Club History 2015 - 2020
Jeannie Handsaker Year of Office 2015 - 2016
 
Rotary Theme: Be a gift to the world
Secretary: David Roberts
Treasurer: Ian Lynch
Community Service: Bob Hentschel
 Art Show Director: Carol Hogg
 
It is with pleasure that I present a resume of the 30th year of Rotary in Yea. One of the highlights was the 30th birthday held in the Shire Hall at which 130 past and present members swapped stories and banter and applauded the speaker who gave a very interesting account of the back story to the movie "Oddball".
When I was first asked to do this job I refused on the grounds that I was still working interstate and would be absent for eight Thursdays. Jim quickly pointed out that I would be present for the other 42 and he would happily cover my absence. Thank you Jim and John Bett for covering for me in such a capable manner. Thank you members for entrusting me with the leadership of our great club.
The year has flown by and has not been without its challenges.  Mostly it has been one of learning and growing, but always it has been a privilege to lead in an atmosphere of co-operation and respect.  My board members always delivered loyalty and wisdom which was needed quite often and I sincerely thank my mentors, Jim Osborne and David Roberts.
Our program director Pat Sichlau has excelled herself with the variety we have been given each Thursday and that is probably why she has the job again next year. Thank you Pat.,
Our membership has continued to climb steadily under the directorship of Gary Cocks and mentorship of John Sinclair and we have inducted five new members for the year which is a fantastic effort. We welcomed Val Howard, David Ngo, Tracey Ukosich, Jill Maddison, and Glenn Milliken.
Members have been very supportive in the Community Service area and have completed all the usual activities such as the Art Show, the Open Gardens, the Molesworth Bazaar, The Biggest Morning Tea, Student Exchange, both in-going and outgoing, Mock Interviews and a range of BBQs for various events.   We again had the Senior Citizens' Dinner, Carols by Candlelight and the Bowelscan program. We have added on the Bushrodders weekend and the Dindi Cycle event and both of these have potential to be great community involvement programs in the coming years.
uring the year we were called on to support a large fund-raising effort for the Vanuatu disaster victims and combined with Lisa and Stewart Cornwall from Beaufort Manor, we were able to raise $15,000 to support this cause.
We participated in the Leukaemia Light up the Night walk and also assisted with parking at the race meetings. We continued to support schools with finance for scholarships or alternate programs if this is what they chose. We also helped finance young adults to participate in RYLA and RYPEN programs which if approached in the right way, can be life-changing experiences.
For the first time, under the leadership of Community Director Bob Hentschel we were granted a "Bunning’s BBQ site" and this proved to be very lucrative. I think if we continue down this track we need to have our workers rostered on in quarter hour shifts as there was no "down-time".
Once again we participated in fellowship with neighbouring clubs Alexandra and Seymour, and a group of 14 travelled to North Balwyn for a Melbourne Cup night at the home of Ken Maxfields' Rotary Club. We also hosted the Swedish and the New York RFE teams and this resulted in new friendships and lots of camaraderie.
This year’s Art Show hit a snag when our Director Sean Munley was forced to resign due to work commitments. Luckily we had an extremely capable replacement in Carol Hogg and this was able to proceed smoothly and successfully.
Our Youth Exchange program continues to be a source of great pleasure and satisfaction to both the students and their hosts and this year we sent Yasmine Ukosich to Brazil where she has settled very quickly and is sending home glowing reports. In return we welcomed Bruna Oliveira da Rocha who came to us from Diego's club in Brazil. Diego was on Youth Exchange in Yea when John and I were inducted some fifteen years ago and now we are serving our Presidential year together.
