Two years ago, U.S. Rotary members in Maine set out to improve the education system in Bikaner, Rajasthan, an Indian city near the border of Pakistan.
The Rotary Club of Kennebunk Portside chose Bikaner because club member Rohit Mehta was originally from the area and had connections there. Mehta put the club in contact with Rotarians in India to provide desks for four government-run schools.
But when community leaders returned with a request for more desks, the Maine Rotarians decided they had to think bigger. The Rotary Foundation had rolled out its new grant model, which required that the...
Enjoying calm winds and peaceful Pacific waters, Seung Jin Kim dove off his 43-foot sailboat, the Arapani, to swim with some dolphins nearby. The serenity that day near the equator was a stark contrast to the 60 mph winds and 23-foot waves he had to fight around Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America. But Kim, a veteran sailor and member of the Rotary Club of Seokmun, in Chungcheongnam, Korea, expected such challenges when he set out in mid-October on a 25,600-mile journey around the world. In addition to fulfilling a lifelong dream, Kim is using the trip to raise awareness and funds...
After the first cases of Ebola reached Liberia's capital, Monrovia, last June, local Rotary members feared that the city's limited health care system wouldn't be able to contain the highly infectious, often-deadly disease.
Those fears were realized when infections quickly multiplied, underscoring the speed with which Ebola can spread in an urban center. It was the first time the hemorrhagic fever had threatened a major city since it erupted in West Africa last March.
Now, after months of crisis-level response, and with the number of new cases declining, club members are looking to the long...
Despite his longstanding interest in polio eradication, polio was not on Joe Pratt's mind as he prepared for a mid-April 2012 climb of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth. But that changed in late 2011, when the resident of Nottingham, New Hampshire, USA, participated in a polio immunization project in Pakistan with fellow Rotary member Steve Puderbaugh.
Moved by the efforts of the Pakistanis to battle the crippling disease, and by the vulnerability of the young victims, Pratt reset the focus of his climbing adventure. Pakistan is one of three countries where polio has never been...
Members of the Rotary Club of San Francisco Evening meet at a wine bar after work, share a social outing, and promote all their activities on social media like Meetup and Facebook.
As the first evening club in the city, it has attracted many young professionals from Silicon Valley tech firms whose work schedules keep them from joining a more traditional club that meets for breakfast or lunch. But more than that, the evening format has helped the club grow by 30 percent since it received its charter in mid-2013.
Danielle Lallement, who was its charter president, says the club has been...
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
Past president John Hunt opened the meeting and welcomed all Rotarians.
Acting President Ian Cairns welcomed our two guest speakers Gemma Gibbons and Scott Gall. Ian also said how lovely it was to see Keith McLeod back at Rotary following the recent death of his wife Pat. Ian expressed the view that Keith must have felt very proud of his adult children who spoke at their mother’s funeral service.
John Harris has been away overseas for over a month and spoke about catching up with Nick, a former exchange student who stayed with them. Nick now has a small son and a university degree in Outdoor Education and is working in Anchorage, Alaska where he takes groups of people on glacier tours. John said Nick is just the same and still has his dreadlocks!
Film Night - Woman in Gold - Thursday 21 May 6:30 pm for a 7:00 pm start
John spoke of the upcoming fundraising film night on Thursday 21 May at 6:30 pm for a 7:00 pm start. Woman in Gold tells the true story of a Jewish woman's search to reclaim what her family lost during the 2WW. Tickets are $20 and John had tickets with him for sale but they can also be purchased from any members of Inner Wheel. The film is a fundraiser for South West Healthcare.
Judy Ross gave an update on her husband Phillip's health and thanked those who phoned to ask how he was. Judy said he needs time to heal his body and has to take things very quietly, so is under "petticoat arrest" and not permitted to drive or work for the next few weeks. Phillip returns to the Alfred Hospital for a CAT scan and medical review on 26 May.
DINNER AUCTION TICKETS
Judy advised that there are very few seats left for the Dinner Auction. The Hospice Committee has sold 33 tickets, Macs Snacks has 10 tickets. Judy requires the ticket money ($30 per person) to be paid to her by Tuesday 19 May.
