2025-07-02 Rotary Newsletter - The RCGG Breeze (Jul 07, 2025)

Weekly Meeting Highlights July 2nd

Rotary Notes 020725 Rotary Club of Greater Geraldton.

Geraldton Golf Club, Pass Street ,7am

President Hugh Lavery

Sergeant Bob Urquhart

Invocation and Toast Kevin Green

Attendance: Jim Dillon, Barry Dring, Di Gilleland, Kevin Green, Hugh Lavery, Robert Mosel, Don Rolston, Terry Stewart, Peter Sukiennik, Robert Symington, Ian Taylor, Bob Urquhart, Grant Woodhams, Anthony Ambrose.

Announcements:

President Hugh Lavery

- Our next Board meeting is 17th July.

RCGG Directors for 25-26

President Hugh Lavery

Sgt Bob Urquhart

President Elect Bob Hall

Secretary Grant Woodhams

Treasurer Rob Mosel

Club Administration vacant

Youth and Exchange Hugh Lavery

Membership and Young Leaders Barry Dring

Vocation vacant

Foundation Kevin Green

Programme Chair Bob Hall

Key Roles

Publicity and Social Media Di Gilleland

Rotary Radio Auction Robert Symington

Landor/Mullewa Muster Peter Sukiennik

Bicycles for Humanity Peter Moore

Bulletin Editor Ian Taylor

Rotary Youth Exchange Mentor Kelly Young (RC Batavia Coast)

Club Protection Officer Ian Taylor

Hugh indicated the importance of filling the roles of Club Administration and Vocational Service.

Rotary Youth Exchange - We are seeking two more host families, for the Autumn and Winter placements in 2026. Please contact Hugh for more information.

Changeover/Annual Dinner - Awards and Recognition

Rotarians of the Year: Robert Mosel and Robert Urquhart.

RYPEN : Tristan Watson received a certificate for his attendance at the RYPEN camp in MAy

We awarded four Paul Harris Fellowships: Di Gilleland, Peter Sukiennik, Peter Moore and the Geraldton Voluntary Tour Guides. Hugh noted the importance of the Tour Guides and how their community service is now connected to Rotary's worlwide efforts.

Special mention was also made of the contributions made by Jo Clarke and Laurie Dines.

Bob and Bob -Rotarians of the Year

Tristan Watson, with his Mother Beth

PP Di Gilleland received her 5th Paul Harris Fellow Recognition

Julie Urquhart receiving a Certificate of Appreciation to mark the Paul Harris Fellowship donated on behalf of the Geraldton Voluntary Guides Association

Julie Urquhart thanking Rotary on behalf of the Geraldton Voluntary Tour Guides

Kirrrilee War MLA, Member for Geraldton and Honorary Member, Mayor Jerry Clune

Thought for the day with Barry Dring:

"We have two ears and one mouth, we should use them in that proportion."

Floor Announcements:

Bob Symington: Radio Auction demands a lot of our time if we are to make it a success. It is a whole of club project. Pledge forms are available for potential sponsors, supporters, donors. Di Gilleland has sorted the block sponsors. $300 per block sponsor.

Rob Mosel: With respect to the District 9660 (Nthn NSW) Flood Appeal. Our $5,000 donation will become ten x $500 vouchers to help ten families.

Guest Speaker: Club President Hugh Lavery

We are down to twenty three members. In recent times Karen Godfrey, Jason McCarthy and Laurie Dines have resigned.

We need to regrow and re-invigorate.

When the Rotary Club of Geraldton-Greenough and the Rotary Club of Geraldton combined we had forty nine members!

Hugh has undertaken Rotary's Fit for Purpose programme on behalf of our club.

Our challenge now is to transform.

Are we a traditional club?

Are we a fundraising club?

Think about the contributions members made who have left in recent times.

It is neither complex or difficult to join Rotary-

The characteristics of a good Rotarian are good standing in the community, potential for executive decision making and the ability to show leadership.

Of our twenty three members only four aren't retired.

Of our twenty three, roughly fifty percent are away at any one time.

This means there is a big work load on remaining members.

Rotary is tiring people out!

New members shouldn't be seen as new workers and pigeon holed into certain roles.

In this coming Rotary year, RWADE - Rotary WA Driver Education will not happen in Geraldton because no one in our club is prepared to organise it.

The Radio Auction is also wearing our members out.

We should be prepared to start projects and then hand them over to the community to run.

We are not attractive to millenials. We need to pursue projects and develop a culture that enables potential new members to follow their passions.

