Venue: Castello's Cucina, Living Choice
Event: Strategic Planning Part 2
Guests: Rob's assistants Eucabeth Mokaya and Jeza Bucog
Attendance: 25 members and 2 guests
Opening
President John opened the meeting without a stirring invocation. He expressed pleasure at the strong attendance. Thrift Shop for last week had revenue of $2110 and Mitre 10 had $660....a bumper week! A Rotary walk against domestic violence will be held down King William Street on Saturday 25 November....registration necessary......see advert below the gallery. Our AGM will be held on 16 January 2024 and the Prez would like more volunteering hands in the air, particularly for the positions of President and President-elect. Virginia has a supply of Unley Rotary polo shirts for sale.
Strategic Planning - Part 2
Membership
Further to our previous deliberations, the Prez emphasized that we had to increase diversity by reaching out to other organisations with potential to collaborate with us, particularly on projects....the Nepalese Association came to mind. There was some enthusiasm for another letterbox drop of a Rotary pamphlet across our area but this was not shared by all who commented on the growing habit of "from letterbox to bin". However we are in urgent need of a well-constructed information piece about the meritorious deeds of the club to entice potential members to visit us. It was debatable whether we need a special dodger for the Carols given our advertising in the Carols program. Previous membership successes came from the hands-on display of our projects eg Making of prosthetic arms and sewing for Days for Girls at the Unley Shopping Centre. Shelter Box is highly topical at the moment given the millions of displaced people. More attention needs to be paid to better alignment of our program to include speakers relevant to our projects....see also the first point.
Well-conceived promo material could be delivered to the many businesses using the Unley Post Office boxes. We need to display ourselves as a doing club. Whatever initiatives are taken with membership must be based on personal approaches. Utilisation of effective communication through our website and social media is essential.
Public Image
Social media improvement was covered under membership as were the merits of a brochure. An up-to-date personalised video of causes we support is needed for the Thrift Shop and for outreach to organisations which we would wish to visit. The Youth projects brochure was deemed to be simple and effective. There are continuing radio opportunities through Coast FM and ABC.
Meetings
The Program Director has attracted an impressive array of talented speakers to the club. A way forward may be to have a mud map type program which incorporates fixed commitments and canvasses an array of attractive options and getting members more involved with putting forward choices. It would be great to use the most attractive speaker events as a means of attracting new members. Better utilisation of Facebook has been previously discussed. There appeared to be a consensus that Club Assemblies should be held every three months but in a far more dynamic form than previously prevailed. Brief committee reports of a topical nature could be inserted into normal meetings. It is important to keep the club up-to-date with discussions/decisions at the meeting following each Board meeting.
Projects
We are committed to a number of annual projects like the Carols, POOTY, Pride of Workmanship, and the more recent Youth Music Awards. The Carols remains the only 'whole of club' project. Our critical fundraisers are the Thrift Shop and the 2 BBQs...they underpin our existence and ability to fund good deeds. There appeared to be a majority view that these areas of endeavour should continue. It was however suggested we should do a critical review of the benefits of each to confirm that intention.
Stephen was thanked for his draft of the Strategic Plan. It will now be consolidated, incorporating the best of ideas coming from the discussions.
SPOTS
Stephen Baker modestly held aloft the car rally trophy won on Sunday. He gave special thanks to Patsy and Graham Beckett and Valerie Bonython and Graham Ey for their great organisation. More detail is shown in the Gallery below.
Patsy Beckett was happy that everyone had enjoyed the car trial and that $310 had been raised to combat malaria in PNG.
Jerry Casburn has been approached by RC Somerton Park to hold an interclub coffee get-together at the District Shed on a regular basis.....the proposed date for the first meeting [good chance for a suck-it-and-see'] will be hosted by Somerton Park on Monday 4 December.
Finale
Marlene won the filthy lucre but no chokkies to be found anywhere...shame.
President John announced that District Governor Craig Dowling will be visiting our club next week while he will be in Bali on a pre-arranged trip. Jerry will be in charge. Please make it a bumper turnout as Craig is a really interesting guy.
Ken needs 2 more volunteers for the Bunnings BBQ on Sunday.
The meeting finished at tad late after a better than average joke about a small guard dog......getting better with age John.
The Gallery
Another fabulous car trial on Sunday run by Patsy and Graham Beckett and Valerie Bonython and Graham Ey. There were many highlights in addition to the scenic splendour of the hills. The best undoubtedly was that the Baker team of Beverley and Stephen (see below) prevailed by half a point.......again! The Kewen team ran second and newbie Randell team nailed a meritorious third. This was the most even of contests with a bunch of scores near the top, including other newbies in the form of Kate and Vivienne. And all to a good cause.....mosquito netting for PNG.
Nathan and Ross lined up .in Nathan's business limo...late as usual......but finely attired in bikie gear. They had difficulty handling their helmets which may explain why they disappeared down the northern expressway [like one or two others who were not helmet vision impaired]]......but did manage to return for the luncheon. Perfect weather and a much fun day. Maybe next year Stephen can spend a little time at a meeting before next year's event explaining how to maximise points and relieve him of the burden of maintaining a winning record.


