Next week, thanks to the work of PDG Tim Moore, we are having an international speaker address our meeting. His name is Tony Heyward and he will be speaking all the way from New Zealand.
Tony is the Principle of TransitLounge Recruitment Ltd, a professional services recruitment company based in Wellington. His extensive client base extends across New Zealand and Australia. Tony commenced his recruitment career joining Morgan & Banks in 2001. Prior to entering the recruitment industry, Tony worked for Air New Zealand, his most recent position was Manager Central NZ, based in Wellington.
Tony has a strong sales and marketing background, he strongly believes Rotary Clubs in New Zealand need to modernise to ensure they are delivering a relevant and sustainable Rotary experience for existing members, and that they are communicating the huge benefits available within Rotary to potential new Rotarians.
Tony is passionate and totally committed to helping Rotary Clubs take the journey of change and to develop new ideas, so that Rotary becomes top of mind as a service organisation that gets things done. He firmly believes we have the experience and vast commercial knowledge sitting within Rotary Clubs that we need to share within our communities, which in turn will assist the growth of Rotary in New Zealand.
Join our meeting
Wednesdays 7.20pm for 7.30pm start
Everyone is welcome including visiting Rotarians friends, family, and people interested in Rotary
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has awarded BlazeAid volunteers with the prestigious ‘Commonwealth Point of Light’ beacon award for outstanding volunteerism after the Australian 2020 Megafire. Blazeaid volunteers are the only ones in Australia this year and were announced as the winners among 52 Commonwealth countries. There is one Award announcement a week and today it is Australia’s turn.
It is being announced and will be public in London today - I don’t know if the newshounds here will get it in Australia for the weekend papers, but I think you may wish to let your local paper know.
Queen Elizabeth will personally sign the award which will be personally presented in Canberra ACT by the British High Commissioner, Vicki Treadwell, when it is safe to travel again.
Commonwealth Point of Light 152. Kevin Butler Commonwealth Point of Light 152. Rhonda Butler
Rhonda and Kevin Butler, representing Australia, are the founders of ‘BlazeAid’, which has brought together an army of volunteers to clear the ground and rebuild fences following devastating bushfires in the country. Helped by over 1,000 volunteers every day, and with bases across the country, ‘BlazeAid’ can clear and rebuild over 40km of fencing, securing farmland and providing relief to members of Australia’s rural communities.
Kevin and Rhonda said: “We started BlazeAid in Australia after the fatal Black Saturday fires in 2009, pledging to help – with local volunteers – a few dozen of our immediate neighbours to rebuild their burnt fencing over 14 days. The idea caught on and in the ensuing 10 years, volunteers have poured in from all over Australia and the world to physically help others impacted by our country’s yearly recurrence of fires, floods and cyclones.
“After almost 250 natural disasters, hundreds of thousands of volunteers, farmers, donors and local communities have teamed together to rebuild 14,000 kilometres of new fencing, 400,000 working days on 9000 devastated farms. The value of work done by ‘BlazeAid’ volunteers who make such a difference to the lives of others – who have lost almost everything they hold dear – is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“‘BlazeAid’ is almost totally volunteerism with just one paid bookkeeper. Today, ‘BlazeAid’ has 26 base camps running over three states from Kangaroo Island in South Australia, throughout New South Wales and right up to the Queensland border following the 2019/20 Australian mega-fires last Summer. Volunteers have been working shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of farming families daily, seven days a week non-stop, to rebuild what fires destroyed in just minutes. We wake up every morning being so grateful to the thousands of ‘BlazeAid’ volunteers who selflessly make a massive difference to the physical, and mental health of hundreds of vulnerable country families in these devastated communities.
“We salute all ‘BlazeAid’ volunteers who enrich the lives of others every day and it is them we humbly accept the award on behalf of – for these wonderful and dedicated volunteers have made ‘BlazeAid’ a most loved and respected Australian charity.”
Vicki Treadell, British High Commissioner to Australia, said: “I am delighted to virtually present Kevin and Rhonda Butler with this award for their dedication and commitment to both their own community and other communities in Australia who have been impacted by natural disasters – including the recent devastating bushfires. They both demonstrate incredible commitment to ‘BlazeAid’; the volunteers they have recruited and the communities they support. They are making a significant impact on the lives of those that benefit from ‘BlazeAid’s work.”
