ROTARY ISN'T ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING. WE LIKE FUN AS WELL!
Our Rotary Cup Day BBQ was hosted by Peter and Judy Appleton in their lovely garden on a sensational Kilmore day (weatherwise). As usual, we pretty much fixed all the world's problems except that election in the USA.
WORLD POLIO DAY 24TH OCTOBER
Our Oct 23rd October get-together celebrated World Polio Day (Oct 24) with a funny hats night and our own Rtn Marie Gerrard speaking about her trip to India earlier this year to help with giving Polio oral vaccine to children.
It was a fun evening along with lots of learning and the raising of funds to assist in the Rotary focus to eradicate Polio from the world.
PLEASE HELP US WITH A DONATION: www.rotary.org/en/donate
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
09-10-2024
GUEST SPEAKER
Dean Sattia – Final Embrace Funerals
Dean very kindly joined us when the scheduled speaker cancelled. After his informative talk, the questions came one after the other. Indicating as usual that death/funerals is a topic often avoided but still requiring plenty of research and consideration (prior to the event if possible).
08-06-2024
MELODY CREATES A TAIWANESE FEAST CELEBRATING THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
Southern Mitchell Rotary says a fond farewell to our Taiwanese Exchange Student, Melody. Melody Ku you have been a fabulous Rotary Exchange Student, an excellent representative of your country and a very talented Taiwanese chef. Thank you and all the very best.
OUR EXCHANGE STUDENT, MELODY FROM TAIWAN,
PLANTS A TREE AT OUR ARBORETUM BEFORE GOING HOME.
This activity occurred at the Rotary Arboretum on Tuesday, June 4th at 4:30pm under the watchful eye of past District Governor, Phillip Clancy.
Tree type - Bhutan Blue Pine.
Pinus wallichiana is its Latin name.
Can reach maybe 40 metres in height.
13-04-2024
12, 13 & 14-04-2024
26-01-2024
Pics by Geoff Colson Photography
CHILDREN’S SCHOOL/SPORTS SHOES $50 SUBSIDY BY ROTARY
The Rotary Recycle Op Shop will be making available $50 vouchers for children’s school and sporting shoes. The vouchers will be redeemable at Kilmore’s Booteek Shoes who have kindly offered a 10% discount on all shoes purchased with a voucher. If you have received notification that you are eligible for this, please note your $50 school shoe voucher will be available for collection from the Rotary Recycle Op Shop at 86 Sydney St Kilmore from January 10.
ROTARY IS HERE TO HELP - FREE LAUNDRY SERVICE
If things are a bit tough for you at the moment, Rotary is here to help.
Rotary Free Laundry operating at:
Wallan Wash laundry – 3/69-79 High Street, Wallan Wednesdays 9-12 noon
Laundry Lounge - 41 High Street, Wallan Fridays 9-12 noon
A CHILD IN INDIA RECEIVES POLIO VACCINE FROM OUR OWN ROTARIAN MARIE GERRARD
It is only 50-60 years ago when Iron Lungs were widely used to help Polio victims stay alive. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
ANOTHER TWO LOADS OF LIDS TO RECYCLERS
Rotarian Lisa who champions the local "Collect To Protect" program has recently delivered 2 loads of lids to Geelong for recycling. If you would like to participate, go to: www.rcsm.org.au/collect and learn all about it.
Clean lids can be dropped off at our Rotary Recycle Op Shop at 84 Sydney street, Kilmore.
13-12-2023
CHRISTMAS BREAKUP – ‘BAREFOOT IN THE PARK’
The cool change came early to Kilmore on Wednesday evening, and so we had a beautiful, sunny but mild evening to celebrate a very busy and successful Rotary calendar year.
25 potential bowlers were there, and the Kilmore Bowls Club members were very welcoming at the Bar and on the Green. They gave lots of instruction as we attempted to learn the intricacies of “Lawn Bowls" which is the game that takes a second to learn, but a lifetime to master”. (quote Lawn Bowls Australia).
Regular competitor Lisa brought her gear, and we saw her use a Bowler’s Arm, a great device that allows you to play without the deep bending knees and crouch position. Denis Holland worked tirelessly on his technique, and Rocca and Eva developed some less testing but fun alternatives to the main game.
