Helen's Headlines - 25 July 2011

Owners of the restaurant happy to take a photo with me in it...Paul - that might be a bit too close for comfort. Your wife is sitting just nearby!


When's the next course coming out?

Bring us more food please!

First of all, a big thank you to Greg (and Joy) for organising such a fabulous night last night at the Saeng Thai Restaurant, 713 Centre Road East Bentleigh. Andrew and I had been going there for years and we loved the food but never knew it was a family run business and one where even the Thai people come to eat! It made us appreciate our local favourite Thai restaurant even more.

Looking around the tables, it was obvious that everyone had a lovely time and enjoyed socialising and catching up with all the news and gossip. The banquet meal was delicious and in future, I'll be ordering more of that red curry dish as I couldn't get enough of that sauce.

Having the chef come out and talk to us about the differences in Thai food from the north to the south side of the country was interesting and it made me think that we are lucky to have such a blend of cultures in this country to experience all this lovely food, herbs and spices.

We're looking forward to having more of these fellowship/vocational nights at restaurants where we can experience the ambience, the food and the culture. So stand by for the next one!

I'd like to be able to give a small banner to every local restaurant we visit in the area along with a letter of appreciation. Greg mentioned that for the savings we made last night, we will give this to a charity on behalf of the restaurant. I'd like this to happen quickly so that I can write the letter to the restaurant advising them of what we have done and appreciate their support.

Can't wait for the next one! Word on the street is...might be Indian!

Southern Marketing Meeting on Saturday 23 July - Update

I attended the Southern Marketing Breakfast Meeting on Saturday 23 July 2011. The committee was set up about 18 months ago in an effort to promote and market Rotary across our District. It was attended by 8 people, representatives from some of the clubs in the southern part of our district, with the aim of getting more reps from other clubs for the next meeting.

Calcultta Night at Rossdale Golf Club on Monday 31 October 2011
This social and fundraising night will be one of the events that the committee is organising to raise money for the Salvation Army Bus for Dingley. It was agreed that there would be an annual fundraiser to promote to communities with limited number of tickets spread across our clubs to invite guests. Every year, the reps from clubs will submit a charity project to raise money and the committee will vote on it. The annual fundraiser will be promoted across business and council and community in the region. As well as raising money for a worthy cause, it will be a way to promote Rotary in the region and also boost membership.

I will be assisting this event by organising the social media around it.

Rotary Billboards Now Ready for Erection
Rotary billboards (about the size of a House for Sale sign) are ready to go and clubs are invited to get in contact with Kevin Harrison to erect the sign outside their club meeting place OR member's might want to put up outside their business or any other area they see fit. This sign promotes Rotary "The Best Job That You Never Get Paid For" and it would be well worth our interest to see if these signs can be erected anywhere for additional promotion at no cost to us.

Money Spinners
If we want to borrow money spinners for any fund raising events or activities then there are two available through RC Noble Park and RC Mordialloc. It's just a matter of getting into contact with Claire Button with time and date needed.

Cinema Advertising at Southland Cinemas
The committee approached Southland Cinemas for cinema advertising and for very little cost, we will put in a proposal to run 3 x 30 seconds adverts for Rotary using the jingle developed. It was decided that movies on Thursday and Fridays and Sundays for afternoon and evening shows (and those on Cinema Europa) will be best targeted at our preferred audience.

Public Relations Grant
The committee will be submitting for a PR grant this year again (District puts in one third of the amount) but ideas for promotion and marketing are needed asap. Already, last year Think Tank was approached who did a social media survey to find out that Rotary does not have a presence 'front of mind' when it comes to community service - we have no image out in the public. As a result, they have developed a social media platform but the gaps are that there is very little input by way of human interest stories that can be promoted and communicated through the site at a multi-district level so the platform has not been rolled out as yet until this component is complete. Last year, the money was spent on Rotary Today little brochures and a Corporate A4 brochure used for corporate alliances.

Committee asked to submit ideas of how they can spend money for effective marketing by Sunday 24 July.

Helen's Headlines - 18th July 2011

It's official. We're hopeless at darts!

Last night, John gave us a run down of the game of darts and had set up a dartboard for us to compete against each other. Thank you John for taking the time to explain the game and how it’s played. We also welcomed back Paul and hope that he has a speedy recovery!

The Committee Directors had a Board Meeting last night where a few things were discussed but the bulk of the action items for the new Rotary year will occur at our next Club Forum where the committees will talk with their members and come up with an annual plan. We will advise what these will be during our club meetings.

Our business cards are ready and will be distributed in the next week. You would have seen the samples on your tables last night. Use these business cards to hand out to potential new members and visitors to our club as these have our contact details.

Other than that, I will represent our club at the D9810 Marketing Committee breakfast Meeting this Saturday at the Buckingham. This group looks at how Rotary can be marketed in the southern regions of our District. I hope to come back to our club with some ideas of what we can use ourselves or share with the other clubs. One thing is for sure, marketing Rotary is critical but it’s up to the clubs and districts to do the best they can to promote their projects into the community. RI has a plethora of marketing tools (billboard adverts; print ads; banners; logos etc) but the cost is borne to the club to use these in printing and banners; and how and where they are to be displayed or promoted. Hopefully our own Club Marketing and Membership Committee can come up with some ideas to action using the Sunday Market to promote Rotary to the public.

On Saturday night, Andrew and I are looking forward to attending RC BMC’s Changeover Dinner but I’m afraid that all my nice frocks for this black tie event have strangely shrunk in the wash so I need to find something to wear.

I hope you have a wonderful week and see you all at the Saeng Thai Restaurant at 6:30pm next Monday night for some lovely Thai food and socialising with our friends and partners.

