BULLETIN 16th November, 2021 (Nov 12, 2021)

VALE Ian Angus

Posted by Frank O'BRIEN

VALE – IAN ANGUS OAM, PHF

8 January 1931 – 3 November 2021

Ian Angus was one of 39 Charter Members of our Rotary Club which was chartered on 1 May 1987 and originally called The Rotary Club of Port Phillip-Melbourne. Ian’s classification was “Education-Technical”. He was aged 56 at the time.

Ian quickly became a member of the Community Service (CS) Committee which, inter alia, took a keen interest in assisting the North Melbourne Day Centre for Frail Aged. With Ian as Director of the CS Committee in 1988/1989, the Club provided funds towards the purchase of a minibus for the Centre. He continued as CS Committee Director in 1989/1990 under President Herb Greenwood and, ahead of his time, Ian took up the District environmental project of “Trees for Survival”.

1990/1991 saw Ian as Director of Vocational Service which Committee introduced the idea of mentoring to our Club. He also introduced the “Industry Visit” activity, the first being a behind-the-scenes visit to the RACV Centre at Noble Park followed by a subsequent visit to Epworth Hospital.

Ian had a special interest in Technology (understandably so given his engineering background and 35 years spent at RMIT from where he retired as Vice-Principal of the Technical College in 1988) and arranged a further industry visit to the Channel 7 headquarters at Docklands. These visits were a great success for many years. He also found time to be involved with radio 3RRR which was associated with RMIT.

Ian continued his active service (including Bulletin Editor during 1994/1995) and was the 3^rd recipient, in 1995, of the Rotarian of the Year Award bestowed by then-President Tom Callander. As Tom said at the time, “Ian participated in everything in a quiet way...he was always there to help”. Two years later, Ian was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow Recognition at the Club’s 10^th Anniversary celebrations.

Our Club was the beneficiary of Ian’s skills, expertise and gentleness for another 18 years before he retired in 2015 and became an Honorary Member.

Outside of Rotary, Ian had many other interests. He lost his wife, Judith, to cancer in 1979 and brought up his 2 daughters, Caroline and Fiona, whilst holding down his very responsible RMIT position. He moved from Doncaster to East Kew in 1996 and this seemed to be about the time when new interests blossomed. He took up skiing and regularly flew to the New Zealand Ski fields, he took up golf and bike riding and he was also a regular swimmer at the Kew Recreation Centre.

Finally, Ian was very much a committed Christian. He was a weekly attendee at the Collins Street Baptist Church and Treasurer for many years.

Ian was awarded an OAM on 26 January 2006 for his service to electronic engineering education, particularly through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and to the community.

A life of 90 years well-lived Ian, a true gentleman. It’s been a pleasure to have known you.

WHAT'S IN THIS BULLETIN

30th November 2021

NEXT MEETING
FROM THE LAST MEETING - 23rd November
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL - MEMBER SURVEY
CHRISTMAS HAMPERS
CLUB FUNDRAISING - HOW YOU CAN HELP
GALLERY

NEXT MEETING

Guest speaker Tuesday, 30th November 2021

This is a face-to-face meeting at the RACV Club.

If you would like to visit our meeting, please contact us by email on rotaryclubcentralmelbourne@gmail.com or phone 0455-858-996 and request attendance details.

The meeting will commence at 7:40am and conclude no later than 8:45.

John Croker: Human rights, artificial intelligence and government decision-making

I have been granted a Rotary International Scholarship to undertake a PhD in human rights law at the University of Oxford. I will talk to Rotary Central Melbourne on my career trajectory to date as a human rights lawyer working within government, what my studies will entail and how they will contribute to the ‘peace and conflict resolution’ research goal of Rotary International.

I am the Managing Principal Solicitor – Human Rights within Victoria Police. In this role, I am responsible for providing human rights training and legal advice across the whole of the organisation for frontline police through to senior leaders, on their human rights obligations under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.

FROM THE LAST MEETING - 23rd November

Posted by Malcolm FIELDEN

Rotary Central Melbourne & District 9800 29^th Paul Harris & Business Leaders Breakfast

November 23^rd, 2021

Chair: Elias Lebbos

Reporter: Malcolm Fielden

The 29th Paul Harris & Business Leaders Breakfast was attended by 108 Members and guests.