DINNER AUCTION PROGRESS
Michael Boyd provided an update on the Dinner Auction. So far items donated total approximately $33,000 and 240 businesses have generously donated, with only about 25 saying no. Forty businesses are yet to answer if they are going to make a donation and Michael is expecting the majority of them will say no. Next week is the collection of wine for the wine auction which proved very successful last year. Rotarians are also asked to bring an item for the wheelbarrow raffle to next week's meeting.
WHEELBARROW RAFFLE
Donations are needed for the Wheelbarrow Raffle at the Dinner Auction. Plants, garden items, food, wine etc. Please give your contribution to Svet Lineham who is doing the Wheelbarrow Raffle this year.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE SCIENCE CHALLENGE ON 23 JUNE
To help supervise activities on the day and set up the day before. Approximately 8 people needed. Please see Gordon Curran if you can help out.
VOTING FOR INVOCATION
Voting slips were placed on all tables and Rotarians were asked to vote in a private ballot for one of two choices on offer: (1) for the status quo to remain the current invocation; and (2) for a statement on the Object of Rotary
The Board has agreed that the Loyal Toast will remain.
FIGHT AGAINST ICE
Ian Cairns spoke of a new project aimed at raising public awareness in the fight against the drug ICE. This project, which was successfully run in Geelong and was originally planned to come just to Warrnambool, has now been embraced by the five shires in the South West and many agencies such as Brophy, the Police and Daybreak Rotary. Ian said according to Warrnambool Police, there are at least 50 ICE related incidents a week involving the Police - and that is just the serious incidents.
Brauer College needs 2 more people for the roster to supervise the GAT and also be available for the end of year VCE Exams in late October through to the middle of November.
These are PAID positions by VCAA at around $25 per hour with generally a minimum of about 2.5 hours for any exam.
The positions particularly suit a retired person but this is not essential.
HOWEVER, no person can be a supervisor if they are a relative of a student in Y12 at Brauer, live with a person who works at Brauer, don’t have a “working with Children’ check, tutor or have a close association with a Y12 student at Brauer.
Anyone who feels they are eligible will need to sign a Statutory Declaration saying they are free to be able to supervise (given the conditions above) and WILL be phoned by VCAA to confirm their suitability.
Our guest speakers last night were Scott Gall and Gemma Gibbons (both 18 years old) who took part in "Alternative Schoolies in 2014" a project in the Philippines. Scott and Gemma together with 14 other young people (4 boys and 10 girls) from across Moyne, Warrnambool. Corangamite Shires spent 23 days at a village on the outskirts of Davau as well as in Saboo and Manilla. Their project was to refurbish 12 dilapidated classrooms at TV Fernandez Elementary School in Indangan Village. The buildings had been badly damaged by a super typhoon which hit the Philippines in 2013.
The aim was to refurbish 12 classrooms which were so damaged and required so much hard physical labour they only managed 9 buildings (8 classrooms and one teachers room). They had a local carpenter / builder to help them but other than that they did the remainder of the restoration work. Gemma commented that OH&S was non existent. The group enjoyed the interaction with the local children, many of whom had not seen white people before. The school day started with a dance to pop music and this doubled as the morning exercise program for the children. The Australian students were surprised at how nationalistic the local children were with a pledge to their country and by singing the national anthem daily.
The Visitors also noted how respectful the children and young people are to their elders. No one was permitted to leave any food on their plates and they spoke of eating rice several times a day. They also ate a local delicacy - chickens which were within two days of hatching. Some members of the group spent time at Paradise Island; they were fascinated by the children's agility at climbing coconut palms and they witnessed great poverty when they visited the Smoking Mountain which is nothing more than a huge pile of rubbish. Some of the group visited Manila. In Sabu they visited an orphanage for children under three years of age who had been orphaned by the 2013 typhoon.
The group bagged about 200 tons of Rice and donated this to about 500 local families, but still people missed out. People are very poor and they were very grateful for the donation of rice. Because of changes in the exchange rate the group were about $3,000 short and did not have the funds to meet their desired targets so they got onto Facebook and asked friends and family to donate money. This was so successful they raised an extra $5000 which allowed them to purchase more rice and give it away to extra poor families. It was an eye opener for the group to see how the local people live in simple crude dwellings with dirt floors and Gemma said how grateful and lucky it made them feel to come from such an affluent country.
