For some time now we've been toasting Rotary Clubs in Australia or overseas but have not been letting them know. We were reminded that we used to do this after the Rotary Club Of Laurieton in Rotary District 9650 (New South Wales) wrote to us in a similar vein. Their "letter" was in the form of a flyer signed by Club members and containing some information about the Club and its history. It was a pleasure to receive it and we've decided to follow their example with a similar flyer, the first of which was sent to the Rotary Club of Queenstown NZ after Leigh Thorp proposed the toast to them (at right).

In the preparing for  the flyer David Honeychurch produced a potted history . There was far too much information to include in the flyer, but it makes for interesting reading and for the realisation that we have achieved a great deal since we were Chartered on 22 June 1982. So I've decided to devote this edition to a retrospective of our life and times.

At Charter there were twenty eight (28) members led by inaugural President Jim Burkett (now deceased). It was and remains a happy and vibrant Club (as exemplified by our unofficial mascot, the Road Runner (above)) with a good mix of members and many willing hands, for Club roles and projects plus District roles which have included a District Governor, several Assistant Governors, a District Secretary, a District Webmaster; the Chair of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Grants committee; the Chairs and committees for two District Conferences; and Chairs and/or members of a number of youth focussed committees; plus District representatives for Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS); Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) and Australian Rotary Health (ARH).           

From the outset the Club has been a great supporter of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) including the Polio Plus campaign. We regularly support Shelterbox and recently completed The Ethiopian Cafe Project to train disadvantaged youth in hospitality. Since then we’ve been supporting Hands Across The World (which tackles the atrocities of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and human slave labour through the medium of a quality education for disadvantaged communities in Cambodia); and are now planning a Dairy Project in India which like the Ethiopian Cafe Project, will need to be partly funded by a TRF Global Grant. 

The Club has been almost continuously involved in the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program where up to 2020, we have sponsored thirty five (35) outbound students and hosted thirty-five inbound. The emphasis on youth does not stop there. We are very active in sponsoring students to attend the Rotary Youth Program Of Enrichment (RYPEN); the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA); the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF); and Rotary WA Driver Education (RWADE).

In our community we have a very close relationship with the Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) for whom we have provided a school bus as well as sponsoring a very active Interact Club. We also run an annual awards program to recognise the academic, sporting and community service achievements of students in their second last and final years at the school. We have supported a Community Garden project; the Read Write Now Program (primarily for people with English as a second language,); and for many years provided funds to a residential facility for the disabled and also a residential college for rural students studying in Perth. We’ve helped fund a specially equipped Earbus to address serious hearing problems amongst our indigenous population; a Life Education Caravan used to educate school children in the perils of alcohol and illicit drugs; the local Mens Shed; and Indigenous Health Scholarships.  

One of our major community projects is an Annual Community Fair which provides a family friendly day for local residents and allows us to raise a significant proportion of the funds we need for our Good Works. it’s a lot of hard work, but well worth it and is a great way for the Club to bond while making a significant contribution to the Community. COVID-19 scuppered the Fair this year, but we are optimistic it will be back in 2021. And with all of this we try to have as much Fun as possible.