President's Report April
The passing of Sika Kerry OAM on Tuesday 18th April at 11:00pm is another sad day for the Rotary Club of Footscray. Although not a member of the club Sika had a very close connection to the club as both her husband George Kerry Snr and son George Kerry Jnr were members.
This photo was taken in October 2022 when I met with Sika to discuss her wish that a memorial to George Jnr in the form of a seat be placed in Footscray Park. Unfortunately, Sika won’t get to see the seat, but she has made the decisions about the appearance of the seat and its location in Footscray Park. An application has been made for a memorial plaque to be placed with the seat and we are still waiting to find out if we have been successful. Sika was an intelligent, warm, vibrant character who made a difference in her community. Sika came to Australia as a refugee, was the first elected female member of the Footscray Council and was awarded an OAM for her contribution to local government and multiculturalism. With the death of Sika, a link between the Kerry Family and the Rotary Club of Footscray has ended. The Rotary Club of Footscray extends condolences to her family.
Our Annual Golf Day was held on Friday 21st April at Sanctuary Lakes Golf Course. The weather was beautiful, people were in a good mood, and it was a wonderful day. The day started with breakfast, followed by a round of golf on the Greg Norman designed Sanctuary Lakes Course. It concluded with a BBQ lunch, awarding of the prizes and a raffle draw. Congratulations to Elia Andriotis, Ron Hunt and Rodney Johnstone on their superb organsitaion of a very successful event. Thanks also the very generous sponsors and the players as well as Rotarians who helped out on the day.
When Catriona Nguyen-Robertson spoke last month she had a slide in her presentation that showed her wide range of experiences in science. These slides are included later in the Bulletin.
Prior to our normal meeting on April 6th we met to decide upon the new name for the WRAC Fund. The name chosen was:
“Footscray Rotary Aged and Community Services Fund Incorporated”.
During the normal meeting Elia and Tina Andriotis they showed beautiful pictures of Crete from their recent trip. Visitors welcomed to our meeting were Betina Meyer Pflug, her husband and daughter Anita who is interested in Youth Exchange and has submitted an application to become an exchange student in 2024.
Daryl Mills was our guest speaker on 20th April. A former member he has had a long connection with Rotary and spent many years in Timor Leste.
Members provided a BBQ at the recent Stony Creek Festival.
Thanks to an invitation from Jama I attended an Iftar dinner which occurs at the end of Ramadan.
Finally WERN are seeking donation to support Flood Relief. Full details later in Bulletin.
I look forward to seeing you on May 4th for the presentation of the awards to Mambourin Staff.
Maria