 President Elect Steve Giddens introduced guest speakers George McLeod and Melissa Rush of the Warrnambool Rotaract Club. George spoke first and advised that he is a relatively new member of the Warrnambool Rotaract Club and is the current Vice President. He moved to Warrnambool in early 2013 for work and since he didn't really know anyone, his Uncle Keith McLeod recommended that he join the Rotaract Club. Joining Rotaract was first and foremost a chance for George to meet some new people and start establishing some connections. So far, George said it's been a success, having made friends and had many good times already.
Over the last year Rotaract has been aiming to recruit new members and often finds that many potential members are also seeking new friendships. To that end Rotaract has been running regular social nights with open invitations for new people to come along and have a good time.
Taking on new responsibilities and leadership roles. Organising the more recent social nights has become George's de facto responsibility to the club, as well as supporting President, Isaac Rothman in a leadership role whenever required. When Isaac is unavailable, it has fallen to George to run the proceedings at meetings. In this way, Rotaract has provided organic challenges that help develop leadership skills and responsibilities.
George's earliest experiences with Rotary were back in 2004. While he was in Grade 10 he joined an Interact Club. In 2005 he served as the Treasurer and in 2006 he was Vice President. Back then two fund raisers per year were held and annual profits were donated to local charities.
Another organisation George has been heavily involved with for the last 10 years is the Young Scientists of Australia. The Young Scientists are a collection of organisations dedicated to the promotion of science to the youth of Australia. They are also involved in organising and running The Science Experience at various universities around the country, which is attended by high school students and aims to kindle interest in tertiary education, particularly in the science and engineering fields.
Next week George will be heading up to Brisbane as a volunteer staff member, helping to run his final Science Experience ever. What George thinks the program really does well is that it allows secondary students to experience a taste of general university culture, which helps them get a better idea of what to expect from tertiary education.
The Rotaract Club of Warrnambool's current focus is on Youth Education and Health. For George personally, education is very important. He believes that further education has a very positive impact on the quality of life in our society and he hopes that the club's goals can be met to support education in the future.
Melissa is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Warrnambool Rotaract Club and has been a member for almost two years. She found her way into Rotaract through Isaac Rothman who is the President of the club. She works alongside him at Mpower and he encouraged her to join. Within the short time Melissa has been in Rotaract, she has had a very positive experience. The roles she has taken on have helped her to develop and gain confidence in new skills such as organising and planning different events and building communication skills. She has learnt how to take the minutes at formal meetings and take part and observe how formal meetings are run.
She has also met some wonderful people with a similar drive. In Rotaract it's not all serious and social nights are conducted once a month. In the past they've attended local trivia nights at the Seanchai, had movie nights and done a murder mystery. She has assisted with different Rotaract projects such as the annual trivia night and Australia Day face painting.
This year Rotaract is looking at doing a group blood donation here locally at the Red Cross Centre. They have looked into doing some Bunnings and Woolly's BBQs for various charities. They've commenced planning the Australia Day face painting event and will begin planning for the annual trivia night soon. If anyone would like to help out or volunteer their time, it would be most appreciated. Or if Rotary has any projects that they could be involved in they would be happy to help out.
Rotaract's focus is on youth health and education at the local, national and international level. Melissa is passionate about this topic as she is studying to become a nurse and hopes to address some of the health issues for youth in the near future. Last year she went on a study tour with Deakin University to the Philippines and undertook medical missions in the Luzon area and also in Dumaguete. The focus was on improving the health of those under the poverty line and this included children. This involved doing health assessments and promoting health through education, which was a little difficult with the language barrier. But Melissa has seen first-hand the effects of poverty on a child's education and therefore, on their health. Poverty causes a great inequality and when children lack sufficient education, it can also impact upon their health. It causes a ripple effect. The effects follow them throughout life. So it's a very important area, not only internationally, but also here in Australia.
Melissa eventually plans to do some aid work as well as undertaking studies in midwifery.
In the past year Rotaract started with only 5 members and has gained an additional 5 members, doubling membership to 10. They are looking at expanding the group and developing new projects. So if any Rotarians know of anyone who might potentially be interested, please let them know, and even spreading the word about Rotaract would be appreciated.
Following some questions, Steve Giddens thanked George and Melissa for their interesting presentations and presented them with a certificate for a mosquito net to be donated to a family in New Guinea.
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Money Spinner
The highest temperature recorded in Denmark ever is 36.4
A worthwhile event which some of our Rotarians and their families may wish to attend on Friday 9 January.