We started with sushi + sandwiches & then moved to pizzas. Mother Christmas and her helper, Eva arrived and gave all of us who had been ‘good this year’, a gift! (Amazingly support from the Bowls Club - Colin, Carol and Leslie who were only too happy to teach young and old a few tips.)
Another happy fellowship time. We wish all members and families a safe and happy Festive Season. We are planning a great 2024 New Year event on 10 January at the home of Jeanette and Suresh.
Merry Christmas everyone.
26-11-2023
Annual Broadford Seniors Christmas Lunch
A small but devoted band of Rotarians put on a great day for numerous Seniors at the Broadford Town Hall.
27-10-2023
COFFEE and CODSWALLOP at Rose Garden Cafe, Kilmore.
Nine participants this morning at our 4th outing enjoyed the sunshine at the Rose Garden Cafe in Kilmore. Rose, Elizabeth, Angelina, Roger, Suresh, Tony, John, Barry and newbie Peter, whom we will all meet at Trackside next Wednesday.
14-10-2023
INTERNATIONAL DINNER
Our Annual International Dinner is to raise funds to support our current international activity, which as Project Lemur. This is to support 1500 primary school children and their teachers in 5 year drought devastated Southern Madagascar.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT PROJECT LEMUR
Our guest speaker, David Ensor, CEO of International Needs Australia (INA). Gave an insight into what they do for our international community. INA works in 9 countries where women & children are some of the most marginalised: India, Myanmar, Philippines, Ethiopa, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Nepal. David presented some more sobering information to back up why he is so passionate about trying to change the livelihoods of marginalised people.
710m people live in extreme poverty -less than US$1.90 daily
258m children of primary and secondary school age are out of school
Only 50% of children worldwide in early childhood education
60% of chronically hungry people globally are women and girls
With TOTAL net assets of $13,389 you are in the wealthiest 50%
If you have $212,471 of total wealth, you are in the top 10%
The bottom 50% of adults have less than 1% of total global wealth.
David then went on to explain why INA concentrates on women and children and gave us many case studies to show how successful his organisation is, such as the toilet blocks they build for girls at secondary schools so young women can deal with sanitary issues and don’t need to stay at home as is the norm for them. Once again, he backed up his processes with great data.
The other "arm" of INA is to set up interest free loans for a community to establish enterprises to improve their communities eg Group borrowers (Farmer Associations, Cooperatives, Self-Help Groups) / 15 - 90 members - $8,000. Individual borrowers: Grocery shops, tailoring shops, hair salons, etc - $1,000.
David finished up with the accountability of INA. It is 1 of 55 fully DFAT accredited NGOs – 5 x match funding. INA guarantees that 80% of its funds go directly to the participants. David's passion for his organisation and its mission was fantastic, and his presentation was most thorough and interesting.
30-09-2023
Members of Rotary District 9790 met today at the Kilmore Rotary Peace Arboretum to plant a tree in memory of past District Governor Anne Reid. The tree selected was an Angophora from the Myrtaceae family, known for its beautiful pink colour after shedding bark, sourced from nearby Mt. William Tree Nursery. About 50 members from clubs throughout District 9790 attended to pay tribute to Anne, a woman known for her tenacity and ability to think outside the square to get a job done.
Friends, colleagues and Anne’s daughter related wonderful stories of Anne’s time in Rotary and their experiences working with her. Despite having received a terminal diagnosis prior to starting her year as District Governor Anne insisted on carrying through with the role – a testament to her determination to keep working for the betterment of our world until the very end. Vale Anne Reid. You are much missed.
13-09-2023
Carmel Allen is from Tasmania and is a very active member of RYLA Elevate who with others from RYLA Elevate (from NSW and New Zealand) are helping us to promote Project Lemur and the fund raising that goes along with it.
Click on the image alongside to take up Carmel’s challenge >>>>>>>>>>
07-09-2023
This year, Mitchell Youth Services is participating in the state government initiative 'Youth Fest'. Youth Fest is an opportunity to celebrate young people by supporting them to organise and deliver events that showcase their talents and contributions to the community. Mitchell Youth Services will be delivering a range of events, training, workshops and celebrations in partnership with other local organisations for young people connected to Mitchell Shire.
