This is my penultimate column and there’s much to report.
Tania and I attended the NSW Police Officer Of the Year Awards (POOTY) Friday 29 April along with 550 guests and acknowledged the remarkable work of so many divisions within the NSW Police Force.
Attending was Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC and Mr. Wilson and Commissioner Karen Webb. Both impressive leaders and their presence added to the atmosphere of a dedicated force congratulating and remembering their own.
This is an opportunity to work alongside police, who know what’s happening in your community and where need exists. There’s great membership potential, especially retiring police officers and I urge clubs to identify police in their area and nominate when the awards open. Due to the pandemic, the 2022 awards will be presented in November.
Rotary Emergency Services Awards (RESCA) close May 10
Rotary Inspirational Women Awards (RIWA) close June 9
Speaking of inspirational women,
We celebrate all Mothers
Enjoy Sunday May 8th
Our best wishes
and Thank you
Club Anniversaries: 1972 was a very productive year for Rotary in then District 968 with six Clubs chartered in that calendar year. Congratulations to; Gosford North, The Entrance, Richmond, Beecroft, Carlingford and Lindfield now part of Ku-ring-gai. Add to these Epping’s 60th.
Just imagine the positive impact these Clubs alone have had on their communities for over 50 years of service. Thus far we’ve attended The Entrance, then Gosford North and a review of their Service over 50 years is an extraordinary list of achievements and fundraising.
Awards: We don’t join Rotary for recognition but over the years various forms of acknowledgement and awards have been created to recognise those members and Clubs that surpass normal service to their communities. Please review the criteria and make submissions to recognise outstanding effort.
Rotary International and Rotary Foundation Award details are at myrotary.org
Our Flood Appeal is at a remarkable $100,500 $102,600 and already $47,000 in gift cards has been distributed to people affected in the Hawkesbury area. We also get a 5% discount on the cards so are actually distributing value of $107,750. Thanks to Clubs and individuals for your generosity. This is additional to $34,500 already distributed from The Rotary Foundation Disaster Response Grant. Thanks to David Dean who has led the heavy lifting and the clubs and members (see David Dean’s TRF report) who have distributed gift cards and continue to do so. This appeal will close soon, once we transfer the last dollar. (See breaking news)
To Do List with 8 weeks left in this Rotary year:
DGE Mina Howard requires incoming board positions entered via ClubRunner to enable the district directory to be produced.
Review your Rotary Foundation, Annual Fund and Polio giving. Four Clubs and/or their members are yet to donate to Annual Fund but of concern, 26 clubs have not yet supported Polio Plus (see David Dean’s report).
May, June is the time Club board’s review their charitable funding so please include Rotary entities; Australian Rotary Health, ROMAC, RAWCS projects and ShelterBox.
District Changeover is at Hornsby RSL Saturday 2 July 6.30 for 7pm. Dress in Cocktail wear/ Coat & Tie. We look forward to celebrating your successes and hand over our district in great shape to DGE Mina. REGISTER HERE
Please keep your Club’s invitations coming in as Tania and I endeavour to accommodate events and make up for the five months in isolation.
Rescheduling due the pandemic means there’s many Club events happening, so I do hope the weather is kind and allows maximum participation for fun runs, outdoor concerts and changeovers. Best wishes for the final push in activities, giving and membership and let’s end with strong results in a challenging year.
RAWCS Flood Appeal for Sydney Region Fundraising Completed!
Thanks to all the clubs and individuals which have helped us exceed the $100,000 target for this project to assist victims of the Sydney region floods!
We are now distributing $500 Woolworths/Big W vouchers to clubs in the affected areas who are working with the local community to provide assistance where it is most needed.
So far, the clubs involved include Windsor (see Press release), The Ponds, Kurrajong/North Richmond, The Hills, and Kariong Somersby. If your club is aware of further needs for flood relief in your area, please contact DG Lindsay May, or Deputy Project Manager David Dean.
If your club has already raised funds specifically for this appeal, but has not yet made a donation, please let me know urgently. We must honour the promises made to donors!
However, if you have raised funds more generally, please consider making your donation to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund, Polio Program, or Disaster Response Fund instead.
Although the needs throughout the world seem overwhelming, every dollar we contribute makes a difference in someone's life.
Last month, we reported that April was a great time to donate to The Rotary Foundation, and many of your responded! Members of our District donated almost $AUD 40,000 to the Annual Fund last month. Currently, members of 63 of our 67 clubs have contributed something to OUR Foundation so far this year, and our per-capita giving has reached the $US 100 mark! Almost all the clubs in our District have set Annual Fund goals for the year, and you have almost reached those goals as well. As of 30 April, clubs have reached 87% of their goals, so please remember to allocate some of your club’s fundraising proceeds to OUR Foundation in your end-of-year plans.
