Weekly Bulletin (Nov. 02, 2026)

There will be NO normal Club Meeting this week due to being Cup Week.

Edition 285

Monday, 2nd November 2026

We had a wonderful meeting at Gilberts on Wednesday night. The guest speaker, Jen Willis was truly inspirational. My special thanks to Karin Soster for coordinating Jen's attendance at our Club. Refer elsewhere in this bulletin for Ian's story and pics from this evening.
I received an email reminder from Shalini Penny, District Secretary, that the annual pre- PELS, (President-Elect Learning Seminar), training will be held at the Atura Hotel, Dandenong on 7 November. The email is intended for Presidents Elect, Incoming Secretaries, Treasurers and incoming Youth Protection Officers. I will be attending.
Two motions were carried at an extraordinary Board meeting on Wednesday night:
1. Approve the appointment of proxies by club members unable to attend the upcoming club Annual General Meeting on 18 November 2026 and wishing to participate in ballot voting in the event ballots are conducted for any of the open positions on the board.
- a proxy form has been drafted and will be made available on the club website for members to access.
- members will be informed proxies must be submitted in writing to Ian Ballantine by COB Tuesday 17 November 2026.

2. Approve the cancellation of the club meeting scheduled for Wednesday 4 November due to operational issues at Gilberts for that day, and anticipated low club attendance.

Club members will be informed of these two motions via email.

Next year, in November, we will be celebrating 50 years of the Bentleigh Market. Plans are already underway for this event thanks to Market Chair Larry Green. If you would like to be involved in organising the celebrations, please contact Larry.

I am very grateful to member Linda O'Brien who has prepared a brief history of the Club's involvement with the Market. Ian has published her story - see below in this Bulletin and , of course on the website. If any member would like to add their own story about the Market, please send it to Ian who will publish it.

This is going to be a remarkable achievement and one of which our Club should be immensely proud.

CREATE LASTING IMPACT

Club President, 2026-27,
Neville Kruss

Editor's Note - Registration for Event

If you ever find that you haven't registered, or declined, for an event and you thought you had, please refer to the help instructions on the process HERE It is most probable that you have neglected a step in the confirmation. You will receive an email immediately following ONLY IF you have been successful. If you don't get an email, please re-check.
Ian Ballantine

BOARD MINUTES

A reminder to members that Board Minutes are available for viewing from the Club's website. Note that you must be logged in as a Member in order to gain access.

Access to all documents including Board Minutes can gained here.

The last published Board Minutes were the meeting of Monday 7 September 2026 - HERE.

Ian Ballantine

Roster for the next 2 weeks
Note Market start time is 6.15am
Click on See all Rosters at right for future weeks. Members click here to see your own roster.

Meetings

Meeting November 4 2026

NO Meeting

Meeting November 11 2026

Chairperson Gartly, Geoff

Meeting Door Host Toyas, Margaret
at Gilbert's Cafe this week details HERE

Market 8th November 2026

Market Leader Perry, Grant

Assistant Daniel, Rajan

Assistant Carruthers, Kellie

Assistant Toyas, Margaret

Market 15th November 2026

Market Leader O'Shea, Greg

Assistant Gaddie, Jules

Assistant d'Unienville, Bert

THERE IS NO MEETING THIS WEEK
Meeting on the 11th Market matters

Details and Registration HERE

Please check the upcoming events on the Club website here

REGISTRATION FOR MEETINGS HELP HERE

Please forward any events you want promoted to the Editor.
For all Club events refer Club Calendar HERE

	The Club's Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 18 at Gilbert's Cafe Details HERE
The Rotary Club of Springvale City invites you to a Garden Soirèe celebrating the official launch of Recycled Sound Reimagined Hearing Aid Bank Project Details HERE
	Christmas cakes and puddings: Expression of interest The Community Service Committee is ordering Christmas cakes and puddings to give to local groups, and members can order some too. All details HERE
Member Gabriela Amendola Santi's special event DECEMBER 1 More details to follow - HERE
	CLUB END OF YEAR FELLOWSHIP EVENT Club end of year Christmas function at SYC DECEMBER 12 Details to follow HERE Check out last year's event HERE

Click on image above for latest issue

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here
Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here
Link to photos from 2025 Conference here
Link to photos from 2024 Conference here

Market report for Sunday 01/11/2026.

Leader: Larry Green
BMC: Marg Lucas, Neville Kruss, Margaret Toyas (working off old roster)
Moorabbin: Lloyd and Mario
Holland Foundation: Manpreet
Visitors: Charles Rener, Helen Nodrum
Cars in the Queue: 5
Overnight Parkers: 1
Pedestrian Count: 1250
Market Report: Mild, still and overcast to start. Warmed up and sunny most of the morning.
Pedestrian numbers increased steadily as morning progressed. Uneventful market.

Note there is a separate story about the defib at the Market here.