FOR DETAILS, GO TO: https://rebrand.ly/ndi13p0
06-09-2023
Our speaker this week was Sergeant Rhonda Coates who spoke to us about family violence. Rhonda covered many aspects of the issue. For instance, in Australia Family violence costs $5.8 billion annually in lost time at work, and services involved (police, ambulance, social services, etc.). Rhonda commented that in higher socio-economic groups, DV is more likely to be characterised by psychological coercion rather than physical violence. A large percentage of homicides are categorised as being due to family violence. The most difficult people for police to work with are those who have a cultural background which considers DV incidents as bringing shame to the family, or when interpreters are required, but appropriate interpreters are not available. A lot for us to think about.
04-09-2023
In the interests of 100% transparency, Southern Mitchell Rotary is pleased to advise we are sharing the profits from our new Rotary Recycle Op Shop with our community.
This is our first distribution of what will be many in the future.
Thanks to Lisa, our Op Shop Manager and her dedicated team of Op Shop volunteers who serve our terrific customers.
Anyone who has seen Dolly Parton in concert will agree that the pint-sized singer/songwriter is a gifted storyteller. In a bid to share her passion for words, Dolly launched the Imagination Library in 1996. Since then, over 56,000,000 books have been gifted to children across the globe.
Dolly Parton shares her passion for reading and her dreams as a child of becoming a singer and songwriter. She described how growing up in a highly disadvantaged area where even her family members could not afford books was the impetus for starting the now global Imagination Library.
“If you can read, you can learn about anything,” says Dolly, whose goal is to inspire a love of reading and learning among all children. To date, she and her local partners have gifted over 56,000,000 books to children across four countries. The Imagination Library aims to improve early childhood literacy for children by giving them a free, high-quality, age-appropriate book each month from birth to age five.
In Australia, Rotary and United Way are working in partnership to expand and run Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, targeting our most disadvantaged communities first.
23-08-2023
At our get-together, Melody, (our 2023 Rotary Youth Exchange student) was our guest speaker, introducing herself to a packed room of Rotary members. After first telling us about herself and her family, she showed us where home is and proceeded to introduce us to popular foods in Taiwan, good places to visit and much more interesting facts expanding our international knowledge. Pictured is Melody and President Rose exchanging Rotary banners and Melody with her Aussie mum Angelina, who is also our Youth Director.
Chia-Yu Ku or Melody, (her preferred name).
Our 2023 Rotary Exchange Student has arrived and is already receiving a crash course in Australiana by Rotarian Angelina Cirelli-Salomone and her family. Angelina is our Youth Director and Melody's first host "mum" during her stay in Australia. Melody is from the north of Taiwan, is an accomplished drummer and will be attending Assumption College.
Chia-Yu Ku or Melody, (her preferred name).
20-08-2023
BROADFORD CLEANUP
A very small but dedicated band of Southern Mitchell Rotary members enjoyed the sunshine for a couple of hours on a recent Sunday morning, donating their time to clean up a section of High Street, Broadford. The end result was very rewarding.
05-08-2023
ANALEMMATIC SUNDIAL BUILD AT THE ROTARY PEACE ARBORETUM
This Rotary project to create an Arboretum on 10 acres with an Analemmatic Sundial has been ticking away for 3 years.
After many hours over previous weeks, measuring and pegging out the precise location of where the 13 stones (each one up to 1.7 tons) are to be placed, a small group actually put them in place.
Pictured are our “People of Action”, Rotarian Noel Baker, Rotarian Angelina Cirelli-Salomone’s husband Tony, Rotarian Sonny Gomez, Rotarian Peter Appleton plus Michael Appleton (with his tractor).
06-08-2023
LIDS 4 KIDS SORTING
Rotarians Elizabeth and Roger plus some Lids 4 Kids supporters (Jess, Mandy and Mary) gathered for a couple of hours to sort “Lids 4 Kids” at the home of Rotarian Lisa (Regional Lids4Kids Coordinator) in Wallan on a recent Sunday afternoon.
