Report from President Michael Crowe to December 2015 shows the many activities that the Rotary Club undertook in the last few months of 2015 from October to December before the Club went into recess - at least as far as meetings were concerned.  
 
Nevertheless, despite not meeting formally in January the Club remained very active on community and fundraising projects over the Christmas and summer period.
 
October-December 2015
Spring has moved into early summer in Port Fairy and Rotarians have welcomed the finer weather as the busy season for the Club gets underway.
 
Fund raising
The Spring Raffle came to completion and was drawn with the prize of a barrow load of hardware and garden supplies going to Rotarian Ron McCormack, from the Rotary Club of Ararat.
Ticket selling continued with the annual Car Raffle (organized by the Rotary Club of Ballarat South) with our allocation of tickets selling out in December.  Thanks to Hester Woodrup for coordinating the rosters and well done to Lucy King for a special sales effort.  This raffle will be drawn on 7 February 2016.  This early sell-out enabled the Club to move onto the Summer Raffle of a framed painting by Wilma Preston.  This raffle will be drawn on 30 January 2016.
The Rotary Club of Port Fairy hosted a Film Night at the Port Fairy's Reardon Theatre on 2 October.  The movie, Force of Destiny, a story of survival inspired by Paul Cox's personal experiences and his recent book Tales From the Cancer Ward, proved to be a popular attraction.  Thanks to Rotarians Margaret Whitehead and Maureen Beattie for making the arrangements for this event.
The Rotary Club of Port Fairy again conducted the Open Gardens Day on Sunday 1 November 2015.  This year four beautiful Port Fairy gardens were on display with the funds raised going to the Moyne Health Services. The Shelter Box display created a large amount of interest.  The Club is very appreciative of the owners who made their gardens available for the day; Gail and Peter Down, Rea Williams, Ron and Dot Cashmore and Carole and Howard Wilson.  Thanks also to Rotarians Margaret Whitehead and Margaret Broers for organising the catering and to all other Rotarians who contributed to this successful fund-raiser. 
 
Service projects
Meals on wheels
The Rotary Club of Port Fairy again delivered Meals on Wheels around the town during the week 28 December to 1 January.  Thanks to MoWs coordinator Bernie Waixel who organized drivers and rosters.
Port Fairy Show Day
Port Fairy Rotarians operated the entrance gate and contributed to what was acclaimed as a successful and enjoyable event for the community of Port Fairy and district on 7 November.
Sun Pharma Open Day
The Club provided catering services at the Sun Pharma open day on 6 December.  Rotarians served sausages, hamburgers and salads to the over 300 current and past staff members and their families who attended the open day.  Sun Pharma now owns and operates the plant formally operated by Glaxo-Smith-Kline in Port Fairy.  We thank Sun Pharma for the donation made in support of the Rotary Club of Port Fairy.  Thanks also to Adrian Crosier for coordinating the Club’s efforts for the day.
Charles Mills Reserve
Rotarians undertook a cleanup of the Charles Mills Reserve in Port Fairy on 13 December.  Whipper-Snippers and mowers were deployed to cut grass, remove weeds and generally clean up the riverside park in time for the holiday use by locals and visitors.  Thanks to Rotarian Reg Beattie for organising the work crew and the equipment.
Moyneyana Festival
The Club contributed to the Port Fairy Moyneyana Festival by organising and running the Christmas lights competition, the Backwards races for children and adults and the New Year’s Eve street BBQ.  Thanks to Rotarians Margaret Broers and Jim Robinson for organising these events, and the other Rotarians who helped out.
 
Guest speakers
Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Kevin Mathews the Rotary Club of Port Fairy has again been privileged to have a number of outstanding guest speakers over the last three months including:
Damian Gleeson
Well-known Port Fairy identity Damian Gleeson was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Port Fairy on 5 October 2015.
Damian spoke of his emotional journey to Gallipoli for the events marking 100 years since the Anzac landings in 1915.  Damian’s preparations for the trip started back in 2011 when he made a commitment to join a cruise to Gallipoli this year and started his own study of those momentous times in Australia’s history.  His primary source of learning was Peter Fitzsimmons book ‘Gallipoli’.
The cruise retraced the original route of the Anzacs, including stops at Albany WA, the Cocos/Keeling Islands, Colombo and Egypt, where the Australian troops trained for their forthcoming campaign.
The mission was to seize the Gallipoli peninsula and clear the way for the Royal Navy to capture the Turkish capital of Istanbul.  The Anzacs were directed to land at Gaba Tepe and strike the Sari Bair heights.  The attack was launched on 25 April 1915 but a combination of hostile terrain and ferocious Turkish defense soon stopped any potential advance. In August, the Allies tried to break the deadlock with an assault on Suvla Bay, and diversionary attacks at Helles and at Anzac Cove. At Lone Pine the Anzacs were successful but unable to hold their position and at the Nek the Australians were cut down as they advanced.
 
