29 June 2022

Thanks to all the members of the Rotary Club of Strathfield for giving me the opportunity to serve as President for the past twelve months. It has indeed been an honour and privilege. Our club is blessed to have a solid membership base, which has allowed us to achieve many things throughout the year.

It is not my intention to cover all aspects of our activities in my report, as they are covered so well in the following Avenues of Service reports. But let me name a few main points as to how we made a significant year by converting all the challenges to opportunities to serve to change lives:

• Club membership growth is an amazing 32% nett.

• New members who joined this year are 16% nett.

• The total contribution to the Rotary Foundation, including the PolioPlus Fund, is A$56,000.

• Formed/Reactivated the Rotaract Club of Strathfield

• More than 20 social service projects and more than 15 social activities despite the pandemic.

• Two global grant projects in India and Sri Lanka are addressing COVID-related health issues, with a total budget of approximately USD 150,000.

• The Rotary Charity Ball, with 320 guests, outstanding food and entertainment, raised just over $100,000 for the Rotary Foundation and many worthy causes of our club.

• A massive social media campaign with more than four million reach for a social media campaign called "Mind Your Health" to bridge the gap between people with mental illness and the professional institutions supporting them.

• Strategic planning and strategic execution, focusing on priorities such as increasing our impact, expanding our reach, enhancing participation engagement and increasing our ability to adapt.

We appreciate all our members and the District leadership team led by our Governor, Jeremy Wright, who have encouraged and supported everything that has happened remarkably well this year, assisting us to support both local and international community service projects.

It is important that I thank our board for their support and guidance throughout this Rotary year:

• President Elect:                         Andrew Aravanis

• Secretary:                                 Nick Hamilton-Kane

• Treasurer:                                 Rod McDougall

• Director, Club Service:                Arie Pappas

• Director, Community Service:       Rick Vosila

• Director, Vocational Service:        Alexey Prokopenko

• Director, International Service:     Roy Ellis

• Director, Youth Service:               Ying Ho

I also would like to appreciate the efforts put in by the following members on a weekly basis:

• PDG David Croft:                 For his Guidance and Direction

• Bradly Ayres:Weekly:           Bulletin Editor

• PP Raymond McCluskie:        Webmaster

• Gulian Vaccari:                    Program Chair

• Peter van Der Sleesen:         Meeting Notification and Attendance Officer

• Trudy Ho and Jaya Challa:     Weekly Raffles Coordinators.

We must never lose sight of the assistance our partners provide to us as members, which gives us the chance to give back to the community. We all want to say a big thank you.

I briefly mentioned our significant activities this year and those responsible for them, in addition to all our club members, our family members and the friends of Rotary. We have received many accolades, recognitions and praise-reports. Now I would like to give you all some clarity about the mindset and the ethos of the Rotary Club of Strathfield. 

Success         vs.       Significance

Wealth                            Generosity

Achievement                    Service

Status                             Relationships                                    

We never wanted to be a successful club. We never went after fund raising to accumulate wealth with a big bank balance to achieve things to impress people or be concerned about the status in our society. Instead, we went over and above to be significant and make a difference in our society and community. We wanted to be very generous with all that we had - not only with finances but also with our time, talent and touch. As a 51-year-old, mature Rotary club, we focused on service without compromising on our fellowship spirit. Although we were under lockdown for a considerable amount of time, we made every meeting purposeful and intentional. We didn't do services arbitrarily. We looked at emergency relief projects as well as long-term programs. Our club also focused on relationships and partnerships. We also leveraged on them for the common good.  Without reinventing the wheel, we built strategic synergies with other clubs, districts, countries, as well as other likeminded institutions.

"Success-motivated" organisations tend to measure their goals in terms of money, power, status, achievement and recognition. "The significant-motivated" organisations place emphasis on a more principled view of life: generosity, empowerment of others, sacrificial service, building up others and helping them develop solid relationships. If you look at them more closely, these components of significance all have something to do with generosity. Giving resources is one type of generosity; serving others is another; and cultivating meaningful relationships is a third. It all comes down to time, talent, treasure, and touch. At the Rotary Club of Strathfield, we always think with our hearts. We always believed in "heart work" more than hard work.

What a privilege it is to make this leap from the superficiality of success to significance. The danger of seeing such a chart is that one might think you have to have success before you can have significance. No, that's not at all necessary. Nelson Mandela once said, "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."

My fellow Rotarians and friends of Rotary - as we began the new year twelve months ago, as your new president, I promised you that I would work for a cause, not for applause; that I would lead our team to impact, not to impress; and that we would not strive to make our presence felt, but rather to make our absence felt. We faced numerous challenges with an unexpected and unprecedented pandemic, which created numerous opportunities. We did everything we could to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Now - with your assistance, we will maintain our momentum to "IMAGINE ROTARY."

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the incoming President and my good friend, Andrew Aravanis and his board the very best for the upcoming Rotary Year 2022-2023. Andrew is gifted with a generous heart. His humorous spirit is infectious. I am certain Andrew and his leadership team will take our club to another whole new level.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to my wife, Subo, for her support during this demanding year. I appreciate you supporting my love for people and my passion to serve them. Whatever I do, without you, it won't be complete.