Thanks to Elaine's diligence, we have had great coverage in the press and now that has doubled with the introduction of a second newspaper in our area.  Now it is sometimes possible to read in print what were only "thoughts"!
Due to Sergeant Richards' illness, it was necessary to bring in some emergency help during the year and I do have to thank all the club members who stood in and did the job that no-body wants. Quite a few times I had to call on husband John but he seemed to be the only one who minded that. Thank you Richard for what was a difficult year for you and we hope it keeps getting better.
Our bulletin editor Glenda did an outstanding job and sometimes it seemed that the bulletin was being sent before we had unpacked from the meeting.  Thank you also to Photographer Ken who as well as helping with the photos from the meeting, managed to provide a lovely pictorial account of any functions during the year.
Some members had to deal with the loss of close family members and a number have had to deal with serious illnesses. Our thoughts are always with our members at this sad time and this year was particularly traumatic with the loss of Rodney's lovely wife Bev, Val's husband and best friend Ken, and our own intrepid traveller Ruth Konig.  Ruth provided the club with a lot of advice, a lot of laughs at her own expense, and a lot of hard earned funds so that the club was able to celebrate the acceptance of our very own Global Grant to enable Ruth’s project of raising money for amenities block in an African Orphanage, Dayspring.  This project began in 2010 and the following years saw Ruth walk many hundreds of miles for sponsorship and address dozens of clubs whilst being totally focused on her goal. Her serious illness did not deter her nor advice from the various health officers. With the help of Julie and Glenda working on the grant application for months, the answer Ruth was waiting on came through on the Friday, she celebrated her birthday on the Saturday and passed away peacefully on the Sunday.
Ruth left a gap in our club which will be hard to fill and we were all inspired by her determination and amazing resilience right to the end. Well done thou good and faithful servant.
It has been decided to approach District to set up a memorial in Ruth's memory and this will take the form of an award at Conference each year for the best "humanitarian" project. Yea club are starting this off with $1000 and it is hoped that District will see fit to match this amount so that Ruth can keep on changing people's lives.
During my term it was my pleasure to be able to present my hard working secretary with a Paul Harris Sapphire. My taking on the job of President was wholly dependent on David committing to be Secretary as I knew for sure he would remember everything that I forgot.
It was also my pleasure to be able to present Glenda with a PHF and although she was shocked, everyone else agreed she deserved it. Well done David and Glenda.
One of the lighter moments this year was a surprise birthday party for our oldest member, Doug Zerbe. Doug turned 90 this year and this was another record for the club.  We hope to be able to do the same on his 100th.
We now have two major projects in the pipeline but we will leave those for P.E. John to report on in this space next year.
I congratulate all the team leaders on a fantastic year and truly believe that as a club we have lived up to being a gift to the world.
Lastly, I must thank my long-suffering husband John. Whilst being a very efficient attendance officer, he is the most loyal and supportive person I could have ever asked for and without those qualities this year could have had a different ending. The pay off for him was being able to sit with his mates and order double sweets whenever he wanted.!!!!
 