Questions:

Kevin Green: Should we combine with RC Batavia Coast?

Don Rolston: Do we need to do exit interviews?

Heads and Tails Raffle won by Rob Mosel.

Psalm Talamo 5 Month Report

Psalm Talamo on Rotary Youth Exchange to Italy

June- July 2025

Ciao, Jo and Hugh, and Members and Friends of the Rotary Club of Greater Geraldton. Another busy month. Here is my month 5 report:

At the start of June, we finished our last week at school. On the final day, there was a celebration for the graduating class of 2025, and after school, we spent the afternoon at the beach together. I was so happy for school to be finished—HAHA.

On the 12th of June, I flew to Paris to begin the Europe tour. We visited seven countries in eleven days. We started in Paris, staying two nights, and saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum (with the Mona Lisa), Notre Dame Cathedral, and toured the city centre.

After Paris, we took a bus to Brussels in Belgium, where we stopped for lunch, explored the city centre, and tried Belgian fries and waffles. We also visited the Atomium for photos.

Our journey continued to Amsterdam, where we stayed two nights. We cycled around the city, took a boat through the canals, visited Anne Frank’s house, and went to the A’dam Lookout, where some exchange students tried the swing.

The next leg was a ten-hour journey to Berlin. We spent two nights there, visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, seeing the Berlin Wall (including the famous fraternal kiss painting), and even signing our names on the wall. We also toured the city centre and saw the location where Hitler died.

After Berlin, we took a bus to Prague for a lunch stop, admired the beautiful architecture, and tasted the famous funnel cake, which originated in Hungary. We then headed to Vienna for two nights. There, we toured the city centre and visited the Schonbrunn Palace, home of Maria Theresa and Franz Joseph.

After returning to our hotel, we enjoyed a swim in the nearby lake. The following day, we went to the Belvedere Museum before heading to Budapest, Hungary, for a two-night stay.

In Budapest, we toured the city and dined at a traditional Hungarian restaurant with live performances of traditional dances. We also visited the Parliament House at night to see its glowing lights and took some photos.

On our second to last day, we returned to Italy, stopping briefly in Slovenia for lunch before arriving in Venice. We had free time in the city centre, and that night, we took part in flag signing and a talent show—my friends and I sang "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

We didn’t win, but the Aussie girls and I also danced the Nutbush and sang "Tequilla," replacing the word with "water" in a strong Australian accent. On the final day, we said our goodbyes. It was sad, but the trip was enjoyable and memorable.

I also celebrated my 18th birthday. My mum organised with my host sister to get me flowers and a little Stitch stuffed bear. I spent the day at the beach and had lunch with friends, then dinner with my host family, who bought me a cake decorated with the Australian flag. It was a great day.

Other than the Europe tour, I haven’t done much else. I’ve been going to the beach almost every day with my friends and hanging out with them every night. I’ve also been practising more Italian; my host siblings say I’m getting much better now.

Hope all is well in Australia. Big hugs, Psalm

A few photos

A few more photos

2025-06-25 Guest Speaker, Amy Ying

Life after Rotary Youth Exchange (to Australia in 2009)

Guest Speaker, Amy Ying, from Taiwan introduced by her former host mother Di Gilleland.

The Gilleland's were Amy's first host parents in Geraldton. Other host parents included the Cooper, Beaver and Young families.

Amy says it made a difference to her being a Rotary Exchange student. She learned different lifestyles, hobbies and interests from her host families.

When she returned to Taiwan she went to university. And then she went into business. Up to 70% of business in Taiwan these days revolves around technology and the growth of AI- artificial intelligence.

However Amy has pursued a different track and is managing a 'holiday house' for meetings, re-unions, weddings and the like. She has a video which she plays showing that the wooden 'holiday house' can accommodate up to twenty four people.

She is happy to be back in Geraldton, her second home.

Questions

Hugh Lavery - What makes a good host parent?

Grant Woodhams - What is the relationship between China and Taiwan?

Russell McKinnon - What was it like to leave Taiwan as a teenager and come to Australia?

Emily Beaver - Did you choose Australia as your exchange country?

Hugh Lavery - What advice would you give to other exchange students?