Visitors included –

Georgie Harman, CEO Beyond Blue, Guest Speaker,
Sandi Fulcher – Rotary Chadstone/East Malvern,
Stuart McArthur – Rotary Southbank,
DG Dale Hoy – District 9800,
PDG Murray Verso.

Rotary Central Melbourne President Elias Lebbos opened the meeting with an Acknowledgement to Country and welcomed dignitaries including District leadership and partners, Members, visiting Rotarians and Guests including the Guest Speaker to the meeting.

Elias noted that today’s silent auction and raffle was supporting the Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs.

DG Dale Hoy highlighted the Business Leaders Breakfast initiative and partnerships with Rotary. He acknowledged the work, research and leadership on Mental Health across Australia and welcomed guest speaker Georgie Harman, the CEO of Beyond Blue. He then proposed a toast to Rotary International.

Koren Harvey of Rotary Central Melbourne was introduced as our host and she, in turn, introduced the guest speaker, Georgie Harman, CEO of Beyond Blue.

Georgie Harman CEO Beyond Blue. Georgie was appointed as the CEO of Beyond Blue in May 2014 where she has driven a substantial expansion of mental health service delivery and programs with results in service innovation, suicide prevention and digital solutions. Georgie has extensive and broad-ranging leadership, policy and service delivery experience in the community, public and private sectors. She is an accomplished speaker with an extraordinary story about the organisation that barely existed 20 years ago and is now a world-recognised mental health institution and highly influential.

Georgie spoke about -

“LEADERSHIP, RESILIENCE & HOPE IN A TIME OF CRISIS” in an endeavour to de-stigmatize the notion of mental health.

Georgie Harman noted that 2 of the most common phrases during Covid lockdowns were –

“You’re on mute”, and
“Unprecedented”.

Coming out of the lockdowns, we have a chance to rebuild our Communities. Mental Health must be at the forefront of this.

Leadership is critical. Strong and successful leaders will display –

Vulnerability,
Empathy, and
A willingness to lead.

You should ask yourself – “how do you lead?”

Covid has served to amplify a flawed system. We have economies with high debt and many competing priorities. Mental Health reform is required now.

Everybody has a role to play. It is normal to feel unsettled and exhausted. The rolling uncertainty is still present. Everybody is grappling with this. In a post-Covid age resilience will be different. It’s okay to feel tired and/or emotional. Acceptance of this can help you relax and get through the tough times. Self-care is vital. You should prioritise your own well-being.

In late 2019, the first signs of Covid were evident. The impact was not yet known. We were coming off the back of the dreadful summer bushfires and did not know what was coming next. As the World slowed down, Georgie noted that Beyond Blue had never been busier. She made the following observations –

The values needed to be an effective leader in a crisis were –
1. Honesty,
2. Transparency,
3. Be clear in communication.
Provide as much information as you can. This would include sharing your vulnerabilities,
Put energy into things you can control.

Beyond Blue was asked by the Federal Government to set up a dedicated Covid support program. The highest percentage of people seeking assistance was in the 15-24 age bracket. This is a very big societal issue, but it is a good thing that they are reaching out.

We should never waste a good crisis. We can already see more progressive workplaces offering flexibility and social guardrails.

She implored everybody to look after themselves. Leadership is also about listening to your own needs. The more we share our struggles the less we feel alone.

Georgie concluded by paying a big thank you to the team at Beyond Blue for helping it steer the right course.

Koren Harvey called for questions from the attendees.

Neville Taylor asked “how important is it to have a Mentor”.

Georgie’s reply included identifying the importance of both formal and informal Mentors, and that we can all learn from people who have tread the path before you.

Kevin Love asked about leadership styles.

Georgie replied that leaders need to adapt their styles accordingly.

Murray Anderson asked whether resilience is the key to Mental Health?

Georgie replied that each generation has faced different issues and traumas. Resilience is taught in schools and we will all have learned new skills in the last 2 years.

Keith Ryall asked about Soft-skills in leadership.

