Rotary District Awards

Every year, our Rotary District hands out a range of awards to individual Rotary Clubs for outstanding achievement and service.  These awards recognise all avenues of service as well as areas such as membership growth, overall Club conduct, Public Relations, Website and newsletter production.

With around 66 Clubs in the district, winning any of these awards is a great honour and achievement, as all Clubs in the district work so hard throughout the year in so many areas.

For a full list of district awards, as well as information about past winning Clubs and award criteria, visit the district Website here.

Here is a list of some of the awards our Club has won:

2010–11 Les Whitcroft District Governor’s Shield – awarded at District Changeover for Outstanding Achievement across the five Avenues of Service or Special Contribution to organising District events.  It can also acknowledge special contribution to organising District events such as: PETS, District Assembly, District Conference, District Changeover, RYLA, RYPEN, MUNA, etc.

2010–11 Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHRF) Award Shield (photo above) – acknowledging the Club’s contribution throughout the year:

  • Total Club financial contributions to Australian Rotary Health for the Rotary year to 20 June
  • Club initiatives e.g. Mental Illness Awareness Forums, etc.

2010–11 Rotary Foundation Certificate – for being in the top 10 fund-raising Clubs in our district.  It recognises:

  • Per capita donations to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) from 1 July 2009 to 30 April 2010, received by RI South Pacific & Philippines Office
  • Club initiatives and involvement in programs of TRF such as GSE, Ambassadorial Scholars, Matching Grants, etc.

2010–11 Presidential Citation with Distinction – awarded to the Club for overall performance throughout the year, signed by Rotary International President, Ray Klinginsmith.

2010–11 District Vocational Service Award – awarded for outstanding and comprehensive Vocational Service through involvement in District programs and Club initiatives, that may also include an outstanding special Vocational program or project.

This year The Rotary Club of Ryde introduced a four-minute rostered talk by members where they speak about their Vocation or The Four-Way Test, or failing that, they have the option of just reciting The Four-Way Test.  In this way we as a Club get to hear more about our members’ vocations or to hear more about The Four-Way Test, the Rotary International Ethical guide to behaviour in our vocations and in our daily lives.

Once again Ryde ran the District Four-Way Test Public Speaking competition, with the finals held at our Club meeting 15/02/2011, as reported in our Hub, and we ran our Annual Apprentice of the Year Awards 16/11/2010, and our finalist went on to win the District Award too.

Vocational Chair Jan Cutler did a great job organising another polished performance of this long-running and worthy event, the brainchild of PDG Les Whitcroft, who coined the phrase "Do it once, do it well!"  Pride Of Workmanship was ably organised by PP Graham Rushforth, sadly deceased the next day and run on the night by PP Geoff Brennan.

We also had Vocational Talks from all our new members and two Vocational visits.  So the Award was earned, I believe, by comprehensive excellence across the breadth of the Vocational portfolio.

Since the District Vocational Chair was our Bob Kaye-Smith, he took no part in the award process, the judgment being made by the other District Chairs.  The Award was presented to Vocational Chair PP Jan Cutler.

2010–11 District International Service Award – awarded for outstanding and comprehensive International Service through involvement in District programs and Club initiatives that may also include an outstanding special International program or project – in our case, the Borjegai School.  This is usually awarded to the International Chair, but with his agreement was awarded to Projects Director Rob Mitchell, for his central involvement in this project.

2010–11 Norm Roach Website Memorial Award – awarded for the best Club Website in the District.  The criteria for the award includes:

  • Overall design, including features listed in Bulletins
  • Visual appeal, legibility, ease of navigation
  • Links to Rotary District and RI Websites
  • Does the Website have a Password protected area for members’ information?
  • Does the Website make the latest Club Bulletin available to all?

Norm Roach was Alex Sawyer’s Aide in his District Governor’s year, and according to Alex, one of the finest Rotarians he has ever met.  It is a great honour to have this award presented to the Club for our new Website, especially during its very first year since launching.

A Global Service Network

Rotary International, the world's first service club organization, is made up of over 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.  Its members form a global network of business and professional leaders who volunteer their time and talents to serve their communities and the world. Rotary's motto, Service Above Self, exemplifies the humanitarian spirit of the organization's members. Strong fellowship among Rotarians and meaningful community and international service projects characterize Rotary worldwide.