Damian described his visits to these famous places and the emotions that were evoked by the places and stories of heroism and failure.  A particular highlight was the Anzac Day commemoration, including the dawn service, the ‘gunfire’ breakfast and the visit to the Lone Pine Monument.
 
Jack Smits
Jack Smits is the Construction Crew Leader for the Port Fairy Folk Festival.  He gave a very informative talk about the history and work involved in the erection and operation of the facilities for the Port Fairy Folk Festival.  The annual effort involves some 300 volunteers in erecting the 13,550 square metres of floor space for the event, along with all the associated services.
 
The Festival donates about $100,000 each year to local organisations and over the last 15 years has donated over $3 million to the Port Fairy community.
 
Axle Whitehead
Axle Whitehead spoke of his experiences as a singer and actor making his way up in Australian show business.  He appeared on Australian Idol in 2003 and hosted the TV show Video Hits on Network Ten.  His acting career included a stint on Home and Away.  He was also the Cleo Bachelor of the Year in 2009.
 
Rod Carter
Rod Carter is a member of the Association of Independent Retirees.  He provided a very informative presentation on investing for retirement including the trends in lifespans and the various options available investment.
 
Club development and events
 Club events and development activities in recent months included:
Visit by District Governor
District Governor Jane Cox visited the Rotary Club of Port Fairy on 23 November.  The visit was part of the DG’s round of visits to all clubs in District 9780.
Jane met with Club Board members where she was briefed about the Club’s goals and activities.  Jane was particularly interested in the Club’s involvement in the Bandari project in Tanzania as well as the many service and fund-raising projects undertaken by the Club.
Jane also attended the regular Monday night meeting of the Club.  In addressing the Club she identified her priorities for her term as District Governor and highlighted some of the great work being done by Rotary clubs around the District.
Jane was accompanied on her visit by Assistant Governor Janey Preston.  The meeting was also attended by Jerry Pilcher and his wife Kerry from Western Australia.  Jerry is DG of District 9455 which is the biggest Rotary district in Australia, stretching from Perth to Kununurra.
 
Membership
Robert Whitehead was inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Port Fairy.
 
Rotarian Jim Delaney will leave the Club in January 2016 as Jim and Mary are moving to Barwon Heads at that time.  Jim has been a significant contributor to the Rotary Club of Port Fairy and we wish Jim and Mary all the best.
 
Annual General meeting
The Club’s Annual General Meeting was held on 30 November.  Office Bearers for 2016/17 were elected as follows:
President                    Adrian Crosier
President-elect          Bill Moore
Secretary                    Peter Smith
Treasurer                  Jeff McLean
Directors                    Jill Gleeson, Bernie Waixel
The Treasurer’s Report and the independent audit report by Coffey Hunt were tabled and accepted by the meeting. 
 
Rotary Foundation seminar
Rotarians Jo Levey, John Clue and Geoff Coxall attended the Rotary Foundation Seminar in Ararat on 15 November.  As a follow up the Club has invited Peter Simons from the Rotary Club of Portland to speak to all member at a future meeting of the Club about the work and processes of the Foundation.  Peter is a member of the District 9780 Foundation Management Committee.
 
Rotary Leadership Institute
Rotarians John Clue and Jim Delaney continued their participation in the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) course.
 
Communications Strategy
The Board and the Club considered and accepted the communications review prepared by the group lead by Rotarian Jim Delaney.  The Club adopted the review as its Communications Strategy for improving our communications in the short term and longer-term for the development of communications goals and processes.  The Strategy covers both internal and external communications.
 
Friends of Port Fairy Rotary
The Club adopted a set of Guidelines for the operation of the Friends of Port Fairy Rotary.  The Friends group will be initiated in 2016.  Thanks to Margaret Whitehead for her work on preparing the Guidelines.
 
Christmas party
The Club’s Christmas party was held at the Charles Mills Reserve on 21 December.  The party was well attended by current and past Rotarians and their partners and friends and a good time was had by all.
 
Forthcoming events
The Club will operate the two Lighthouse opening days on 23 and 24 January 2016.