Georgie replied that her top 3 soft skills would be –

Empathy,
Listening and
Kindness.

Thank you Georgie.

Murray Verso provided an overview of The Rotary Foundation and along with DG Dale Hoy acknowledged the following Global and Peace Scholars who are with us today –

1. Peter Pal (Peace Fellow)

2. Essan Dileri (Peace Fellow)

3. Biong Deng (Peace Fellow)

4. John Croker (Global Scholar)

5. Sam Loni (Global Scholar)

6. Kat Oborne (Global Scholar)

Acknowledgement was also made to the following Rotary Clubs for their fundraising efforts

Hawthorn,
Balwyn,
Eaglehawk,
Altona.

Rob Hines, Chairman of the Fundraising Committee, was introduced to conduct the raffle. Over $2,000 was raised to support the Rotary Foundation.

The winners were –

4^th prize $50 Bunnings voucher Warwick Cavell,
3^rd prize $100 Best Restaurants voucher Warwick Cavell,
2^nd prize $200 Bunnings voucher Ignacio Inchausti,
1^st prize $250 Gift Wish voucher Thomas Callander

The Silent Auction remained open until 5pm Tuesday.

RCM President Elias Lebbos thanked Rob and everyone for their support of the raffle.

He then thanked all those involved in the event, particularly those on the Rotary Central Melbourne Foundation Committee and Sandi Fulcher (RC Chadstone/East Malvern and Stuart McArthur RC Southbank for the engine room this morning to make it all happen smoothly on Zoom).

A special thank you to Georgie Harman for her insightful presentation.

DG Dale Hoy wrapped up proceedings by highlighting the impact of Rotary’s work. He acknowledged Business Leaders Support and thanked everyone for attending.

A closing video was run being a “Thank you from The Rotary Foundation – 2021”.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL - MEMBER SURVEY

Dear Rotary member,

As part of our commitment to provide you with the best membership experience possible, we invite you to participate in the 2021 Rotary All-Member Survey. Your responses will help us learn what you like about being a Rotary member and how we can make your membership experience even better.

To begin the survey, click the link below. It will take 15 to 20 minutes to complete and will be open until 10 December 2021.

https://rotary.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5C3Nsmp9vID6ijQ?Q_DL=EQhlOTkbTd6QJDq_5C3Nsmp9vID6ijQ_CGC_QM48kbRmk4x3d68&Q_CHL=email

Only one survey can be submitted using the link, so please do not forward or share this email. If you any have questions, contact us at surveys@rotary.org.

Sincerely,

Shekhar Mehta

RI President, 2021 - 2022

ROTARY CENTRAL MELBOURNE AT RIMERN

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE FOR THE NEXT WORKING BEE

Adele le Roux, Maureen Jackson, Sue Duras and Rohan Williams from Rotary Central Melbourne joined Susie Cole from Rotary Prahran and Janet Ferguson from Rotary Carlton at the Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network (RIMERN) warehouse in Brunswick East on Saturday 30^th October.

After receiving an overview of RIMERN from Susie, we turned our attention to checking the conditions of recent donations of doonas and sorting through then stacking recent donations of kitchen ware.

Susie also shared the story of a recent recipient of goods from the RIMERN warehouse. The 19 year old man had lived in foster care until he turned 18 then was forced to find his own accommodation. RIMERN assisted the young man by furnishing his small flat in Balaclava.

We all have the opportunity to contribute to the great work being done by RIMERN by:

Donating household goods in good condition
Volunteering at warehouse – next working bee Saturday 4 December 10am-1pm

Please contact Rohan Williams via rdwrcm@gmail.com if you would like to contribute.

ROTARY CHRISTMAS HAMPER 2021 APPEAL

Posted by Rebecca JOHN

CHRISTMAS HAMPER 2021 APPEAL

To assist Rotary Central Melbourne to mark the Festive Season, we ask members and friends to make up Christmas Hampers for the less fortunate people in our community. We will be providing hampers for two groups of disadvantaged people:

the homeless and youth through Steps Outreach Service and
refugee families through Lentara Uniting Asylum Seeker Project

FROM THE LAST MEETING - 23rd November

Meeting Responsibilities