The Rotary Club of Mackay Pioneer as our Rotary club was then known as, was chartered on the 18th May 1992, with Charter night being on 25th May.
Our first President was Ron Mullins, and the club had 35 charter members. Initial meetings were held at the Mount Pleasant Tavern in North Mackay. Our club was the first Rotary club in the Mackay district to accept women into Rotary.
The available Presidents Report are here: (Thanks to past Paul Harris members, Barry & Joy Cooper (P.P.) for providing this information)
| Year | Club President | Pix | Theme |
| 1992-93 | Ron Mullins |  |
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| 1993-94 | Trevor Lymbery |  |
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| 1994-95 | Mike Belcher | ||
| 1995-96 | |||
| 1996-97 | |||
| 1997-98 | |||
| 1998-99 | |||
| 1999-2000 | |||
| 2000-01 |
To be involved with the Charter of a new Rotary Club would, without doubt, be the highlight of a Rotarian's experience. The enthusiasm of the members and the generosity of Clubs and Rotarians throughout the district was overwhelming.
From our first meeting on 1 April 1992 interest quickly developed and the Club achieved its Charter on 18 May 1992 with 35 members. There were a number of people in the district who made significant individual efforts in this formative period, District Governor Mick Q'Riordan for his vision in seeking a mixed breakfast club for Mackay and his Special Representative P.P. Perc Wallin for giving initial direction and support; D.G.E. Len Sutherland; President of Mackay North, Jeff Trim and President of Port of Mackay, Peter Grant, for their assistance. We thank those Rotarians and the Presidents and Members of all other Clubs for their support and encouragement.
With 29 out of the charter membership of 35 being new to Rotary, we were conscious of the need to set a balanced however realistic list of plans and objectives for the first year of the Club. We were able to achieve most of these objectives and I thank the Board of Directors and Members for their assistance and support.
I believe our Club, with its mixed membership, has been well received throughout the District and Rotary has gained and will continue to benefit from the inflow of ideas and the greater membership base which is now possible.
I have been known to say throughout the year that I was proud of the contribution being made by the female members of the Club. In no way was this meant to suggest that the male members were not equally supportive and enthusiastic.
If the year was to have a theme, it would most certainly have been youth. The formation of the North Mackay High Interact Club and the sponsorship of youth to the Science Summer Schools and the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship were most rewarding.
The challenges of a breakfast Club are present especially in the area of fellowship however the opportunities are also present and I'm sure the Club will continue to build on these.
I thank Secretary Alan, Treasurer Jean, Graham, Trevor, Keith, Russell, David and Wal for their support at Board level. Special thanks to Barry for his dedication in the position of Bulletin Editor, Colleen in Attendance and Evonne and Joy for their assistance above and beyond the call of duty.
I know that President-Elect Trevor will take the Club to bigger and better things with the support of all members and I wish him well in his year ahead. No member can benefit from the experiences of Rotary by being an observer, to benefit a member must become involved. Only then can a member grow in this wonderful experience called Rotary.
Ron Mullins
Charter President
Fellow Rotarians:
It gives me pleasure and satisfaction to present this my final report. The past 12 months have flown so quickly and as I reflect on the Club's achievements it's surprising to see that we have achieved quite a lot of goals for a Club that at last Handover was only one year old.
The loss of members from the Board of Directors meant some disruption to the management, however the situation wasn't impossible to overcome and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those members who served on the Board for this 1993 -94 year.
Membership has been static through the year even though we'd hoped to increase numbers. We’ve managed to keep around the 25 -26 mark.
Looking back over some of the highlights to refresh your memory, we ran .Alan Taylor's Spring Clean Your Medicine Chest Community Service campaign. We assisted with the Cancer Fund Doorknock and the Leukemia Foundation's Golden Chain as well as the Spina Biffida Button and Balloon sale.
We weren't sorry to pass The Dummy on to the District's newest club, Gladstone Midday.
We had our first major fundraising effort Oktoberfest 93 which brought the Club together with physical effort and fellowship, which was followed immediately by the Melbourne Cup Luncheon. I'd like to thank those members of North Mackay Club, Perc Wallin, Ted Towner and Jeff Trim who assisted to make the day the success it was.
