Presidents Notes

Home | Board | Contact

President Usha's Notes

14 April 2021

Dear fellows,

"Once people come to Australia, they join the team."

Tony Abbott

Our Club News

Last Wednesday, we had the honour and pleasure of witnessing the presentation of our new Club Strategic Plan. Chair Rick Vosila, walked the club through the process from scratch to where we are today and the future in minute detail. The well informed and capable team consisting of AG Rick Vosila, PDG David Croft, P-e Thaya Ponniah, P-n Andrew Aravanis, Sec-e Nick Hamilton-Kane, Tr Rod McDougall provided invaluable input into the multiple iterations of this process. Thank you all for your time and contribution. At moments like these, we know our club is always in good hands.
A letter of appreciation has been received from Father James Collins, "Thank you very much to the Members of the Rotary Club of Strathfield for your kind help with the Parish Pantry. We really appreciate the help that the Members of the Rotary Club of Strathfield provide for the Parish Pantry and it makes a world of difference." We are glad to have the opportunity to help Father James.
Our Anzac Day Service organised by Dir Jan Barrett is coming up soon in two weeks time. We have two great speakers lined up and one of them from our club. The Humanitix site will be available soon and I encourage you to buy your tickets soon (Flyer below).
The 50th Celebrations on 29th May are all ready to go and Chair Roger Vince would appreciate receiving bookings as soon as possible. This will help in further planning of the event including determining the number of function centre rooms that will be required. The deadline for the purchase of tickets is 9 May 2021. Also please invite your friends, colleagues, past Strathfield Rotarians and prospective members. It will be a once in 50 years event!
The Youth Awards are now set for 18th June by the Awards committee in consultation with Strathfield Council. PP Peter Smith, IPP Arie Pappas, Rtns Ed Dunlop and Brad Ayres got together last week to set the ball rolling on this important event in our Rotary Calendar.
The Changeover will be held on Saturday 26th June. Please reserve the date, more details will follow later.
In between these events, Rtn Janelle Watson has some unusual speakers lined up for us. So watch out for our meetings and make sure you do not miss out.

District 9675

There are also many events happening in the Rotary clubs around us and I encourage you to have a look through their web pages (click) and the district website (click).
Rotary Service Summit (District Assembly) will be held on Saturday May 1 at Bankstown Sports Club from 9.00 to 3.30pm. All Board members are invited to attend to ensure they have the latest information in order to run a successful and vibrant club.

RI news updates

It has been over a year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and Rotary International has given $35 million in grant funding to provide medical equipment such as ventilators, and personal protective equipment to health care workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But Rotary isn't purchasing COVID-19 vaccines. (click)

"We think our strength is really in, once those vaccines are available, is how to get them to communities and ensure that communities are comfortable accepting vaccines; it really is looking to work with the national and local health authorities to figure out how best Rotary can plug into ... providing that community [with] information and education [on COVID-19 vaccines]."

Carol Pandak, director, PolioPlus at Rotary International.

The April issue of the Rotary Magazine talks about building a diverse and inclusive club. "Diversity is not a wish list for a Rotary Club. This is part of our core values" says Holger Knaack, President RI. In 2019, the Rotary Board of Directors adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion statement that affirms a commitment to creating an organization that is more open and inclusive, is fair to all, builds goodwill, and benefits communities. It recognizes that welcoming people with differing perspectives and ideas enhances Rotary's ability to take action to create lasting change in communities around the world. Learn more (click)

Earth Day is coming up on 22nd April. This is a very important day for humanity and also for us in Rotary as environment is now the new area of focus. "Solutions for all great tasks always start with you and me, and there is much we as individuals can do simply by changing our behavior: Cutting down on our use of plastic and using energy wisely are just two examples." Says Holger Knaack.

This week we will hear from one of our own Rotarians Jaya Challa who returns from leave to tell us her story and the story of her family.

Look forward to our meeting.

Usha Garg