St Albans man Allan Puli has devoted time and care to help others for the past 40 years but wishes he had a more eloquent way to explain his motive for joining the Brimbank Central Rotary Club.
“My dad was in the real estate business for many years and, when I took over, his advice to me was to treat people as if they are cows. If you give them quality and time, they’ll give you cream, but if you don’t treat them well they’ll give you skim,” Mr Puli, 68, says.
“That’s been my attitude for 40 years; give back to the community and everyone will give their best.”
Brimbank Central Rotary Club celebrated four decades of community service at the weekend, with its 30 members and their families gathering at Taylors Lakes Hotel.
Mr Puli and Keilor resident Ron Carmichael are charter members, founding the club in 1975.
“We’re not an elitist club; anyone can join but you have to be willing to give time,” Mr Puli says.
Time is a commodity he and Mr Carmichael have given freely the past 40 years, running projects such as Computers for Kids and helping Brimbank’s citizen of the year, Kim Thien Truong, raise funds to treat sick children from Vietnam.
“There’s no middleman who makes money; we’re always accountable,” Mr Puli says.
Both men cited the therapeutic swimming pool purchased for disability support service Scope in the late 1970s as one of the club’s biggest projects; they raised $100,000 for it. Mr Carmichael, 85, ran the Keilor Art Show for 21 years and most years raised more than $4800.
“Giving to others is the purest thing you can do,” he says.
Details: www.brimbankrotary.org.au
