The first ever District 9560 Changeover occurred virtually on Saturday 3rd July 2021, due to that sneaky little COVID bug. I was thrilled to see over 100 Rotarians and friends attending. Folks attended singularly, in pairs and in large groups. I saw Townsville had a big group assembled! People attended from Adelaide to Cairns and Darwin. Both my daughters attended and I thank them for their support. It felt great to feel the best wishes and support of my fellow Rotarians.

Karen and I attended with our club, Discovery Coast Rotary. We had a ball and lots of laughs. PDG Adele was there too and was heard to pop a cork or two. I was sorry about the changing of our event from in-person to virtual, but I know the evening was hugely successful anyway. A big Thank You to Secretary Ernie Landry and AG Trevor Hyatt for organising the Zoom and revised agenda. 

Hopefully, we are attempting to organise a Celebration Night of our new identity in Townsville at the Rydges on 11th September 2021. More information to come on this!

I will leave it to Chantelle Pedersen in her article to outline the substance of the Changeover night and speeches. Thank you, Chantelle.

I am ready to commence my club visits soon and am looking forward to finding out each club's goals for the year. I have built time into our schedule to socialise, experience your town or area, or help with a club project. Please put your thinking hats on and think of how you'd like us to experience your hospitality. We would like to experience what it is like to be a Rotarian and live in your community. To understand your club and needs, we look forward to spending time with you all at the meeting and outside as friends.