When Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise President Margaret Milutinovic challenged Club Public Image Chair PDG Graham Koch to find a new way to promote the wonderful work of Rotarians, he came up with the idea of a radio show, and before too long, the Cairns Rotary Hour was born. The Rotary Hour is a weekly radio segment on the community radio Cairns 89.1FM. The show, currently on a six-month trial, is live every second Saturday and repeats the following week.
“We are very good at helping the community, but not so good at letting others know about it,” Margaret said. “We were looking for a new way to connect with locals, promote community engagement, promote our club products, and amplify the diverse voices of Rotarians. The goals were to increase our membership and volunteers for our projects, as well as increase fundraising and sponsorship funding.”
The show is a partnership between the Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise and the Rotary Club of Cairns West, with a team of four Rotarians coordinating the shows and arranging content.
Each fortnight’s show features a guest speaker who is either a Rotarian sharing their Rotary story or a non-Rotarian representing a partner organisation or project. In addition, upcoming Rotary events, fundraisers and projects are promoted.
Speakers are diverse voices from the Cairns community. Examples so far have included:
Rotarian Susanne Rea promoting awareness of polio and the World’s Greatest Meal to Help End Polio.
A Rotary Youth Exchange program, featuring outbound and inbound students.
Yolonde Entsch from Wheels of Wellness on local homelessness issues (a cause being supported by the Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise).
Rotarians telling their Rotary story, including Area Governor Rita Zappulla and Graham Koch, the first president of the Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise.
In each program, there is a focus on ensuring listeners can learn more about the work of Rotary and how they might be able to get involved.
Recently, the community radio show became available on Spotify as a podcast, giving a worldwide reach and allowing access to the programs at any time. RDU
MAIN PICTURE: Radio Presenter Barry Koch, left, President of the Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise Margaret Milutinovic, Cairns Sunrise Rotarian and former Rotary Youth Exchange student Jacinta Hoare, and the club’s current inbound Youth Exchange Student Heloisa Santos Silva from Brazil during a Cairns Rotary Hour program that focussed on Rotary Youth Exchange.