John Bett Year of Office 2016 - 2017
 
Rotary Theme: Rotary Serving Humanity
Secretary: Ian Sichlau
Treasurer: Ian Lynch
Community Service: Bob Hentschel
 Art Show Director: Carol Hogg
 
It has been my privilege to serve as President of the Rotary Club of Yea in this the 31st year since it was chartered. Having previously held his office in 2002 – 2003, it has been interesting to reflect on how the club has changed over the ensuing years to become such a vibrant and enthusiastic organisation in fellowship and volunteering. This is due largely to the increase and the retention of the current 41 members.
Once again Pattie Sichlau has continued to source interesting and informative guest speakers for our weekly meetings. Sergeant Les supports meeting jocularity by nominating a different Rotarian each week to be fines master.
There are many areas of service that come under Community Service Bob Hentschel’s Directorship, perhaps because this is the largest and most active area within the club, where most of the funds are generated.
The major events are the Annual Art Show, Open Gardens, Molesworth Bazaar and a new initiative  led by Rotarian Jim Osborne – The Garden Expo, which was very well received by the general public in its first year and has the potential to grow and expand in  future years. This initiative is led by an enthusiastic committee.
As President, a  project of mine was to restore the historic Ring of Elms in the southern Yea Wetlands, so that all the community may enjoy the area. It amazed me how the public were unaware of the Ring of Elms existence, because they had become so overgrown. Rotarians were ably assisted by members of the Wetlands Committee, International Rovers (from their jamboree at Mafking and members of the Yea Historical Society in a working bee to restore the Elms to their former glory!
Cycle Dindi, a joint initiative between the Rotary Clubs of Yea and Alexandra, continues to grow and gain support from cyclists, drawing people into the area. Well done to Rotarian Julie Lynch and her committee.
The Club continues to support the Youth Exchange Program and in my year we have said farewell to Bruna, who arrived in February 2016 and departed in January 2017, and we welcomed Viviane (Vivi) de Souza who arrived in February 2017 from.  Both Bruna and Vivi have enjoyed, or are enjoying their stay in Yea and I thank Youth Service Director Ann Drysdale for all her work in organising behind the scenes to make this happen.. It is pleasing to see a number of non-Rotarians hosting our exchange students and I thank those families very much. It seems ironic that when I was last President, our exchange student was Diego Lobo Custodia de Oliveria, also from Brusque in Brazil.
My Directors have all assisted and supported me, with any requests made of them. I do appreciate their involvement and thank them for opening their homes for Board meetings.
Finally, to finish my year of Presidency, my final apothegm of Rotary Serving Humanity:
I challenge you all as Rotarians:-
To do all the good you can.
In every way you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can
To support President Marj and her team and provide her with much enjoyment and pride for being President of the Rotary Club of Yea.
 
 
Marjorie Hamilton Year of Office 2017 - 2018
 
Rotary Theme: Making a Difference
Secretary: Ian Sichlau
Treasurer: Ian Lynch
Community Service: Terry Hubbard
 Art Show Director: Carol Hogg
 
It is my pleasure to present the President’s Report of the 32nd year of the Rotary Club of Yea.
 
Firstly, my thanks to the Board - totally supportive throughout the year and so willing to respond to any requests made of them. The Rotary knowledge encompassed in these members is invaluable. I would also like to acknowledge the calibre of all Club members who have continued to act cohesively in their Rotary work throughout 2017-2018.
The outstanding attribute of this club is the fellowship. This is exhibited weekly in the pleasure that we all have in catching up with each other. This camaraderie is the cornerstone of the club and stands strong when there is a job to done. Partners have also played an important role in the successful running of many functions and are an integral part of our great Club. The year has passed quickly. Looking back, I would like to highlight some aspects, leaving detail to the Directors individual reports.
My ‘left hand’ man has been Ian Sichlau. The job of club secretary entails having information at hand and being organised. Ian has done a superb job and I thank you. The successful weekly organisation is also dependent of the Sergeant, Rodney Ridd, Program Director, Mike Hirons, and the Bulletin director, shared this year by Rodney Ridd, Tracey Ukosich and Glenda Woods. These pivotal tasks ensure that our meetings work and that all members are well informed. Congratulations to all for job well done.  Ian Lynch has again done a fine job as Treasurer and I give him my thanks for taking on this major role once again.
Our yearly program has many repeating events and some rising stars.  Club members possess the flexibility to respond quickly and innovatively so again thank you to all those who have said “OK - not a problem”.
 
