Frankston North Rotary has had a long association with Ballam Park, Frankston. In 1981, the club put aside money to build a rotunda (picnic shelter) in the park. Ballam Park provides a great day out for people of all ages, with two regional playground areas, barbecues in the large picnic areas, a walking track, public toilets, a tennis wall and a basketball ring.

The Ballam Park Rotunda bears the Frankston North Rotary sign to acknowledge the erection of the shelter many years ago. The club takes pride in helping to keep it look clean and fresh. Ongoing maintenance has included Frankston North Rotary’s work on the restoration and painting of the rotunda.

The club, in conjunction with the Frankston City Council and the Department of Justice, has undertaken a program of Adopt a Park.  Frankston North Rotary holds regular community events at Ballam Park to remove graffiti on the art wall near the barbeque shelter and to maintain the bollards. Club members often their hands dirty as they undertake some physical work in the park.

On Wednesday 8 March 2017, an enlightening International Women’s Day Breakfast was held at the spectacular Mornington Racecourse with over 400 attending. The weather was perfect, the breakfast delicious and the speakers inspirational. The project is a collaborative effort by Frankston North Rotary and the Frankston, Peninsula 2.0 and Mount Eliza Rotary clubs. The money raised will be allocated to local community projects.
The first speaker, Kate Carnell AO, started with a quote from John Lennon: Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. This is how she explained her life, from her early years as a pharmacist to her current role as Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. Early in life she realised that to succeed in business you need to make people feel important: to listen to and be interested in both staff and customers.

Kate Carnell

After a successful 15-year career in pharmacy, including being the first female National Vice-President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, she went on to serve as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1995 to 2000, and has since held various CEO roles. To succeed in your life and career, Kate’s advice is to be ethically true to yourself, engage with the community and be willing to take risks.

The second speaker, Susan Berg, author of The Girl Who Lived, recounted the trauma when, as a 15 year old, she was the sole survivor of a boating accident that claimed the lives of her mother, father and brother. Suffering from survivor guilt, Susan charged down a path of self-destruction. In the following years she continued to face significant challenges and hardship, including domestic violence.

Susan Berg

Then, at age 30, when she escaped death again in a fatal motorbike accident, Susan turned her life around, refusing to remain a victim of her past. She fought through her demons – learning to love herself and life again. In January 2017, she faced her greatest fear, open water, and swam the Lorne Pier to Pub. Then, on 26 February 2017, she completed the Rip Swim across Port Phillip. This was all part of her ongoing journey of self-healing, and to encourage other women to confront and overcome their fears.

On Tuesday 28 March and Wednesday 29 March 2017, students from Elisabeth Murdoch College attended their Debutante Ball at the New Peninsula Centre, Mount Martha. And what a wonderful success both nights were! The venue and food were great, the dancing superb, due to the expertise of dance teachers Terry and Michelle from Marshere in Cranbourne, and all this was made possible due to the efforts of the Frankston North Rotary Club, who managed the planning and organisation of this successful event, along with facing many challenges.
There were around 700 attended over the two nights, and 53 debutante couples were presented. It was an amazing event and provided many great memories! Proud mums and dads watched as their wonderfully dressed sons and daughters completed their fantastic dance routine on each night.
This group of Elisabeth Murdoch College students were waiting for their limo to arrive and take them to the Tuesday Night Ball.

The Rotary Junior Community Award program has now completed its 20th year. These awards, designed by late Rotarian, David Hawkey, in the Bairnsdale area, engage Grade 6 students in four main areas of endeavour to be completed over the school year: Community Service, Social Experience, Physical Recreation and Skill Development. The students, with the aid of parents and teachers, design a program they feel they can achieve and keep a diary of their progress. There are now over 15,000 diaries sent around Australia each year.

The success of the program is indicated by the variety of activities the students choose to complete their award and the confidence and effort they put in, together with the enthusiasm and diligence of the people who are involved as supervisors, instructors, assessors, mentors and supporters. At the end of each year, students are presented with a certificate at a ceremony organised by the sponsor Rotary Club together with family, friends and supporters.

On Monday 17 October 2016, the Mayor of Frankston, James Dooley, and the President of Frankston North Rotary, Eric Neill, presented the Rotary Junior Community Award certificates and badges to 25 Grade 6 students from Aldercourt Primary School who had completed the program in 2016. Congratulations to you all. A special thanks to teacher Kirren Whaiapu from Aldercourt Primary School and Kerry Gibson from the Frankston North Schools Consortia for their work to make the awards possible. Thanks also to Linda Tinney for coordinating and organising the awards.

On Wednesday 2 March 2016, the second International Women’s Day Breakfast was held at the Mornington Racecourse Gunnamatta Room, overlooking the specular racetrack. Weather-wise it was a beautiful sunny morning. The caterers provided a breakfast of yoghurt and Danish pastries followed by Eggs Benedict and tea or coffee. Gift bags of donations from local businesses were given to all the attendees. The project was a collaborative effort by Frankston North Rotary and the Frankston, Peninsula 2.0 and Mount Eliza Rotary clubs. The Committee, chaired by Past President of Frankston North Rotary, Judi McKee, spent many hours getting everything in place.

The theme for 2016 was Women of Change, and guest speakers were Kristy Kendall, the new Principal of Toorak College, Mount Eliza, and Moira Kelly AO, Australian humanitarian worker. The MC was Cara Litterick, a family lawyer with Roberts Beckwith Partners. Lynne Westland, District 9820 Governor Elect, gave the welcome speech.

The first speaker, Kristy Kendall, titled her presentation Being unapologetic about loving what you do. She outlined the challenges of being a working mother and of her promotion to Principal of Toorak College at the young age of 37 years. She spoke of other people’s perceptions of her work and family, of the need for women to support each other in the workforce and of how family support enabled her to further her career. Juggling the demands of work and family is always a challenge. Giving 100 per cent of her attention to her two small sons when she comes home from school is her priority. Her achievements have not been due to luck, but are the result of hard work, study and commitment.

Kirsty Kendall

The second speaker, Moira Kelly, titled her presentation Creating hope. Moira is a humanitarian worker and advocate for children living in poverty or in war zones. She is an inspirational Australian humanitarian. Her work has been recognised by several awards, including an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001 and Victorian of the Year in 2003. She is an active campaigner for the rights of carers, refugees and displaced persons.

Moira Kelly

Moira’s presentation followed her extraordinary journey, first working with her idol Mother Theresa, then spending 10 years living abroad, caring for sick and needy children and their families in countries such as India, South Africa, America, Romania and Bosnia.

In recent times her base has been Melbourne. Her journey included adopting two young boys, Ahmed and Emmanuel, who she brought home from Iraq in 1998. They have overcome incredible disability and multiple surgeries to become wonderful, accomplished young men. She is guardian of the cranially conjoined twins from Bangladesh, Trishna and Krishna, separated in 2009 in a 32-hour operation at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. After many operations they are now happily settled into school in Melbourne. She spoke briefly of some of the other children she has helped, many with life-threatening conditions, and the children she now has living with her who have debilitating illnesses that require constant attention.

Moira’s son, Emmanuel, a 2011 contestant on The X Factor, also attended the breakfast and gave a wonderful rendition of the song Happy to be me.

The money raised from the breakfast will be allocated to humanitarian needs and local community projects.