By CASEY NEILL
Athol Bailey joined Rotary only three years ago but is already leading the way.
He took over the Rotary Club of Dandenong South East presidency from Colin Byron at a changeover dinner on Tuesday 21 June.
Mr Bailey met Rotarian Colin Ferns at a Business Network International (BNI) session, agreed to attend a meeting and soon signed up.
Tackling declining membership is his top priority for the year ahead and he hopes a sub-group called Friends of Rotary will grow the 22-strong group.
“You don’t actually join Rotary, but if we’ve got a project on we might send out an email out to our ‘friends’ asking for some help,” he said.
“Ultimately, they’ll see all the work we do and then join.
“We’re also going to be looking at corporate memberships.”
His main project focus this year will be youth depression and prevention.
“We’ll be getting involved a lot more with the council there and Headspace,” he said.
“We don’t know how that’s going to look yet.
“We had a high tea about two months ago and we raised $1000 for Headspace.
“They just need support to get into schools and to speak with the youth.
“That ties in with what we do at Cleeland United Soccer Club with the Sudanese.
“We’re going to get Headspace to get down talk to those guys.”
The club is looking at taking defibrillators to the streets, ideally near a bank to tap into CCTV surveillance and lighting.
“All the defibrillators are in a shop or something, so providing you have your heart attack during shop hours there’s going to be a defibrillator there,” Athol said.
“If it happens outside of shop hours there isn’t anything around.”
The L2P program, which provides underprivileged learner drivers with access to a car and mentor, is another key project.
A rate-capping restricted budget has created a $5000 shortfall for Greater Dandenong Council.
“We haven’t pledged completely that we will get them the money, but we’ve said we will support them,” Athol said.
“We have breathalysers in clubs.
“The money from them has to be used for something to do with road safety.”
He’s looking at working together with Rotary Club of Dandenong to make sure the program survives.
“We’re talking about youth, and it actually ties into this youth depression,” he said.
“If they don’t have their licences they sit at home and don’t see their friends.”
Athol’s coaching experience extends from business to life and led him to at least one life-saving conversation.
His daughter connected him with a classmate who was contemplating suicide and following a few chats, got on the right path.
“Depression’s always been pretty close to my heart,” he said.
“My business coaching is only a means to run a self-funded youth counselling-type service, centred more around life coaching than counselling … letting them come up with their answers and better themselves.
“That’s probably about another five to eight years away.”
Athol grew up in Doveton and enjoys returning to his old stomping ground for weekly Rotary meetings, but plans to change things up with fortnightly formal gatherings.
“The alternate week, project teams will get together and work on their project,” he said.
“It’s all about being an action club.”
A trivia night in October and a ‘night of inspiration’ next March or April will bring in most of the club’s funds for the year.
“The first night of inspiration we ran we raised about $10,000,” he said.
“I want $10,000 from the next one and $8000 from the trivia night.
“I’m pretty ambitious.”
