Weekly Bulletin (Aug. 02, 2026)

MORNING MEETING WEDNESDAY at Gilbert's Cafe

Meeting WILL NOT be at Cilantro - We are now meeting at Gilbert's Cafe 7am

282 Centre Road, Bentleigh, 3204

Details here

The Meeting will NOT be available via Zoom this week

Edition 272

Monday, 3rd August 2026

Last Wednesday’s evening went very well. The spit roast dinner was very tasty, The meeting ran smoothly and of course Rajan Daniel was inducted into our club. Thank you Linda for organising the dinner.
This Wednesday’s meeting will be at 7am at Gilbert's. The speaker will be Alexandria Tazare, a student our Club funded to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).
Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday but our Vice-President, Linda O’Brien will be acting President.

We wish Kirsten Oakley happy birthday for Tuesday 4th August and Linda O’Brien for Friday 7th August.

Club President, 2026-27,
Neville Kruss

BOARD MINUTES

A reminder to members that Board Minutes are available for viewing from the Club's website. Note that you must be logged in as a Member in order to gain access.

Access to all documents including Board Minutes can gained here.

The last published Board Minutes were the meeting of Monday 1st June 2026 - HERE.

Ian Ballantine

Roster for the next 2 weeks
Note Market start time is 6.15am
Click on See all Rosters at right for future weeks. Members click here to see your own roster.

Meetings

Meeting August 5 2026

Chairperson Soster, Karin

Meeting at Gilbert's Cafe this week details HERE

Meeting August 12 2026

Chairperson Toyas, Margaret

Meeting Door Host Ballantine, Ian

Market 9th August 2026

Market Leader Ballantine, Ian

Assistant Magee, James

Assistant Oakley, Kirsten

Assistant Ammendola- Santi, Gabriela

Market 16th August 2026

Market Leader Ferguson, Paul

Assistant O'Brien, Peter

Assistant Impey, Jo

Assistant Oliver, Barry

This week's speaker / event

Breakfast Meeting at Gilbert's

Guest speaker will be Alexandria Tazare - the student the Club funded to attend RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)

Details and Registration HERE

Please check the upcoming events on the Club website here

REGISTRATION FOR MEETINGS HELP HERE

Please forward any events you want promoted to the Editor.
For all Club events refer Club Calendar HERE

Volunteers required for Interplast - scanning / digitising documents for office relocation

After many years at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons building in East Melbourne, Interplast is moving our office to the Australian Volunteers International building in Johnson St, Fitzroy, in order to significantly reduce our rent.

As part of our re-location plans, we need to digitise some of our hard copy records. We are hoping that some of the wonderful District 9815 Rotarians may be in a position to volunteer some time in the next 3 weeks to help scan hard copy documents and then file them in SharePoint. We will have instructions and protocols in place, and a staff member to brief and aid the volunteers.

If there are any questions, please pass on my phone number – 0487 13 00 41.

Rotarians who would like to volunteer can send an email to contactus@interplast.org.au

Many thanks for your assistance – Interplast really does appreciate your help"

Janette Etherington
Coordinator - Rotary Engagement

Holland Foundation Ball

October 16 2026
Keep watching HERE for more info.

Click on image above for latest issue

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here
Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here
Link to photos from 2025 Conference here
Link to photos from 2024 Conference here

Market report for Sunday 02/08/2026.

Leader: Julie Reid
BMC: Kellie Carruthers, Jules Gaddie
Moorabbin: Venu Naidoo and Cheryl White
Holland Foundation: Alexi and Manisha
Other Helpers: Nil
Visitors: Stewart Reid, Margaret Toyas, Charles Reyner
Cars in the Queue: 2
Overnight Parkers: 1
Pedestrian Count: 650
Market Report: Crisp clear cool and still morning with sunshine making it perfect weather conditions.
Perfect conditions for the market today. Our Entertainer Dave arrived early to play music for our customers. Whilst numbers of stallholders were down slightly there were plenty of customers visiting.

Note there is a separate story about the defib at the Market here.

