Terrific to be back at Damien's with great food and great company
CHANGEOVER
Venue: Damien on Fisher
Event: Club Changeover
Guests: DG Tim and Bronwyn Klar, DGE David and Lyn Jones, PDG Kim Harvey, Hon David Pisoni MP, AG Di Clements, Briony Casburn, Bronwyn Kenny, Jane Coward, Beverley Baker, Meg Burdett, Graham Ey, Christen Holloway, Richard Martin
Attendance: 22 members and 15 guests
Fabulous job Patsy and Valerie with the decorations and tummy ticklers
The meeting was chaired by PDG Jerry Casburn
AG Di Clements kicked off proceedings with an acknowledgement of country, Jerry provided the invocation and President Jason welcomed guests...or most of them....and gave apologies for Heather, Pam, Rhonda and Trevor.
Virginia Cossid proposed the Toast to Rotary International, emphasising the experience, capacity and commitment of 1.2m Rotarians across the world to continue to better our world in almost all fields of endeavour.
District Governor Tim Klar responded to the toast and thanked Virginia for her thoughtful presentation. Tim reflected on the challenges and opportunities at the beginning of the year to successfully integrate Districts 9500 and 9520 into a cohesive 9510. Then along came Covid 19. Whilst it has caused some suspended animation with club fundraising and projects, it has uncovered new ways of communicating which must be utilised into the future. Unley has consistently been a strong contributor to the Rotary Foundation. Our district gave an average of US$60 per member to the Fund which delivered close to $100m in projects such as disease eradication $35.6m $18.8m clean water and $11m education last year.
We need to build on the strengths of Rotary and being Rotarians, and to embrace change.
Apologies to Virginia, Tim and Kim....photos taken early did not reproduce well.
Keynote Address: PDG Kim Harvey: Diversity and Inclusion
Kim expressed the need for Rotary clubs to take on the challenge of diversifying their membership and being more inclusive in the way we operate. Our membership should be reflective of the broader community. It is not sufficient to simply welcome people of different backgrounds into our clubs. We need to work through ways to enable active participation by a diverse range of people, some of whom have been discriminated against for reasons of sex, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, occupation and other issues. We need to remove inequities, discrimination and prejudices to create a more just and welcoming community. It is a matter of justice and equity......we are reminded that it took Rotary until 1989 to admit women. Taking down barriers and allowing such new members to develop and thrive requires proactive approaches. Our youth programs like RYPEN and RYLA offer opportunities to alter the psyche and develop momentum for change.
In Australia, Rotary has about 100 Fellowships which enable members to share/collaborate in a broad range of interests. This year a LGBT fellowship has been formed. Sorel is Rotary Australia's first transgender club president.
President's Report
Jason provided incoming president Sorel with advice on areas best avoided.....top of the list was pandemics. He thanked the club for its support during a professionally challenging year. Highlights included:
Community - Treasure Box and Open Light
Vocational - POOTY and Pride of Workmanship
International - Projects in Peru, Nepal and Solomon Islands
Participation by Brendan, Christina and Virginia in Rotary leadership training
Participation by club members in his RAWCS Nepal eye project...the first by Rotarians in his 14 team visits.
Our club is healthy and vibrant, which augurs well for the future
Jason awarded Almoner Mavis Martin, who is retiring, with Honorary membership of the club......am assured by Mavis that she will visit and remind us about the need for a good microphone.
INDUCTION OF SOREL COWARD AS PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB 2020/21
Jason inducted Sorel to the presidency of the club for 2020/21. The international theme for the year is Rotary Opens Opportunities. Seems long overdue to have this annual taxing effort by RI Presidents to dream up an inspirational theme, most of which fail miserably, scrapped in favour of one consistent raison d'être.
Sorel had pleasure in presenting Jason with his Immediate Past President (IPP) Badge, his insert as the 85th President on the President's Board and a congratulatory plaque (allegedly made from coffin offcuts). Rather than a present being given to Jason as has been the custom between newbies and has-beens, a donation was made to his Nepal eye project. Sorel was in turn presented with flowers.
Incoming President Sorel: A future vison for the club
Sorel explained that she and Noel Coward were both born on 16 December.....Noel just a few years earlier in 1899. Her name Sorel was derived from a character in his comic play Hay Fever of 1924.
Taking up the opportunity theme there are four main areas which will be pursued next year:
Diversity of membership - We will be looking to enable more visitations, and explore meeting formula to create a more welcoming environment.
Community engagement - Innovation is needed. For example, Open Light is a fine project in that it includes assistance to disadvantage kids, liaison with Men's Shed, and refurbishment of premises, in a hands-on fashion. Physical involvement is important.
