At the 2019  AGM held in Mornington, Paul Butler #17758 was awarded Dearnley Medal #68. This was the submission made to the National Committee. 

Paul was on the local branch committee for 3 years before becoming branch secretary and he has been the secretary for the last 3 years.

He set up with several others, the Victorian Breakfast Club (VBC) to encourage members from around the state to meet regularly every month to enjoy each other’s company and breakfast at a different location across the state so that members and prospective members near the location would have a better chance of joining in. The VBC usually meets on the second Saturday of the month and Paul does the entire organisation for this monthly event.
The group started with about 4 members and has grown to regularly have 40+ attendees and has had up to 60+ attendees, often with people from South Australia and NSW travelling to be part of it. There have been up to 14 branches represented at the breakfasts.
Paul always makes the effort to meet and encourage any new rider or prospective member to feel part of the branch. He has also taken new riders on rides with just the two of them so that the new riders could get used to riding with others.
Paul has also started a camp for Ulyssians to participate in to build stronger camaraderie amongst the branches around the state. The camp held just out of Cohuna saw members from 4 branches participate and about 40 people attend and a great time was had by all. During the weekend on a ride into town Paul came across a rider in the street and invited him out, another contact made. Also during the weekend a new lady rider was scared about moving up to a bigger bike due to her small stature – Paul invited her to try his bike and she became excited to see that there were options in the bike market that would suit her. These are examples of how Paul encourages members new and old and potential members to feel at ease within the club.
In 2018 he shadowed the AGM Event volunteer coordinator at Barmera to prepare for the role of volunteer coordinator for the 2019 Mornington Ulysses Club National Rally.
Recently Paul has also given more of his time and energy to the Ulysses Club by taking on the role of Club Registration Permit authorising officer for Victoria.
It is with great pleasure that we nominate Paul Butler for the Dearnley medal as we believe he always works to promote the club to potential members and support existing members in many ways.

The National Committee congratulate Paul and thanks him for his service