February is the birthday of Rotary. Rotary started with the vision of one man - Paul Harris. He was an attorney in Chicago and formed the rotary Club of Chicago on 23rd February, 1905, so that professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Over time, Rotary’s reach and vision gradually extended to humanitarian service. Members have a long track record of addressing challenges in their communities and around the world.
Many thanks to Janice and Ian Pounder for hosting a Rotary birthday celebration at their home on Monday 24th February were the following guest speaker was presented.
Ross Ballard presenting Mary Del Poweta, a young lady whom the club sponsored to go to RYLA, also attended Camp Opportunity as a buddy came along and spoke about her experiences at Camp Opportunity as a buddy to a camper who had a disability. Mary is from the Phillipines and is in her third year of Environmental Science at Murdoch University. Mary is keen to assist the club in any way possible.
Although summer is officially over this weekend, tree watering is still underway every second Saturday morning at Point Walter, and volunteers are still needed to assist in watering the seedlings. Please contact David Hewitt or Murray Meaton for further information.
According to Kareena Ballard, our market manager, the markets have progressed smoothly this year, and the increase in fees has been well accepted.
The programme of speakers for the Monday meetings in March are as follows, and we hope to see as many as possible to hear the guest speakers.
- Monday 10th March, 2025: Our guest speaker will be Rachel Burns from Integrity Initiative. Integrity Initiative is a project to curate and deliver packs of care items and self-advocacy tools to people in Western Australia receiving inpatient treatment for their mental health. These care packs will combine personal items like soaps, lotions, clothing, fidget toys, notebooks, toiletries, sanitary items, art supplies, and comfort items alongside a curated selection of resources designed to help them learn and develop self-advocacy skills.
- Monday 24th March, 2025: Diane Wright: Topic: Our Australian nurses who lost their lives during enemy action in WW2.
PDG Marilyn Barton
President: Rotary Club of Melville 2024-25
Melville Hockey Club
The speaker on Monday the 10th February was David Timmins, and he enlightened us about the history and sustainability of the Melville Hockey Club. The club began its life as the Applecross YMCA Hockey Club at Tomkins Park, then moved to Morris Buzzacott and in 2005 fundraised to put in an artificial turf surface.
Numbers have dropped from over 50 members and now our numbers are just over 30, so we have to make changes to continue.
The club sees itself first and foremost as a Community organisation that plays hockey, rather than a hockey club, and they have a policy that they never reject anyone. The club has achieved the Sustainability Matrix for the Top Tier Clubs.
David said that he believes that the club has been sustainable is its stability, with David entering his 5th year as president, and also that although the numbers of new members continue to grow, there are also still many of the original members present. Also they have they have a strategic plan in place and have kept up with the times in doing such things as changing to Eftpos and no more cash.
It's only 1 months to the Rotary WA conference in Margaret River from 28-30 March 2025 so make sure you register for the event and book your accommodation as soon as possible. You don't want to miss out. There's an update included in this issue showing 3 more of our speakers. There's more to come. Here's the booking link for the conference or you can scan the QR code in the newsletter.