Our major events include the Garden Expo, Open Gardens, Senior Citizens Dinner, Art Show, Australia Day Breakfast and the Molesworth Bazaar catering.
The Garden Expo is in its third year, moving this year to the Yea Saleyards. Spearheaded by Jim Osborne, supported by a hard-working committee including Jim’s wife Glenys, this event is now firmly on the calendar. Thank you Jim and your committee for the vision and thoroughness exhibited in establishing the Expo over the past three years. The Open Gardens is well established and flourishing under the capable direction of Glenn Milliken and his committee. This year will see our newest members Russell and Janet Troup involved. Leading up to Christmas, the Senior Citizens Dinner is a highlight, held in the Shire Hall. Every year, Rodney Ridd gathers the list of invitees and Sandra Hanley and Bob Dewar organise the catering and with help from members on the day. This event is much enjoyed, always with entertainment. The Carols night was successful under the guidance of Charles Rattray. This is a gentle evening, held at the Railway Station and provides a welcome tone in this hectic part of the year.  The Art Show was directed by John Sinclair and he and his committee handed all details with skill. The Australia Day Breakfast falls during the Art Show and was well attended. David Anderson provided a stirring address on the day.  The venue for the Art Show melds well with the Breakfast and enables the public to wander through the art on the day. Thank you to all behind the scenes - Janet Forde, the ‘Electrical Engineering’ component of Bob Hentschel, Paul and Laurie Frogley. The sales and door roster ensures that all members are involved over the five days of the Show. This year the theme was ‘Buttons and Bows’ providing a lot of fun.  The show was judged by Julian Bruere and his decisive commentary on his choices of great benefit and interest to all.
 
Cycle Dindi is a recent program which we participate in partnership with the Alexandra Rotary Club. Money earned goes towards funding the Young Men Old Mountains program involving boys from primary and secondary level. This program is also gaining momentum returning $7000 to OEG this year. Eoghan Dowling cycled the distance, raising $2245 in sponsorship. Well done Eoghan. Once again, many club members were involved in catering and other aspects. My sincere thanks to all concerned for making it a success
 
Outside these regular features, the year has been busy. Highlights are as follows:-
Foundation: David Anderson has kept us informed of Polio Plus developments throughout the year and provided education to the club about the importance of Foundation. A full report is elsewhere in this Annual Report.
 
Rotary Friendship Exchange: This year, we hosted, in rapid succession eight Rotarians from the Philippines and 12 from Denmark. The program was full and enjoyed by our visitors and a sincere thank you to all the host families for extending hospitality to the visitors and making their trip memorable. Club members who have participated in RFE speak highly of this program and it is recommended to members to try out if time permits.
 
Youth Services: Julie Lynch has provided solid work for all aspects of this program. We hosted Vivi Amaral de Souza from Brazil, sponsored Nic Charles on twelve months exchange to Denmark and Jess Gard to Brazil. We have had return visits from Soren Nielson, an exchange student from Denmark in 2005-06 and Anna Avenberg from Sweden in 2010-11 This program changes lives and is of great value to all who participate in it. We have had students attend RYPEN and visits from Jess Carpenter - an advocate for RYLA - both youth programs.
 
Membership: Pat Sichlau has capably headed up this portfolio. Our numbers have increased by three with Will de Castella and Janet and Russell Troup becoming members during this year. Welcome to these people and I hope that their time in Rotary is totally rewarding. Thanks for your work Pat during the year.
 
Public Image: The Club depends on the publicity that is provided to both local papers and digital platforms. Glenda has attended to this throughout the year. Friendship table was manned at District Conference to promote Cycle Dindi. Thank you Glenda. She is aided by the club photographer, Ken Foletta who also attends to the group photo for this report and occasionally art work for events. Thank you both.
 
Community Service: Director Terry Hubbard has capably provided the necessary teams to cater for all barbecues and recently we have assisted the Yea Pottery Group in moving an old electric kiln from their shed. The cattle yards at the Show Grounds were extended by members, welding and painting the finished work. Thanks you to all who participated here. The club barbecue was used on many occasions This is a new purchase and working well.
 
Vocational Service: Gary Fitzgerald has quietly run two important programs for the club being Pride of Workmanship and Mock Interviews for Year 10 High School students. Jo Aitkins, Hamish Fella and Kieran Spagnolo were awarded the Pride of Workmanship awards this year. Well done to all these recipients.
 
