I have just returned from a fun-filled weekend in Swan Hill, where we celebrated our own DG Anthony and Kerrie's successful year, at the District Changeoever Luncheon.  Anthony was thanked and the DG for 2019-2020, Rosanne Kava, from the Rotary Club of Swan Hill, was inducted.  The official handover date is July 1st, so we will still have the opportunity to congratulate and thank Anthony and Kerrie at our Club Changeover on 29th June. Be sure to keep the date free!

Last week it was a real pleasure to hear from one of  our RYPEN students, Natalie Murray. Natalie shared that she had been "terrified" when she first arrived at the camp, but has found a new self confidence, as was evident from her speech. Well done Natalie! We hope that confidence continues to grow in the years ahead.

It was also a pleasure to thank the wonderful sponsors of our District Conference for their valued support. They all enjoyed their evening with us. DG Anthony also thanked members of the Conference Committee for all their hard work which lead to such a successful Conference.

If you haven't chosen your preferred Committees for next year, be sure to be early for the meetings next week. PE Leigh will be wanting to finalize his lists, so Action plans can be completed by each committee.

Also, if you haven't purchased your tickets for the MATS Dinner this coming Saturday, do so asap under Rotary's name. Friends are welcome.

June Reminder notices are out, and I ask you to bring your partners on June 20th for a fun social night. My FINAL FLING!!

We have one month left to "Be The Inspiration" before the theme changes to "Rotary Connects The World".

 

On behalf of the District Conference Committee, DG Anthony thanked 15 of the 28 Conference Sponsors at last week's Rotary meeting. Each sponsor was presented with a "Thank You" certificate and reminded that our conference could not have happened without their support. Anthony remarked that our community is very fortunate to have such a group of willing and generous sponsors. DG Anthony also thanked and presented certificates to the members of the Conference Planning Committee, who worked for over two years to bring the various aspects of the Conference together. See more images by clicking "Read more..."

A huge thank you to PDG Jessie Harman for taking time to come and facilitate our Strategic Plan Meeting last week and to all who attended.  A lot of ideas came forward and Jessie made it a fun night, as well as encouraging us to think of our Club's future. Thank you also to Geoff James for all his pre-planning and to Peter Haywood for offering to collate all the sheets into a manageable format. Committees will look at the results on May 30th and make their recommendations to the Board of their goals for next year.

Thank you to the Club for appointing me to vote on their behalf at the Special District General Meeting in Swan Hill next Saturday morning. I will vote to approve the new suggested  structure of the District Board.

Next Sunday, DG Anthony hands over charge of the District to Roseanne Kava from the Rotary Club of Swan Hill at the District Changeover Dinner, although he will still be officially DG until July 1st. As a club, we can be proud of the job he has done representing us, and those of us going will be sure to show our obvious appreciation and support at this event.

Next week we will thank our Conference Sponsors for their generous support and also hear from our two RYPEN representatives.

Bring your Partners for a good night, but be sure to let Derrick know numbers before Wednesday lunchtime, as we will have quite a few visitors.

Remember we are booking tables for the MATS dinner on June 1st. Buy your tickets at the Highland Society front desk under Rotary. Our own Malley Rowe is the Auctioneer on the night!

We have much to be inspired by!

The following issues were discussed and recommendations passed at last week's Board Meeting.

Six club members travelled through the wind and rain to Stawell last Tuesday to attend the final gathering of our Rotary Group 7 Clubs for the 2018-19 Rotary Year. Pictured are current presidents of the four clubs giving their reports: John Launder  (Stawell) Bo Munro (Ararat) George Kirsanovs (Beaufort) and our President Meryl.

Our Board will consider a proposed set of Strategic Priorities for 2019-23 on Monday night and if approved, the document will be emailed to members for further comment and tweaking in the next week. Once approved by the club, this document will form the first half of our new Strategic plan for the next five years. It will contain Vision and mission statements (in line with the latest Rotary International statements), a small set (e.g. 4) of overall goals (or strategic priorities) based on Rotary International's priorities and a set of general strategies for our club drawn from RI's own strategies and the recent strategies of our District. These general guidelines will firstly provide some ideas for our Visioning session next Thursday, and then will provide a framework within which we can develop our club Action plan of specific objectives for the coming year. The annual Action plan forms the second half of of our Strategic Plan document, and it will be updated each year as has happened over the last decade. So look out for this general document in your email this week, see what you think and have your say. And then be sure to attend next Thursday night when PDG Jessie Harman will guide us in developing some specific objectives for our club - this will be the important "pointy end" activity when we convert the general stuff (determined by RI and the District) into what we want to do in our club during Leigh's year as President.

The "Boom Time" group (remember the drumming experience at Conference?) presented our Conference Committee with a framed photograph of Conference attendees in full flight during their Boom time segment. Pictured are DG Anthony, with Conference Chair John, Boom Time Coordinator Tracey and President Meryl holding the framed photo.

Last Thursday, attending members completed the Rotary Club Health Check quiz as the first stage of our new Strategic planning process. The quiz has been emailed to all members, and we encourage those members who couldn't attend last Thursday to complete the test this week. You can either print the quiz out and complete it by hand, or complete it in Word and email it to merylandgeoff@bigpond.com by next Thursday (May 2nd). Pictured are Harold and Thea completing the quiz, and members having their Chinese or Fish and Chip take-away meals - the Havilah team were already booked with Anzac day commitments.