Help us make a difference - consider visiting us "no obligation" at an upcoming get-together, (go to: www.rcsm.org.au/invitation) and meet a heap of new friends. What does Rotary Do? Rotary helps people!
In terms of $1.00 donated to a cause, the above table shows the percentage of the amount that goes to that cause. Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) is the clear leader, closely followed by Rotary Foundation.
26-07-2023
SOUTHERN MITCHELL ROTARY WELCOMES A NEW MEMBER
Let's welcome our newest member, Ian (Fozzie) Foster to Southern Mitchell Rotary. Ian was inducted BY Assistant Governor Sharon Fox, and we believe Ian will become a valuable cog in our wheel.
Pictured from left is Ian's partner, Michelle, Ian, Assistant Governor Sharon Fox and Club President Rose King.
23-07-23
ROTARY CLEANS UP EAST ST KILMORE
A handful of very dedicated Southern Mitchell Rotary members braved the elements for a couple of hours, donating their time to clean up a particularly grubby section of East Street, Kilmore. The end result was rewarding.
16-07-2023
CHANGEOVER AT TRACKSIDE
A lovely afternoon was had when we congregated at Trackside to re-induct President Rose into her second year as President due to her desire to complete unfinished business. Clearly Rose has just got up to speed and let’s look out, for when the “after-burner” cuts in Southern Mitchell will be flying!
OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR 2023-2024
CLUB PRESIDENT - Rose King,
PRESIDENT ELECT - Elizabeth McCormick,
SECRETARY - Elizabeth McCormick,
TREASURER - Paul Lloyd,
ENVIRONMENT - Ian Dempsey,
INTERNATIONAL - David D’Silva,
COMMUNITY - Rosanne Whitten,
YOUTH - Angelina Cirelli-Salomone,
FOUNDATION - Roger Morgan.
We visit France, Italy, Croatia and South America with Rotarian Roseanne
14-07-2023
Roseanne shared lots of pics of her very delightful trip around the world. It must have been a challenging few weeks given the ground she covered, but we were all lucky to view from good old Kilmore.
Op Shop volunteers “meet and greet” with Southern Mitchell members.
06-07-2023
Southern Mitchell Rotary took over the responsibility of their new Recycle Op Shop on 1st July. Today, many Rotary members took the opportunity to meet our highly valued Op Shop volunteers, and together we look forward to moving onward and upward.
DONATION DISTRIBUTION
Wednesday, June 7th ‘23
At our Club Assembly on 7 June, we split into groups and discussed allocation of club funds. There was quite a diverse opinion expressed. Local community causes/needs were the clear ‘winner’ with support given to donations to Wallan & Broadford Love In Action and Nexus Primary Health Domestic Violence Program. Shelterbox also received support, and it seems likely our Club will be able to fund one complete Shelterbox unit, which could be used in any part of the world in any disaster situation.
LANDCARE & ROTARY TREE PLANTING DAY
Sunday 18 June 2023
3500 trees planted. Over 100 volunteers fed and watered. What an awesome day. And the weather god was very kind to us. Rotary Club Southern Mitchell, a huge pat on the back.
12-06-2023
Our 2023-2024 Exchange Student is soon to arrive.
Chia-Yu Ku or Melody, (her preferred name), will arrive in mid-July from Taoyuan City in Taiwan. Melody obviously has some music background, given the picture we received with her sitting at her drum kit. We are all looking forward to learning about her home country and sharing Australia with her.
17-05-2023
Club Get Together
We discovered last night at our Trackside get together that our Acing Sergeant Rtn Gary Gradsack has a secret fetish!
After launching into his story about Orange Wednesday in honour of our SES heroes and fining a couple of attendees for wearing orange, he proceeded to "drop his dacks" to reveal his orange shorts.
A roar of laughter followed!
Thank you, Your Majesty, King Charles III for the delightful conversation about @Rotary, female leadership, and the environment. We are so honoured to count you, and your late father, as part of our Rotary family.
Jennifer Jones
President, Rotary International 2022-2023
29-03-2023
Kilmore CFA
An overview of our CFA
Thank you, Paul Duff and Rod Dally for your very detailed presentation tonight at our Rotary get-together. Very informative and interesting on the workings of the Kilmore CFA.
