Director s Kit & New Member s Kit In July 2014 the club created a governance committee with the express purpose of producing a kit for directors so that each year, new directors would benefit from the knowledge and experience of former directors and office bearers. The kit is in four parts: Part 1 Responsibilities of club directors and officers Part 2 Club governance, information and templates Part 3 Details of Rotary Club of Darwin Part 4 Details of Rotary International and District 9550 It's understood that this is the first publication of its kind undertaken in Rotary district 9550 and already copies of the 106 page publication have been circulated to several people to allow it to be used by other clubs as a guide or adapt it if they wish to develop their own kit. As part of this project, a new member s kit was also produced in 2014/15 and this 32 page publication is designed specifically to better inform new members of the structure of the club, its procedures, its history, what the club expects from members and what members can expect from the club in return. These projects were undertaken to increase communication with, and information between, members. The current focus of the governance committee is the establishment of templates for reporting on fundraisers and projects, cash flows, procedures for running the club's major events and the standardisation of project proposals to the board. 94
Meetings The club normally has 50 meetings a year and while it is an all-male club, at least six of those meetings are deliberately designed to be mixed meetings with partners and friends. In addition to these meetings the club also arranges purely social functions so that members and partners can get to know each other in a non-formal setting. The social functions again are very important to the functioning of the club and are looked forward to and very well patronised. Rotarian s partners give tremendous support to members at all sorts of fund raising projects and in other situations and are very important to the effective functioning of the club. The club is renowned throughout Australia for the fun it has. At every meeting and function there s lots of laughter and many visiting Rotarians, particularly from southern states, are simply amazed at the laid back atmosphere, the colourful shirts, shorts - and no ties in sight! 32 of the 54 members in the club in 2014 in a rare group photo Ages ranged from 39 to late 80s 95
Dinner on the Rocks at Nightcliff, 2013 Progressive Dinner around Darwin, 2014 96
Salute to Rotary Service, East Point, 2014 97
The salute to Rotary service dinner was held outdoors on Friday, 3 October 2014. The 2014/15 Club President Dan Easton wrote the following in the publication specially compiled for that dinner. This salute to service dinner was inspired by Brian Woodrow's 35 years of membership anniversary with the Rotary Club of Darwin and what that represents. 35 years is half a lifetime and I wanted to let Brian and all our longest serving Rotary members know that we, the members of the Rotary Club of Darwin, greatly respect the efforts and sacrifices of those members, and those who have gone before us, and thank them for it. The gentlemen being honoured tonight are just that, gentlemen in the truest sense of the word, leaders of the community, leaders of business and a moral compass by which I and a lot of others have set our course through life by. Another of the RCD values, which we strongly adhere to, is enjoying ourselves. The more fun we have the stronger our club becomes, so have a great time tonight. Cheers Dan At 3 October 2014 the club had: 14 members with club membership of more than 20 years who shared 379 years 3 months of Rotary service 7 members with club membership of less than 20 years but more than 20 years of being a member of Rotary who shared 203 years 3 months of Rotary service In total the 54 members at that time shared 807 years 8 months of Rotary service 98
Snippets Cyclone Tracy Trust Fund Rotary played a major part in the aftermath of Darwin's destruction by Cyclone Tracy. On 27 May 1975 the Combined Darwin Rotary Clubs Cyclone Trust Fund was established to expend donations from Rotary clubs around Australia and the Chairman of Trustees was Rotary Club member Ian MacGregor. When the fund was wound up seven and a half years later in June 1982 it had expended $450,054.32. Order of Australia recipients Bill McLaren AO PP PHF, Eddie Quong AO PHF, Reg Lowry AO PP PHF and John Hardy OAM PP PHF are the only four members of the club who were active at the time they received their Order of Australia awards for services to the community. Bill McLaren was awarded his in January 1976 and it is thought that he was the first Rotarian in the Northern Territory to receive this honour. John Hardy was also granted the ultimate accolade in the Northern Territory when he was invested as the Administrator of the Northern Territory in November 2014. Police Commissioners Four serving NT Police Commissioners have been members of the club, Clive Graham, Bill McLaren, Mick Palmer and John McRoberts. Clive had the distinction of being the only Territory police constable to work his way through the ranks to Commissioner, which he achieved in 1964. He retired two years later to SA. Bill McLaren retired in Darwin and continued to be an active member of the club until he passed away in the late 1990s. Mick Palmer eventually moved to Canberra and became Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police. John McRoberts, while still a club member, departed the role in early 2015. 99
