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Judith and I have just returned from the International Convention in Atlanta.

What an amazing experience!

It is quite incredible how quickly 12 months can pass! We are almost at the end

of another Rotary year and I am sure we all look back and wonder where the

time went.

For me and Judith, this year has been just the most unforgettable experience, the memories of which

will last for a lifetime. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making this year in District

9675 such a great year.

Each club visit has been very enjoyable and we would like to thank all Club Presidents and the members

of each club for the very welcoming reception that we have received.

The recent passing of Past District Governor Richmond Manyweathers has deeply saddened us all.

Richmond was District Governor in 1994/95 in District 9750. He was a great man, a great Rotarian, and

his legacy and influence will live on through the many Rotarians that he came into contact with. He was

held in very high esteem by all who knew him. May he rest in peace.

As you will all know, Judith’s project this year has been The Rotary Foundation. In this very special year,

the centenary of our charity, The Rotary Foundation, Judith has devoted her energies to encouraging

both club and individual support. There is still time left to make a donation this year.

Later in the year, on Monday 20th November, our District will be hosting a combined Rotary Foundation

Dinner together with District 9685. The venue will be the Blacktown Workers Club. Please put the date

in your diary as this will be a great night celebrating ‘’100 years of Doing Good’’.

Since January we have been very busy re-visiting clubs or attending special occasions. A number of clubs

hold Police Officer of the Year Awards and we recently attended an excellent event held by the

Maroubra and Randwick Rotary Clubs. This was a very impressive event and both clubs are to be

congratulated.

Also, in May, the Rotary Clubs in the Macarthur area joined

together to hold their annual Police Officer of the Year Awards.

This was another great evening celebrating the incredible work

that Police Officers do in our communities each and every day.

District Governor’s Bulletin

June 2017 Rotary District 9675

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DG Stephen & Judith

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In early May we attended a special

event at the International Regatta

Centre at Penrith to celebrate the

500,000th student to attend the RYDA

Road Safety Program. It is obviously

very difficult to know how many

young lives this program has saved

but we should be very proud of this

hugely successful program in support

of our youth.

District Assembly in early May was

again held at Greystanes High School

and was attended by more than 200

Rotarians. This is an important and

critical training day for all incoming club

board members and it is a great pity

that many more do not attend. A well

trained President and a well-trained

club Board can only benefit a club to run effectively. Many congratulations again to

District Training Chair Bruce Farquharson and his team for putting together such an

excellent program and to Holroyd Rotary Club for the excellent catering.

The clubs in the Illawarra are involved each year in a huge air

show, the Wings Over the Illawarra, which allows them to

show the face of Rotary to a vast crowd. Also, on the Saturday

evening, the Wings Over the Illawarra Dinner is quite a

spectacular event as it is held in one of the large HARS

(Historical Aircraft Restoration) hangars. It is a great venue and

a most enjoyable evening. You should try to get there next year.

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At the end of May I attended the

announcement of the finalists for

the Rotary NSW Community

Emergency Services Awards

(RESCA) at Parliament House. The

event was attended by the

Minister for Emergency Services,

Troy Grant, and senior

representatives from each of the

six emergency services.

The Awards Dinner will be held at Bankstown Sports Club on Friday 4th August.

The Autumn edition of the Interplast publication Rotarian Review features a great story by our District

Secretary (DG 2019/2020) Di North about a recent trip to Tonga. Di is hugely passionate about Interplast

and I encourage you to check out the story here:

http://www.interplast.org.au/v2/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rotarian-Review-Autumn-2017.pdf

We have had two RLI (Rotary leadership

Awards) training days in the past couple

of months, the most recent was a very

well attended session at Camden Golf

Club. Congratulations to the graduates

and I encourage all Rotarians who have

not yet done the course to do so when

we hold the next one.

Judith and I have attended a couple of Rotaract meetings and a state wide Rotaract training weekend in

the past month. What a great group of young, enthusiastic and dedicated men and women they are. If

your club is a sponsor to a Rotaract club I encourage you to strengthen the ties between your clubs or, if

the connection is perhaps not as strong as it could be, start working towards a stronger, healthier and

more mutually beneficial relationship. There should be a Rotarian attending every Board meeting of

your sponsored Rotaract club.

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Don’t forget our District Changeover on Sunday 2nd July at the St George Motor Boat Club from 12 noon.

Come and join in the celebration of the past year and share in the excitement of the year ahead.

Finally, I would like to thank Michael Crowley from the Rotary Club of West Wollongong for the fantastic

job he has done this year as editor of this District Bulletin each month. I thank him sincerely for his time

and commitment.