Gemma and Scott said it was a life changing experience and both plan to return to do more work. The students who attended Alternative Schoolies all raised their own funds to go away.
Geraldine Edgar Ralph the program Coordinator spoke of her pride and gratitude in the students, their hard work, the initiative they showed raising the extra funds and of Scott’s generosity when he donated money from his savings. In addition to the rebuilding of several classrooms the group helped provide food for 670 families. A wonderful effort from a small group of students who chose to do some good rather than head for Queensland to get drunk and party.
Membership has been, and probably will remain, a challenge for Rotary clubs throughout the world. However, there is a solution. Tired Rotary clubs can be enlivened and revitalised through the introduction of people of all ages, and of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
The Rotary Club of Central Blue Mountains at Wentworth Falls, NSW took on the membership challenge a couple of years ago. A goal was to induct one new member a month over 12 months. Membership went from 22 to 34 members in a year. The club now boasts 38 members, and those newer people all have a task and are enjoying their Rotary experience.
How was the membership plan achieved?
First, it was necessary to invest in people. Looking after existing members and catering for their needs was most important. There is no point in gaining some only to lose others through lack of communication or dissatisfaction. Also, members had to be willing to accept change.
Meetings were streamlined. The sergeant-at-arms was stripped of his fines session, Rotary formalities were eliminated, business at meetings was cut to a minimum, good guest speakers and an á la carte menu were introduced, and one long dining table was used at meetings, helping to break up cliques. Social activities assisted in assimilating the new people, each of whom had a mentor until they became familiar with our organisation.
It was also essential to have a high profile and be extremely active within the community.
Successful Rotary information nights were arranged. Invitations were sent to local people who had shown an interest in Rotary and to those who would be suitable Rotarians.
Social media and handheld devices have rewritten the rules, so it was necessary to embrace Facebook, Twitter and the internet to interact with members and the community. People became connected. The weekly newsletter was expanded as an information source, not just for members, but for Rotarians and interested people across District 9685.
Publicity was increased, with the club being referred to as “Central Blue Mountains” or “CBM Rotary”. Use of the word “club” in publicity was discouraged. A large catering trailer at local events and Sunday markets helped to build an excellent public image through improved vizability.
The introduction of new people with their respective skills stimulated the original members, producing a happier, brighter and enthusiastic outcome to weekly meetings and activities.
In other words, Central Blue Mountains, as a group of determined Rotarians became enterprising and proactive in more ways than one.
Central Blue Mountains is robust, still growing and it will continue to do so. Its reputation will endure through greater exposure to its local community, Rotary District 9685 and its achievements as a proactive entity of Rotary International.
An Arizona Highway Patrol officer stops a Harley for traveling faster than the posted speed limit, so he asks the biker his name
“Fred,” he replies
“Fred what?” the officer asks
“Just Fred,” the man responds.
The officer is in a good mood, thinks he might just give the biker a break, and write him out a warning instead of a ticket. The officer then presses him for the last name. The man tells him that he used to have a last name but lost it. The officer thinks that he has a nut case on his hands but plays along with it.
“Tell me, Fred, how did you lose your last name?”
The biker replies, “It's a long story, so stay with me. I was born Fred Johnson. I studied hard and got good grades. When I got older, I realized that I wanted to be a doctor. I went through college, medical school, internship, residency, and finally got my degree, so I was Fred Johnson, MD. After a while I got bored being a doctor, so I decided to go back to school. Dentistry was my dream! Got all the way through school, got my degree, so then I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS. Got bored doing dentistry, so I started fooling around with my assistant and she gave me VD, so now I was Fred Johnson, MD, DDS, with VD.”
“Well, the ADA found out about the VD, so they took away my DDS. Then I was Fred Johnson, MD, with VD. Then the AMA found out about the ADA taking away my DDS because of the VD, so they took away my MD leaving me as Fred Johnson with VD. Then the VD took away my Johnson, so now I am just Fred.”
An Arizona Highway Patrol officer stops a Harley for traveling faster than the posted speed limit, so he asks the biker his name