The year has been busy with many other jobs, too many to mention all of them here, Support has been given to the Mad Billy Cart Derby and Sacred Heart PS for fencing for their vegetable garden. The High School Breakfast Program has been supported by David Ngo and is continuing to provide brekky for students who have long bus trips to get to school.   We sold raffle tickets on the Queen’s Birthday weekend at the Alexandra Truck and Ute Show, earning $1500.  We have shared our art show screens with Tarcombe Fire Brigade, given financial assistance to St. Lukes for their Christmas hampers,  assisted  with parking at all race meetings and at the gate of the Yea Show. We have provided assistance to Pauline Roberts for her Ovarian Cancer drive and once again run the Biggest Morning Tea for funds for cancer research, the club meeting dollar for dollar all funds received on the day. May was Rotary Bowel Scan month.  Another highlight of the year was a European wasp trap workshop led by Janet Hubbard. We all went home with our traps and the intention to do our part in reducing the prevalence of this pest insect.
 
Owing to a robbery at the Golf Club, we were forced to purchase a new Public Address system.  We will also replace the lap-top computer that was stolen.
The Ruth Konig bequest of $20,000 has now been invested. David Anderson has worked along with past member David Roberts setting up the Ruth Konig Memorial Trust. He has contacted the Australian Not for Profit Commission to have this fund registered as Tax Deductible Gift Recipient status. The fund will be carefully nurtured to ensure that Ruth’s bequest is an ongoing asset for the club and will be used to promote Ruth’s love of education. It was decided not to proceed with the book stall at the Yea Market. The remaining books have been sent to Donations in Kind - a program actively supported by Ruth.
 
We had visits from District Governor Bernie Bott and from Rotary International Director Noel Trevaskis during the year. Our Assistant Governor Anne Reid visited several time throughout the year.
At Club Assemblies this year, an aspect of Rotary administration was highlighted for members education.
 
On the social side, David Ngo invited members and families to his home for a lovely lunch, prepared by his wife Daisy and himself. Thank you David and Daisy. The new year was kicked off with a lovely evening at the Goulburn River at John Bett’s property. In this beautiful setting we all enjoyed fellowship, taking and sharing our food. Thank you John for providing the club with this outing.  The first fifth Thursday was a scatter meeting with entree at the Old Bakery in High Street, then disbursing to members homes. This was greatly enjoyed by all. The May fifth Thursday was a scatter meeting with members choosing their venue.  An invitation to Government House was attended by David Anderson, Suppatra Wannasubchae and myself at the invitation of RI President Ian Riseley. A very large gathering there in this lovely setting.
 
My thanks to Ken Maxfield in his role of ‘Family of Rotary’ director. He has kept in touch with members birthdays and anniversaries as well as any illnesses throughout the year. I would like to record the passing of Glen Jones, past principal of Yea High School and a recipient of a PHF.  
 
It has been my pleasure to present a Paul Harris Recognition award to Rita Seethaler for her work at Marysville establishing Pans on Fire and providing focus and direction for the folk there affected by the 2009 fires.
 
In conclusion, my thanks to all Club members for making this year a memorable and enjoyable time. Personally I have been travelling in unchartered waters and have been grateful for the understanding and level of care that I have received this year. I have been also been appreciative of mentoring in this role throughout the year using those with greater knowledge than I for guidance.
 
I would like to wish Ken Maxfield and his Board the greatest success for 2018-2019. I hope that we have lived up to the theme of ‘Making a Dierence’ and next year’s theme ‘Be the Inspiration’ as the challenge for 2018-2019.
 
Ken Maxfield  Year of Office 2018 - 2019
 
Rotary Theme: Be the Inspiration
Secretary: Carol Hogg
Treasurer: Russell Hogg
Community Service: Terry Hubbard
 Art Show Director: Carol Hogg
 
A year in the role of a Rotary club president can only be successful with the support and involvement of all club members, and I believe the Yea club has had a successful year because of the input of each member.
 
Special thanks to all Board members for their guidance and assistance to me, and for chairing their portfolios with care and attention to detail. Each of them will have provided a review of the area in which they have been involved, and therefore, I won’t double up by reviewing those areas.
 
I am pleased to comment on Club Service within our club. Each of the five Avenues of Service is important, but without a club which continues to grow in number and maintain a happy and vibrant membership, the other four avenues have less chance of success.   
 