Hugh recorded Amy's presentation, and it can be found on youTube here :

Amy's presentation on YouTube

Hugh Lavery presented Amy with our traditional certificate of donation on her behalf of 50 polio vaccinations to End Polio Now and Amy reciprocated with a gift to Hugh. (We suspect he ate it! - No, he didn't - Donated to RC of Batavia Coast's High Tea, Changeover)

Rotary Youth Exchange -Creating Lifetime Friendship

Photos- L to R

1. Ray Cooper, Alan, Amy, Di Gilleland

2.Bob Urquhart,Amy, Di Gilleland

3. Ray Cooper, Amy Ying, Di Gilleland

4. Amy Ying, Sarah Price-Walkley, Emily Beaver

5. Andrew Beaver, Sarah, Emily Beaver, Mandy Beaver, President Hugh

After the meeting, President Hugh commented that "the Rotary Youth Exchange Program is the ONE thing we do that connects all of us- within the Club, within our Families and the Community, within our District, and across the World, AND across Time - a fantastic program and THANK YOU to all the volunteers that make it happen"

Guest SPeaker David Power - CEO Centacare - 18 June 2025

Guest Speaker David Power from Centacare:

Centacare has been in Geraldton since 1986. They turn over between $M5-6/yr. Owned by the Catholic Church, who are very hands off. The local Bishop is their only representative on the Board. Their funds are 40% Federal, 30% State with the rest raised locally.

Some of the services they provide include mental health, family separation, children's contact, emergency financial relief, 'Men's Hub' and 'Housing First'. They have offices in Geraldton, Carnarvon and Exmouth and operate across the MidWest and Gascoyne and associated towns and communities.

Last year it is estimated that 10% of Geraldton accessed Centacare services. This year will probably be higher. Since Covid demand for services has increased noticeably and the costs to operate Centacare have also risen substantially.

To try and overcome some of the financial challenge, Centacare has organised a Gala Dinner on 26 July. Similar to Christmas in July it is intended to bring the community together while also providing some education about the work that Centacare does. Tickets are $210ea and discounted for a table of eight.

There is the need for volunteers to help on the night.

Questions and comments from Barry Dring, Don Rolston and Hugh Lavery.

Hugh indicates that our RCGG Board will talk about how to help Centacare and their Gala dinner at the meeting tomorrow night. NB The Board has indicated that they fully support the initiative and will be proactive in encouraging assistance.

President Hugh presented David with a certificate representing 50 Vaccinations donated to the End Polio Now program on his behalf

Guest Speaker Russell McKinnon - 11 June 2025

Guest Speaker: Russell McKinnon ex Wanganui First XIV.

Russell initially outlined how the magazine he produces "Caravans West" was scammed by a Chinese company. He then went on to elaborate on the recent Caravan Association of WA biennial rally which was held in Geraldton.

Eighty Six caravans parked on the No.2 Oval at Eadon Clarke for the forty sixth running of the event.

It was a good turnout by comparison with recent rallies which saw one hundred and seventy at Pingelly, but only seventy six in Bunbury.

There are seven hundred caravans in the WA association. The last national rally was in Albany in 2019 (Pre-Covid) where two hundred and eighty vans turned up from all over Australia.

Meanwhile there are fifty caravans in the local MW club, but very few of them camped at Eadon Clarke although many participated in the various activities that were organised e.g. ladder golf, disc bowls, horse racing and a visit to the HMAS Sydney Memorial.

The Geraldton rally tipped $67,000 into the local economy.

President Hugh thanked Russell for informative talk and contribution to the local community.

The Magic of Rotary - President Hugh

President's Report - Hugh Lavery:

Apologies for not presenting in person. Thanks for getting zoom working to enable the sharing of the incoming World President Stephanie Urchick's address:

It can be found on the internet here: “The Magic of Rotary”

Short version

Long Version and well worth the 15 minutes.

It is also very rewarding to watch Stephanie Urchick's presentation on making a Rotary Club irresistible.

Hugh's message echoes Stephanie's in making our meetings irresistible and engaging. Have conversation, connect, learn and get involved in the Community. It is important that we become a more diverse membership.

HMAS Sydney II Memorial

“OUR GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY”

In 1998 the Rotary Club of Geraldton (now Greater Geraldton) embarked on an ambitious journey to build a memorial on Mt Scott in Geraldton, dedicated to the 645 sailors lost at sea when the HMAS Sydney II was sunk off the Mid-West coast during World War II. The HMAS Sydney II Memorial is by far the largest and proudest project the RCG has undertaken.

Australia’s worst naval disaster occurred on 19 November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK KORMORAN, in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. Geraldton was the last port visited prior to her demise. The loss of the SYDNEY with its full war complement of 645 sailors remains etched in the nations psyche. The KORMORAN was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 survived. The fate of the Sydney remained one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries until the location of the wreck in 2008.
“LEST WE FORGET”