Another month flies by, and our thoughts and best wishes go out to Tom, who has spent the month laid up in Hospital. We hope to see him back soon.
Last week, I had lunch with Wayne, a Rotarian from Lake Orion, Michigan, USA. We shared experiences and ideas on our clubs, and he was very impressed with what our club is doing. This was followed by our April 21 meeting which Home Affairs, Senior Policy officer Joseph, gave us an extremely interesting talk on what we can do to reduce the risk of foreign interference in our communities. If you could not attend see Gloria for a copy of the presentation.
The Pride of Workmanship dinner is progressing well and we have received four nominations. I look forward to handing them out on Tuesday 19th May. If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the Invitation. Family friends are welcome to this combined event with Lane Cove Rotary. See registration link below.
As we work toward our club future, the key focus for the next month is choosing the appropriate project when applying for a District Grant. We have a few options, but welcome more. We will have a discussion at our May 5th club meeting.
Louise and I had a successful catchup with new CEO of Crows Nest Community Centre (Mark Thompson). Louise is also leading the Communities discussion on how we choose charities as we are moving to ‘project-based donations’ from ‘cheque writing’. We hope to finalise this at the next board meeting. There is budget to deliver a few more Communities projects. Please give it some thought and bring to the next club meeting.
A big thank you to Angelo, assisted by Andre, Kate, Michael, Ken (North Sydney) and Max, for running the April 18 BBQ at North Sydney Council’s Youth Day. It was good to connect with the community and the council. Our April 4 Bunnings BBQ raised $2170.
Finally, a reminder to the board, if available, there is a district Assembly on Saturday May 9th. The Changeover dinner is scheduled for July 7th. The new board of directors and assistants has been finalised.
Andre is an economist working at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). After spending three years in the RBA’s domestic financial markets team, Andre currently works in the RBA’s industry analysis team, which liaises with business and industry contacts to gather macroeconomic intelligence that is used to support the RBA’s economic forecasts.
Coming from a military family, Andre was fortunate to live in several parts of the country growing up, including New South Wales, Canberra and Western Australia. Andre completed a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from the University of Western Australia and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). In his spare time, Andre is an avid squash player, and also enjoys camping, skiing and reading history. Andre has also been skydiving as well as ice climbing on crevasses and glaciers.
Andre was inspired to join Rotary due to his Aunt and Uncle’s extensive involvement in the organisation in Perth. Andre’s Aunt Jan was a member of Inner Wheel Wanneroo and Andre’s Uncle Laurie is currently an honorary member of Rotary Wanneroo after serving as an active member for 54 years.
Andre’s favourite song is L’Amour Toujours by Gigi D’Agostino, as it was the song he listened to right before the first date with his partner.
HEALTHY LIVING INSIGHTS
RCN and Cammeray Keiser have formed a supportive working relationship. Keiser is a fitness and rehabilitation company known for its innovative strength training and resistance equipment. Going forward we will have a contribution for each ebulletin
Strength Training: The Key to Living Well for Longer
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MEETINGS
LAST MEETING SPEAKER: April 21, 2026
Our guest speaker was Joseph Kupceric, Assistant Director, Counter Foreign Interference, Department of Home Affairs. He gave an insightful presentation on how foreign government influence impacts communities in Australia.
NEXT MEETING:May 5. Club discussion. Dinner at 6pm and 6:50pm start.
NEXT GUEST SPEAKER: May 19. Pride of Workmanship
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS
PRIDE OF WORKMANSHIP: May 19, 2026. This will be held at the Chatswood Golf Club. Nominations are open. Please register. https://www.trybooking.com/DLEFC
NORTH RYDE eFUN RUN FOR Youth Mental Health: Sunday 17 May until 24 May inclusive.