The Sid Lauder Stand The club stand at the Royal Darwin Showgrounds is actually officially called the Sid Lauder Stand. He was President of the club in 1976-1977. During the middle 70s Sid saw the need for a permanent structure for the club's fund-raising activities at the Show. Almost single-handedly he subsequently oversighted the design, material acquisition and construction of the building. While Sid s building was replaced by an even more modern one in the late 1990s, his name is still commemorated on it. Rotary Foundation In 1917, the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, US, contributed US$26.50 towards an endowment fund that was to become the Rotary Foundation in 1928. Rotary International President Arch Klumph had a vision in 1917 - he wanted to involve Rotarians in a program that would render some great educational service to mankind. From that humble beginning of US$26 50, contributions to the Rotary Foundation have escalated beyond Mr Klumph s wildest dreams, with US$2 billion being raised until today. Since 1947 more than 1 million people have been recognised as Paul Harris Fellows. Arch Klumph insisted from the start that the Foundation accept contributions from non-rotarians, for it was to be an organisation open to all persons who wished to work in the best interests of humanity. Club Patrons The club's patrons throughout the years have been the incumbent Administrators of the Northern Territory, an honour of which the club is very proud. The current Administrator and club patron is club member John Hardy, who also still regularly attends weekly meetings. 100
Have you ever wondered? What is Rotary? Rotary International is an association of Rotary clubs worldwide. It s made up of more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. The members of these autonomous clubs are called Rotarians, and they form a global network of 1.2 million business and professional leaders, all volunteering their time and talents to serve their communities and the world. Individual Rotary clubs, in turn, belong to the global association called Rotary International. How do I become a member of Rotary? Individuals must be sponsored or proposed for membership into a club. You can contact a local Rotary club directly. Often, a person being considered for membership is invited by a club member to attend one or more club meetings to learn more about Rotary. In this case, the sponsor submits the candidate s name to the club's membership committee. Membership in a Rotary club is by invitation only. What are the qualifications for membership? Prospective members must Hold (or be retired from) a professional, proprietary, executive, managerial, or community position Have demonstrated a commitment to service through personal involvement Be able to meet the club's weekly attendance or community project participation requirements Live or work within the vicinity of the club or surrounding area What are the responsibilities of members? Members are expected to attend weekly club meetings. They must pay annual dues to their clubs, their Rotary District, and Rotary International, and they are expected to participate in local or international Rotary club activities or projects. Clubs encourage members to aspire to club leadership or committee roles. 101
What are the attendance requirements? An attendance record of 50 percent is required to remain an active Rotarian. Any missed meeting must be made up within 14 days before or after the regular meeting for that makeup to be officially recognised. What is the minimum age to be in Rotary? There is no minimum age to join Rotary. You may be invited to join Rotary at any age after you become established in a career and have the time and financial resources to meet all Rotary club membership requirements. Why is the Rotary Club of Darwin male only? When Rotary International decided to allow female members of Rotary in the 1980s, it also gave the final decision to individual clubs. At that time the Rotary Club of Darwin made a conscious decision to remain male only and it remains one of two male-only clubs in district 9550. In 2013 a female-only club was chartered in Townsville Queensland, making it the first female-only club in Australia. Towards the future Worldwide there has been a decline in membership of the Rotary movement and a decrease in the number of Rotary clubs over the past three or four years. At the district level this trend has also been reflected. And yet at the same time the Rotary Club of Darwin membership has been increasing, funds raised are increasing and there is a general air of optimism among members for the future of the club that is the envy of many other clubs within district 9550. Times and technology change, as do community attitudes towards voluntary work within the community. It says much about the commitment of the club's board and its members that they embrace these changes and get on with the job of contributing to the community they live in. 102
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Attachment 1 The list of Charter Members submitted to Rotary International in 1958 104
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