D9620 Gist Mar 3, 2026 (Feb 26, 2026)

REACH Fundraising

Walk for a Bloke 21 Mar

Rare Newsletter Feb

Click for PDF

Brisbane Taylor Bridge St Jude Fundraising 17 mar

Click for PDF

RC B H-R A BREAKFAST WITH GEMMA SISIA 19 Mar

Click for PDF

Tri District Conference 1-3 May 26

RLI Bostock House 15th Mar & 22nd Mar

Click to View Event and Book

ROTARY D9620 TREE PLANTING CHALLENGE – 26 APRIL 2026

This year, DG Mark Williams has agreed to another D9620 Tree Planting Challenge Day. This is planned for 9am – 11am Sunday 26 April 2026 - (Environment Month).

DGE Ian Hope has already indicated that he is keen to have a District Tree Planting Challenge Day in his year.

For Brisbane and surrounding area Clubs, Brisbane City Council’s Offsets and Restoration Team is looking at a site in Bald Hills which they have already started work on.

The site is part of a Glider corridor and has Rakali on it which they are really excited about.

They have assured me the site is nice and flat with no steep banks as there were last year.

They have allocated 6000 plants to this site and would like our help to get as many as possible of these plants in on the day. Last year we planted 3000 plants at the White’s Hill site.

If you, your family, friends, schools or other community groups would like to join our team and help meet this challenge, please let me know at dkals@aussiebb.com.au.

This will help us work out how many scones we need and determine how many plants we think we can get in the ground on the day.

There will be more information about the site and site access as we get closer to the day.

For the non-Brisbane area Clubs, if any of your Club members happen to be in Brisbane on the day, they would be more than welcome to join the team at Bald Hills. We will need all the help we can get.

We are incredibly lucking to have the continuing support of Brisbane City Council for what has become one of the highlights in our Rotary year.

Participating in this event allows all Clubs to continue to contribute to Rotary’s latest area of focus “Supporting the Environment”.

We are looking forward to your help in taking up Council’s challenge and making this another successful District Planting Day.

GROW MORE, DO MORE

David Kearney

Coordinator - D9620 Tree Planting Challenge

Kenmore Rotary Club

dkals@aussiebb.com.au 0419700647

RC Brookfield Trivia Night 21 Mar

DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATIONS CLOSE 31 MAY

ROTARY D9620 DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATIONS

Is your Club considering making a District Grant application for the 26-27 Grant year?

Applications are open now and the closing date is 31 May 2026.

Information regarding D9620 District Grants is available on the D9620 website. Just Google d9620 district grants and open the Foundation - District Grants page.

You need to consider the timing of your project as the 2026-27 District Grant funds are not likely to be available before August.

Please note that any funds expended on the project before the date of the Grant approval letter cannot be claimed against the Grant.

District Grants are available to all Clubs in our District and are a great way to boost the funding you have for a planned project.

DG Mark has set a target of 50 applications for the next round of Grants so your application will help meet this goal.

Please contact the District Grants Committee d9620districtgrants@gmail.com if you have any queries or would like assistance in preparing an application.

I look forward to receiving an application from your Club.

David Kearney

D9620 District Grants Sub-Committee Chairman

SUPPORTING THE ROTARY FOUNDATION MAKES DISTRICT GRANTS POSSIBLE

Conference Golf Day 1st May

RCGS Date Claimer Mar 21

Make an Impact with ShelterBox

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY EVENT Mar 7

Mitchelton Rotary Club is hosting an International Women’s Day event on Saturday 7^th March 2026, as part of the Rotary campaign to say “Yes to Respectful Relationships” and “No to Domestic Violence.”

We are facilitating a free evening seminar with guest speakers presenting options and supporting services for those experiencing domestic violence.

This free public event will be held at Arana Leagues Club, 247 Dawson Parade, Keperra in the upstairs Foundation Room, from 5.00pm to 7.30pm.

Young people aged 15-18 years are welcome to attend with parental consent.

