At our November Board meeting on November 13th, we confirmed the place, date and time of our Christmas Break-Up meeting (see below), we confirmed the time and place of our first meeting for 2026 (Jan. 8th at the Lion's Goldfields Res. Barbeque site), and the place and date of our January Social Event (Jan. 29th at John and Alison's home). We also heard reports from our new Bike Ride planning committee and our Satellite Club, and fine-tuned planning for the coming week's Energy Breakthrough. Members are reminded that we meet on TUESDAY evening this week to set up our Breakthrough site.
August is Rotary Membership or New Club Development month. It's an ideal time to invite a friend along to Rotary or if you are new to our club and interested, drop into one of our meetings - 6.45pm every Thursday at the Highland Society - or earlier if you want to share a meal. Contact our Secretary Thea for more details.
Members will be aware that “Club Service” is one of the five avenues of service for Rotary - the others are Community Service, Vocational Service, International Service and Youth Service. On Thursday July 31st, members completed a Club Service Jobs Chart made up of the Jobs or roles required to run our club for the next year. The charts will be compiled in the next week and the resulting list will be emailed to members. Members who were not in attendance on Thursday are encouraged to still volunteer for roles to help share the load of running our club. Contact PDG Geoff if you need another copy of the chart.
At last week's “Swindle” draw, PP Leight picked the J…Jack - but seemed quite happy with the consolation prize of a bar of chocolate! Attend our weekly meetings at the Highland and you, too can have a chance to become rich (?) quick or at least enjoy a sweet treat.
Members gathered in the Highland Society “Men's Bowls” Room last Thursday for our club's first “open” Board Meeting involving all members. After dealing with the minutes, correspondence, Treasurer's report and Committee reports, we considered 5 items of business concerning a bank account for Next Gen, updated club computers, our strategic plan, Club rules and Areas of Responsibility in the club. A brief summary of outcomes can be accessed in the “Story Content” section by clicking “Read more…”.
Last Thursday, July 17th, members were treated to a wonderful talk by Past Rotary International Director, Jessie Harman telling of her recent trip to Everest base camp to raise funds for Polio eradication. In setting the scene, Jessie reflected that the challenge was one of the hardest she had ever faced, and it was only thoughts of the generous donors who had contributed to her cause that kept her going. The trek also exposed her to the coldest conditions she had every experienced in her life, but it was worth it. See more pix and read about Jessie's 5 take away messages from her trip by clicking “Read more…”
Members were saddened to hear of the recent passing of past President and member of our club, Charles Townsing. Charles was President in 1998-99 and was primarily responsible for the provision and installation of the big rocks lining the pathway at Dowie Park. He was also a very active member of the International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians and the Fellowship of Golfing Rotarians. In recent years, he and his wife Faye were living in outback South Australia. The funeral for Charles will be held here at the Catholic Church in Maryborough on Thursday, July 24th at 2pm.
As members will know, there are five avenues of service in a Rotary club: Club Service, Community Service, Vocational Service, International Service and Youth Service. Club Service has to do with the little jobs that help to keep the club running effectively and efficiently. Without people doing these jobs, a club could not function. All members are encouraged to contribute to some club service roles that fit with their skill and interest set and available time. So, this week, all members will be emailed a form with a list of the jobs we need to be completed in our club. We ask EVERY member to look out for the form and indicate your willingness to help with some selected tasks with which you feel comfortable and then return the form to PDG Geoff as soon as possible.
Eighteen members gathered at the Highland on Thursday July 10th (pictured) to develop some possible projects for the coming Rotary year. The creative juices were certainly flowing as suggested fundraisers included a Community (plastic) Duck Race, various forms of variety concerts, a full weekend of bike rides, walks and entertainment, and community barbeques conducted by club members. Some of the community needs highlighted in the discussions included the need for accommodation for family violence victims, the need for ways to address the loneliness of people in our area, and the need for access to a community bus to transport people to events. At the same time, members acknowledged the need to continue with current projects such as family violence awareness, barbeques for community groups and the development of the Bristol Hill area. All ideas will be considered by a Projects committee to soon come up with our Club's Project Program for 2025-26.