The gift of mothers’ milk

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Aug 03, 2026

Taken from the RI website HERE

Sustained by donations from nursing women, milk banks provide a lifeline to vulnerable newborns

by Elly Fishman

Photography by Jeff Marini

The morning Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in 2013, the sky above Manila turned a bruised gray. At the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in the Philippines’ capital city, phones started ringing. Dr. Estrella “Star” Jusi, then head of the hospital’s milk bank — one of the first in the country — picked up one call after another about its stores of donated breast milk. The city of Tacloban had been devastated by one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded. Power was out. Water was scarce. Newborns in the city’s neonatal intensive care units, especially the smallest and sickest, were in critical need.

Bush bikes bring joy to local children

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Aug 03, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

The Rotary Club of Milawa Oxley is helping local families rebuild hope and normality by gifting new bikes to children impacted by recent bushfires.

The Rotary Club of Milawa Oxley, Vic, has brought a sense of joy and renewed freedom to four local young people whose families were impacted by the recent bushfires, through the donation of brand-new bush bikes.

Recognising the challenges faced by families who lost their homes, the club identified an opportunity to support young people in a meaningful and uplifting way. The bikes were presented to students from Sacred Heart Primary School and Yea Primary and Secondary College.

What is RYLA?

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Aug 03, 2026

RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, an intensive leadership training program for young people aged 14 to 30, sponsored and organized by local Rotary Clubs and districts.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) are events for participants ages 14-30 to learn how to become dynamic leaders and change themselves and the world.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where you develop your skills as a leader while having fun and making connections.

Stories from BMC website HERE.

Evening Meeting at Gilbert's

Posted by Karin Soster on Jul 29, 2026

This was our first evening meeting at Gilberts which was very well attended with a full house of club members, partners and guests. Tim Lynch chaired the meeting. Guests included Arturo Chamelan, Maria Ferrigno, Thu Nguyen, Puja Mahajan, Vicki Gartly, Gary Ramage, Bill Morgan, Ken Oakes, Angela Lynch, Raj and Sheena Daniel, Bob Richards, and our guest speaker Luke Meehan.
Everyone was treated to a wonderful spit roast dinner of chicken and beef with roast vegetables, salad and accompaniments, and from all reports, was enjoyed by all. There was a real buzz in the room. .
NEW MEMBER INDUCTION
President Neville had the very pleasant duty of inducting our newest club member, Rajan Daniel.whose classification is Information Technology Consultancy. Welcome Rajan.

Note an album of the evening's photos can be found HERE.

A passion for peace

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Jul 24, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

In the lead up to the 25th anniversary of Rotary International’s Peace Fellowship program in 2027, Rotary Down Under sat down with Peace Centre Director Sebastian Kaempf to talk all things war and peace.

PHOTOS: @rhysmartinphotographer

“I never thought that war and peace would be a subject I would take,” says Associate Professor Sebastian Kaempf, as we stroll through the towering, heritage-listed sandstone arches of the Great Court at The University of Queensland in Brisbane.

“Being German originally, anything to do with conflict in particular was something you would not necessarily get taught at university. It would be more purely on peace studies and conflict resolution. But for me as a student, it became a really fascinating aspect to be forced to look into violence, because I’m a strong believer in us needing to understand what it is that causes people to turn to violence in order to be able to then resolve it.”

Lift Yourself

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Jul 24, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

Precy Babalola talks confidence, self-determination and lasting change.
The wife of Rotary International President Yinka Babalola, Precy has her own lifelong connection to Rotary. From empowering communities in the Niger Delta to presenting behind podiums across the globe, Precy’s belief in herself has helped her aid and inspire countless others.

Words: Sarah Atkins. No Borders Rotaract.

If you look through Precy Peacockba Babalola’s Instagram page, you will quickly notice that it isn’t the typical social media platform of a public figure. It’s bursting with life, dance, laughter and an effervescent use of colour.

Club Meeting July 24 2026 Jim Magee

Posted by Karin Soster on Jul 22, 2026

Larry Green was chairperson for today's meeting at Gilberts in Bentleigh. Once again, a lovely breakfast was enjoyed by all. Guests included Raj Daniel, Arturo Charlatan and Gary Ramage.
PRESIDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS - Neville Kruss
* Neville recognised an 8 year Rotary anniversary for Marg Lucas and passed on Special Happy Birthday wishes to Tim Lynch.