Fun and laughter are the first steps to a vibrant club and our club continues with them as a cornerstone for service to others. Patty and Marj have greatly assisted in that area with our fifth Thursday social nights.
 
Sergeant at Arms Rodney has started each meeting on time, to the second - who hasn’t seen him with his phone, counting down to 7.00pm.
 
Fundraising enables us to fund our good works and support Australian and International Rotary projects. The Art Show chaired by Carol, Garden Expo chaired by Jim, Open Gardens chaired by Glenn and Cycle Dindi chaired by Julie are the major income earners in fundraising.  
 
Membership and retention has been high on our list of priorities and John S has kept Ken M at his best to maintain a necessary growth rate - a fraction under 10% from 44 to 48 members.
 
Mike and assistant Jill have provided us with wonderful speakers and interesting topics ... not always an easy role to achieve. 
 
Public Image with Glenda at the helm keeps Rotary in front of Yea residents via newspaper articles, Facebook and our website maintained by Ian L. A successful addition this year has been our shop window notifying projects we are involved with and future activities of interest to residents ... some in which they can be involved.
 
A sometimes frustrating role is Attendance Officer and despite the odd hiccup, Will has maintained a sterling effort to get the numbers as close as possible for the caterers.
 
Photographer Ken F continues to record our history through the camera lens with the professionalism some professionals would want for themselves.
 
The Bulletin editor can have a thankless task producing a weekly resume of club happenings and rosters for the coming weeks, and thanks to Tracey, with support from Glenda, it has been produced in a timely manner.
 
The Family of Rotary role has maintained close links with our members and families health and wellbeing.   
 
Are you aware? ... the reason you are receiving such a high quality Annual Report is that Glenda sets it out, puts it together, gently nudges those who are slow with their reports and arranges for it to be printed.
 
Thank you to all members, partners and friends who have been associated with our Rotary Club this year and have contributed to our local and overseas activities and programs. I hope that your involvement has been an enjoyable experience, and that you and your families continue to make the most of opportunities to serve others while supporting Sue Carpenter during the 2019-2020 Rotary year.
 
Sue Carpenter Year of Office 2019 - 2020
 
Rotary Theme: Rotary Connects the World
Secretary: David Anderson
Treasurer: Russell Hogg
Community Service: Bob Dewar
 Art Show Director: Carol Hogg
 
So another Rotary year ends and I have the opportunity to review the last 12 months. In writing this report, I started by reading the acceptance speech I gave at the changeover dinner in June 2019.
Did I manage to fulfil the aims and promises I made in that speech? I would like to think that perhaps I have.
The theme for my year was ‘Rotary Connects the World’. I hope our members are still connecting with each other but in recent times that has been more difficult. I think we have collaborated in using our individual strengths and skills to contribute to our club’s projects, events, and service to the community.
I feel that we have been patient with each other and given as much time to our club that we individually can. I am glad I have been able to step up and give more of my time to our club this year. I have felt very supported by my board and members.
We have achieved lots in the last 12 months and you can read in detail about many of these achievements in the Director’s reports.
Our first event after changeover was a partners night and the District Governor’s visit. As it coincided with the 5th Thursday of the month, we did something different and met at the Homewood Hall, organised and decorated by the Directors of Fun. Dinner was pizza from Damien Bakers wood fired pizza van with desserts provided by the Homewood locals. The Yea callisthenics club performed their routines and they were so excited to showcase their talents, with many proud parents watching on from the back of the hall. A great way for our Club to connect with young parents and their families. It was a warm, congenial evening and I know DG Brian enjoyed himself as we all did.
The Garden Expo was very well organised and well attended. This is the 4th Garden Expo and it has developed into a very professional event that also raises considerable funds for the club and other organisations within our community. The Garden Expo continues to grow in popularity with stall holders and visitors and we are all disappointed that we are unable to stage this event in 2020.
The Open Gardens weekend was another successful event and though visitor numbers were down, due to the inclement weather, the gardens looked lovely and thanks must go to all the garden owners for their efforts, as well as the organising committee.
 