Club members are advised that Clubrunner has released an updated mobile app for iOS and Android devices which will give local Rotarians easy access to information about club events, Rotarian's contact details, our Club and District websites, each members own club profile. The app allows you to make changes to your own information right from your mobile device. The image shows the home screen of the app and you can individualize this screen with your preferred headings. We encourage all members to take advantage of this app and service to help improve the communication channels in our club. When you get the app, be aware that you will need to log in with your Clubrunner username and password. Contact Geoff James if you need this information again. When using the app, you might initially get a "No information" available" indicator on some screens - just wait a couple of seconds for the screen to populate. 
Four of our members travelled through the rain to join Ararat Rotary club members at their Changeover Dinner last Wednesday to see last year's president, Cameron Whyte hand over the leadership baton to new President, Carolyn Holden. We wish Carolyn and the Ararat team (pictured) a great 2025-26 Uniting for good. Carolyn is second from the left.
The Rotary Legislative Council met in April and among the Rotary legislative changes that took effect on 1 July is a measure allowing clubs to be chartered with as few as 15 members (instead of 20). 
At the Maryborough Rotary Club Changeover Dinner on June 26th, we changed over our leadership team for the 2025-26 Rotary year. President Bec inducted PDG Anthony Ohlsen as our President for July through September. In October, PP Martin Mackay will take over the reins; in January 2026, John Williamson will lead our club and PP Terry Allan will become President in April 2026. We thank Anthony, Martin, John and Terry for agreeing to take over this vital leadership role in the coming year, We also sincerely thank Bec Lowery for completing such a fine job as President over the past year, The new leadership team will also include PP Thea Allan as Secretary, PP Bec Lowery as Treasurer, PP Garry Higgins OAM as Membership Director, Max Berry as Public Image Director, Alison Teese OAM as Foundation Director, Leigh Williamson as Fundraising Director and PDG Geoff James as Administration Director. Click “Read more…” for more pics.
Four of our members attended the Beaufort Rotary Club Changeover Dinner at the Beaufort Football Grounds on Sunday, June 29th. Outgoing President and legend of the Beaufort Club, George Kirsanovs handed over the leadership baton to incoming President, Michelle Oakman. Secretary will be Meryn Pease and Treasurer will again be Tony Sutherland. Congratulations to the Beaufort team (pictured) for a wonderful changeover and all the very best for the coming year.
As our final weekly meeting for the year, we celebrated President Bec's year with a relaxed "Chinese Takeaway" meal at the home of Secretary PP Thea and PP Terry. Thea and Terry have written to say they thank all participants for having a meal with them on Thursday evening. Thea added, "For President Bec’s last night she wanted Chinese and she ordered some wonderful food. All 15 Rotarians enjoyed the meal, warm house with an open fire in the lounge room and fellowship at the House of Allan. Thanks to everyone who helped clear the tables. It was easy to put the dishes and glasses in the dishwasher this morning!" After the meal, members adjourned to the Lounge room (pictured) and agreed on some positive changes for our club moving forward into 2025-26. Watch this space.
A dozen members (pictured) met last Thursday evening to explore some possibilities for our Club's Governance committees as we move into the coming Rotary year. One proposal that sparked a lot of discussion was the idea that we run our club Board meetings once a month at our weekly meeting time and include all members as participants. Governance committee chairs would be responsible for providing reports and proposals at each meeting to be discussed and voted upon by all members present. This would enable all members to feel involved in the decisions of the club and would ensure that each decision is considered by a sizable number of people. Some clubs in our district currently use this method to conduct club business. However, there are some drawbacks to this approach. Click, "Read more..."
Francesco Arezzo, a member of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy, has been selected by the Board of Directors to become Rotary International’s president for 2025-26. Arezzo will become president on 1 July. The Board conducted a special session following the unexpected resignation of
Motto: Service Above Self
Maryborough, VIC 3465
Australia