Yours in Rotary serving Humanity,

Stephen

Stephen Humphreys District Governor

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Di North District Governor 2019/2020

Di North joined Rotary in 2008 and became President of the Rotary Club of

Illawarra Sunrise in 2014. In 2013 Di was appointed the District Chair for

Interplast and visited most clubs in the district. Rotarians donated $90,000

over four years to fund two surgical missions. One to Labasa, Fiji in 2016 and

another to the Solomon Islands this year. Di was accepted to be a Rotarian

Observer and was part of the team that went to Tonga in February this year.

Di took over the role of District Secretary in July 2016.

Di has been married to David for 42 years. They have two sons and are grandparents to three beautiful

granddaughters.

Di has been a registered pharmacist since 1973 and has worked as a pharmacy manager, owner, rural

locum, hospital pharmacist and is now working as an oncology pharmacist in a private clinic. Di was a

presenter at a Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) Offshore Conference in 2009 as well as

Pharmacy Small Group Tours in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, presenting on Palliative Care and Oncology.

Di is an accredited basketball score table official. She has worked on score tables for NBL and wheelchair

NBL having officiated at grand final games. Di was a score table official for Sydney 2000 Paralympics in

both basketball and rugby. Di has also played wheelchair basketball.

Di likes to participate in fun runs and has now competed in 26 Sydney City2Surfs as well as other charity

fun runs.

Rotarians Receive OAM

Two very highly respected Rotarians from our District were recently awarded the Order of Australia

Medal (OAM) in the Queen’s Birthday Awards. Congratulations to:

Past District Governor Barry McConville, formerly a member of Padstow

Rotary Club and now a member of Picton Rotary Club; and

Dot Hennessy, a member of Wollongong Rotary Club, currently Chair of Rotary

Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA), District Alumni Chair and a

member of both the District Training and Vocational Services Committees.

District Governor’s Bulletin – June 2017

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Maroubra and Randwick Police Officer of the Year Awards The Rotary Clubs of Maroubra and Randwick held the 7th Rotary Police Awards at the Prince Henry

Centre, Little Bay on 11 May. One hundred and twenty guests including Police officers, Maroubra and

Randwick Rotarians and their guests, representatives from Randwick City Council, the Maroubra

Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club of Maroubra, local Parliamentarians, Councillors, corporate

sponsors, local corporations and businesses acknowledged the work of the Police at the Eastern Beaches

Local Area Command.

It was an opportunity for outstanding officers to be recognised by Rotary and the local community. The

Police Officer of the Year was Leading Senior Constable Jason Beattie and Community Police Officer of

the Year was Constable Jake Trapani. 2017 Rotary Police Awards were also presented to: Leading Senior

Constable Jason Beattie, General Duties Award; Constable Alexander Katkarovski, High Visibility Policing

Team Award; Detective Sergeant Michael Seckold, Proactive Crime Team Award; Plain Clothes Senior

Constable Lee Jennings , Detectives Award; Constable Mark Irhazi , Crime Management Unit; and

Constable Lindsay Patten, Probationary Constable of the Year.

(Left to Right: Superintendent Karen McCarthy, Commander of

Eastern Beaches Local Area Command, Community Police Officer

of the Year was Constable Jake Trapani, Police Officer of the Year

was Leading Senior Constable Jason Beattie, District 9675

Governor Stephen Humphreys).

MACARTHUR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

In Rotary we love our acronyms, but do you know the education acronym that is arguably the most

important for the future of our young people and our nation? STEM. It stands for Science, Technology,

Engineering and Maths.

Why STEM? In September 2014 Australia’s Chief Scientist issued a paper titled STEM: AUSTRALIA’S

FUTURE. He cited overseas research that states 75% of the fastest growing occupations require STEM

skills and knowledge. Yet our education in STEM lags behind most OECD countries.

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Rotary is working with the University of Newcastle to encourage

students to take STEM subjects in Year 11 and beyond by running a

nation-wide hands-on, practical programme, the Science and

Engineering Challenge. On 4th and 5th of May, over 450 students

attended the Science and Engineering Challenge in the Macarthur

area.

On each day, 8 schools sent teams of 2 to 4 students from years 9 and 10. Each team tackles a given

challenge, such as building a bridge, using balsa, adhesive tape, paper clips or ElectraCity in which the

students are challenged to devise systems to supply electricity to a city using the least costly network to

reach the greatest number of consumers.

Around the Greater Sydney area the Challenge is run at various

centres including Macarthur, ANSTO, Ingleside, Wentworth Falls and

Homebush. At a local level the organiser identifies and books a venue,

finds enough volunteers to run the event, finds schools that might

attend and sends them promotional material.

The local organiser also allocates volunteers to particular activities

who look after the students by explaining what they have to do; they provide the students with material

and a little encouragement; they test the models that have been created; and they score each model.

Easy! Even a District Governor can do it!