Both Paul and Rod plus a number of other Brigade members were presented with our Covid Hero awards for going above and beyond during the pandemic.
22-03-2023
RARE
Rotary Australia
Repurposing Equipment
Our get-together this week was off site at an old, but very useable, vacant warehouse in our region that is being evaluated by Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment (RARE).
RARE is an activity that establishes an efficient and effective program for distributing obsolete medical and educational equipment to disadvantaged communities in Australia and overseas under a regulative framework. Our Club along with others in the region will be involved in its ongoing management should it come to fruition.
15-03-2023
Annabelle Cleeland
Nationals Member for Euroa
Parliament of Victoria
Annabelle was our very vibrant guest speaker at this evening’s get-together, and for a country girl she presented very well.
Prior to entering Parliament, Annabelle was a Fairfax Media national agricultural journalist, editor of the Stock & Land, business owner and wool grower. Annabelle’s career has always, and will continue to be, as a storyteller for regional Victorians. Following the birth of her first child, Annabelle resolved to fight for better health outcomes for regional people and became a community adviser at her local (Kilmore) hospital.
Annabelle saw an opportunity to use her voice to advocate for the issues and values that matter most to her, and to be a representative for the people in her community. This was seen in action during the meeting as she took numerous notes about member concerns.
08-03-23
Jeremy Scrivens + daughter Sarah
Love in Action - Wallan & Broadford
At our Club meeting tonight we were provided with information about “Love In Action” from founder Jeremy Scrivens and daughter Sarah who is President.
Love in Action is a community initiative in Wallan and Broadford that offers practical support to people in need. From providing meals and clothing to offering emotional support and assistance with basic needs, Love in Action volunteers work tirelessly to make a positive impact on the lives of those who are struggling. Their love and compassion for their fellow community members is truly inspiring.
04-02-2023
Rotary Youth Exchange
Maddy Antonietti - Milan, Italy.
Farewell to our lovely Rotary Exchange Student, Maddy Antonietti, who will be flying home this coming Friday. Maddy & Prez Rose are shown exchanging Club banners at our Wednesday meeting. We wish Maddy every success in her final year at school. It has been a total pleasure hosting her.
04-02-2023
Gordon Hastie Bursary Awards
Mckenzie & Sam - Broadford Secondary College
Congratulations to who were presented with Gordon Hastie Bursaries at our Club meeting on Wednesday. Both are exceptional young people and very deserving of these bursaries in honour of the memory of our former Rotarian Gordon Hastie. It was great to see Mckenzie & Sam's families and teaching staff from Broadford Secondary College at our meeting to support these inspiring young people.
26-01-2023
Australia Day Festival at Broadford Island Park
How good was the Australia Day festival at Broadford? Congratulations to all those involved in such a wonderful family inclusive celebration of our great Country.
18-01-2023
District Governor David McPherson Visit
DG David McPherson was our guest speaker at our first formal meeting of the year on Wednesday 18 January. David presented us with a framed certificate & letter honouring our 50 years of service signed by World President Jennifer Johnston. With President Rose. he also presented a Paul Harris recognition to both Kit Holland and Ian Dempsey.
04-02-2023
ROTARY FRIENDSHIP
Farewell to our Exchange Student, Maddy from Italy
Another awesome Southern Mitchell Rotary Club event. Our farewell to Maddy our Rotary Exchange student from Milan, Italy. Maddy has been a wonderful ambassador for her country, a delightful young lady and we wish her all the very best.
14-01-2023
2023 Start Up
Hosts Dr Suresh and Janet Jain.
The annual Rotary Club Southern Mitchell new year get together and feast. Thanks to our wonderful hosts Dr Suresh and Janet Jain. Great fellowship and a feed to be seen to be believed. Oh and the cherries were my highlight!!!! Thanks also to all the other Rotarians and partners that assisted with the evening.
14-12-2022
Christmas Breakup
The Royal Oak Hotel, Kilmore
Nearly 30 members and partners joined in an excellent meal and lots of lively chatter as we enjoyed our last meeting evening as a fellowship outing. Great to see our ADG Nina join us.