Our Bentleigh Rotary Market a brief history

Posted by Linda O'Brien on Oct 30, 2026

From a “Proposed Trash and Treasure Market” to a Rotary Club Legacy
On Sunday 6 November 1977, in perfect weather, 73 stallholders and 3,340 paying pedestrians turned up to the first Bentleigh Sunday Market. The day raised $952. Few could have guessed they were starting what our club history calls “probably the singularly most significant project” we have ever undertaken.

The market had hard-won beginning's it was not handed to us. Approval from the City of Moorabbin depended on the support of the Bentleigh Chamber of Commerce, which stayed silent and then fought us once the project gained momentum. Our members answered with a detailed submission to every Councillor, and the result was a unanimous vote in favour of the Club using the Bent Street site.

Zone Conference Interplast 2026

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Nov 01, 2026

A number of our Club members helped out at the Zone Conference this past weekend by manning the Interplast stand in the Conference House of Friendship.

Member Helen Parker was there all Saturday and Ian Ballantine and Greg O'Shea attended Sunday until the end of the Conference around 1.30pm

Greg had, once again, very generously donated a prize of two nights accommodation in a two bedroom suite at the Quest Geelong Central. This prize was the incentive to sign up for the Interplast Newsletter. In total we got 72 names!

All members of our Club should now be very familiar with Interplast and our Club's association.

Some good links:

Interplast ANZ HERE You can register for their Newsletter on this page as well.

All Interplast stories in our website HERE

Please click on Read More for more pics

Club Meeting Oct 28 2026 Jen Willis

Posted by Karin Soster on Oct 28, 2026

Last Wednesday evening we were treated to an amazing guest speaker in Jen Willis. More on her a little later.

We were also joined by a number of guests:

Rotary Club of Sandringham - Past District Governor and current President Bob Richards
Rotary Club of Moorabbin - President Margaret Maher, members Lynne Hobbs, Sheryl White, Mario Lazaro, and Jothi Nelson.
Member’s partners Ken Oakes, Gary Ramage and Stewart Reid.

Jen, who lives with MS told her story of her failed attempt to summit Everest in 2023 and her ultimate success in doing so this year.

Album of pics HERE

Visit to RDA October 2026

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Oct 24, 2026

A number of members visited the Riding for the Disabled facility in Moorabbin on October 24th, 2026.

President Neville Kruss, Grant Perry, Karin Soster and Gary, Jo Impey and Ian Ballantine braved the weather to join Kate, from RDA Moorabbin who had generously given up her time to meet with us.

The weather had meant that normal Saturday activities had been cancelled. However, we still had the chance to have a look around and, of course, meet Remi.

Engaging multicultural migrants in Rotary

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Oct 26, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

By inviting multicultural communities to experience Rotary’s purpose, impact and sense of belonging, clubs can build trust, develop diverse leaders and unlock sustainable membership growth.

Words Renga Rajan. Immediate Past District Governor. District 9675.

As Australia and New Zealand become increasingly multicultural, Rotary has a unique opportunity to strengthen its membership and community impact by engaging migrant communities more effectively.

Indian, Nepalese, Filipino, Vietnamese and other multicultural communities share many of Rotary’s values, including service, leadership, education and community support. The key is not simply inviting people to join Rotary but creating meaningful opportunities for them to experience Rotary’s purpose and impact.

Club Meeting Oct 21 2026 Lift the Lid

Posted by Karin Soster on Oct 21, 2026

Kellie Carruthers chaired today's club meeting at Gilberts. Kellie welcomed our two guest speakers, Cassidy Connor and Katrina from Headspace, and club member partner, Gary Ramage. Today's club meeting was marked as a special day to recognise the Australia Rotary Health program "Lift the Lid" on mental health - with October designated as Mental Health Month. All members were asked to wear a hat - and we saw some absolute beauties in all styles and colours and it was the men with the most colourful!. See who won prizes at the end of this report.

(Note from Club Treasurer - the sum of $80 has been forwarded to Australian Rotary Health to reflect donations from members on the day. - Ian Ballantine)

Holland Ball 2026

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Oct 16, 2026

A number of Club members, along with partners and friends attended the annual Holland Foundation Ball at the Sandringham Yacht Club last Friday evening.

We had Gary and Karin, Linda and Peter, Nicky and Chris, and Jo Impey. Helen and I were accompanied once again by our good friends Mark Lipzker and Wendy Clark. So, that was 11 in total - an entire table.

For stories about the Holland Foundation, click HERE.

It was great that our Club was well represented and we had the opportunity to support this organisation which does such great work in the Glen Eira area. Grant (Holland) very kindly gave a shout out to our Club during his address.

Click on Read More for more pics

Our Rainbow House: Changing futures in Zambia

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Oct 18, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

An exemplar for President Yinka’s push to Create Lasting Impact, a Queensland-funded school in an impoverished Zambian district showcases the importance of building projects that stand the test of time.

Words Sarah Atkins. Immediate Past President. No Borders Rotaract.