Construction of the PDG Bill Little Memorial Library & Community Centre on Jao Island (pronounced Howe) in the Southern Philippines

The Chairman of the RAWCS Village Aide Program, PDG Elaine Lytle has great pleasure in announcing

that construction of this project will commence within the next few weeks.

The late PDG Bill Little was Chairman of the “Village Aide Program” for many years and worked

tirelessly for Rotary, his community and the underprivileged people of the Southern Philippines and this

will be a fitting acknowledgement to Bill’s work and dedication in this region.

On a recent visit to the Philippines by our Project Director, Robert Favelle

and Finance Director, Norm Miller, signed a “Memorandum of

Understanding” with Father Ned Bienvenido who signed on behalf of

Visayas Mission Confraternity Inc. (VMCI) and the Catholic Diocese of the

Philippines, the owner of the land on which this building is to be erected,

for a 25 year lease of this site for the people of Jao Island.

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This land was donated to Father Ned by the Autentico family for “Village Aide” to erect this building for

the benefit of the local islanders.

The Autentico family are very active lay missionaries with 3 children and this particular block of land was

left to their daughter, Anne Marguerette, who is a second year high school student. She told her parents

that she wanted to donate her land for the use of mission work to benefit the less fortunate than

herself. What a wonderful gesture from such a young person.

The architect who designed the building for “Village Aide”, Emmerson N. Nueda, is a Rotaractor and the

owner of the construction company, Yasmin Ann Hidlao (Anya), is also a Rotarian.

Construction is due to start shortly and expected to be completed by May 2018 at a cost of P2,700,000

(approximately $A75,000).

Jao Island is a remote island located on the northern tip of Bohol (off Talibon) and can only be reached

by outrigger canoe, so there are many challenges that we face with the construction of this project.

Whilst “Village Aide” has raised most of the funds for this project, further funds are still required for

books, computers, and other items for this facility as well as other projects under consideration.

So if any Rotary Club, business or individual would like to make a donation, you can do so by visiting our

website which is www.villageaide.com or by contacting Norm Miller at: norm@creditinsure.com.au

or M. 0412 992 866.

“Village Aide Program” is a project of Rotary Australia World Community Service Ltd (RAWCS), being

project 137/2005 and all donations over $A2 made to this project are fully tax deductable.

If you would like us to visit your club to outline the programs of “Village Aide”, please do not hesitate to

contact Norm Miller.

* * *

Bec Weragoda – Chair of Rotaract Australia

Like so many of my peers in Rotaract, a seemingly small decision to engage in

an Australian Rotary supported program, a ‘science camp’, drastically changed

the course of my life personally, professionally and socially. From attending

the National Youth Science Forum to today I’ve been afforded innumerable

opportunities through Rotary.

As the Chair of the Rotaract Australia MDIO, I am responsible for developing

and executing the strategy of our organisation, managing the executive board,

providing District Rotaract Representatives and club board members with

required training and resources, overseeing our national events and projects

and working with Rotary across all levels of the organisation.

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The chance to truly and meaningfully impact the world around me continues to inspire me. But potential

to create change is one thing, executing and capitalising on it is another matter entirely.

It is my goal to highlight the ways we can continue working together, at all levels, to create an

environment of meaningful collaboration. Both groups have so much value to contribute. Rotarians

bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table as well as the resources that go with them.

Rotaractors bring energy, innovative ideas and an intuitive understanding of how to best engage in

today’s fast-paced, increasingly online world.

Collaboration will bring more exciting events, a transfer of knowledge and skills and a meaningful

engagement of the younger generation. By working together on projects we increase the likelihood of

Rotaractors transitioning their membership and becoming the Rotarians of the future.

My mission as a Rotaract leader is to inspire and empower people to create positive change in their

communities. I am only one person, and there is so much more that can be achieved if I can bring others

on this journey than working alone.

I look forward to continuing to be an ambassador for Rotary and Rotaract and being part of the positive

change Rotary has on communities locally and globally.

* * * MUNA 2017

Apprehension and excitement filled the air. MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly) District 9675 had

finally arrived. Twenty school teams supported by Rotary Clubs in District 9675 assembled early within

NSW Parliament House.

Rushing to put the final touches to costumes and

making sure everyone knew their arguments.

Secretary General for the day Hugh McDermott

(Member for Prospect) hosted the event in the House.

Flashing lights tested and judges were in place. Nerves

started to rise as the first Resolution was discussed.

Looks of anguish slowly disappeared as the day rolled

on. After 2 Major Resolutions and 2 minor Resolutions

were discussed the nerves had all disappeared.

Everyone agreed that the Resolution topics were quite thought provoking. Understanding that

sometimes the views of the country that students represented would have been quite different to their

own. Topics that were discussed at this MUNA were: Organ Donation, Violence Against Women,

Definition of Gender and the Death Penalty.

