Former Benalla Rotary President Bill Parris passed the reins to Paul Berry at the club's changeover dinner on Thursday, June 27.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
The Rotary Club of Benalla held its annual changeover dinner on Thursday, June 27.
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It was a packed house at the Benalla Bowls Club for the event which saw former President Paul Berry return to the role.
“My plans for this year are to continue with the work that we do in the community and looking forward to increasing our membership,” Mr Berry said.
“All clubs, not just rotary, all service clubs are having problems with membership, and we need to change that trend.
“Without service clubs our society and communities will be very much poorer and no-one club can do it all.
The Benalla Rotary leadership team for 2024/25.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
“We need multiple service clubs. We've lost Apex. We've lost the Jaycees and the Lions are very low in numbers, too.
“Even here, when I was first president (in 1992) we had 95 members. Now we have 50.”
Mr Berry said few of the current members would have been involved in 1992, so retention of members is also a priority.
“If you are keen to know more, just speak to us. If we’re doing a sausage sizzle, or are running the market, just come up and ask. We’re normally at a table under the library,” he said.
Mr Berry said he wanted to thank Bill Parris and Ann Kimberly, who each led the club for six of the past 12 months.
“They are a very hard act to follow. In the last 12 months they have dispersed $61,000 to the community and international initiatives,” he said.
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