Members manned the gates at four race meetings as well as the Yea Show, willingly giving their time to assist the public whilst also raising funds for the club.
The Art Show continues to provide talented artists with a high-quality event to display and sell their art. It also gives locals and visitors the opportunity to view a high standard of artwork. The committee worked hard to coordinate this event and it is fantastic that next year, the club can celebrate 50 years of staging Art Shows.
The first meeting of the 2020 year was to enjoy fellowship and lovely scenery by the Goulburn River at John Bett’s farm. A lovely sociable start to the year.
Another fun gathering and partners night was when Bob Dewar rose to the challenge of creating a two-course meal for just $7 per head. Attendees paid full cost and the profit was donated to the Rotary Foundation and members enjoyed a delicious meal. That night also included a ‘coin toss’, which involved tossing, throwing, or sliding a gold coin towards a nice bottle of red wine, with the closest coin winning the wine. The competitive nature of our members came to the fore and much needed funds were raised for mental health awareness and the ‘Lift the Lid’ program.
The bushfires ravaged many parts of Australia this summer, including areas within our own Rotary 9790 District. As we experienced after the 2009 fires, communities often have needs unmet many months or even years after the fires have passed. The club has received donations from Rotarians and friends both near and far and these funds will be held in reserve until a suitable project becomes available to support.
The club has welcomed three new members (Sandra Davey (inducted at Changeover by Past President Ken Maxfield), Penny Paxman and Matthew Spurgeon.
We have been fortunate to have hosted long term Youth Exchange student Louis Thevenet from France for 12 months. A lovely young man who settled in well with his respective host families. The club supported three short term Youth Exchange students -Lulu Moon and Johnny Hamilton (to Germany) and Grace Hamilton (to Italy) and enjoyed their presentations to the club after their six weeks away.
 
Other activities have included:
 Holding a sausage sizzle outside Foodworks Supermarket to highlight the work done by Rotary to eradicate Polio;
 Organising the local community to save plastic bottle caps that are recycled to be used to create hand mobility aids using 3D printers;
 Collecting hotel/motel toiletries to donate to Pinchapoo and used stamps to support the End Trachoma 2020 program;
 Hosting the Senior Citizens Dinner – It was a lovely occasion and this year a hot meal was served, with the Yea Scout Troop assisting by waiting on the tables. Nice to see youth connecting with seniors and the evening was a great success;
 A family friendly evening of Christmas Carols supported by of course—a free Rotary sausage sizzle and a guest appearance from Santa!;
 Hosting the Annual Australia Day breakfast in the main street of Yea with a wonderful hot breakfast for all attendees;
 Sponsoring Alessio Rigoli to attend RYLA and two Yea High School students (Andre Duncan and Liam Williams) to attend RYPEN.
 
The club entered the 21st Century by taking delivery of an EFTPOS machine for members to use to pay for weekly meals and annual subs, plus for use at our many public events.
The Senior Independent Living Project is being comprehensively researched and promises to be an exciting venture in the Club’s future.
In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the club from meeting in person. Zoom has been used to meet online and this technology enables members to have face to face contact—via computer screens. We have had interesting speakers for Zoom meetings and indeed throughout the entire Rotary year. These meetings cannot replace the fellowship and sharing of a meal at a normal meeting, but they are much better than no meeting and at least we get to see our fellow members. Zoom meetings will be with us for some time and I urge members to log in and give it a go. Help is available should you require assistance.
The Club continues to have a strong presence in our community through both traditional and digital platforms including a Rotary Club of Yea Facebook page and Website, weekly bulletins, a shop front window display and media articles in the local press.
 
The Family of Rotary ensures members remain in the loop if unable to attend meetings. Fellowship in our club is perhaps the cornerstone of our success and we are fortunate to belong to such a fantastic, caring club.
I sincerely thank my Board for all their efforts this year and am grateful for the support I have from the Board and all members. I wish incoming President, Carol Hogg and her board every success in 2020-2021.