Students, parents, friends, Rotarians and school counsellors were treated to some great debate and

presentations. As we know, there can only be one winner, but it was thanks to our judges that finally a

winner was chosen.

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District Governor Stephen Humphreys and Judith were the judges for

the Best Dressed and Best Speaker awards. They definitely had a

difficult job, as so many of the students came out with strong

arguments and presence.

The winners for the event and District 9675 representatives in MUNA

Canberra on 18th - 20th August:

1st Place: Japan - St Patricks College, Sutherland sponsored by RC of Sutherland

2nd Place: Brazil - Merrylands High School sponsored by RC of Parramatta City

3rd Place: Russian Federation - SCEGGS, Darlinghurst sponsored by RC of Sydney Cove

Best Presentation: Ruby Adler, SCEGGS

Best Dressed: Afghanistan, Keira High School sponsored by RC of West Wollongong

We have received positive feedback for the day from parents and schools. The enjoyment and the

memories that these young people take away from events such as this can never be measured.

Thanks to the help of our judges, DG Stephen Humphreys and Judith; IPDG Graham Wilson, DGE

Stephen Britten and Jane; Timekeeper, Dianne North; Speaker Co-ordinator Helen Wilson; Ushers DRR

Elect Judith Mogi and her able Rotaract Team. Without the support of our local member Hugh

McDermott we would not be able to hold such a prestigious event in Parliament House, District 9675

thank you for your continued support of the day.

Cheryl Deguara

District New Generations Chair

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At the Rotary International Convention, global leaders and key donors affirm

their commitment to ending polio

With polio on the brink of eradication, nations from around the world and key donors pledged more

than $1 billion at the International Rotary Convention in Atlanta to energise the global fight to end the

paralysing disease.

Bill Gates, co-chair of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and RI

President John Germ, shared the recent news about their partnership in

the fight to eradicate polio.

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The historic pledges of new funds will go toward drastically shrinking the $1.5

billion gap in the funding that the partners of the Global Polio Eradication

Initiative say is needed to reduce polio cases to zero worldwide. Just five

cases have been reported this year, the lowest number in history.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said ending polio

would be one of the world’s greatest achievements.

Rotary International President John F. Germ announced that Rotary would increase its commitment and

raise $50 million per year over the next three years. Rotary has raised more than $1.7 billion to fight

the disease since 1985.

Gates said that his Foundation would extend its 2-to-1 match to cover up to $50 million in donations to

Rotary for each of the next three years. The match and donations to Rotary will add up to $450 million.

The new funding will go toward polio eradication efforts such as disease surveillance, responses to any

outbreaks, and the vaccination of more than 400 million children annually.

Some highlights (in pictures) from the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta

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* * *

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District Governor’s Bulletin – June 2017

Please click HERE to view & download the

‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for June 2017.

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Vale: Richmond Stuart Manyweathers

The Rotary world lost a real champion recently with the passing of

Richmond Manyweathers in Alstonville NSW. He was a teacher, a

leader, a passionate advocate and a loving husband and father.

Where to start with listing Richmond’s achievements and

contributions?

Born in Casino (where his father was a member of parliament and mayor) 9/11/1936 and passed

away in Alstonville 27/5/2017 (80 years).

Trained as a teacher holding positions as teacher, deputy principal, principal, district inspector,

and various other appointments within the NSW Dept. of Education until his retirement.

Commissioned Officer in the Citizen Military Forces from 1956 until 1982.

Member of Apex in Tamworth from 1958 until 1976 when he went on to join Rotary in 1977

through until 1983.

Joined Rotary Club of Caringbah in 1983 where he was President in 1988-89 serving on every

club committee in those years.

Served with distinction on over 50 international and District Rotary committees and programs

over the years. His major contributions were with all youth programs, Rotarians Against Malaria,

polio eradication, RAWCS, The Rotary Foundation, and his favourites…The Children’s Wing at

Westmead Hospital, Bowelscan and the Ranfurly Book Service.

Participated in polio immunisation days in India in 1998.

Was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in June 2013 “for service to the community

and service through Rotary International”.

District Governor in 1994-1995 (District 9750)

This list is only a small part of the big man that was Richmond. To every Rotarian who met him he was a

mentor and leader usually using his “teacher’s voice” and often dressed famously as a Centurion or in

other costumes relevant to the cause. He was passionate, knowledgeable and highly energetic in

everything he did.

Richmond returned to his roots in recent years with Jeannette, who has had her own health challenges,

but still was heard around Australia when the need arose.

Richmond supported many cancer charities and research programs and eventually became a victim of

an aggressive pancreatic cancer without complaint and with regard to the feelings of those around him.

Our thoughts are with Jeannette and daughters Margaret and Jennifer and their families.

Phil Whyte

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