We sent Joseph Sacks to South Africa after much groundwork by Marjorie Goodwin before she left for America for 12 months. We helped at the Mackay North Rotary Club's Mackay Show Bar and Burger Van and at the Easter Fair. A Vocational Service Award has been established but to date we have no recipients.
Fellowship saw group bookings for Lillian and Les Miserables at the Entertainment Centre. The annual Car Trial and Barbecue was an experience to remember. We farewelled Marjorie at the Thai Restaurant and enjoyed Champagne brunch at The Meeting House. Remember the Club meeting with the stripper? How will I ever forget?
We had several visits: Racecourse MiIl, Channel 6 (Sunshine Television), the Fire Station and to West Mackay Rotary to hear about the Wesley Lodge to whom we will eventually donate $3,500 to furnish a unit ($1,500 this year then two more instalments of $1,000 each). We visited Sarina Club for the Margot Mott Fashion show and we hosted a GSE Team member and had a joint meeting with North Mackay and Port of Mackay. We donated blood to the Red Cross following a talk by Sister Mary Mathewson.
The Interact Club at Mackay North High School is unfortunately not receiving as much Club support this year as last year as we don't have a Club member on hand at the School at present.
Notable speakers included Gordon Noscov, Paddy Flynn, David Hamilton, Mark Mawn, Bruce Avenall, Pam Tindall, Gordon Orr, Michelle Wheeler, Clive Booth, Ron Boaler, Helen Lancaster and Kay Winter.
A President's job is made much easier with an efficient Secretary and in this respect I have been fortunate in having Carol whom I sincerely thank for keeping the paperwork and reports flowing. Colleen as Treasurer has kept her finger on the accounts in a very efficient manner as if it were her own money and not a penny astray.
What can I say for Lloyd and Geoff who burnt the midnight oil to make sure we had a Bulletin out on time every week, other than a very , grateful thankyou.
To Joy, Lionel and Mal for stepping into the breach and keeping Vocational, International and Community Service portfolios going, thanks each and every one of you.
To Tony and Marlene for doing the Sergeants job and procuring dollars for the Club, Barry for keeping the attendance figures in line, Evonne for getting photos and keeping every one in line, Ron for his support and assistance and ALL members for contributing to this Rotary Year.
Special thanks to Gwenda for her support and help over the past 12 months.
I believe the club has grown and set stronger roots for the future and in closing I wish Mike a successful year ahead and trust you will continue to support Mike and his Board in the coming year.
Thank you for the opportunity of serving as President for 1993 -94.
PREZTREV
GOOD EVENING ALL. This year has certainly been one of the major highlights of my life. I would like to start this report by saying that I feel very privileged at having been the President of such a young and vibrant Club. There have been many ups and downs throughout the year in that we have had successes in some areas along with inevitable failures in others.
Some of the highlights of the year included the Melbourne Cup Day Luncheon, Oktoberfest, the Rotaryanne's Dinner as well as assisting other Clubs in various projects. The Rotary Costume Ball was not well received for a number of reasons, the major being too expensive and the fact that not too many people in Mackay like dressing up. We thought there was a gap in Mackay's social life and decided to fill it, however, we learnt the hard way as to why the gap exists.
The Mothers Day Fun Day will definitely go ahead in 1996 and I intend to take a personally active role in achieving this.
During this year we have inducted 10 new members, which earned us a trophy for the Highest Increase in Membership at the Gladstone Conference. At that conference we also received a President's citation which means that we have participated in at least 2 activities in each sphere of Rotary service. In fact, we achieved at least 4 activities in each service.
I must thank the Board of Directors for their input, assistance and especially their vitality. I was always amazed at the amount of work, particularly early in the year, that we would achieve in the short period of a Board meeting.
Indeed, thank you to all members as this has been a pleasant year for all of us. Of greatest support has been Secretary Colleen, Treasurer Evonne and Club Service Director Lloyd. To these three people I extend special gratitude.
There is one other person without whom I simply would not have been able to be President, and that is my wife Charmaine. She has always been there to assist me, and indeed the Club, whenever called upon.
I would like to wish Lloyd all the very best. If you have a year half as good as mine, then it will be a good year indeed.
Kind Regards,
PRESIDENT MIKE