Standing in a well-pressed high school uniform in the bright Zambian sun, a teenage student named Harrison speaks of his future plans.

“I’ve already started working on how I can impact the community.

“We’re about to launch a global impact network group… the young ones, able to speak up with their views on global issues, will be a really good thing.”

Turning passion into participation

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Oct 18, 2026

Taken from RDU HERE

Rotaract DownUnder is breaking down geographical barriers to service, creating a flexible online community where members across Australia and Oceania can connect, collaborate and make a difference.

Words Sarah Atkins. Immediate Past President. No Borders Rotaract.

What if distance didn’t have to stand between someone and the opportunity to make a difference?

That question inspired the creation of the Rotaract e-Club DownUnder – or Rotaract DownUnder for short – which chartered in April 2026 with a vision for a more accessible model of Rotaract across Australia and Oceania.

Club Meeting Oct 14 2026 Glen Eira Historical Soc

Posted by Karin Soster on Oct 14, 2026

Peter O'Brien chaired today's club meeting at Gilberts. Guests included member partner, Gary Ramage, and our guest speaker, Anne Kilpatrick from the Glen Eira Historical Society.

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS

Breakfast orders at Gilberts - a gentle reminder to all club members. When registering to attend a club meeting on the club website and placing an order for breakfast - please be aware Gilberts will make up the order as requested and will require payment regardless of whether the member attends or not.
Happy Birthday wishes to Larry Green.
Rosters for next week's club meeting and market attendance were announced.

Registering for an Event

Posted by Ian Ballantine on Aug 30, 2024

This article is intended to help members register themselves and/or a guest to a Club event. Note, you are also expected to register your intention NOT to attend.

If an event is inviting members to register there will be a button with the word: "Members" below "Online Registration". refer image at left.

Note that you need to be already logged in as a member.
As venues need to be advised of numbers PRIOR to the event, please register by noon on the day prior unless otherwise stated.
If you are not a member, this page will not be of any help. It may still be possible to register for an event as a non member if the event is open to the public.

Please refer to this Help article in full.

Subscribe to Calendar

From the Calendar page here you can subscribe to the Club's event calendar.

This will result in the Club's calendar being added to your existing calendar subscriptions, thus ensuring that as an event is added (or modified) to the Club's calendar, it will appear on your phone, tablet etc.
Calendars supported are Outlook, Google and Apple.

Take the link, Subscribe to Calendar, from the Calendar Page.

Note from the Editor re Images and Events

A point regarding the submission of images for the Bulletin and Website: Members are reminded that images have to meet a minimum size requirement, as has been specified for some time in the section at the bottom of this Bulletin. 820 pixels is the minimum size required with larger being better as this allows for cropping. The submission of images via MMS is NOT preferred as they are too small and of inferior quality. Email or Whatsapp is far superior.
Would any member like to take responsibility for the updating of the Club's Event Calendar? I have created a page of instructions here so it is very easy to take over.
Thank you, Ian Ballantine

I remind members that you are responsible for the information contained in the Club's database. This includes, birthdays, phone numbers, addresses etc etc. Even your own photo. You maintain this via this link.

Additionally, member's birthdays and anniversaries will no longer be listed in the Club Bulletin. This is to protect the privacy of members. This information is still available to members here.
Ian Ballantine

A reminder to members to keep checking the calendar of upcoming events for evening and perhaps, one day, daytime events.

Thank you for being a subscriber to our Weekly Club Bulletin. I try to have it published each week by Monday afternoon.
If you would like to have something included please contact me at editor@rotarybmc.org.au and attach, as separate files, the words and any images (jpg files are fine, minimum width 820 pixels). Please DO NOT send information as pdf files.
Ian Ballantine, Editor.

This Bulletin is sent to:

all current members (both active and honorary) of our Club.
subscribers. If you are a subscriber and wish to unsubscribe, please take the Unsubscibe link at the bottom of this email.
If you have found this Bulletin via the website and are not a subscriber but would like to be, please subscribe below.

Subscribe to our eBulletin and stay up to date on the latest news and events.

Click here to sign up!

There will be NO normal Club Meeting this week due to being Cup Week.

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here Link to photos from 2025 Conference here Link to photos from 2024 Conference here

By inviting multicultural communities to experience Rotary’s purpose, impact and sense of belonging, clubs can build trust, develop diverse leaders and unlock sustainable membership growth.

An exemplar for President Yinka’s push to Create Lasting Impact, a Queensland-funded school in an impoverished Zambian district showcases the importance of building projects that stand the test of time.

Rotaract DownUnder is breaking down geographical barriers to service, creating a flexible online community where members across Australia and Oceania can connect, collaborate and make a difference.

Note from the Editor re Images and Events

Link to photos from 2026 Conference here
Link to photos from District Changeover July 2025 here
Link to photos from 2025 Conference here
Link to photos from 2024 Conference here