Last week we outlined the work of Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) in providing 'SmartAid', 'Safe water for every child' and training for disaster relief.
DAA has since been called upon to assist at the recent disaster in Lebanon
On 4 August, two massive explosions occurred in the port of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. These were the result of a fire at a warehouse storing many tonnes of ammonium nitrate and they killed more than 200 people, injured thousands, and destroyed countless homes. Thousands of houses and apartments are now uninhabitable. Families are in urgent need of shelter, food, and emergency supplies.
The devastating catastrophe also destroyed 85 per cent of the food stock stored at the port – leaving an already vulnerable city in peril.
Disaster Aid Australia Response
With travel from Australia not being possible, DAA will be supporting our closer Disaster Aid International Partners: Disaster Aid Europe and Disaster Aid UK & Ireland. They will be linking with local Rotary clubs who have started talking to the most affected communities.
As they find out more, DAA will work to provide what is needed. Disaster Aid International will also be working with other agencies to help Beirut recover.
Donation to Appeal
Please donate today to ensure as many people as possible have access to Medical Help and Shelter.
A few months ago I spent a very long time working on the President's Plan in the hope that it would bring the Club together to focus on one solitary idea. That idea was to build a better, more vibrant club that would grow strongly into the future.
I had some strange ideas that members would rejoice in the freedoms that the plan imparted. Inviting interesting and diverse speakers to the club to enrich our club program. Writing wonderfully informative and inspirational articles for our Club bulletin. Developing plans for novel projects and engaging the community in ways we could never imagine. My thoughts were that by putting my perception of the club onto a piece of paper, all members could find a place in the club where they wanted to be. It was an invitation to empower members to add their own skills and knowledge where they could see an opportunity.
Even under these difficult times, some parts of the President's Plan are starting to come alive as each Director starts to take ownership. Some members are putting in substantial work in other areas such as projects to work around the COVID restrictions. Whatever happens, it was always going to be a wild ride, but at least we are paddling in the same direction.
The Rotary Foundation provides up to 130 fully funded Peace Fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world, to study at one of their peace centres. This includes awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 80 for certificate studies at premier universities.
Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centre’s program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals or practitioners, to become experienced and effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and field-study expenses.
Since the program began in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centre’s have trained more than 1,300 fellows, who now work in more than 115 countries. Many serve as leaders in governments, NGOs, the military, education, law enforcement, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.
A recent example of someone who has benefited from participation in the Rotary Foundation's Peace Fellowship program is Martin Allison.
Martin is a Detective Inspector at Victoria Police. He joined Victoria Police Force at a young age and has worked in the Crime Squads, the western and north western suburbs of Melbourne and assignment to the Western Australia Police Service. He has a broad and diverse experience in policing across various roles.
In 2019, Martin was awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship through the Rotary Club of Melbourne and studied at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok for 3 months, which he described as an immensely rewarding experience.
Following his study, he is currently working on a project to leverage the influence of sport to reduce the incidence of men’s violence towards women.
Chesley Reynolds Perry, a Spanish-American War veteran and former Chicago Public Library employee, served as Rotary’s first secretary and is known as “the builder of Rotary International.”
Next week, thanks to the work of PDG Tim Moore, we are having an international speaker address our meeting. His name is Tony Heyward and he will be speaking all the way from New Zealand.
Commonwealth Point of Light 152. Kevin Butler
Last week we outlined the work of Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) in providing 'SmartAid', 'Safe water for every child' and training for disaster relief. 
A few months ago I spent a very long time working on the President's Plan in the hope that it would bring the Club together to focus on one solitary idea. That idea was to build a better, more vibrant club that would grow strongly into the future. 
Martin is a Detective Inspector at Victoria Police. He joined Victoria Police Force at a young age and has worked in the Crime Squads, the western and north western suburbs of Melbourne and assignment to the Western Australia Police Service. He has a broad and diverse experience in policing across various roles.
