Well what a night! It was a wonderful celebration of another hugely successful Rotary year. Congratulations again to Greg, the board & all the members and supporters for the leadership, commitment and hard work.  Our club keeps going from strength to strength and listening to Greg’s president’s report one couldn’t help but feel proud of everything we have achieved in the past year and all the lives we have touched. It really highlights the Pakenham Rotary Clubs commitment to “Service above self”
 
Congratulations as well to our highly deserved Paul Harris award winners, Tim Ahern, Des Wynne, Stephen Fisher & Roger Thornton. I’m sure you will all agree that these 4 members live and breathe the Rotary spirit and are amazing servants to the Pakenham Club. Well done and thank you again for your service and efforts.
 
It was also very enjoyable watching the entertainment on the night from the young ladies of “Crescendo”. I think George put it very nicely when he said that the youth in our region have so much more to offer than what is constantly portrayed in the media. Young people are our future Rotarians and need our support to assist them in reaching their full potential.
 
 
As we begin a new and exciting Rotary year I’d like to reiterate some of the things I mentioned on the night. My top 4 goals for the club in the following year are: 
  1. Greatly enhancing our profile & public image in the community through “action” based activities & collaboration with other groups and stakeholders. 
  1. Greater involvement with local youth groups, schools and partner initiatives using social media, as these young people will be the Rotarians of the future 
  1. Building on the successes of our current programs & annual events through word of mouth promotion, visibility and community discussion. 
  1. If we get that all working well we will then be well on our way to my club goal of bringing in 5 new members over the next 12 months because people will be seeing us out in the community, having fun and making a difference and they will want to be part of that. 
New members, new ideas, new projects will only enhance and build on all the work and achievements over the past 50 years and drive us to even greater heights for the next 50 years. 
 
Welcome to the new board for 2018/19, consisting of:
               Secretary:                                          Grant Austen
               President Elect Designate:                   Grant Austen
               Treasurer:                                          Des Wynne
               Membership:                                      Greg Peck (Past President)
               Public Relations:                                 Roger Thornton
               Administration:                                   Peter van Diemen
               Foundation:                                        George Blenkhorn
               Community:                                        Ian Wake
               International:                                      Lyn Bunce
               Youth:                                                Josie Wilson
 

 
 
I’d like to thank the new board for accepting their roles and responsibilities and look forward to working together for the betterment of the club, our community and Rotary International.
 
Thank you again everyone for attending what was a fun and inspiring evening.
 
 
Finally, I asked my son, Matthew, if he could pen a few of his thoughts on his experience on the night that I  would like to share with the club as it provided some good insights into the psyche of young people and highlights our need to spread the Rotary message far and wide. Enjoy!
 
Every Tuesday for the past few years, my father Goran Galic has been scurrying off to take part in something called “Rotary”. I’ve had a vague idea about what this group is and about what they do for quite some time now, namely that they organise events to help the local community, but it wasn’t until my father got elected as the new president, and I attended his change over evening on the third of July 2018, that I truly began to comprehend just how much history and integrity Pakenham Rotary has. Not only are these people dedicated to making a difference, but they have also been doing so for quite some time, a feat which is truly Inspiring.  Something that highlights just how much this club means to its patrons would be the Paul Harris Award, and how proud and emotional its recipients became when they were handed it. These people have essentially dedicated their lives to helping others while not expecting anything in return, which is something not many people can attest to, and they are all in it together for this very reason. It is this sense of dedication and comradery that is truly commendable. 
As I said earlier, I’ve known for a while that Pakenham Rotary does good things in the community, but I’ve never fully grasped the extent of it, So seeing with my own two eyes just how much these noble men and women care about making a difference truly spoke to me. So not only was I greatly proud of my father for becoming president, but attending this evening has also given me a new outlook on a club that means so much to so many people. I’m glad I attended this evening, and I look forward to seeing how much good Pakenham Rotary can do under the leadership of my father. – Matthew Galic