6.00 for 6.30pm.
This week I have been overwhelmed by the terrible invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. I feel deeply for the Ukrainian people and the disruption caused by the outbreak of war in their homeland.
Apparently, Rotary is represented by fifty-two clubs in different cities of Ukraine and has almost 1000 members. There are nine clubs in Kyiv, with the Rotary Club Kyiv International officially chartered on 27 December 2019, with an inaugural membership of thirty people.
For brevity, I have included a couple of key points made in the statement.
‘…We are deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the escalating loss of life and humanitarian hardship there.
As one of the world’s largest humanitarian organisations, we have made peace the cornerstone of our global mission.
We join the international community in calling for an immediate cease fire, withdrawal of Russian forces, and restoration of diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict through dialogue.
Our thoughts are with our fellow Rotary members and others in Ukraine coping with these tragic events...’ (Rotary International, 25 February 2022).
Turning to our own club meeting, this week will be the 4th Monday of the month and is Club Assembly night.
The meeting be offered as a hybrid meeting, and I thank PE Robin Noakes for arranging virtual access for members. A Zoom link will be sent to all members sometime over the weekend. If you wish to attend in person, arrive at the Moe RSL at 6.00pm for 6.30pm start. Reminder: if you are not a member of the RSL, you will be requested to show your Victorian Driver’s Licence by staff. The Zoom meeting component will finish at 7.15pm and the face-to-face meeting, at 7.45pm.
During our Club Assembly, reports from our Secretary, Maureen Bishop; Treasurer, Diane Wilkinson; and Committee Chairs, Alan Bishop, (Community); Robin Noakes, (Youth/Vocational); and Diane Wilkinson, (International/Foundation), will be provided to members.
Rog Taylor, Chair of the Golf Committee, will also share an update of how things are progressing with our major fundraising event. By the way, welcome back Rog! I hope you are feeling refreshed after a couple of weeks touring beautiful Tasmania!
Thanks again to Bill Connell for your coordination of the raffle and ticket sales. An update from Bill will also be provided at our Club Assembly on Monday night.
Please warmly welcome a visitor to our club meeting. Victor Bennett has recently moved to Moe and is keen to meet local Rotarians. Thank you, Helen MacDonald, for encouraging Victor to come along to a Rotary meeting.
Lastly, to our members, thank you for your ongoing contributions to our club. I appreciate the many and varied ways Moe Rotarians support our club and who care about each other, their community, and humanity in general.
