Monday night 10 July was the first of our Board Meetings for the new Rotary Year. With some lively discussion, and a lengthy agenda, the evening was very productive and we managed to run, almost on time.
 
You would have read in my Address at Changeover that I am a firm believer in transparency. As such, the minutes from the Board Meeting, when collated by our Secretary, will be published on the Club Website for all Members to see.
 
I believe every Club Member should know what’s going on in the Club. I’d also like to remind you that ALL Club Members are invited to attend our Board Meetings. It is a great way to increase your knowledge of Rotary and become more involved in the running of the Club.
 
Our Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday 11 July, saw the induction of our newest Club Member, Neville Woodforth.
 
Neville is a transferring Member from the Caloundra Pacific Club. He brings with him a wealth of experience in Rotary and has been heavily involved in Youth Programs in the past.
 
As part of my Changeover Address, I also mentioned the importance of Membership. This includes both Member retention and recruiting new Members. With this in mind, I’d ask all Members of our Club to extend the hand of Rotary Fellowship to Neville and make him feel very welcome at our Club.
Following on from Neville’s induction, the Breakfast meeting became a Club Forum.
A summary of the points discussed:
 
1. Some of our Members have come forward expressing confusion with a lot of Rotary terminology and associated Acronyms. No doubt there are a lot of us within the Club that have problems in this area.
 
A suggestion from Bernie was made that we make one of our “older” Rotarians a Club Mentor. This person would be someone who is an experienced Rotarian who can answer Member’s questions regarding protocol and general Rotary knowledge. It was decided that Lyn Roberts, who graciously accepted the role, be our Club Mentor.
 
Don’t forget, when discussing with Lyn, to always refer to our Club’s Website, which also has a wealth of information.
 
2. Continuing on the subject of Membership improvements and Club vitality, we have decided to implement a “Buddy System”. Along with Pam, our Welfare Director, I will be compiling a list of all Members and a Buddy, for each to work together in a team. If you have a preference to work with someone, please let Pam or I know, as that will make our job easier.
 
This will also apply at Board Level. If a Board Member is absent from a Meeting, the Buddy can deputize. We already do this successfully with our Treasurer and Secretary.
 
3. Following on from this, we will be grouping all Members into a Club Program or Committee ie Youth, International, Community, Welfare, Program, Membership, Foundation, Public Relations etc If you have a preference for a particular Program, once again, please let me know.
 
This will ensure everyone has a place to belong and feel as though they are more involved in the Club.
 
4. As an off-shoot from the Membership Committee, we decided the Club needs someone to look after the current Members in a more personal manner. Sue Robinson has kindly accepted the role of Fellowship Coordinator, and I notice she has already started her good work by organizing a Christmas in July function.
 
5. Discussions arose via Alan Still, regarding having Club Members share their story at our Breakfast Meetings. It was decided that each week one of our Members would talk for 3 minutes about their life. Including where they were born, family matters, career matters, why and when they joined Rotary and what it’s done for them etc.
 
In addition, once a month, one of our Members will have the chance to be a guest speaker, to enable him/her to elaborate further on their story.
 
6. Including a monthly Social Evening in addition to our Breakfast Meetings has been a welcome suggestion. It’s proposed we have an informal Dinner at varying Caloundra Restaurants on the last Friday night of each month.
 
We encourage those Members who experience difficulty attending the Breakfasts to come along and for Members to invite family, friends and future Rotarians. Bernie, our Vocational Director and myself will be open to suggestions for venues.
 
7. Various Fundraising ideas and events were discussed. These include:
 
  • Our famous Golf Day, which is to be termed, “Almost St Patrick’s Day”, as it will be held on the 16th March 2018
  • Our Melbourne Cup Luncheon and selling of Trifecta Tickets in the lead-up to the big day
  • Other fundraisers include Hat Day, Movie Nights, Seafood Night, Japan Festival, Bunning’s BBQ’s etc
We will be asking for Members to come forward to form committees for each of these Fundraisers. The sooner we get organized the better the result.
 
8. James, our Community Director had the idea, from the Salvo’s, which is fine, to do a “pop-up Op Shop”. James indicated just how lucrative the Op Shop concept is for the Salvo’s…….worth considering.
 
9. Alan Bethune suggested the Club investigate the possibility of contacting the Chamber of Commerce regarding the organizing of the Beach Fest Hot Rod Car Rally, which is a very popular annual event for Caloundra.
 
This is certainly worth pursuing as it would be a fantastic opportunity to increase awareness of Rotary.
 
10. After Breakfast, I was hounded by Darryl at my work, for one more idea. Darryl suggested the Club enquire about a Mobile Eftpos Machine. As he said, no-one carries cash anymore and we all know how much more we spend using a card than cash.
 
Our Treasurer, Deb Taylor and myself will make enquiries about this. Thank you Mister Laing !
 
I’d like to thank all of you who attended Breakfast this week. A big welcome goes to Neville, our new Member, and thank you to all those Members who contributed to the Club Forum. Some very useful ideas have been suggested. It’s now up to us to implement them.
 
Let’s Make A Difference !