Rotary Central Melbourne
Notes of Meeting of 1 July 2025
President Rohan opened the first meeting of Rotary Central Melbourne for 2025-26, noting that the theme for the year “Unite for Good” encapsulates the message that we achieve more when we join forces with similarly minded people.
He welcomed visitors, Mark Trayling (the guest speaker); Winnie Tsang from the Mercy Health Foundation; Anastasia Ah Tong (an inductee); and and her son Xavier Ah Tong.
Chair, Therese Robinson acknowledged Rotary International and remarked how Rotary Clubs around the world unite to serve humanity. She then introduced the guest speaker Mark Trayling.
Guest Speaker
Mark Trayling is Partnerships Manager at the Mercy Health Foundation where he is responsible for working with organisations or business who want to partner in projects or events. Mercy Health Foundation has established and manages a fund that supports Mercy Health’s programs to advance care and improve the life outcomes of people in need.
Mark gave a number of examples of work in Mercy Health which are being supported by the Foundation. One involved supporting a project by nurses who developed some education materials for staff in managing the mental health of babies during their stay in hospital, particularly neonatal intensive care. Another involved funding a mobile medical van to support the work of staff who have developed way of using blood tests to identify risk of still births. He also outlined plans for a Maternity Community Hub in the west of Melbourne to increase access to perinatal care, particularly in multi-cultural communities.
Discussion at the meeting centred around the power of involving the community in delivering health outcomes, including examples of Rotary’s work in East Timor and Cambodia.
Members’ announcements
Roger Thornton drew members attention to the scheduled tree planting day on Phillip Island on Saturday August 2nd, details of which are in the bulletin. Please advise Roger if you are interested in attending.
Fleur Maidment advised of the plans for next week’s activity which is a dinner at a Nepalese Restaurant “Gurkahs” in Cohen Place China Town on July 8th at 6.30. We will be joined by the son and daughter of the principal of a school that we will be supporting in Nepal. RSVP to Fleur by Sunday July 6th.
President’s announcements
President Rohan reported on the outcomes of the last board meeting, including the acceptance of the resignations of Justine Murphy and Neville Taylor; the offering of Honorary memberships to both Justine and Neville in recognition of their service to the club and the district and the acceptance of the nomination of Anastasia Ah Tong to join the club.
He also advised that the board had reviewed both the administrative budget and the project budgets put forward by the service committees. The board approved both budgets and set a membership fee for 2025-26 of $340. It also discussed the development of a Project Evaluation Template that arose from discussions at the May strategic planning day and endorsed it for consideration by the service committees. The objective of the template is to sharpen the focus of projects leading to more impact and compelling stories of outcomes.
Induction of Anastasia Ah Tong
President Rohan invited Anastasia Ah Tong to join him, Therese Robinson and Neville John too participate in her induction as a member of RCM. Anastasia has an extensive background in government administration, including project management and policy advice and was previously a member of the Rotary E-Club of Melbourne and the Rotary Club of Southbank. Anastasia will join the Youth Committee, chaired by Therese and Neville will be her mentor.
Next meeting.
The next meeting of the club will be on July 15th 2025 at the RACV Club theatrette. The guest speaker will be Stephanie Woollard OAM.
