The Morelander, Edition 22 2020-21

Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Moreland

EDITION 22|23 FEBRUARY2021

THE MORELANDER

MEMBERSHIP - QUALITY OR QUANTITY?

Emma Davis and Trevor Moyle lead a club discussion on memberships

Award of Excellence for Club Bulletin 2018-2019

Pages 3 and 4

Moreland Rotary acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct our business. Moreland Rotary respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. Moreland Rotary also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

Cover photos courtesy of Elly Gardner, Emma Davis and David Redfearn THE MORELANDER

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VALUING OUR ROTARY MEMBERSHIP – “NO DIFFERENT TO VALUING A BUSINESS REALLY”

The recent and sudden 5 day lockdown imposed a challenge to our club for the meeting scheduled for Wed 17 Feb. A Zoom meeting was required, unsuitable for our planned Police Award presentation with a new theme to be found.

So at short notice a discussion on membership was decided and planned. Not the most inspiring subject you may think, but with planning and engagement of members present we thought we could make a discussion both useful and enjoyable.

The approach adopted was akin to looking at any business and ask the questions like – what makes us successful, why do our members (aka custimers) keep coming back and why haven’t heaps of others found our little gem of a group.

The following scene setting opening statement was chosen – “The Rotary Club of Moreland has such a good product it could sell itself” , with the subtitle – mmm… maybe that is the problem?

Valued new club member, and AG, Emma set up discussion by referring to statements by incoming Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta which urged all members to:

……..become more involved in service projects, arguing that caring for and serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.

The Presidential Theme for 2021-22 is let us "Serve to Change Lives". Mehta asked members to use Rotary’s belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical in all we do as a compass to guide this work.

Emma observed that she was attracted to Moreland Club by our commitment to the ideals expressed by RI Pres elect Shekha Mehta, and that we should not be afraid to promote our achievements to prospective members.

She and President David also drew attention to the fact that RI is focussing on valuable membership contribution rather than numbers of members alone. The rationale is that growth in the quality of the Rotary organisation and provide the platform for expanding the membership base.

TEXT; TREVOR MOYLE | IMAGE: DAVID REDFEARN THE MORELANDER

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VALUING OUR ROTARY MEMBERSHIP – “NO DIFFERENT TO VALUING A BUSINESS REALLY” 3. We then went around the “Zoom table” to ask about the background to members participation in Rotary such as “why I joined, when and key highlights”.

The dominant thoughts from this included : a. Welcoming attitude. b. Good camaraderie. c. Short and sharp breakfast meetings. d. Great speakers who inform an entertain. e. Engagement with community. f. gender balance.

Encouragement was given to promoting membership to our speakers and use the quality of speakers to bring guests.

4. Turning strengths and weaknesses into opportunities and challenges was the next discussion point.

We went around the table to get a feeling on this: a. Strengths – opportunities i Inclusive membership ii Good community connections iii Timing of meetings iv Guest speakers v. Small size = good connection and effective communication 5. Weaknesses – challenges i Size – need more members for critical mass on projects etc ii Promotion – recognise our strengths and find more ways to promote Moreland Rotary.

THE MORELANDER

The conclusion to this experience was that our discussion proved the point above that looking at our club development is not much different to looking at a business – whether that be like our members such as Russell’s tyre business, John’s accountancy practice or Rosemary’s Physio business.

Essentially the formula is you work hard to create something that your customers (in our case members) value and then make sure that the message gets out to other prospects.

Our discussion at the meeting showed that our members value our product very highly, leaving little doubt that sales to prospective members should be easy – right?

TEXT: TREVOR MOYLE | IMAGES: DAVID REDFEARN AND ROTARY INTERNATIONAL

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About Rotary District Governor's Newsletter "Bruce's Bulletin" is the monthly newsletter of District Governor Bruce Anderson. There is a lot of information about the many Rotary projects and events across our District.

Simply click here to read the latest edition Members of Rotary are part of a diverse group of community and professional leaders working to address community and international service needs and to promote peace and understanding throughout the world.

Rotary districts are a way of grouping a number of clubs in a particular geographic area. The area covered quite often crosses state and even international boundaries.