New Generation - Rhonda Hoare will be on the Board as chair of a newly formed New Generation Committee. There is to be an emphasis on youth exchange in collaboration with other clubs.
Strategy - Sorel likened this to her days in the Navy (video shown) when a section of Beecroft Peninsula in Sydney Heads was used as target practice from some 10-20kms offshore. The planning for each event was precise and intense. The DG wants a strategic plan developed by each club and to this end a committee will be formed to offer advice, set goals and produce a 5 year plan. A long term leadership succession plan is already in train.
Incoming Committee
The superstars of 2020/21 are to be:
Vice President - Heather Kilsby; Secretary - Greg McLeod; PP Jason Booth; PE Nathan White; Rotary Foundation - Jerry Casburn; Community Service - Robyn Carnachan; Vocational - Leonie Kewen; International - John Peacham; New Generation - Rhonda Hoare; Public Image - Rajat Nagpal.
All are enthusiastic about a return to business after this hiatus.
Finale
Sorel thanked everyone for their attendance, and particularly the group of women who had helped and advised her.
The meeting closed at 2.45. The Royal Navy's rendition of Waltzing Matilda was a highlight.
By Lindsay Griswold, Senior Specialist for Youth Exchange and Youth Protection
Lindsay Griswold participates in a dance as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya in 2006.
I grew up in a home that was not peaceful. So, I think peace is something I have always unconsciously sought, in my life, work, hobbies, and other interests. The summer after I graduated from university, I joined the United States Peace Corps, and served as a Deaf Education Volunteer in Kenya. This experience changed me in too many ways to count, but the traits I gained then that I still value now are patience, flexibility, and resilience.
Upon my return home, I served in AmeriCorps, worked as an educator, received my graduate degree in social work, and more. Each of these endeavors further ignited my passion for peace.
I continued this peace work when I began my career with Rotary International in 2014. Specifically, I work with Rotary Youth Exchange, one of the strongest on-the-ground peacebuilding initiatives we have here at Rotary. When Rotary announced a partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in 2017, I was excited to see how it would be implemented across Rotary’s programs, including Youth Exchange. I completed the Rotary Positive Peace Academy when it first launched in 2018, and later learned about the IEP Ambassador program from a Rotarian who was in the first cohort. It seemed like a perfect fit.
Ambassadors participate in a series of online webinars representing the most comprehensive, data-driven analyses within the field of peace and conflict prevention to date. They are then required to put their knowledge to use by organizing a presentation or creative project for their network or community.
Rotary’s headquarters is in Evanston, Illinois, USA, but I have telecommuted from my home in Asheville, North Carolina, USA for the past few years while my spouse attends university. Initially, I designed my project as an in-person training at a Rotary Youth Exchange orientation session for inbound, outbound, and rebound students in the Asheville area (District 7670). Because Rotary Youth Exchange is a study abroad program, I planned to focus on the “good relations with neighbors” pillar of Positive Peace.
But then, the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. Social distancing and stay-at-home mandates were put into place, making an in-person presentation impossible.
Fortunately, I fell back on that flexibility I gained as a former Peace Corps volunteer. I pivoted my training toward a virtual audience of returned Peace Corps volunteers, focusing on the same pillar, but now analyzing our various countries of service through the lens of both the 2019 Global Peace and Positive Peace Indices.
The project ended up being the most meaningful part of the program for me, although at first, the idea of putting one together made me really nervous. What should I do? Who should I present to? Do I even know enough about Positive Peace to intelligently speak about the topic? When I had to change my plans, I became even more anxious. But because of that, I was motivated to work harder on a high-quality, interactive presentation that would be meaningful to my audience. I was truly grateful to speak with my peers about our shared but unique Peace Corps experiences, dust off my teaching skills, and communicate new ideas that sparked interesting conversations around Positive Peace.
As I look at the civil unrest gripping the U.S. and in places around the world right now, I am reminded of what I learned through the IEP Ambassador program. Peace is an inside-out job and the first sign of healing. I believe this applies to us as people and the nations in which we live. In order to activate Positive Peace, we must first start within ourselves and slowly move outward to our relationships, local communities, cities, states, provinces, countries, and the world.
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Pam Trimmer & Ken Haines
Week 4: 27 June 2020
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Rhonda Hoare & Jason Booth
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Jerry Casburn & Reno Elms
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Pam Trimmer (T) 8293 2612; (M) 0415 238 333; e-mail: pamela.trimmer@bigpond.com
Keynote Address: PDG Kim Harvey: 
Jason inducted Sorel to the presidency of the club for 2020/21. The international theme for the year is Rotary Opens Opportunities. Seems long overdue to have this annual taxing effort by RI Presidents to dream up an inspirational theme, most of which fail miserably, scrapped in favour of one consistent raison d'être.
