In the Gold Coast region, the program conducts up to six visits per property over two years, applying safe and environmentally friendly treatments at no cost to residents. Suburbs such as Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta, and Varsity Lakes are identified as high- priority zones due to their proximity to the New South Wales border, necessitating coordinated efforts across state lines.
Community involvement is pivotal. Residents in suburbs like Arundel, Parkwood, Pacific Pines, and Maudsland have participated in treatment pilots, receiving free kits to treat their own properties. Additionally, the program has established a new depot in Burleigh Heads to streamline operations and enhance response capabilities.
To support these efforts, the program offers free treatment kits to eligible households, empowering residents to actively participate in the eradication process. By fostering a collaborative approach, the Gold Coast community plays a vital role in safeguarding the region from the threat of fire ants.
THIS WEEK'S GUEST SPEAKER
Susie Longman from MND Queensland will be in to talk about how MND QLD is a leading organisation wholly focussed on supporting people living with Motor Neurone Disease and their families, friends, and carers.
If you are a new member, please let Mike Shambrook know if you already hold a valid Blue Card. If you do not have one, please contact Mike to arrange your application. Existing members are also asked to check the expiry date on their Blue Card to ensure it remains current. This helps us meet Rotary’s youth protection requirements and keeps our programs safe for all participants.
Richard Diaz - It’s with pleasure I have to announce that due to everybody's effort on Sunday the 7th, we netted $2052.00 on the day. All of this money goes into the club to fund ALL of the causes you ask your club to be involved in. A special mention goes out to the reining BBQ King, Ron Mullins, who did a sterling effort on the day. Also, Rita, one our newest members, spent the majority of of the day there on either the BBQ or Duck sales. An honourable mention goes to Nicola, another of our newest members - she was so keen to help she arrived a day early due to my communication error. Not wanting to to miss out, she assisted at Keiser on Saturday.
On the Duck race table we generated $305 in duck sales and $243 in merch sales. The merchandising sales was Vicki’s idea and was a huge success. So a total of $550 was made in 3 hrs - a very good effort.
The roster for the rest of the Duck sale tables will be up soon. Your board would like us all to login via the new club portal. I know some of us might find it challenging initially but we should all give it a go and see if we can make it work. So for the moment don’t look for the old style spreadsheet. Any questions, contact Richard.
I got to live in the Oslo city during the summer holidays, it was a lot of fun to be closer to the city centre, and a really great experience. During that time, my Norwegian really improved and now I very rarely speak English - I speak Norwegian both at school and with my new host family! I also had a summer camp at the end of the holidays, where I got to meet twelve teens from twelve countries, and it was a lot of fun and we got to do lots of interesting activities and explore new areas. Next week I go on the first camp with the new group of exchange students for the 25/26 exchange year, so I’m looking forward to that a lot!!
We have posters that we'd love to get into shop windows around the coast. If you think your local shops would be amenable to it, please let one of the Duck Race Committee know (Michael, Graham, Mike, Kevin, Jo, Vicki, Kenneth or Richard) and we'll get them to you.
Jeremy Colahan, the General Manager of the brand new Mondrian Hotel, came along to our meeting as John Campbell's guest. John selected Jeremy as a Rotary Exchangestudent back in 2003 and Jeremy spent 2004 in Germany. He spoke to us about his experience with YEP and talked to Zane about what to expect. After the meeting, John and Vicki were treated to a tour of the hotel - some spectacular rooms and stunning views.
There will be an all of Queensland online meeting on the 29th of September at 9.30am with the Domestic and Family Violence Council. This is a great opportunity to hear what is happening throughout the state, what support the D&FV Council can provide, share ideas, and help plan an activity during the 16 days of activism from 25th of November until 10th December. If you would like to be a part of this, let Anthony know and more details will be provided.
Thanks to everyone who came out to help with Keiser's Open Day. A donation to the club from Keiser was given as a thank you. Some Duck Race and Duck Merch were also sold.
If you do not have your Club Runner login information, you can go to the Club Runner website, scroll down a little and click on “Send me a Magic Link”. Enter the email address you gave to the club, and you will receive an email. Click on the login button and then select the club website. Go to ‘My Clubrunner’ and then ‘My Profile’. The ‘Edit’ button is at the top right and you can add/change any information on your profile. Click ‘Save’ and you’re done!
If you’re really feeling techy, you can download the Club Runner app.
If you would like any help resetting your password, or downloading the app to your phone, please let us know. There are a few members who can assist you.
We are looking to use Club Runner more for information and rosters, so it would be great if everyone is able to log in.
In Rotary, September is Basic Education and Literacy month
Rotary Blog
Folding 1,000 cranes and finding Rotary in every fold
By Marcelo Goberto de Azevedo, Rotary Club de Marília Leste, Brazil
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the world slowed down. But inside my home, something unexpected began to take shape – one fold at a time.
I have been a proud Rotary member since 2013. During the long months of lockdown, I found myself looking for a way to stay connected – with people, with purpose, and with hope. That’s when the idea of folding one thousand origami cranes came to me.
In Japanese tradition, a Senbazuru – folding 1,000 paper cranes – is believed to grant a heartfelt wish. My wish? For healing, for peace, and for the world to recover from the pandemic. So, I picked up a square of paper and started folding. Read more here.
Rotary Down Under News
A year on the waves
By Sarah Atkins. President, No Borders Rotaract
Mini Globe Race competitor and Rotary ambassador Jasmine Harrison is currently sailing solo from Thursday Island to Cocos (Keeling) Islands in her 19-foot Rotary-branded yacht Numbatou, more than halfway through her world traverse.
WHEN we last caught up with Jasmine Harrison, she was 7,000 miles into her globe-spanning adventure, on her way to the Marquesas islands.
Now on leg three of the Mini Globe Race, en route to Cape Town, Jasmine enjoyed a month-long stopover in Fiji, which completed leg two of the race. The novice sailor, who set off from Portugal in December, has now sailed more than halfway around the world, over 12,000 nautical miles. Read about her epic trip here.
Rotary News
Creative Thinking Helps Fund Early Childhood Education
By Etelka Lehoczky
When Patrick Moore set out to raise money for early childhood education in his small community in central Louisiana, USA, he faced one big problem: exhaustion. Potential donors in the area were weary of being asked to give.
“Going out and asking for money just doesn’t work right now,” says Moore, a member of the Rotary Club of Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. “As a business owner and a person who’s served on foundation boards, I’ve seen how you get asked every day, twice a day, for donations to different causes. After a while, people are just tired.”
But in late 2023 Moore found a compelling reason to knock on donors’ doors no matter how tired they might be. A foundation serving his local area, the parish of Rapides, Louisiana, was offering a matching grant that could bring millions into the community for desperately needed childcare. Read all about it here.
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Please check the roster for the next few weeks and advise Vicki and David Ungar if you will be away that week
Adam Russell, along with Deb and Liz gave us a talk about 
Tony Heading lost a bet on the Suns game last week and he made good on that at the meeting. There are no words...