The Guest Speakers will include the following:

Jo Neary, Zephyr DV Services

Helen Baxter, Love Bites

Eric Wood, Past Rotary District Governor, Caboolture Rotary Club

A speaker from the QLD Police North Brisbane Vulnerable Persons Unit

We look forward to welcoming you to this Rotary event.

For further details please contact Josephine Pritchard on 0412 421 023, our via email to

mitcheltonrotary@gmail.com

with the RSVP date being Friday 27^th February 2026.

Click for Event Details.

The Taipei R I Convention 13-17 June 26

Flyer and registration for RPC Class 28 Mar 26

Dear colleagues and friends of the UQ Rotary Peace Centre,

We would like to invite you to our annual Peace Fellows’ seminar, taking place on 28 March 2026. The event is free of charge, but registration is required via the QR on the attached flyer. Please also feel free to forward this invite to anyone else who you think might be interested.

We look forward to seeing you there!

With best wishes,

Seb

Associate Professor Sebastian Kaempf

Director Rotary Peace Centre

School of Political Science and International Studies

The University of Queensland

Click For PDF

How to get your news on the district Facebook page

The GIST and How to Get your Article in it

Welcome to the Gist! Rather than send multiple messages per week to club officers in the hope that they will channel your interests and pass on what is important to you, we will be sending one digest email per week using the Clubrunner platform which lists new things in the top section, and reminders of old news in the bottom section. That way, you only need to scan the top half of one email per week to get the Gist, and everyone gets the Gist!

This e-bulletin is published by your District Administrator and Webmaster to let Rotarians and any other subscribers know about what is happening in the district. The GIST is for time-sensitive brief stories sponsored by the District, a Rotary club, or a Rotary RAG or Fellowship.

District Announcements
Club event announcements
RAG and Fellowship event announcements

Event notices will run once only in the "Breaking News" section, and events will continue to be published down below in the "Event Reminders" section until the event has passed.

Articles that report on past events and projects, anything of enduring significance, and anything else that does not fit the GIST publishing guidelines should be sent to the District Newsletter editor at newsletter@rotary9620.org.

How to get an Event in the Calendar

To get an event in the Calendar, please send the following information to gist@rotary9620.org:

Mandatory: The text that you would like to appear in the calendar entry. Should include a teaser as to why someone would like to attend the event, ticket prices, etc etc. The text cannot include potentially sensitive information like email addresses, phone numbers and bank account details. If you wish to communicate these, put them in an image or PDF file that can be linked as a download document.
Mandatory: Date, Time, Location. Please include the postcode in the location as this is needed to generate the location map. (Or the event could be online of course.)
Mandatory: Name of a Rotarian in the district who is the primary contact for the event.
Strongly recommended: An image to go in the calendar entry detail page. Landscape format works best.
Optional: Documents about the event like event flyers, etc etc. Max size: 5MB
Optional: Links that might be useful like bookings links, the home page of the charity you are supporting, etc.

How to get an event notice in the GIST

The GIST is published on Sunday. The deadline to get an event notice in every Sunday's GIST is midnight Friday. Requests coming in after Saturday morning will be handled on a "best effort" basis. To get an event entry in the GIST, please do the following:

Mandatory: Get the event in the Calendar (see above)
Mandatory: An image in square or landscape format to be the article. If you send an image that is in portrait format, it will be cropped to square according to the GIST editor's judgement. It's OK to send a PDF Flyer - the editor will just do a screenshot and use that.
Optional: SHORT explanatory text which will go under the image. 200 words max. Long explanations should go in the calendar entry.

Please send event info to: gist@rotary9620.org

We are always interested in hearing your feedback and suggestions on this.

