Hugh Bucknell
What apparently closed the case for Melbourne as hosts was the enormously high participation of local Rotary Clubs, displaying a level of enthusiasm and involvement that stood out against the case made by London. As to the Centenary celebrations, Hugh exhorted us to make the year a significant project one, explaining that nationally Rotary is committed to a very active vaccination program in the Pacific Islands where infant mortality is far too high particularly for children in the first five years of their lives. Hugh had us thinking about ways we could draw advantage of the Centenary celebrations by way of activities such as membership drives, which would be facilitated by newsworthy events including the issuing of commemorative postage stamps and minting of commemorative coins. As Hugh pointed out, Rotary Australia is going to make the News, big time—a time to draw advantage from the public exposure.