Disaster Relief Grant Completed for Flood Relief
We received $34,500 from The Rotary Foundation to assist flood relief victims in our District and now have distributed this money using Woolworths and Bunnings Vouchers with the help of Rotarians at Kurrajong/North Richmond, The Hills Kellyville, Windsor, The Ponds, and Kariong Somersby.
Thanks to everyone involved in reaching out to members of our community in need!
Reminder
Please include The Rotary Foundation in your giving plans as we end the financial year.
Support the Annual Fund. Your club and individual contributions to the Annual Fund are used for District and Global Grants, as well as for Trustee programs, such as Peace Scholars. Our hope is that every club member contributes at least $100 to the Annual Fund to become a Centurion member each year.
Support Polio Plus. The battle against polio is being won despite the turmoil of the pandemic and war. Our continuing support is essential, and every dollar donated is matched by two dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Support the Disaster Response Fund. This fund, created in 2019, provides emergency support to districts around the world when disaster strikes. Our District has already received three of these grants – for bushfires, the pandemic, and for flood relief.
Make a Global Grant Directed Gift. Recently the Australian arm of The Rotary Foundation announced a new program to “Supercharge” your project. This program encourages companies and individuals (but not Rotary Clubs) to donate $50,000 or more to assist with Global Grant projects here in Australia or overseas. These donations are fully tax deductible and can be directed to be used by our District in specific areas of interest.
Please contact me or any member of the District Rotary Foundation Committee for more information on any of our programs.
Due to your positive response to the Each One, Bring One initiative, I am so happy to see that the membership trends in Rotary are looking up. Let us not lose this momentum — keep inviting new members, and also work hard to retain every member we attract. I look forward to seeing you next month in Houston at the 2022 Rotary International Convention, which I assure you will be a great event.
Also in Houston this June, we will be hosting my final presidential conference. We have devoted this year to conferences built around Rotary’s areas of focus. They have been a tremendous success, both in terms of attendance and in the ideas that were generated.
Last fall, our conference in the Philippines, which focused on protecting the environment and growing local economies, attracted 2,200 people online. In Brazil, our meeting centered around water, sanitation, and hygiene and how it relates to disease prevention and treatment; more than 600 people attended. That was followed by an event about the environment, economy, and peace in Maputo, Mozambique, which attracted around 400 in-person attendees and another 700 virtually. Our conference about keeping the economy and environment in harmony, held in Venice, Italy, had more than 600 in attendance.
Through these conferences and my world travels, numerous ...
1. District Assembly Session 1 - Plenary, 1st May - Message from DGE Mina Howard
I would like to thank all of those members who attended the District Assembly Plenary session at Castle Hill RSL on Sunday, 1st May. It was a great turnout of our incoming Board members. Commissioner Resilience Shane Fitzsimmons AO AFSM was an inspirational addition to our program.
Thank you to the team of presenters for your efforts in providing informative and interesting sessions, our Learning and Development Chair PDG Kalma McLellan for putting the program together and PP Julie Thorp for organising the venue and catering. A special mention goes to Jade Catherall, from Ryde RC who stepped in at our hour of need to solve the audio-visual problems due to the inadequate equipment of the RSL Club. Without Jade’s expertise all of our preparation may have been severely compromised. Thank you Jade.
If you haven’t already registered for your portfolio sessions over the coming weekends please do so. And thank you in advance to our District Chairs who are working hard to make their sessions informative and collaborative for you.
DGE Mina Howard
2. District 9685 Assembly 2022-23 Board Members: The next sessions will be held on: Sat 14th May 9.00 am Zoom session Rotary Foundation Directors Sat 14th May 11.00 am Zoom session Treasurers
Sun 22nd May 9.00 am Zoom Public Image Directors
Sun 22nd May 11.00 am Zoom Membership Directors Sun 22nd May 1.00 pm Zoom session Secretaries and Club Administration/Service Directors Sat 28th May 10.00 am St Josephs, Norwest Face to Face International Service / Community Service Directors Sat 28th May 1.30 pm St Josephs, Norwest Face to Face Vocational Service / Youth Service Directors
This is a great opportunity to refresh your understanding of what is happening in Rotary, and to collaborate with others in our District working together to make the world a better place. You are welcome to register for, and attend, as many of these events as you like. To register for each event, please CLICK below:
3. District Changeover 2022
The end of the year is approaching at an alarming rate. Let's all celebrate the end of another somewhat unusal year due to circumstance beyond anyone's control. The Changeover will be celebrating the achievements of DG Lindsay May and all Clubs in our District, and welcoming incoming DG Mina Howard and her teams.
