My Fellow Rotarians,

We are all still feeling down and devastated by Peter's demise. It was good to have spent the whole of last week bidding farewell to Peter. The best tribute we can pay Peter is to continue with his dream of helping others without losing the momentum he created.

Strategic Plan
One of the key milestones of last year was developing a comprehensive Strategic Plan. In short, we developed a few key characteristics for our club:

1. Truly, DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP
2. A strong and sustainable FINANCIAL BASE
3. A powerful FUNDRAISING ENGINE
4. A genuine, warm and satisfying FRIENDSHIP
5. A PILLAR OF SERVICE LEADERSHIP in our community
6. A MODERN CLUB, leveraging technology to do good

Our club is ready to execute the Strategic Plan over the period of the next 3 years and our President-elect, Secretary and myself will be part of the President's Train for this purpose.

Rotarian Spirit
What inspires me is the generous spirit of our Rotarians. Whatever the project is, be it a Foodbank for the homeless, a publicity initiative amongst the locals, rehabilitating the war victims in Sri Lanka, educating school kids in Colombia - our Rotarians contribute very generously - not only with finance but with time, talent and touch as well.

Our Board
We have a great Board for this year, who will take the lead in implementing our Strategic Plan. Thank you, my friends, for stepping out - however busy you all are. We have a few experienced past presidents - and we have a few capable future presidents. We also have prospective district governors on our board.

• Our Vocational Service Director will be Alexey Prokopenko who has plans to work with the indigenous community this year, in addition to our normal programs.

• Our Treasurer is Rod McDougal - Rod is very tight with Rotary money but very liberal with his time and efforts for our club. As you all know, he is into everything related to all club matters and careful on how money is spent. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rod for all his efforts in arranging Peter's funeral. As you all know, Rod is a very resourceful and a great asset to our club, especially during difficult times.

• Our Secretary will be Nick Hamilton Kane - our legal eagle who just completed as an excellent sergeant at arms. He will be part of the President's Train in executing our strategic plan.

• Our President-elect will be Andrew Aravanis. A busy corporate leader, but his heart is to serve people, in spite of his busy schedule. And like Secretary ,Nick, Andrew will also be part of the President's Train in executing our strategic plan

• Our Club Service Director is Arie Pappas - the man who introduced me to the Rotary Club of Strathfield and the man who led our club to achieve 'Club of the Year' last year.

• Our Community Service Director will be Assistant Governor Rick Vosila. Despite being busy, Rick has agreed to lead community service and introduce some landmark projects.

• Our International Service Director is Roy Ellis. When I asked Roy to join my board, initially he refused, quoting his age. But after considering it, he accepted the position happily and confidently. He is an inspiration for all of us.

• Our Immediate Past President is Usha Garg. Usha you led our club well during this uncertain time with Covid-19. Thank you. I would also like to thank her outgoing Board for the excellent job our club did under their guidance. We innovated new programs like the International Women's Day celebration and responded to the worst pandemic calamity in India with our Indian Covid Relief Appeal. These are just a couple of highlights of your year.

• Our Youth Service Director will be our energetic Ying Ho. Ying brings many diverse talents into the club and to the board - as a musician, music teacher, young lady member and a relatively new Rotarian.