07-12-2022
Lids 4 Kids
Rotarian Lisa Kyllo
Our newest member with just a week under her belt presented a new project to the Club which revolves around recycling items that because of their small size automatically go to landfill because they literally fall through the cracks in the recycling mechanical roller systems.
07-12-2022
Wellbeing Workshop
Our Lady of The Way Primary in Wallan
Club Director of New Generation offered her vocation to give back to the teaching community of Our Lady of The Way Primary in Wallan after being asked to run a wellbeing workshop for staff to help recharge the batteries to get through the last of what the education sector are calling their hardest year yet.
As a qualified Counsellor, Hypnosis Therapist and Reiki Practitioner Angelina guided the staff through the benefit of relaxation, breathing exercises and self care to give them a guilt free rest.
UKRAINE - ROTARY RESPONDS
Rotary is deeply concerned by the escalating loss of life and humanitarian hardship caused by war in Ukraine. Rotary’s deep networks and decades of experience enables rapid humanitarian relief for Ukrainian refugees.
More
Kyiv Multinational Rotary Club
Kyiv Multinational Rotary Club was founded in 2006.
They are a small English speaking club with split Ukrainian/Expat membership.
07-12-2022
Tree Planting
Planning Meeting
Ian D, Elizabeth M and Roger M from the Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell joined others from Glenaroua Landcare, the Rotary Club of Manningham and property managers to view the site for our annual planting weekend in 2023 of some 3,500 trees along Camerons Creek west of Broadford. Planting date is June 17 & 18 2023.
06-12-2022
DIK /RARE
Rotary Australia Repurposing Equipment
Two large storage sheds in our region are soon to be renovated so they can be used to better manage primarily medical instruments given the existing Rotary facility at Footscray is bursting at the seams. This is set to evolve into a significant project for our Club and will permit us to be a major component in the distribution of repurposed medical instruments to those who really do need them.
04-12-2022
Father Bob Maguire’s Toy Run
Broadford State Motorcycle Sports Complex
The Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell cooked the world’s best sausages for participants in Father Bob’s Annual Toy Run for the disadvantaged.
02-12-2022
Our 2022 Exchange Student Maddie (from Italy)
Today marked the final day of Ozzie classes for our Rotary Youth Exchange student Maddie at Assumption College Kilmore. The Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell is very grateful to Assumption College for their support in helping the process flow smoothly and for taking our students into their community. Maddie shared with principal Kate Fogarty that she had very much enjoyed attending school, made strong friendships and really enjoyed the contrast of attending classes in different buildings each period which was a stark contrast from Milan where the students remain in the same classes and professors move around.
01-12-2022
Youth Advisory Network Meeting
Broadford Council Chambers
The Rotary Club of Southern Mitchell were in the shire spotlight when our Club Director of New Generation Angelina Cirelli Salomone presented all things Rotary youth related to the Youth Advisory Network Meeting at the council chambers meeting room in Broadford. It was the first face to face meeting for the Network in over 2 years and Jessica Watts and Tara Kinsey were able to pull together a range of local services and community groups who compliment in the area of youth. Just some of those present were Northern Legal Community Centre, The Bridge Services, Central Ranges LLEN, Wallan and Seymour Police, L to P driving program and so many more.
It was a great morning of networking and collaborative discussion between those working across the youth sector with Rotary focus on the current school age programs we have on offer in the South Mitchell Shire and 9790 District.
30-11-2022
New Member Induction
Lisa Kyllo
President Rose inducted Lisa Kyllo at this evenings meeting in front of a bumper attendance. Lisa lives in Wallan and is involved with “Lids 4 Kids”. We are looking forward to learning all about what will become another very worthwhile project for our Club.
Broadford Seniors Annual Christmas Dinner
Sunday 27th November
A terrific day for our Broadford seniors who all enjoyed themselves as did the Rotarians who put it on for them.
#1 Elf Greeter from Rotary waiting for her first attendees to arrive.
