Changing of the guard at Ocean Grove Rotary

The new Rotary Ocean Grove board. From L-R: Rod Bush, Beth Eustace, Jenny Templeton, Paul Brewster, Lyndy Stagg (President), Meredith O'Neill, Graeme Batrouney, Lisa Hanley and Kath Venters. Photos: SUPPLIED

OCEAN Grove Rotary will have a new president for the 2025-26 Rotary year, with Lyndy Stagg taking on the top leadership position.

Ms Stagg was elected at the club’s annual changeover meeting on Tuesday night and takes over from the outgoing Meredith O’Neill.

The incumbent president said she was thoroughly looking forward to leading the club forward.

“When Rotarians work together, even small contributions add up to great achievements.

“Staying connected with our local community is a priority, we aim to support local groups whenever possible and invite you to join us at our monthly summer markets in Ocean Grove Park. We’re also proud to support Rotary International’s work locally and globally.

“We welcome anyone joining us to help those who need a hand up and protect the world we share.”

Ms O’Neill said the club had been very successful in the past year, donating over $75,000 to local, national and international charities.

Meredith O’Neill, Rod Bush and Lyndy Stagg.

Special highlights of the year included the Great Barwon River Duck Race, the Summer Markets, Junior Community Award Program, Annual Art Show and Anzac Breakfast.

A wide range of initiatives were supported from these events including Victorian drought relief, flood relief appeals, ShelterBox Australian disaster relief, Feed Me Bellarine, Bellarine Salvation Army, student scholarships in Bali and Nepal, Riding Develops Abilities, Surfing For All Abilities and many more.

Another key element of the changeover meeting was the presentation of a series of annual awards.

John Paton and Rod Bush were joint recipients of the John Fox Award for exceptional contributions to club activities.

Avenues of Service Awards were awarded to Pearl Macmillan for her work in Community service, Lyndy Stagg for her work in Club service, Paul Brewster for his work in Youth Service and Kath Venters for her work in International service.

Richard Cahill, Graeme Chamberlain, Beth Eustace, Lisa Hanley, Adrian Schmidt and Heather Willson were recognised as Paul Harris Fellows.