Rotary District 9790 encompasses the northern Rotary clubs receive a charter suburbs of Melbourne and from the worldwide organisation - stretches north and north east of Rotary International.

Victoria to the Murray River and up into parts of NSW. A Rotarian belongs to a particular Rotary Club often near his/her For more information about home or work or sometimes Rotary District 9790, click here because of the club meeting time.

THE MORELANDER

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Rotary Leadership 2020-21

Rotary International: President: Holger Knaack (Susanne) , Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenberg-Mölln (Germany) District Governor: Bruce Anderson (Marilyn), Rotary Club of Strathmore Assistant Governor Group 2: Emma Davis, Rotary Club of Moreland Rotary Club of Moreland President: David Redfearn (Deanna)

Club Service Roles 2020-21

President Secretary Treasurer Club Service Community Service Vocational Services International Service and Assistant Bulletin Editor Membership and Rotary Foundation Local Environment Youth and Assistant Secretary Club Administration Bulletin Editor Australian Rotary Health Public Relations Club History Valued members Honorary Members

David Redfearn OAM Rosemary Freeman John Hoffmann Brian Bennett David Redfearn OAM Brian Bennett Trevor Moyle Trevor Moyle Jo Connellan Silvana De Pretto Nino Galgano David Redfearn OAM Rosemary Freeman Russell Stuckey Nino Galgano Richard McCarthy, Elly Gardner, Lee Garwood. Emma Davis The Hon. Kelvin Thomson, Helen Bailey, John Awler

District 9790 /Multi District Roles 2020-21

Assistant Governor, Group 2 District Community Service Chair and Australian Rotary Health District Legal Officer District Bulletin Editor and Peter Toomey Community Police Award Shine On Awards

Emma Davis Rosemary Freeman Nino Galgano David Redfearn OAM Brian Bennett

WHEN AND WHERE WE MEET: Moreland Rotary Club meets most Wednesdays at 7.30 for a 7.40 am start.

We meet at the Sorrento Bar, 801 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 3056 HOW TO GET A COPY OF THE MORELANDER: If you would like to receive our bulletin via email each week, email our editor at: dredfearn@vtown.com.au WHERE TO SEND FORMAL CORRESPONDENCE: Attention: The Secretary, Moreland Rotary Club, PO Box 219, Coburg, Victoria, 3058

Chartered 14 August 1996 - Sponsor Club Coburg Rotary Club | Incorporated 13 August 2019 Designed using Canva - www.canva.com

THE MORELANDER

Images by David Redfearn and logos from rotary.org unless otherwise specified.

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Upcoming events and meetings A standing invitation exists for all readers of The Morelander to attend Moreland Rotary Club meetings and some of our other events. Please let us know if you intend to join us by ringing David Redfearn on 0448 852 747 or emailing on dredfearn@vtown.com.au (click on email address).

Upcoming speakers/events 23 February: Wendy Caspar, Youth Projects Chair: Brian Bennett 2 March: Michael Carney, Coburg Harriers Chair: Emma Davis 9 March: Monthly Board meeting Chair: President David Redfearn 16 March: TBA Chair: Nino Galgano

Our Guest Speakers Moreland Rotary Club invites speakers to our club both from our local community and further afield. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and are invited because they hopefully inform and stimulate our members and guests. We feel that this is of value in fostering a deeper understanding of our diverse community and even providing guidance as to the types of activites and projects our club may engage in.

However the opinions expressed by our speakers do not necessarily reflect any official viewpoint of Moreland Rotary nor those of individual club members. Irrespective of this we always offer a warm Rotary welcome to all of our speakers.

click here @RotaryMoreland THE MORELANDER

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During the pandemic we have been meeting via Zoom on Wednesday mornings from 7.30-8.30 am and we have had some great guest speakers.

You now may be able to join us in person at our usual venue which is listed on page 8. Numbers are presently restricted so an RSVP is essential. You can still join us on Zoom though and the link is below.

Why not join us one morning? Simply ring David on 0448 852 747 the day before to RSVP and then go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87077765173 just before the meeting to join in.