I became a Justice of the Peace in 1969, I was chairman of the bench at the Ferntree Gully Courts… I was president of the Rotary Club at Monbulk; past president and life member of the soccer club, and the Probus Club.
I was the treasurer of the Monbulk High School committee and a member of the inaugural Baynes Park Committee.
I was the member of the liaison committee between Sherbrooke and Lilydale councils, amongst other things, and I really enjoyed helping out some other people in these committees.
An achievement that has remained particularly memorable is the lobbying for the establishment of a police station in Monbulk – which was successful during my time as president of the town’s Business and Traders Association.
For my work in the community, I received an OAM in the General Division for my service to the community of Monbulk in the Australia Day Honours List for 2024.
I also received the Mayors Lifetime Achievement Award from Yarra Ranges Council in 2019.
I don’t do these things for reward or recognition and pledge to still do my “best” for the community, and urge other locals to do the same.
Kaye Moreland Speaker – Rotary Inner Wheel
Biography
Resident of Officer - Cardinia Shire
Worked in IT for 30+ years for State Savings Bank of Victoria, Ingersoll Rand, Mercury Marine, Gillette Australia and the New Zealand Dairy Board before moving into Advertising Sales with various magazines, the Independent News and Star News Group.
Community involvement outside of Inner Wheel (apart from the usual kindergarten and school committees and children’s sporting organisations):-
- Past Vice President of the Board of Management of Narre Warren Community Learning Centre
- Twice Mayoress of the City of Casey.
- Immed Past Vice President of the BOM of Casey North Community Information and Support Services.
Mother of 4, grandmother of 9.
IW Involvement: -
- Member of the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick for 34 years.
- Twice President of the IWC of Berwick.
- President of Inner Wheel Australia 2015 – 2016.
- Currently Vice President of International Inner Wheel (2024-2025)
Information provided:
Margaret Golding was a dedicated nurse during World War I and has often been recognized as a Rotary wife. Her significant contributions laid the foundation for the International Women’s (IW) movement, which started with the establishment of its first club in Manchester on November 15, 1923. The aim was to foster friendship and service opportunities while promoting international understanding. The inaugural meeting saw the attendance of 27 members who shared a common objective of friendship and service.
On December 10, 1924, the IW of Manchester was officially formed, inspired by the ideals of Paul Harris from Chicago. This new organisation not only retained the core values of its founders but also expanded rapidly; by 1927, five more clubs had been established. By 1928, Rotary District 5 was created in correspondence with the IW district, and by 1931, the movement flourished with 56 clubs in existence. A landmark moment occurred in 1934 when the first IW club in Australia was formed in Bendigo.
Recently, from May 7 to 10, we celebrated the 100th international anniversary of the organisation. Today, there are 4,200 clubs and approximately 120,000 members worldwide.
In 1972, IW became part of the United Nations, further solidifying its commitment to global service. Kaye, a dedicated member, attended a UN meeting last week focusing on the status of women, highlighting the organisation’s ongoing relevance in today’s world.
The Margaret Golding Award, first awarded in 2001, has recognized 446 individuals by 2024 for their outstanding contributions. Notably, IW supports disaster relief efforts globally, with a current membership of 2,500 in Australia. In addition to international projects, IW Australia has raised $4 million for cord blood research grants across the country and has Disaster Gift Recipient (DGR) status for funding disaster relief efforts.
Australia is segmented into 12 districts, with our region being District A62. Clubs meet monthly, and Kaye represents the IW club of Berwick, which actively supports Rotary and the Deb Ball. With 30 years of involvement in IW, Kaye acknowledges that many people remain unaware of the organization’s mission and activities.
As IW faces the challenge of regaining membership, efforts are underway to raise public awareness about its role as an amazing women’s service organisation dedicated to empowering women. Meetings are held on the first Monday of every month at 6:30 PM, with an official start time of 7:00 PM. Join us and discover the impactful work we do!
Conference Update – PP PHF Sangeeta Bajaj
- Dinner Friday – Thai Restaurant – Toni-Anne will circulate details
- Gala Dinner – Sangeeta’s room prior to the dinner
Trivia Night – 3rd May arrival 6pm 6.30pm start @ The Hub
Sid will MC, Aneesh is question master
- Silent Auction – some prizes donated maybe Rotarians can donate something we can collate towards a prize
- 29 booked so far
- Games as well – bring some coins with you
Community - PP PHF Tina McInerney
- Tina will be taking part in the local event at The Hub.It is for all the community groups to display their information.Emergency groups will also be going through displays and asking those attending what people want is to do.Requesting ideas for projects.
- The Mentoring Program at St Lukes -grades 2-6.We haven’t managed to do that but they meet every Thursday for 6 weeks and provide a meal for 70 people.6 volunteers already and asking for a few more volunteers.If interested in going between 5 and 8 – please touch based with Tina.She will send out a roster.
Vocational Service – PP PHF Gayle Barrot
- Special mention to Ian for the wonderful way he coordinated the POW and he was a great MC.
- Over 100 people and the room was filled with love
- Non-Rotarians feedback was amazing
- Thank you to the whole club for their support
- Video of a recipient taken of Tony Walker – it meant a lot to him and he turned disaster into helping people be the best of themselves
Youth - PP PHF Marcus Adams
- Last Friday 36 EarlyAct students inducted at Emerald Primary School
- Thank you to Rotarians who attended
- Thank you to Kerith who spoke really well
Deb Ball 14 June - PHF Lyn Beckwith - 27 couple applications paid for – applications end 24/4/25
PP Shalini Penny provided an overview of our finances.
Dementia Café - PP PHF Kris Ash
- We are working on documents for grants
- The RSL has kindly offered their facilities at no charge bi-weekly on a Wednesday morning
- The Café will be run through an affiliation model with Umbrella Dementia Cafes an NFP with a lot of experience in setting up and organising cafes
- The morning will comprise of coffee and social time, celebrating milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries.The second hour will be devoted to activities and the opportunity for carers to gain support from trained volunteers and peer carers
- We are very much looking forward to providing this service to those in the community with dementia and their carers!
- We would love to gain interest from club members and if you would like to assist, please contact Kris.We will also be asking the wider community for volunteers as well.
PP PHF John Shaw Ride to Conference for Rotary Health
- $1.3M raised over the yrs not including this yr
- $45-$50k this year
- John raised just over $4k
- 30 rides and 9 support
- Based in Wangaratta – 514 kms out of a possible 580 covered by John
- It was a great ride and good to be fundraising for Australian Rotary Health
PP PHF Gloria Hargreaves– thank you to so many people for the support during the knee operation. Thank you for the hamper looking forward to the vodka.
Sergeant - Roy Bowyer – first time!!
Disclaimer any connection between reality and the fines is purely accidental
Closing Remarks Pres. Kelly
- EarlyAct – was good but fun handing out certificates and badges took time to get our heads around!
- Thank you for Kaye and Terry for attending
- Looking forward to conference
- Thank you to everyone who contributed to the meeting
- Chairperson Marcus next Tuesday
Don't forget to register for the Triva fundraising night.
