Volume 77 Issue 40 Tuesday 22nd May 2012 President: Stephen Roe Chief Editor: Steve Chandler The 77 th Anniversary of the Charter of the Rotary Club of Essendon Paul Harris Sapphire Awardees Peter Baker, Tim Anderson & Richard Lawrence with President Steve Roe. June & July of 1996 was an important time for the Rotary Club of Essendon. In the space of just over one month the club first inducted Peter Baker, then Richard Lawrence and finally Tim Anderson. In the past 16 years all three of them have added much to the Rotary Club of Essendon. Tim & Richard have transformed our international committee, becoming the envy of most of the clubs in our district, and have helped complete multiple projects in Myanmar, The Philippines, and Kenya. They have adopted a hands-on approach to projects by visiting them personally and setting the standard for other members of the club. They have also attracted many hundreds of thousands of dollars from philanthropists in our community who are willing to put their trust in the international projects of the Rotary Club of Essendon because of the meticulous attention to detail that goes into the planning of each project. Peter Baker is a stalwart of our club, serving on the Board multiple times as a committee chair and as Vice President this year. He has been our sergeant on many occasions, edited Contact, sourced speakers as Program Chair, hosted exchange students and served on the District Youth Exchange Committee. On top of all this Peter is a regular contributor to our annual President s Skit. I believe 1996 was a very good year for Grange but I think we have a better crop in our Paul Harris Sapphires.
77 th Charter Night Guest Speaker Former Homicide Detective Charlie Bezzina Charlie Bezzina being quizzed by MC Paul McDonald Charlie Bezzina joined the police force in 1972 as a police cadet working initially at stations in the Western Suburbs and bunking at the Russell Street Police Headquarters. He spent time in the Bureau of Internal Operations before moving to the Drug Squad where he served as an undercover operative. He joined the Homicide Squad in the late 1980s spending 17 years there and investigating over 300 murders. Charlie s most important responsibility as a homicide cop, he felt, was to try to provide answers for families & friends of murder victims, about why or how, even if it was not always what they wanted to hear. He explained that it would normally take 18 months to 2 years to get a murder case to court after an arrest. It rankled him somewhat that in the judicial system the most important person in a murder trial is the accused. Then even after a long trial there could be appeals, which can go all the way to the High Court, where outcomes could lead to new interpretations of law. Investigating a homicide is not like CSI on TV where a few minutes is all it takes to unearth the vital clues needed to solve a murder. Homicide investigations require meticulous collecting and recording of evidence and interviewing of suspects. The first suspect in a murder investigation is often the person who finds the body, then family & friends, with each of them being eliminated until an arrest can be made. Charlie outlined the details of some well publicised cases that he worked on including Paul Charles Denyer. In these cases an arrest only came about because of the awareness of members of the public who reported things that they thought were unusual and Charlie urged everyone to take notice of what is going on around them. Charlie has strong views about the leadership of the Police Force believing that a return to more hard-nosed policing is needed to reclaim the streets from drug dealers and thugs. A very informative speech from a person who had been at the coal face for many years. Charlie had to be up early the next morning for a Today Show interview where he was to give his views on the siege taking place in East Keilor.
77 th Rotary Club of Essendon PRESIDENT S NIGHT Saturday 30 th June Grant Sheldon s WHERE: Overnewton Castle 51 Overnewton Road Keilor COST: $70.00/head ($90 less club subsidy) 3 course meal beer, wine & soft drink Band & first class entertainment What a bargain! To book contact John Gorman or Michael Pepi Sarah Lawrence, daughter of Richard Lawrence and grand-daughter of Don Knee, has been selected to potentially represent Rotary Club of Essendon on the 2012/13 Group Study Exchange (GSE) to the U.K. Next step for Sarah is the District 9800 selection/interview process over coming few weeks. We wish her all the best. While on Rotary programs, there was an interview on 3LO last week with a BBC reporter based near the England/Scotland border, who was sent from an Australian country town as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Missed the full details but it appeared that she was a reporter on a local paper and was sent to study in England and finished up as a reporter with the BBC. I had a word with former member Graeme Goodson last night. His mother had recently passed away at the age of 101.
BRUMBY S BABES FUND RAISER HIGH SOCIETY Now that many have seen the fabulous Grace Kelly exhibition in Bendigo, why not complete the experience by joining us for a very special night. We are screening High Society at the gorgeous Art Deco Sun Theatre in Yarraville on Wednesday, 20 th June at 7pm. This is a special showing and we will have the theatre to ourselves. Champagne and nibbles will add to your enjoyment. High Society stars Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and includes Louis Armstrong playing himself. This film, made in 1956 marks the final film role for Grace before her marriage to Prince Rainier, and was released 3 months after her wedding. It is also the first on-screen pairing of Crosby and Sinatra. With music by Cole Porter and outfits beautifully modelled by Grace the film has something for everyone. All profits will go to our Relay for Life team which supports the cancer research of Ass. Professor Mark Wright here in Melbourne. Tickets: $25 per person. Bookings and enquiries: Sue Duras 9337 4716 or 0438 318615 Gaye Cariss 9331 0919 or 0409 120919 Bookings by the 6 th June preferred. For the diary Tues 29/5/12 Tues 05/06/12 DATE EVENT VENUE Emanuel Tumino D9800 Youth Exchange Committee + an exchange student! ITALIAN DAY at ROTARY - Franca Smarrelli Dept Director of Orchestra Victoria. Fredricks Tues 12/06/12 Lauren Coutts Ambassadorial Scholar Fredricks Tues 19/06/12 Dr Gerald Quigley 3AW Fredricks FREDRICKO ITALIANO! Wed 20/06/2012 Vocational Visit 12-15 people 7pm Moonee Ponds Police Station Tues 26/6/12 No meeting No meeting for Pres Night. Sat 30/6/12 Presidents Night Overnewton Castle Tues 3/7/12, 1pm President Changeover Fredricks
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors UB Celebrat Help yourself and help the Club by banking with Strathmore Community Bank. Take out a home loan and the club will received up to $500, take out a 3 month fixed term deposit and the club will receive up to $50 etc. For more details drop into the branch at 337 Napier St or call branch Manager Philip Stewart on 9374-2607.