01-11-2022
Melbourne Cup Day - Social
Hosts: Kit & Denis Holland
The Southern Mitchell Rotary Club's annual Melbourne Cup BBQ at the Holland's residence. Thirty something members and partners sheltered inside from the classic Kilmore weather while a handful of brave fellas watched Denis very capably drive the BBQ. A great range of salads complemented the delicious BBQ meats and these were followed by a vast selection of very yummy deserts.
Of course, chief swindler Ian Lee organised a Cup Sweep as you do and long time Rotarian Suresh Jain was the lucky winner - “congratulations Suresh”.
The Melbourne Cup has been and gone for another year however we all had a great time together enjoying each other’s company - something Rotary is renowned for.
29-10-22
International Dinner
Kilmore Memorial Hall
Our keynote speaker at this function was the very passionate Jessica Redwood, CEO of the Children First Foundation
Children First Foundation was established when a team of like-minded people shared a dream that all children had access to excellent medical care when they needed it. Together, we wanted to give a helping hand to children from countries without the resources needed to help them.
In the beginning children were cared for by a team of volunteers at donated properties in Melbourne and Kilmore while they underwent surgery provided by generous surgeons and hospitals. But as more children were referred for treatment, plans developed to establish a Foundation with a formal structure so that donor support would be managed appropriately, and the work could expand and grow.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of many people the plans eventually became a reality with the formal establishment of Children First Foundation in July 1999. Rotary District 9790 joined forces with Children First and at the same time Rotarian and Kilmore local Noel Baker and his wife Janis donated 45 acres of land to the newly formed Foundation to build a home where the children could be cared for while they were here for surgery.
01-10-2022
Sausage Sizzle - Fund Raiser
Bunnings Craigeburn
One of our teams on the BBQ at Bunnings creating the world’s best sausages while raising money for our many and varied local and international projects.
10-08-2022
Torng Bai Thai Restaurant
Social Outing
Our social outing to Torng Bai Thai was enjoyed by all. A lovely evening with good food and great friends. Rotary is not all work, however our work when we are doing it is also fun with good friends.
24-09-2022
Stephanie Urchic
World President 2024-2025
Stephanie A. Urchick, of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2024-25, a decision that would make her only the second woman to hold that position. With the world facing incredible challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, disasters driven by climate change, and conflict in many regions, Urchick says Rotary’s leaders can offer a vision and a plan for overcoming these challenges.
08-08-2022
Club Project
Fredrick Beuhne Monument Beautification
Rotarians Ian, Tony and Roger met Wendy Lake from Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria to discuss this precinct beautification project.
Not quite 3,000 plants in the ground – as we filled the site, the remaining plants will go into another area to act as a windbreak between two paddocks elsewhere on the property.
98 volunteers + Amanda & Mark (landholders) helped over the 2 days to enable this event to occur. The students & younger participants where a great help (due to the many, more mature volunteers, waiting for or not long had hip and / or knee replacements – (from overheard conversations)) ) and did the majority of the planting, while others distributed plants, guards & stakes where needed, as well as some planting – amazing teamwork that just flowed over the site.
Thanks for the wonderful morning tea and then lunch which revived everyone and it was fantastic to hear the banter going on – the only formal complaint was there needs to be more caramel slice.
And Mark & Amanda for letting us take over your property for a couple of days and do this event. Without landholders on board willing to participate and make such sites available this project would not continue.
26-06-2022
Club Project
Tree Planting Day
Rotarians For Bees/ESRAG/Oceania display
District 9790 Conference in Marysville May 2022
Beuhne Memorial clean up
Rotarians Marie Gerrard and David D’Silva cleaning up the area.
Broadford Secondary winner - The Gordon Hastie Bursary 2021
Danielle Spratling with Rotarian Ian Dempsey
08-08-2022
Club Project
Kilmore East Railway Station Beautification
Rotarians Ian, Tony and Roger met Wendy Lake from Keep Australia Beautiful, Victoria to discuss this precinct beautification project. It is currently in the planning and preparation stage with planting to commence in Autumn 2023.
Prey Dong School in Kandall Province, Cambodia.
The Southern Mitchell Rotary Club has for several years supported the Prey Dong School in Kandall Province, Cambodia.
Money is raised for specific building projects, vital recreation areas and to support the school’s teachers, pupils and families with much-needed assistance.
