THE Rotary Club of Whittlesea earlier this month hosted a dinner meeting for members of community’s service clubs and organisations to get together and connect.
Representatives from Victoria Police, including community liaison officer acting sergeant Lee Smith, as well as members of the Country Fire Authority, Country Women’s Association, State Emergency Service, Whittlesea Agricultural Society, Lions and Rotary were in attendance.
A spokesperson from the Rotary Club of Whittlesea said it was clear there was a strong sense of community in Whittlesea.
“The groups and organisations represented at this special night, work side-by-side with the other groups in attendance, assisting each other in any manner of ways, including with financial support,” they said.
“There is no doubt our community is a safer and better place due to the interdependence of all of these groups, many of whom are volunteer groups.”
Each speaker on the night detailed the activities they were involved in, who they assisted and how they benefitted from the other groups in the area.
A speaker of note was Victoria Police Legacy chief executive and ex-detective Lex De Man, who spoke about his time as a detective in the police.
Mr De Man was involved in an investigation into ‘The Family’, a cult in Victoria’s Fernery Creek in the 1970s led by a lady who acquired children from cult members and by irregular adoption processes.
After she and her husband were found in the USA by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr De Man travelled to extradite her back to Melbourne where she could not be convicted on a major crime and only received a fine, to the distress of Mr De Man and his team.
Mr De Man shared his experience as someone who was personally involved and invested in the case and reiterated the importance of community and working together for the good of everyone.
The Rotary Club of Whittlesea plans to keep regular communication between all groups who attended the night to further build on the community spirit.