Roger Klaassen (District Webmaster)

Mitchelton International Woman's Day 7 Mar

Mar 07, 2026
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

As President of the Rotary Club of Mitchelton, I wish to inform / invite you to a ‘FREE’ public
information evening relating to Domestic & Family Violence. This information session is
being held at the Arana Leagues Club in Dawson Parade, Arana Hills on 7 th March 2026
from 5 – 7.30pm

Arana Hills

Arana Leagues Club

2026/27 International PELDS

Mar 14, 2026 – Mar 15, 2026

Port Moresby

Rotary Leadership Institute in Bostock House, Wacol

Mar 15, 2026 8:30 am - 3:00 pm E. Australia Standard Time (UTC+10:00)

This event will be held over 2 days, 15th March and 22nd March

Ellerton Drive

CommunityDinner-GemmaSisiaAM & Faith Samwel 19 Mar

Mar 19, 2026

Event details
Date: Thursday 19 March
2026
Time: 6:00pm for 6:30pm
Venue: Redlands Sporting
Club
Address: 20 Anson Road,
Wellington Point
QLD 4160
RSVP: Reply to this email
or call Peter 0412
913 836
More
information:
More: www.schoolofstjude.org
Gemma has been recognised for
her work, including appointment
as a Member of the Order of
Australia (AM).
6:30pm for 7:00pm
6:30pm for 7:00pm
QLD 4160

Wellington Point

Redlands Sporting Club

District Board Meeting

Mar 19, 2026
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

District Board Meeting

Wacol

Bostock House

Greater Springfield REACH Siem Reap School Mar 21

Mar 21, 2026
11:30 am – 2:30 pm

A Chance in Life with your Support

Brisbane

Springlake Hotel

RC Brookfield Trivia Night

Mar 21, 2026 6:00 pm

Step Back in Time for an Evening of Timeless Trivia

Join us for a night of fun and warm camaraderie Rotary is known for - all while supporting a meaningful cause, as we journey "Decades Through the Ages". Dress to impress from your favourite decade, gather your sharpest minds, and prepare for an unforgettable evening where history and heart meet.

Date: Saturday 21 March 2026

Time: 6 for 6:30pm

Location: Brookfield Hall, 550 Brookfield Road, Brookfield, 4069

Contact: Ross Layther, President, rotaryrosslayther@gmail.com / 0417 622 988

Brookfield

Brookfield Hall

RC Noosa Daybreak Bookfest Noosa 10-12 Apl

Apr 10, 2026 – Apr 12, 2026

Noosa Daybreak Rotary are holding their annual book sale ‘BOOKFEST NOOSA’ over three days from Friday 10th April to Sunday 12 April 2026, 9am to 5pm at our new venue;

the Community Hall, Tewantin State School, entrance in Goodwin Street, Tewantin.

With a record number of quality pre-loved books for sale, everyone is sure to find a great read. Come along and browse, you might find something you've been looking for. Pricing books are $3.50 each and Children's are $1 each. There is also a Puzzles & Games section with prices as marked, and a raffle ($2 a ticket) with a $1000 cash 1st prize, which will be drawn on Sunday 12^th April.

Noosa Daybreak Rotary Helps the Homeless!

Since October 2022, Noosa Daybreak Rotary has contributed $72,000 to the Salvation Army’s Rotary Blessing Fund (SARB) project. By December 2025, the initiative had supported 180 people, helping them transition from sleeping in their cars into short‑term motel accommodation.

Community Hall Tewantin State School,

District Board Meeting

Apr 16, 2026
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

District Board Meeting

Wacol

Bostock House

District DLT meeting

Apr 17, 2026
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

District DLT meeting

Wacol

Bostock House

2026/27 Western PETS/DA

Apr 18, 2026 – Apr 19, 2026

Dalby

Dalby Showgrounds

RC New Farm Community Dinner 29 Apl

Apr 29, 2026
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

An evening of community,
conversation and purpose

Hosted by Rotary New Farm, join us for our
Annual Community Dinner bringing together
community leaders, supporters and local
residents to support young mums and their
children across Queensland.

Newstead

Stratton Bar & Kitchen

Rotary Combined District Conference 2026

May 01, 2026 12:00 pm - May 03, 2026 2:00 pm

Are you ready to connect with like-minded leaders and make a lasting impact on communities worldwide? Join us for the 2026 Rotary Combined Districts 9560, 9620 and 9640 District Conference at Royal Pines, where our theme is “Reaching Across Boundaries.”

Ross Street