HISTORY OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MOE
Year 2015-2016
. Michael Koch was elected President and Maureen Bishop was Secretary, President Michael reported, it has been 21 years since I served as President for the Rotary Club of Moe in 1994/95 and how things have changed. We had mobile phones, but not many people had access to them, there was no email, only normal mail, the world moved a lot slower. The change was starting, life was getting busier, and as the years moved on so did Rotary, we have a website presence we have Facebook, we have mobile phones, we are now in constant contact with the world. As a small regional Rotary Club, this years’ theme is very important. “Be a Gift to the World”. The Rotary Club of Moe is only a cog in our Rotary wheel and as a cog we play our part, helping the local community, disaster stricken countries and overseas projects. This year included my marriage to Ya and I want to thank all the Rotarians who came with us to Thailand for the wedding.
Vocational Service. Chair Helen Morrison reported, we had students from Elizabeth Street and Newborough Primary Schools come to our meeting over a number of weeks to share their experiences of participating in the Rotary Junior Community Awards Program, the graduation and presentation barbecue was held in November in the Botanic Gardens .In December we held the Pride of Workmanship Awards at the Gippsland Heritage Park, thirteen students were nominated from their respective schools and each student received a certificate and a $50 award. The John Dwyer Citizenship Award was presented to Shelly Wulffers at the Lowanna Secondary College end of year presentations. In May 2016 we presented two Moe businesses with the Vocational Service Business Award. Danielle Ferguson from Lilly Pilly Florist and Peter and Rita Ryan from IGA were our very worthy recipients. Vocational Service also oversees a number of Youth Awards and activities. These include Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA), Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA), Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) and we actively encourage participation in these programs
Community Service. Chairman Pash Demagistris reported, some of our most successful fund raising efforts for the year have been catering at various community events .We have cooked up a storm at the Moe Traders Day, TM & H Timber and Hardware, Moe Race Day and the Jayco Herald Sun Bike Ride .We also assist with the catering at the Pride of Workmanship Awards as well as cooking and handing out free sausages at the Carols by Candlelight. Members volunteered their time to assist with the parking at the Moe Racing Club’s Car Show which resulted in a donation to our Club. Members assisted at the Moe Apex/Lions Club Bonfire Night and received $500.
Members doorknocked for the Good Friday Appeal raising $1,100.
In February our Club combined with the Morwell Rotary Club to cater for the Maltese Festival, this event was organised to raise funds for Centenary House, we raised $720. We once again assisted Energy Australia by cooking barbecues at their Christmas breakup and at their Open Day in April, together with the Apex Club of Moe we were invited to assist cooking a barbecue for the visitors, we spent a long day cooking sausages and hamburgers and we were rewarded with a cheque for $2000 and a personalised tour of the mine. We were approached by Headway Gippsland for a possible donation towards their yearly raffle, we donated a Television as a major prize and also donated the cost of printing the raffle tickets. A bus trip of 50 Rotarians and friends travelled to the Mornington Peninsula, Mt Martha to East Bar and Dining Restaurant. This was a fun and fellowship day.
International Service. Chairman Peter Kingsbury reported, the Takasago Sister City Rotary Club from Japan visited in early August. It was a light-hearted time with games on club night. Ryodi Nishinaka, President of the Takasago International Association, was accompanied by Yukihito Mobori Takasago City Major. Tatsuyoshi Tokura Club International Chairman, Fumitaka Konishi Club International 2nd Chairman .The Club hosted a golf match at the Yallourn Golf Club. I, Len, Roger and Alan attended a farewell dinner at the Century Inn to round off a great visit by the Rotary Club of Takasago Speisho (small Pinetree). Then it was off to Thailand for our President Michael and Ya’s wedding. On the way back we travelled to see our “adopt a School” project at the Bunatan No3 School near Amed. Tonya Cairns did a wonderful job as our interpreter as we handed over 323 school uniforms at a cost of $1600. $1200 of which was raised from outside sources. A regional education officer was surprised when 15 Rotarians and friends descended on the school to make the presentation. Once again (this was our 8th trip) a successful exercise in bridge building with one of our nearest neighbours – Indonesia. Mikayla Arnold was our out- going Exchange Student to Buffalo, New York State. Mikayla completed her Exchange this year The 16th Gippsland Rotary Golf Classic was held on the 21st March it was a great day again due to the generous support of our Sponsors, Community, Rotarians, Golfers and all those who participated in the day and evening. We raised over $25,000.00 on the day.
Membership 36 Gained Nil Lost 2 Attendance 78%