In October last year we had a stall at the RC Albert Park’s Book Fair to sell the Aussie Bush Buddies books. The sale was a success, raising a few hundred dollars. What caught my eye, though, were the uniform polo shirts and caps members of RC Albert Park worn. They were distinctive, and the wearers were easily recognised as members of RC Albert Park. I am sure each of them worn those uniforms with pride and really made them feel part of the team.
It does not just make members of a club feel good but more importantly, it is advertisement for both Rotary and the club. It tells people about Rotarians and what we do. It also tells people that we belong to an organisation that is actually “organised – at least organised enough to get uniforms! This makes it a great opportunity for membership recruitment.
Shortly, our members and their partners will have the opportunity to purchase your own Rotary polo shirts and caps. PP Richard is organising it and we are close to getting samples to you. The estimated cost is around $30 for a polo shirt and $10 for the cap. Because of set up costs, the more members want the uniforms, the cheaper it will cost everyone.
PP Richard will soon bring some sample shirts to the club meetings so we can check out the sizes. Please stay tuned and hopefully we will have a room full of members in uniform at our Changeover / 10th Anniversary in June!
 

Yours in Rotary,
Gabe

Thanks to Gabe for excellent scribe notes!

We had a good meeting with an enthusiastic bunch of members. Dean was very warmly greeted by the club as we haven't seen him in a while.

We were running a bit late starting the meeting and after a few quick announcements, sergeant Nick donned his blue/gold beanie (Rotary colours?) and started fining people for various alleged infringements of good taste and Nick sensibilities. This was followed by an initial barrage of cross fines to Nick … and ended with the same! Corporal Lyn was asleep at the job at the start but once awaken, she was bouncing all over the place and no purse/wallet were left unturned.

After some confusion about whether Wendy was going to do a members moment - and she decided she wouldn't - she went up and did a "mini" member's moment about the sad loss of her beloved schnauzer. She was very brave indeed and I am sure Harvey is the one giving her the strength. Wendy then went on to introduce Gary Ledson, her brother and member of the Migration and Refugee Review Tribunal. Gary gave a very interest account of his move from a distinguished career in education to a career in the Tribunal. The challenges he faced as a member of the Tribunal must have been significant but based on the statistics he told us, he has done a marvellous job so far. Gary gave us an insight into the procedures of the Tribunal but more importantly, he shared his views of what drives the decisions he makes at the Tribunal. He noted the use of interpreters and dangers and problems associated with them. He also gave copies of one of his decisions to members present. Despite the excellent and informative presentation he gave, our members still bombarded him with questions. This was not a reflection of any lack of clarity or information of his presentation. It was, rather, an indication of our members' interest in his presentation.

Please find more information on the website of the Migration Review Tribunal

President Gabe closed with his usual 2 thoughts but this week, no body was able to guess the 2nd thought. We shall see how we fare next week.