This will be another fantastic Rotary event to be held at Hornsby RSL - another sign of normality returning. The date is Saturday, 2nd July 2022. Commencement time 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm.
4. District 9685 Conference 2023
The Conference will be held in Cowra at the Cowra Showground Pavilion from 17th to 19th March 2023.
A Calendar of events is planned for preparation for the Environment Action Weekend 4th and 5th June. Click on the image to the left for a larger version.
Rotary statement on WPV1 case in Pakistan 22 April 2022
After nearly 15 months without any reported cases of wild polio in Pakistan, a 15-month-old boy in North Waziristan was paralyzed by the wild poliovirus. Pakistan’s Polio Emergency Operations Centers have deployed teams to conduct a full investigation of the recent case, while emergency immunization campaigns are underway to prevent further spread of the wild poliovirus to other parts of Pakistan and across the Afghan border. While this news is disappointing, it is not entirely unexpected. Despite record-low case counts, throughout 2021, polio surveillance in Pakistan has detected positive environmental samples indicating that the virus continues to circulate in parts of the country.
As the Global Polio Eradication Initiative responds urgently to the new case, Rotary members in Pakistan will work to raise awareness about the importance of polio immunization and advocate with the government to prioritize eradication.
The case in Pakistan underscores the fact that our work is not over, and any complacency can hinder the polio program’s progress. It is critical that Rotary members around the world intensify their efforts to raise funds for PolioPlus, so that we can provide the funding necessary to respond to any new cases of polio in polio-endemic and outbreak countries. At the same time, Rotary members can be proud of the work they have done to bring wild polio case counts to a historic low, and can continue to leverage this momentum to make polio eradication a reality.
Michael K. McGovern
8. World Water Summit 14 - WASH Away Polio! - Learn about Rotary's progress eliminating polio webinar.
Jun 03, 2022 10:00 PM - 8:00 AM (AEST)
WWS14 explores the role of water, sanitation, and hygiene in stopping the transmission of infectious disease, including Polio.
Register now for WASH-RAG's hybrid event - scheduled for time zones around the world, and in person in Houston. Login and regostration required.
"The Club Buzz" is where you will find some exciting and relevant programs or events happening in our Clubs and in District 9685.
Just Look HEREfor the latest activities and news. In almost every case, the headings or whole item are linked to either a larger copy of the document, or more information. So just click on the headings or item in the Club Buzz pages. To view the Club Buzz Design Guidelines for Clubs to provide information for Club Buzz, click HERE.
In this edition of Club Buzz, you will find news about:
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The Rotary Club of Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise - The Push Up Challenge
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The Rotary Club of Northbridge - Northbridge Rotary Community Fireworks 2022
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The Rotary Club of Kurrajong North Richmond - Flood Donations
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The Rotary Club of Norwest Sunrise - Changeover
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The Rotary Club of Brisbane Water - Raising funds for the Cancer Council
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The Rotary Club of Carlingford - Wine and Cheese Evening to End Polio
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The Rotary Club of Berowra - Plant Sale
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The Rotary Club of Dee Why Warringah - 70th Anniversary
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The Rotary Club of Brisbane Water - Montessouri Teacher Training Uganda
Radio is a powerful way to spread your Club stories. If your Club has a project, local or overseas, which would interest the wider general public, discuss it with Rotary Matters presenter Ian Stuart who will be glad to help spread the word. Ian.stuart@optusnet.com.au 0416 138 860
to let us know of any bereavements you would like published.
You may also inform your Assistant Governor, the District Secretary, or the Governor. Remember to also update your club's member database on the District website.
THE ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE COURSE 69
3rd to 5th JUNE, 2022
On-line by Zoom
This is the next opportunity to attend RLI and will be held on-line.
You are receiving this email as a member or friend of one of the Rotary Clubs within Rotary International District 9685. If, for any reason, you do not want to receive communications of this nature, please unsubscribe by un-checking the box in the 'Privacy' tab of your member profile on the District website, or by selecting the 'unsubscribe' link at the foot of this newsletter.
District eNews is reviewed weekly for publication on Thursday at least every two weeks. Content provided and all rights reserved by Rotary International District 9685 Inc
"The Club Buzz" is where you will find some exciting 