Helen's Headlines - 11 July 2011

First of all, congratulations to PDG and PP Philip for the award of his 5th sapphire with the Paul Harris Fellow for services to the District. We all know how much he and Carol have supported the club, the district and Rotary and it's lovely to see that the work has been acknowledged. Congratulations!

Last night we had a Club Forum to continue the results of our Member Survey focussing on Committee Meetings. We all voiced our thoughts and our ideas and agreed that Committee meetings are important so that we may plan and action projects. In the past they have been ad hoc, or not happened at all. We agreed that Committee Meetings need not occur outside our regular meetings and we decided as a group that they will now occur every couple of months during the Club Forum/Board Night meeting. During these times, the two committees split by Community, New Generations and Vocational; and, Foundation and International will use this time to plan and action what projects and support they need.

Our first club 'committee meeting' will be on Monday 15 August. On this night, sit with your respective group (or split to go anywhere else in the venue) to prepare, plan and write your action plans.

I've asked Committee Members to have their reports about their annual projects ready before the NEXT board meeting on 15th August 2011. This allows you plenty of time to speak to your committee and write out your plans for presentation at this board meeting.

We're also sending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Ian and to Paul who have been in hospital. Get better soon so that we can see you again!

I hope you all have a lovely week. I leave you all with this week's quote by Pablo Picasso, "Action is the foundational key to all success."

Roles and Responsibilites for 2011-2012

President: Helen Blunden
President Elect: VACANT
Treasurer: Andrew Kenny
Secretary: Graeme Amoore
Foundation: Geoff Gray
Community: Sheila Ward
Vocational: Greg Pullen
New Generations: John Perry
International: Bill Chapman
Membership: Geoff Gray, Bill Chapman,Helen Blunden,Yvonne Beadle
Programme: John Hunt
Bulletin Editor: Greg Pullen
Attendance: Ian Anderson
Fundraising:
Operation Cleft:Yvonne Beadle
Bentleigh Market/Club Rosters Philip Hedley
Charity Golf Day Kevin Nixon,Graeme Amoore,Philip Hedley,Ian Anderson, John Perry
Almoner: Sheila Ward
Fellowship: Sheila Ward,Andrew Kenny,Laurie Cincotta, Helen Blunden
Market Roster: Philip Hedley

Roles and Responsibilites for 2011-2012

President: Helen Blunden
President Elect: VACANT
Treasurer: Andrew Kenny
Secretary: Graeme Amoore
Foundation: Geoff Gray – Board Member
John Hunt Paul de Smit
Community: Sheila Ward – Board Member Laurie Cincotta – Naturalisation Ceremonies Bruce Fitcher Robert Kalkbrenner
Vocational: Greg Pullen – Board Member
Susan De BolfoIan Anderson
New Generations: John Perry – Board MemberGreg Pullen
International: Bill Chapman – Board Member
Jim Partridge
Membership: Geoff Gray - ChairmanBill ChapmanHelen BlundenYvonne Beadle



Programme: John Hunt
Bulletin Editor: Greg Pullen
Attendance: Ian Anderson
Fundraising:
Operation Cleft Yvonne Beadle
Bentleigh Market/Club Rosters Philip Hedley
Charity Golf Day Kevin NixonGraeme AmoorePhilip HedleyIan Anderson John Perry
Almoner: Sheila Ward
Fellowship: Sheila WardAndrew KennyLaurie Cincotta
Helen Blunden
Market Roster: Philip Hedley

First Meeting of the New Rotary Year Down...51 To Go!

Well my first attempt in the meeting as President of the Club wasn't as daunting as I expected it to be.

We had a great start to the new Rotary year by listening to the incredible personal stories of Peter Wilcocks and Shirley Glance from the Bayside Polio Group. Peter and Shirley contracted polio at an early age and talked about their experiences living and growing up with the disease.

In Rotary, we hear so much about the good work that is being done around the world to eradicate this disease but I hadn't heard any stories from people on what this disease had affected in their lives. What we took for granted in our childhood, the freedom to move and play with our friends, for some who had this disease, their childhood was one of pain and ridicule. I do hope that this disease is eradicated once and for all. If you know of anyone with the disease and who is in need of a support group, I'd strongly recommend getting in contact with the Polio Network of Victoria. Details can be found on their website: http://www.polionetworkvic.asn.au/polio-support-group/index.shtml

Secondly, I'd like to thank those members who agreed to take on their roles and responsibilities again for the new year but also to those who have taken on new responsibilities. Here they are:

Treasurer: Andrew
Secretary: Graeme
Foundation: Geoff
New Generations: John P
International: Bill
Community Service: Sheila
Vocational: Greg
Club Service: Philip
Sergeant: Ian
Bulletin: Greg
Program: John Hunt

People working on special projects such as Fellowship, Operation Cleft, Golf Charity Day etc - still hold the same but of course, let us know if you need more support.

Similarly, everyone in the club must be aligned or part of one of the committees above to help out and support as required. Personally, I don't mind if people float from project to project if that's what you would like to do as we would need all the support we can muster. Similarly, if you have an idea or project in mind that you'd like to get across to the club, again, all you need to do is to let us know.

What's my vision for 2011-2012?

In this Rotary year of 'Reach Within to Embrace Humanity' my vision for the club is to bring back the fellowship and the sharing and enjoying each other's company as well as the injection of some projects that are shared with other community service or Rotary clubs to inspire some interest and re-engagement with our community and our own club members. I see a club where projects and fellowship are not only done by club members but members of our extended Rotary Family.

Membership will continue to be an issue over time and we can initiate some ideas of connecting with our vocational networks.

I've also joined the Women in Rotary group at the District level working with District 9800 and this may be another avenue for membership to consider: let's look at the special women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and welcome them to Rotary and our club.

I'll leave you with a quote from Maria Robinson, " Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending".

Yours in Rotary,

Helen