From the January 2016 issue of The Rotarian. In this issue, we kick off 2016 with first-person accounts of Rotary members' most harrowing and heartfelt personal experiences. Pick up the issue to explore more stories.
Dushan “Dude” Angius
Rotary Club of Los Altos, Calif.
On Christmas Eve 1988, I picked up my son Steve at the airport. He always kept himself in good shape, but he was so skinny it was really beyond the pale. I didn’t say anything, but Christmas morning I asked him, “Are you right?”
He said, “No, actually, I’m not well at all.” At first, he said he had Kaposi sarcoma, which is a...
From the January 2016 issue of The Rotarian. In this issue, we kick off 2016 with first-person accounts of Rotary members' most harrowing and heartfelt personal experiences. Pick up the issue to explore more stories.
Naing Ko Ko
Rotary Peace Fellow
University of Queensland, Australia, 2012-13
In 1988, when I was 16, I began to protest with other students for democracy, human rights, and social justice in my home country of Burma, now called Myanmar. Four years later, I was arrested and tortured for two months in an interrogation camp. I was shackled and beaten. I was not allowed to sleep....
From the January 2016 issue of The Rotarian
Anyone who spends a weekend morning or weekday evening as a casual observer of a youth sporting event is likely to come away thinking that too many adults take kids’ sports far too seriously. Whether it’s parents who harbor illusions that their children are destined to make the pros or coaches who entertain delusions of Vince Lombardi grandeur, there always seems to be someone on the sidelines or in the bleachers with no apparent misgivings about barking dubious advice at a player or beefing at a referee.
In my experience as a baseball coach in a...
From the January 2016 issue of The Rotarian. In this issue, we kick off 2016 with first-person accounts of Rotary members' most harrowing and heartfelt personal experiences. Pick up the issue to explore more stories.
Linda Le Vine
Rotary Club of Westlake Village, Calif.
When I was a child, my mother and I lived in an apartment near the center of London. This was during World War II, and our neighborhood was constantly under assault by the Luftwaffe. Most nights and many days, monstrous bombs, sometimes from hundreds of bombers at a time, attempted to destroy our city and demoralize or murder...
From the January 2016 issue of The Rotarian
Peter Sarratori couldn’t sleep. He had treehouses on his mind. After watching a television documentary about Paul Newman that featured the late actor-entrepreneur’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses, he spent an entire night in August 2012 thinking about the camp’s 30-foot-high hideaway amid the branches. Sarratori pondered the thought of 2,500 children with special needs served by his Rotary club experiencing the feeling of being “up in the trees.”
For two decades, Sarratori has been deeply involved in...
Club Information
Welcome to our Club!
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 6:15 PM
Warrnambool Football Club
Cramer Street
Warrnambool,
Victoria 3280 Australia
SoA Andrea Sampson welcomed everyone back from the two week break over Christmas and New Year. She had a fantastic Christmas and New Years Eve with Karla and the family. Karla went night swimming with friends and came home wet, wet, wet! For the last four days they have been busy sewing. Andrea has taught Karla to sew and she made two dresses for her sisters back in Germany. They were brought along for everyone to admire the excellent handiwork and there is a photo towards the end of this Bulletin.
President Steve Giddens welcomed Rotarians and guests to the meeting including Mark Adams who has just moved to Warrnambool from Terang and was a Rotary member there; Andrea's husband Chris, Judy's sister Robyn, and John Stucky's friend Ray.
This Friday we are taking our money spinner down to the Friday Night Markets to see how that goes.
And in answer to a recent question regarding fire fighting, Steve advised that firefighters do use salt water to bomb fires. It is okay for the environment, but all the gear needs a wash out after use.
The Mini Safari for Exchange Students starts on Tuesday 19 January and goes to Saturday 23 January. Hosts are needed to host these students while they are in Warrnambool. Pre-arranged activities for the students have been planned for each night including a party at Louise's place on Wednesday 20 Jan which also happens to be Karla's birthday. All are welcome to come along. Please let Louise know if you can host any of these students for these few days.
Saturday 9 January (this Saturday) at 5:00 pm there will be a going away party for outgoing Exchange Student Ryan Keogh. Everyone is welcome to come along, just BYO drinks. Address is 19 Mortlake Road.
Judy Ross
The Christmas raffle raised $223. Many thanks to Louise Keogh for the chocolates, Jule's mother for the sponges and retailers from Timboon.
Responsible Serving of Alcohol (RSA) course will run on a Thursday. Please let Judy know if 28 January suits. The club will pay $25 towards the course and members will pay the other $25.
Jules will take over from Isobel in doing the scribe notes. Many thanks Jules.
John Stuckey has volunteered to be on the Fines team. Thanks John.
Port Fairy Folk Festival - 11 March - 14 March 2016
David Brown gave early notice that volunteers are again needed for the Folk Festival in Port Fairy. Shifts are 2 x 5 hour shifts. A roster will be brought along to the meeting next week for members to fill in.
John Hunt was in form and fined John Nisbet for playing bowls and Rob Cuzens for not noticing. David Brown for South West Credit sending promotional material in the mail. Members who didn't take a table number. All those who got a visit from Santa (almost everyone). Happy bucks from John who swam at Port Fairy and Anglesea and will be swimming his 23rd Pub to Pier at Lorne.
The Chair, Doug Maclean introduced Malcom Price as our guest speaker. Malcom is a born and bred Warrnamboolite. He left school part way through form 5 to begin a 4 year electrical appreticeship with the Warrnambool firm RG & BF Norley. Malcom worked for them for 10 years and when his employer retired, he started his own electrical business. He currently employs 5 staff and has trained 13 apprentices over the years. He currently has his first female apprentice who is about to begin her third year. Major projects completed include the ATC Warrnambool Campus, Ward 9 SWHC, Warrnambool Bowls Club, Proudfoots Boathouse, Wannon Water Gateway Road office building, Wannon Water Contract 255 just to name a few. Price Electricals were awarded state and national winner for its carrying out of Contract 255 with the National Electrical Contractors Association in 2005 and Mal has been a member of that association for over 25 years. Hobbies include hunting, fishing, competition clay target shooting, drinking red wine and living life to the max.
Malcom talked about solar energy, being off the grid using batteries, the savings that can be made with good electrical appliances and using LED lights. Some other points raised were:
The world uses 19% of energy on lighting.
Today's solar panels now have micro inverters which makes them more efficient when shads occurs on panels.
When considering changing to solar, always go with a reputable installer who can maintain the panels and give advice. Even though it is a highly regulated industry, you still get the "cowboys".
How much energy you need to run your home will determine what type/size solar panels you need to get.
Check how much energy your appliances are using, maybe you need to buy more efficient products.
Find out what are off peak times with your energy supplier. Shop around for the best deal.
Change to LED lighting which is cost efficient and safer. Don't just change the globes, but the whole installation.
If you are interested in going off the grid, i.e. storing hour energy in batteries, hold off a while, as the industry is still doing research and safety checks of various batteries and how to best store them. And over time the costs will come down, like all new technology.
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop? Yes," I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's right," I told her. "Well, then," she said as she extended her foot toward me,"would you please tie my shoe?"
With the kitty at $164 Marie had her chance and pulled out the 2 of diamonds..... bad luck Marie!
John Hunt was in form and fined John Nisbet for playing bowls and Rob Cuzens for not noticing. David Brown for South West Credit sending promotional material in the mail. Members who didn't take a table number. All those who got a visit from Santa (almost everyone). Happy bucks from John who swam at Port Fairy and Anglesea and will be swimming his 23rd Pub to Pier at Lorne.
