Annual Report 2024-25

The Rotary Club of Daylesford was chartered in 1953 and has served the local community for over 70 years. And in that time, it has been able to adapt and respond to changing social circumstance including welcoming women (in 1989) and now, all gender members, altering attendance commitments and broadening membership criteria.

2024-2025 was no exception. Club numbers reached a critical point at the end of 2023-2024 when 7 members resigned for a variety of reasons – health, relocation, cost of membership, feeling that the Club did not meet their needs, or that it was not providing sufficient community benefit. No-one wanted to be President but there was strong support from the remaining members that the Club was worthwhile and so the focus on 2024-2025 was threefold – to continue to serve the community; to increase membership numbers and to make Club activities fun, worthwhile and with social connections for the members. A reminder that the original Rotary Clubs were built on an old-fashioned word ‘fellowship” and service which in 2024-2025 would now be termed ‘social connection” and service.

 

Current Club members demonstrated the flexibility that has enabled the Club to survive for over 70 years by trialling a new model of leadership. Instead of one President the Club had four, each leading for 3 months at a time. Victor Szwed, Danny Moynihan, Koos Hulst and Lesley Hewitt all undertaking the role. The model was successful and will be repeated in the 2025-2026 Rotary year with Koos Hulst, Victor Szwed, Danny Moynihan and Andrew Littlejohn taking on the role.

Membership did increase with Hal Swerissen and Mark Rak joining in May. There was a focus on increasing the number of social events and on organizing guest speakers. The Club was fortunate to have the District 9800 Governor, Michael Lapina attend on two occasions and the incoming District Governor Peter Shepherd also attend on two occasions.

 

During 2024-2025 the Club donated over $29,000 to local and overseas projects and causes. A list of the main projects is provided later in this report. A mighty effort that certainly has contributed to community benefit. 

 

There were several member highlights. Danny Moynihan was presented with his 40-year membership certificate by DG Elect Peter Shepherd in March 2025. Danny is probably understood to be “Mr Rotary’ in our local community given his long-standing service. As the longest serving member Danny is invaluable in giving details about the Club’s history.

 

Jenny Hopkins was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow in May 2025 in recognition of her work in the community on behalf of Rotary – in particular for co-ordinating the Rotary Art Show, a major fund raiser for the Club. Jenny had previously been with a Rotary team to help work on a training college for nurses in Nepal, focusing beyond her local community to work with Rotary’s international focus. 

 

Alan Harrison was awarded the Club ‘Bing Baker” Award. Alan has just retired as treasurer – a position he has held since 2010/1011. Alan has also been the chief “Chef” at the monthly Farmers’ Market BBQ – another significant fundraiser for the Club.

 

The Club also donated a defibrillator to Daylesford Community Child Care in memory of a long-standing Rotarian, Ron Brown, who died the previous year. Ron was the essential Clubman who always supported the President role and held members to account for their service and behaviour. He is sorely missed. 

 

A new initiative the Club took on was to work in partnership with the Wombat Post to develop a series of talks called Daylesford Conversations. The aim is to encourage discussion about important and complex issues impacting on us in the community to increase all our understanding of the issues. Two conversations were held this year. The first by Professor Hal Swerissen spoke about the Future of Medicare and the second with Chris Rowland discussing the Future of Green Energy.

  

Rotary also sponsored a Gender Response in Disaster Aid community workshop with Mary Barry, the former CEO of both Our Watch and the Victorian SES. Important knowledge for our community given the natural disasters has experienced in the last four years – storms, floods and bushfires. 

 

Rotary International and Rotary Australia have developed a Regionalization structure and Danny Moynihan, and I attended meetings on behalf of the club. The Club has been allocated to a cluster whose geographical area ranges from Daylesford through to Swan Hill. The jury is still out about how this will work and will it be more efficient. 

 

People do support Rotary projects and social events, and our Friends of Rotary are always prepared to lend a hand when asked. So, there is a community commitment to and value given to the Club, The challenge, however for the Club, continues to be membership. It’s the members who generate the ideas for new activities/projects and who undertake the organization of these projects and activities and so we need to continue to encourage people to sign up.  

 

As the last of the four presidents for 2024-2025 I had the pleasure of chairing the Changeover and the duty of writing the Annual Report to provide a record of what the Club achieved in 2024-2025.

 

Thank you to the other three Presidents for 2024-2025 for making it easy. We did communicate well which is essential in a four-leader model. All continue to take responsibility after their 3 months was over. Koos stayed as secretary for the year. Danny took on the treasurer role and Victor, as well as being a good sounding board also wrote regular updates for the Wombat Post and the Local ensuring that the view that persists in some sections of the community of Rotary’s demise was not just exaggerated but wrong. 

 

To all Club members – thank you for your work and looking forward to a productive 2025-2026.

 

Lesley Hewitt 

$3,000 to Daylesford Secondary College’s Live4Life program

$2,000 for Days for Girls (about to celebrate it’s 6^th year, started by Teri Oprean, former Rotarian )

$2,000 for a defibrillator for the Daylesford Community Child Care Centre

 $1,000 for each of Club 5000 and Good Grub Club

$2,000 towards the RSL Avenue of Honour sign 

$3,000 towards the Blue Trees project for mental health support.

$3,500 to continue assisting the establishment of a Nursing School in Nepal

$750 to Daylesford RDA sponsoring Panda (a horse in the program) 

$1,500 for the End-Polio campaign which Rotary International and the Bill Gates Foundation run 

$1300 for a Mother and Child refuge in Bali with an additional $1500 anonymous donations 

$1623 DRAG (Daylesford Regional Arts Group Co-operative)

$200 Daylesford Secondary College Art Awards 

$300 Daylesford Christmas Cheer

$500 Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre

 

The 2024 Daylesford Rotary Art Show raised $19,180 for Daylesford Rotary to use for community causes. In addition, $25,176 was paid to 55 individual Artists whose Art works were sold and those who won Awards at the Show. A major financial investment into our Arts community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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