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In partnership with the Rotary Club of Bendigo South, Eaglehawk Rotary are busy gathering the prizes for this years annual Christmas Trailer Raffle - ticket sales commence at the end of September and continue right up until just before Christmas - keep an eye out for the trailer as it makes it's way around the many shopping centres in the Bendigo area.

Vale - PP William Roy Parker PHF

President Lindsay, members and families of the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk are saddened to learn of the passing of PP William Roy Parker PHF. Roy, along with another 22 highly regarded citizens of Eaglehawk, chartered the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk on the 8^th August 1966, and it was with a great deal of pride that Roy was able to join with us recently as we celebrated the 60^th Anniversary of that occasion.

Roy held many positions within the club over the 54 years of his membership, including President in 1972/73 and in June 1994 Roy was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow for his outstanding commitment to Rotary and our club.

Of significance during Roy’s presidency was the involvement of our club on an International level. Our club received 14 applications for sponsorship under the Student Exchange program, with Mandy Richards ultimately being selected and departing for Japan in January 1973, and Jodie Bannon arriving for her exchange to our club from the Rotary Club of Shoreline, Seattle, Washington State. Under Roy’s leadership, 19 members attended the District Conference in Warrnambool and three Rotarians, accompanied by their wives, attended the Rotary International Convention at Lausanne, Switzerland.

Our Club also received a visit from two members of the Group Study Exchange Team from Maryland, USA.

On the local scene, the Rotaract Club of Eaglehawk was chartered on the 22^nd September 1972, with the District Governor at the time, Winton Thorpe attending.

Upon Roy’s resignation as a member, he continued to have an interest in the club, with regular updates from the bulletin and members, Roy maintained his Rotary connection.

Our members are indebted to Roy and his fellow Charter members, they are the reason we have such a strong connection with our local community. We thank you Roy for your ‘Service Above Self’.

A different flavour for our International Program

Our thanks to International Director, PP John Jones, for introducing our members to a new way of travelling the world. The International Program this year will include nights at many of the local restaurants as Bendigo has an abundance of excellent eateries providing an amazing array of cuisines from around the world - so John's idea is that we can experience as many as possible over the next few months. If last night was anything to go by, this is going to be a lot of fun and a fantastic way for us to gather socially.

Kicking off at Borchelli's in Mitchell Street was the best introduction; who doesn't like Italian, after all! Our thanks to Geoff A for providing an Italian themed quiz - not sure the other diners knew what was going on - but we all had fun! And to the member who may have asked for more aussie based questions - hopefully you've caught on by now. Perhaps some members enjoyed the refreshments just a little more than others!

A great night - we are all looking forward to the next one.

Club visit by D9800 District Governor, Graeme Hope

Graeme joined Rotary Camberwell in December 2003 through a personal introduction and was attracted by the success of their Art Show as an iconic annual community event, now in its 61^st year.

He has served as Club President, Chair of the Art Show, Chair of the Hawthorn Makers Market, Assistant Governor for three years, District Chair, and Club Service. Graeme trained as a Chartered Accountant and worked for 35 years as a financial and investment adviser.

He is passionate about the power of The Rotary Foundation, is a member of the Paul Harris Society and a Major Donor.

Graeme and Sue have 3 children and eight grandchildren. He is also a Life Member of an Amateur Football Club.

Graeme and Sue visited the club's bookshop on Wednesday morning for morning tea and a tour of the facility. Suitably impressed with the contributions from the O'Brien family to our club, he was delighted to revisit the presentation of the immediate past District Governor, Peter Shepheard, presenting to Rita the ‘Shep’s Shoutout' Certificate - a recognition of the brilliant work of the bookshop.

Graeme and Sue finished the day with a visit to our club dinner, enjoying the company of our members and partners, along with a formal gathering with our board members to run through the highlights of recent achievements of our club, as presented by President Lindsay.

A few photos highlighting Graeme's visit to the club -

Celebrating 60 Years

Chartered on the 8th August 1966 - and currently celebrating 60 Years of ‘Service Above Self’ by the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk

Our club extend our gratitude to our members, past and present, who over the years have contributed to our work in the community. Rotary International's reputation throughout the world is outstanding, but even more outstanding are the efforts of our local members in recognising the community's needs and responding accordingly.

Over the years, volunteerism may have declined, but the results of Rotary have increased - a testament to the dedication, commitment and determination of members such as those within our club.

Congratulations on the 60th anniversary of the start of the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk, and here's to the next 60 years.

Go to ‘Read More’ for images of the days celebrations

Guest Speaker - David Bugeja

We were delighted to welcome David Bugeja back to the club this week - a former member whose contributions to the club were highly valued (and sorely missed when he left) was back among us.

David's return was as a guest speaker for the evening, sharing with our members his vast knowledge in regard to the IT industry with a special emphasis on AI. The implications of AI, the impact on business and the day-to-day (at times surprising) uses to which it's being put.

Our thanks for such an informative and well-planned presentation.

Celebrating our successess

Reading social media reports from other NFP's provided some inspiration - we often talk about needing to do better with promotion. So perhaps here is a start - this article was recently posted on our Facebook page and received some good traction in the community.

Our club is renowned for our fundraising, and the community know that we ensure our funds go to support those most in need. But, maybe what you don't know is how much, the actual value of that support. Well, how does $48,662.32 sound! Yep, that’s what we donated - and that's just in the last year!

In under 24 hours, it has received 213 views and 11 interactions. This is a great indication as to the power of social media and reaching out into the community. If all members were to share and repost this article, just imagine how many more people we will reach. It will do wonders for sharing the positive outcomes from our fundraising - like all posts on our socials, we really benefit from our members' interactions, maximising our exposure.

President Lindsay Walkington

Congratulations to Rotarian Lindsay Walkington on being selected as Club President for 2026-2027. As we celebrate our club's 60th Anniversary and continue to add to our history of service to the local community, we know we are in great hands.

Rotary Bookshop

The number of people out and about and visiting the book shop normally drops off at this time of year, so Rita and her team of willing helpers have revised the book shop's opening hours.

Over the next few months, these new hours will apply -

Wednesdays - 10am-12noon

Saturdays - 10am-12noon