Advert for Rotary - Say No to Domestic Violence commencing at Victoria Square on 25 November and walking to the Pioneer Womens Memorial Garden (opposite the Adelaide Festival Theatre). Dial up the Rotary 9510 website for registration.

Rotary International News
Rotary projects around the globe - November 2023
By Brad Webber
United States

After a 2021 tornado and subsequent electrical fire damaged the African American Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a Rotary club in the city acquired a $10,000 disaster relief grant from District 6710 to help restore the museum. But “we didn’t just want to be handing out the check,” says Vickie Elrod, a past president of the Rotary Club of Bowling Green. “We wanted to get boots on the ground to get involved with the preservation of those artifacts.” About a dozen Rotarians attended workshops on archiving, and the club is assisting the museum in digitizing documents. They include records on Shake Rag, a once-vibrant district settled by former slaves and soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War. The financial assistance enabled the museum to work with a conservator on preserving its uniforms and other clothes. The museum reopened in August, and Rotarians continue to assist with cleaning damaged artifacts, pictures, and equipment.
Jamaica

Advocates in Jamaica highlight a shortage of housing that meets the needs of people with limited mobility. The Rotary Club of Kingston funded a nearly $23,000 refurbishment of Cheshire Village, a transitional housing facility associated with a rehabilitation center. “Rotarians were instrumental and involved in the three town halls we had with residents,” says Karsten Johnson, the club’s immediate past president. “Our plans were made based on their priorities.” The Kingston club, supported by donations from the Rotary Club of Naples North, Florida, raised the height of toilets and added support bars and railings along restroom walls. The club installed new kitchen cupboards, sinks, and faucets to improve accessibility for people who use wheelchairs. A first phase, to install six solar streetlights, was completed in February, with the retrofit finished in June.
Portugal

The Rotary Club of Almancil International takes an active approach in its mission to serve children, notably those with autism spectrum disorders or Down syndrome. Members sponsor activities including surfing lessons and animal therapy. In June the club unveiled a sensory room at a school to serve students ages 5 to 16. “The room is now complete, with state-of-the-art equipment including a soothing waterbed, music, and many sensory light and tactile objects,” says club member Peter Hinze, who coordinated the project. “[It] can provide a sense of calm and help improve [students’] visual and auditory skills and help regulate their behavior.” The project cost more than $16,000. The club provided about $5,000, with businesses and friends donating the remainder.
Belgium

The Rotary Club of Virton en Gaume organized two days of concerts to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Coralpins Gaumais, a trio that plays the traditional alphorn, a wooden horn once used by shepherds in the Alps. More than 140 alphornists, flag throwers, and bell ringers in folk costume participated in the event in May. The event raised money for the club’s charitable causes. The alphorn was the ideal instrument for harmoniously bringing together nature and the people who live in the region, says Jean-Marie Henin, a past club president. The club was inspired to put on the concert series after it organized visits by the Coralpins Gaumais to nursing homes and other care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sri Lanka

While sea turtles can live to be more than 100 years old, as few as 1 in 10,000 survive to adulthood, according to some experts. Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species visit Sri Lanka, but poaching for food and shells, along with disruption caused by recreation, imperils the creatures. The Rotaract Club of CINEC at the Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College in Malabe organized a public webinar to raise awareness of the vulnerability of turtles, coral, and other sea life. Then in April the club offered the marine reptiles a leg up with an overnight operation to move turtle eggs out of harm’s way. More than two dozen Rotaractors met at Rekawa Beach near Tangalle to help transport about 350 eggs to a conservation center for safe hatching. They worked by the light of cellophane-covered lamps to avoid disturbing the light-sensitive turtles. “We were shown by experts how to carefully dig around the nest to expose and collect the eggs,” project chair Monalee Dissanayake says.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre