Welcoming Address by Incoming 2011/2012 President Austen Burleigh

Fellow Rotarians and guests.

Thank you Phil for that encouraging and kind introduction.

You’ve left your mark on the year with your positiveness, good nature and generosity.  They are enviable personal characteristics.  And the success of your year was presented to the Club by the retiring Vice Presidents on June 8.

I appreciate your inclusiveness and sharing during your presidential year to assist my preparation.  Also, I speak on behalf of Sue in thanking you Jane for the assistance you have provided her in preparation for her role.

Phil, it is now my pleasure to present you with your Past President’s badge and the customary set of the Bulletins issued during your presidential year.

We wish you and Jane well in your post-presidential year.

It is a privilege to be selected to lead this great Club.  I am humbled by the opportunity.  My aim is to build on what each President has achieved in their time before me, and to use my Rotary knowledge and experience to ensure the continued growth and achievements of our Club.

My first contact with Rotary was with the RC of Los Angeles, which I was invited to join.  But before I could take up the opportunity, I was transferred back to Australia.  So it wasn’t until October 1997 when I joined the RC of Canberra that my Rotary journey began.

After being transferred to Melbourne in 1999 I became a member of this wonderful Club.  It became obvious to me in the initial years that there is a difference between being a member of a Rotary Club and being a true Rotarian.

I was inspired by several members of this Club to become a Rotarian.  I took the opportunities provided by the Club to work with others on community programs.  Through this involvement I experienced wonderful fellowship and developed friendships.

Rotary’s succession planning is thorough.  This day has been a long time coming, epitomised in the words of singer-song-writer, Willie Nelson, who is reputed to have said “it took me 40 years to become an overnight success!?

Rotary is unique in providing fellowship and belonging to an international family.  However, we live in a constantly changing world.  Rotary faces its own challenges relating to political, economic and social change.  But another challenge for Rotary is to maintain our “army of volunteers?

How is Rotary to meet these challenges?

At the recent District 9800 Conference in Adelaide, RI Director and Our Zone’s Representative, Stuart Heal, prepositioned us on the need for change.

This year, RI President Ray Klinginsmith emphasised innovation and strategic planning to determine if the policy and practices of each Rotary Club were, in fact, “best practice".  This is ongoing and will continue to be a focus for our Club in the coming year.

The Rotary International theme for 2011/2012 is “Reach within to embrace humanity?

Incoming RI President Kalyan Banerjee has three areas which will be the focus of Rotary in his Presidential year.

1.    Families - strengthen families because this is where all the positive possibilities begin

2.    Continuity - build on what Rotary does well and take it to the next level

3.    Change - change what needs to be changed 

He quotes Gandhi “you must be the change you wish to see in the world?

The RI Strategic plan sets out three priorities around “Humanity in motion? and the five core values of service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership.

The three priorities are

Support and strengthen Clubs

Focus and increase humanitarian service

Enhance public image and awareness

The four new RI Pilot Programs fostering Club innovation and flexibility are tangible evidence of the priority to support and strengthen Clubs.

Our Club has accepted an offer to participate in the “Innovation & Flexibility?pilot program under which we will be able to implement a corporate membership & partnership program.

Our incoming District Governor, Keith Ryall, is focusing on the following four areas:-

Embracing The RI Theme and the RI Plan 

An emphasis on the development of the Five Avenues of Service 

Continued support for the Rotary Foundation, “our charity? the cornerstone of District and Global Grants and funding of Peace Fellowships, Ambassadorial Scholarships and Group Study Exchanges. 

A focus on ethical behaviour embodied in The Four Way Test because it is the very essence of the things we think, say and do as Rotarians

Fellow Rotarians, we need to ensure our activities reflect these directions at the same time as we focus on the areas and goals which are necessary for the future health of the Club.

I have chosen the following eight areas for our focus this year.

Succession Planning - succession planning is vital to maintain the resourcing of our existing and potential projects, and to ensure that there are experienced Rotarians to fill leadership roles within the Club. 

Education of members - each member’s development of their knowledge and skills pertinent to Rotary is essential. 

Membership - membership acquisition, retention, and involvement is critical to our future. 

Fundraising - lack of funding is a constraint. We need to identify and pursue more diverse funding opportunities to support our existing and potential projects. 

We must embrace Technological Development to assist us in more effective communication and promotion of Rotary. 

Relevance of the Club structure is also important.  As we have moved towards larger projects, and external regulation has increased, we need to ensure our structure supports our objectives and maximises our resources. 

Furthermore, we must continue optimising our existing relationships with organisations like the Brotherhood of St Laurence and HomeGround Services, for example. 

Finally, we must continue to support The Rotary Foundation

Our planning needs to be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

It’s so much more rewarding working to a plan that the whole team understands, and against which progress can be measured.

We are all in this together.

I will now Introduce members of your Board and ask them to stand as their name is called.

President Elect, Clive Weeks

Vice President Community Services, Keith McNeil

Vice President Club Management & Fellowship, Mary Barry

Director Community Service, Hugh Bucknall

Director New Generations, Quin Scalzo

Director Vocational Service, John Shaw

Director International Service, Spencer Bock

Director Club Meetings, Bev Brock

Director Communications, Nick Pelham

Director Membership, Bernie McIntosh

Director Fellowship, Doug Marshall

Director Corporate Issues, Peter Marfleet

Treasurer, Robert Read

Secretary, Garry Fowler

Please acknowledge your leadership team for 2011/2012

I would like to conclude with three key words which sum up our goals for 2011/2012 to secure the Club’s future:-

Advance

Connect

Strengthen

We must Advance our members knowledge, understanding and involvement

We must Connect with our members, District, RI and our community

We must Strengthen Rotary in general and the Rotary Club of Melbourne in particular.

Fellow Rotarians, I look forward to working with you to achieve these aims, in the spirit of fellowship, and in accordance with the ideals of Rotary.

Austen Burleigh

President 2011/2012

ABOUT PRESIDENT AUSTEN BURLEIGH

Austen was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, and grew up on a dairy farm at Nullawarre.  He completed his secondary education at Warrnambool High then moved to Melbourne to enter the world of banking at The National Bank of Australasia Limited [now National Australia Bank Limited] at its Hampton Branch in February 1964.  This commenced an exciting and varied career spanning 40 years with assignments in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, London, Asia, New York and Los Angeles.

Whilst working he studied and obtained his Australian Institute of Bankers [AAIB] and Graduate Diploma in Finance, and attended an Advanced Management Program at the University of Southern California.

Austen’s career in banking covered the period of great change in the finance sector.  He was involved in International Banking when the Australian dollar was floated, and spent time in London for specialist training.  Overall, he spent 14 years in various interstate and overseas roles in International Trade and Finance.

He was Manager Staff Communications at the time of the merger between The National Bank of Australasia Limited and The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited in 1983.  After this, he took six months long service leave in 1984 and travelled around Australia in a campervan with his brother, which was one of the greatest experiences in his life.

He then progressed through various management roles in retail and business banking and the Head Office Credit Bureau until transferred to New York in 1989.  Following 20 months managing a corporate portfolio he was promoted to Senior Vice President managing the Los Angeles Agency.  Transferred back to Sydney in January 1992 he held a number of senior management roles in retail, international and sales and planning including Head of the Sydney Capital Office.  In July 1997 he took up the position of Regional Manager ACT, and in 1999 transferred back to Victoria as a Credit Controller in the State Credit Bureau.  In August 2002 he took up the role of District Credit Manager for business banking in Rural & Provincial Victoria, from which he retired.

His community service includes President of the large Gordon Pre-School [NSW] and an Area Manager of Neighbourhood Watch [Victoria].  He has first-hand knowledge of the impact of natural disasters after the family property was destroyed by the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983.  He enjoys sport and has been a Collingwood supporter for as long as he can remember.

He has completed two Marathons, the Big M in Melbourne in 1983 and the New York marathon in 1989, and was a handy cricketer, footballer and squash player in his youth.  He loves most music, especially blues, soul, jazz, rock and classical.

Since joining the Club in October 1997 he has served on the committees of Community Welfare, Public Issues, Reception and the Rotary Foundation and as Chair of the Horizons committee.  Jointly with Barry Murphy he established the Brotherhood of St. Laurence Partnership and, with Barry, was an inaugural RCM member of the Steering Committee.  He has been involved with the Club’s homeless initiatives and organised the Club’s involvement of riders and volunteers in the Around-the-Bay-in-a-Day bike ride.  He regularly attends Inter-Club visits, and is an active member of the Hawthorn-Kew Group.

He was Minute Secretary to the Board for three years from 2005/6 ?2007/8, Sergeant-at-Arms 2008/9, Vice President Community Services in 2009/10 and is an Alternate Director of East Timor Roofing Holding Co Ltd

Austen and Sue have been married for 22 years and have two children at Monash University ?Andrew 20 studying Arts/Law and Sarah 19 studying Biomedical Science.