When a life-threatening illness stripped away many of her professional ambitions, Amanda Wirtz, a former U.S. Navy code breaker and professional violinist, turned to humanitarian service and Facebook to give her life new purpose.
Wirtz was in her twenties and pursuing a career as a fitness trainer when a sharp pain in her abdomen sent her to the emergency room. Expecting something manageable like appendicitis, she instead found herself facing a rare tumor disorder that required her to undergo 30 surgeries over the next several years.
Forced to rethink her life plans, Wirtz began focusing on...
With 12 children -- six girls and six boys -- the Labordes hardly needed to add another member to their family. But they did: Over 40 years ago, Julia Mullikin, a Rotary Youth Exchange student from the United States, became like another daughter to this large family in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico.
"She's been a blessing for us," says Maria Victoria Hallal de Laborde who was 18 when Mullikin arrived in 1973. Like many exchange students, Mullikin remains close to her host family. So close that when one of Laborde's sisters was diagnosed with a rare, fatal disease, Mullikin arranged to send the...
Imagine a community where the residents are all free to plant, grow, harvest, and eat healthy food whenever they want without having to pay for it.
Sound too good to be true?
That's exactly what residents of more than 20 cities and towns in France are doing through a project called Potalib. Launched by the Rotaract Club of Versailles, Potalib was inspired by the Incredible Edible project, an international food-sharing movement founded by Nick Green in England. The Rotaract members obtained Green's permission to apply the concept in France, changing the name to "Potalib," a contraction of "...
Supporters of the anti-vaccine movement question the safety, efficacy and necessity of the very medicines that have so greatly reduced our children's risk of catching a host of once-common but potentially very serious infectious diseases, such as mumps, measles and whooping cough.
And then there's polio, the disabling, sometimes fatal virus that was every American parent's worst nightmare until effective vaccines were developed in the 1950s — and which still infects children in the developing world.
Some who oppose vaccines are well-meaning parents who have come to believe — wrongly in the...
Rotary continues to follow the developments surrounding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and advice of the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our partners in international public health.
Strengthening the health infrastructure and supporting and sustaining the deployment of government health workers throughout these outbreak areas are greatly needed. Although Rotary has limited opportunities to respond at a corporate level, our strength as an organization is firmly rooted in the grassroots response of Rotary clubs and Rotarians.
Clubs around the...
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
Robert Cuzens introduced his granddaughter, Talia, 16 years old, who attends Clarendon College in Ballarat. Talia said her Grandfather invited her to tell us about her experience in attending RYPEN, (a Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) at Creswick. Talia said she was very nervous at first because she did not know anyone. But before long she said she felt more confident, everyone was friendly, and tolerant. Many activities involved team work, e.g. the rope course and personality test, but Talia said, for her, the most terrifying experience was singing, but even that was OK in the end. She said it was a fantastic experience and she thanked the Rotary Club for their financial support.
John Hunt said some Warrnambool Foundations and SW Credit Union are ready to fund a Defibrillators Program. Defibrillators are to be made available to various Warrnambool organisations, clubs etc. John is looking for volunteers to help with the program. The Rotary Club name would appear on the advertising.
Bulletin and Website Tour
Michael Boyd demonstrated how to click on certain parts of the Bulletin and find” hidden” items. He also showed us how to connect to the District Site. Login: Name and 1969, i.e. Mary.Fitzgerald.1969 (password is 1969, although you can nominate a new password once logged in).
RYLA
It's time to start thinking about someone aged between 18-5 to send to RYLA this year. For further information, see Rachel or Terry. Information documents can also be found in the "Download Files" on the left hand side of this Bulletin.
This Rotary Year's District Conference will be 20-22 March 2015 in Maryborough.
Members are encouraged to attend and it is recommended to start thinking now about seeking accommodation in Maryborough if you plan on attending the conference. If you need any help with registration, please see Rachel.
Judy Ross thanked everyone who helped with the Estate Auction held at her father’s place on Sunday. She also donated $100 to the Rotary Club.
Tony Austin thanked Marie Bennett, Trevor Williams, Rob McNally, Keith McLeod, Judy Ross, Phillip, Ross, Anne Adams, Robert Cuzens, Joan Austin, Veronica Cuzens, Ian Cairns, John Hunt, Bunny Hinchcliff, Jim Dwyer and Janet Blackley for a very successful day. Apart from some great fellowship (sitting around talking and enjoying the sunshine) we raised just over $600. This included a most appreciated donation of $150 from the auctioneers, Brian O’Halloran & Co (Glenelg Auctions.)
David Brown introduced Associate Professor Barry Morphett. David said that on completing Year 12 at Aquinas, Barry studied Medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1975. He worked at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and the Royal Brisbane Hospital qualifying for membership of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1984. Since then he has worked as consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Southwest Health Care in Warrnambool. In 2007 he was appointed to the Deakin University School of Medicine as Associate Professor and Director of the Greater Green Triangle Clinical School. He is also a member of the National Examining Panel of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Barry summarised the history and success of the Deakin University School of Medicine and how it has grown from 1 student in 1992, to 15 in 2014, and to being oversubscribed for next year. The Deakin University School of Medicine has built a reputation for excellence and this was backed up by some interesting statistics as well as photos of the rooms set aside for the School at SW Healthcare where students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, including life-like responsive dummies on which to practice and build confidence before moving towards real life situations.
Students were often reluctant to move away from home to study in Warrnambool, however this is short-lived and Barry believes this is due largely to the dedication, knowledge and experience of the team of teachers and staff working at the school. This team also participates outside the school in activities which are not only fun, but help develop communication skills, which are important to have in dealing with patients. One such activity is the “Morphett Cup” cricket game between staff and students with 20 per side. Somehow the staff always manage to win!
It is hoped that the students’ experience in Warrnambool will encourage them to stay on in Warrnambool or to return in the future.
David thanked Barry for his speech and presented him with a certificate for a mosquito net to be given to a needy family in his name. Barry also extended an invitation to Rotarians to visit the facility at some time in the future.
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked!
As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat,
'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'
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On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother.
It read, 'The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents .'
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A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone.
'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now, she's hitting the bottle.
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It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van.Finally he said, 'What'd he do?
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While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions,
She merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'
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