Eight decades' worth of community service by Euroa's Rotarians was celebrated at the Butter Factory on Sunday 4 October with a classic high tea for over 50 guests. Brian Bamford, a member for over 20 years, opened the event with a welcome to all, including the special guests from the broader Rotary membership and local notaries such as Annabelle Cleeland and Ewan Cameron. As the current president, I spoke about the service fundamentals of Rotary and praised the club for avoiding the decline in volunteering that has adversely affected many organisations. Michael Tehan, our longest serving member (56 years) spoke as well and reminded the meeting that there have been over 300 members since 1946. He focused on the three tiers of service: local, district, and international, and identified over 40 case studies of what the Euroa club has achieved. The range is praiseworthy and varied: the Farmers Market, Ride the Ranges, Telegraph Park, art shows, and, of course, hosting exchange students. Many of these were displayed in a slideshow on display throughout the afternoon. District governor Paul Miguel then spoke about the role that Rotary has played in the world of community service, followed by MP for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland who, among other matters, praised Euroa Rotary for their tireless work in the post January 26 bushfire recovery, and in earlier disasters like the 2022 floods and previous droughts. Many thanks to the management and staff of the Euroa Butter Factory for hosting this highly successful event.
