In March 2022 a merger was announced that will see the two current Districts, District 9810 and District 9820 become a new larger District 9815. This merger is scheduled to take effect from 1 July 2024.
The new District will include some almost 2,000 Rotarians in some 80 Rotary clubs and six Rotaract clubs and will be known as District 9815. District 9815 covers the area from the ‘Bay to the Hills’ in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne from Chelsea to Healesville, while D9820 serves the Mornington Peninsula and Casey to East Gippsland.
Both Districts of 9810 and 9820 are already working together on programs such as the recently held Multi District President Elect Training Seminar and the forthcoming Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA). In addition, the DG’s, DGE’s and DGN’s of both Districts are in regular contact with each other via the medium of the monthly Zone 8 meetings of their respective teams.
What does it mean for Rotarians in the new District 9815?
- District boundaries will change and now include all clubs from both Districts
- There will be different leadership opportunities at all levels of Rotary
- All programs in Areas of Service will combine as is already happening with RYLA
- The structure of clusters or groups will change and include more clubs
- District fees should remain stable
- Opportunities for sharing of projects will greatly increase
- Day to day club operations and projects can continue as usual
The District Governor Nominee (DGN) to fill the role of District Governor for D9815 in 2024 – 2025 is Colin Byron from the Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong & Endeavour Hills.