Helen completes her run for Interplast

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Jul 19, 2026

Well the big day finally came! Run Melbourne Half Marathon on Sunday, July 19, 2026.

Member Helen Parker had once again entered herself for this event and this year, had nominated Interplast as her charity to raise funds for. More about Interplast - click HERE

Refer original story HERE.

For memory her original target was $500 but I am delighted to report her total sum raised is (currently) $2,574.

This achievement has been made possible by the generous support she has received from fellow members, colleagues, family and friends.

Not only has she raised funds for Interplast but she has also raised awareness of the organisation amongst many, many people.

Congratulations Helen!

It is not too late to make a (tax deductible) donation - click HERE.

Code of Conduct refresher

Posted by Ian Ballantine on May 26, 2026

This article is intended primarily for members of our Rotary Club.

Rotary International maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment, bullying, and abuse. The policy mandates that all club members and event participants have the right to a safe, welcoming environment free from unwelcome physical contact, advances, or verbal/physical conduct that denigrates or creates an intimidating atmosphere.

Registering for an Event

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Aug 30, 2024

This article is intended to help members register themselves and/or a guest to a Club event. Note, you are also expected to register your intention NOT to attend.

If an event is inviting members to register there will be a button with the word: "Members" below "Online Registration". refer image at left.

Note that you need to be already logged in as a member.
As venues need to be advised of numbers PRIOR to the event, please register by noon on the day prior unless otherwise stated.
If you are not a member, this page will not be of any help. It may still be possible to register for an event as a non member if the event is open to the public.

Please refer to this Help article in full.

Subscribe to Calendar

From the Calendar page here you can subscribe to the Club's event calendar.

This will result in the Club's calendar being added to your existing calendar subscriptions, thus ensuring that as an event is added (or modified) to the Club's calendar, it will appear on your phone, tablet etc.
Calendars supported are Outlook, Google and Apple.

Take the link, Subscribe to Calendar, from the Calendar Page.

Note from the Editor re Images and Events

A point regarding the submission of images for the Bulletin and Website: Members are reminded that images have to meet a minimum size requirement, as has been specified for some time in the section at the bottom of this Bulletin. 820 pixels is the minimum size required with larger being better as this allows for cropping. The submission of images via MMS is NOT preferred as they are too small and of inferior quality. Email or Whatsapp is far superior.
Would any member like to take responsibility for the updating of the Club's Event Calendar? I have created a page of instructions here so it is very easy to take over.
Thank you, Ian Ballantine

An Evening with LUKE MEEHAN July 29 2026

Jul. 29, 2026
6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Club Meeting August 5 2026 RYLA

Aug. 05, 2026
7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Club Meeting August 12 Michael Josem

Aug. 12, 2026
7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

RYDA Cheltenham Sec College

Aug. 17, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Holland Charity Ball

Oct. 16, 2026
6:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

View entire list

I remind members that you are responsible for the information contained in the Club's database. This includes, birthdays, phone numbers, addresses etc etc. Even your own photo. You maintain this via this link.

Additionally, member's birthdays and anniversaries will no longer be listed in the Club Bulletin. This is to protect the privacy of members. This information is still available to members here.
Ian Ballantine

A reminder to members to keep checking the calendar of upcoming events for evening and perhaps, one day, daytime events.

Thank you for being a subscriber to our Weekly Club Bulletin. I try to have it published each week by Tuesday morning.
If you would like to have something included please contact me at editor@rotarybmc.org.au and attach, as separate files, the words and any images (jpg files are fine, minimum width 820 pixels). Please DO NOT send information as pdf files.
Ian Ballantine, Editor.

This Bulletin is sent to:

all current members (both active and honorary) of our Club.
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MORNING MEETING WEDNESDAY at Gilbert's Cafe

Meeting WILL NOT be at Cilantro - We are now meeting at Gilbert's Cafe 7am

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here Link to photos from 2025 Conference here Link to photos from 2024 Conference here

Sustained by donations from nursing women, milk banks provide a lifeline to vulnerable newborns

The Rotary Club of Milawa Oxley is helping local families rebuild hope and normality by gifting new bikes to children impacted by recent bushfires.

Note from the Editor re Images and Events

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here
Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here
Link to photos from 2025 Conference here
Link to photos from 2024 Conference here