Anna Caldwell from LifeFlight shared an inspiring overview of their mission and community impact. Established in 1979 as a grassroots helicopter service, Life Flight has grown into the southern hemisphere’s largest aeromedical provider, delivering critical care 24/7 at no cost to patients. With eight bases, 21 helicopters, and jets, the service spans Queensland and the Indo-Pacific, coordinating missions from Brisbane HQ. Anna, Community Engagement Lead for the Gold Coast and Brisbane, highlighted patient stories—including a boy’s life-saving hand surgery after a motorcycle accident—and the vital role of their highly trained crews. Missions range from flood rescues to neonatal transfers, with continuous training and maintenance ensuring readiness. A new $10 billion government investment will fund a Sunshine Coast hub, but community fundraising and programs like First Minutes Matter remain essential. Anna encouraged ongoing community support, noting volunteer opportunities and events that help sustain Life Flight’s lifesaving work.
THIS WEEK'S GUEST SPEAKER
Alex from AlexTranscend is a former professional athlete and visionary equestrian educator who transformed a career-ending injury into a new approach to riding that prioritised harmony between rider and horse, body and mind. He founded a riding school in Australia, wrote a curriculum and a book, and trained instructors and students to experience riding as both self-care and high performance.
Today, he brings that same philosophy to the stage, guiding audiences to move beyond survival, dissolve internal conflict, and live in coherence. Known for my direct, heart-centered style, he speaks on Identity Coherence, The Art of Being Seen, Living Beyond Fear, Authentic Leadership, and Creating Safety for True Self-Expression.
Hat Day
Rotary’s Australian Rotary Health (ARH) Mental Health Day is a time for clubs and communities to come together in support of mental wellbeing. This year, we’re marking the occasion with “Hat Day” - a fun, eye-catching way to raise awareness and funds for vital mental health research. Members are encouraged to wear their brightest, quirkiest, or most creative hats to meetings and events, showing that while mental illness can be serious, support and conversation don’t have to be sombre. All donations go directly to ARH projects that improve prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of mental health issues across Australia. So pop on a hat, have a laugh, and help shine a light on mental health — because together, we can make a real difference.
Thank you to everyone who assisted at our Duck Rack Sales stalls over the weekend. Around 100 ducks were sold along with over $100 of merchandise. Great effort!
There are shifts available over the next few weeks. Click on the link above (Volunteer Opportunities) to sign up.
Garden fix-up for returned service people in late November/early December
Global Grant Success
Fantastic news! A US$146,000 Global Grant has been approved to fund an operating microscope in Sri Lanka. This will increase daily eye surgeries from 30 to 45 and reduce patient backlogs by 2,000 within a year.
Club Generosity
Our club continues to give generously, with over US$125,000 contributed to the Annual Fund since inception.
Fellowship Ahead
Don’t miss the Rotary International Breakfast on 30 October - a great chance for connection and celebration.
Member Recognition
Congratulations to our member, Andy Rajapakse, appointed as aide to the Rotary International President Elect during his Gold Coast visit. We also thank our Regional Membership Director for his outstanding service as he steps down at year’s end.
This month is a special one - our club turns 70 years old. That’s seven decades of people coming together to make a difference locally, nationally, and globally. What an incredible legacy to be part of.
We’ll officially celebrate our 70th birthday at the World’s Greatest Meal Breakfast on Thursday 30 October. It’ll be a great morning of connection and purpose as we welcome Rotary International President-Elect Olayinka Babalola from Nigeria. If you haven’t booked yet, make sure you do - it’s going to be one of those mornings you’ll remember.
Tickets: $44 per person (includes breakfast and a $5 donation to End Polio Now)
Members: Use the BHR1955 code at checkout to apply your member discount.
Zone 8 Conference – Twin Towns | 31 Oct–2 Nov
The Zone 8 Conference is coming up at Twin Towns. It does overlap slightly with our Duck Race on Sunday, but if you have the time, I’d really encourage you to attend one of the sessions on Friday or Saturday, or even just join in for the dinner or social events.
For new members in particular, it’s a fantastic opportunity to see Rotary on a larger scale — to hear the big ideas, meet people doing incredible things across the region, and see how our small corner of the world connects to something much bigger.
From the Boardroom
A few updates from our most recent Board meeting:
ClubRunner Volunteer Module – Approved
We’ve subscribed to the Volunteer Module which will make managing event rosters and sign-ups much simpler. Check in with Vicki if you’d like a quick run-through on how to use it.
New Member Welcome Packs
We’re putting together new member packs that will include a club shirt, hat, and Rotary pin.
For anyone who’d like to purchase their own, please email me your expression of interest so we can finalise the first order.
A preview of the shirt design will be sent out in the coming weeks.
POS Machine Installed
Thanks to a community grant, our new point-of-sale machine is now set up at meetings — making payments and donations much easier.
18 December – Final meeting of the year (Christmas theme!)
A Quick Note
I won’t be at this week’s meeting — Mick Shambrook and I will be attending the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce breakfast to help drive support and ticket sales for the Duck Race. It’s one of our biggest community fundraisers, and we’re keen to make sure the local business community gets behind it.
Thank you all for the effort and enthusiasm you continue to bring. Our club’s 70-year story is made up of people just like you — showing up, lending a hand, and keeping the Rotary spirit alive and thriving.
See you soon,
Jo
President 2025–2026
Rotary Club of Burleigh Heads
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Club runner information
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.
John Campbell and Vicki Kersey attended the Broadwater Southport Club on Friday morning - host club of their host son, Didac from Spain. Beautiful venue, great breakfast and Deb Frugtniet as their guest speaker.
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Margaret thought people might be interested in this series (3 Seasons made 1996, 2000, 2002), as the father of a member (Richard Diaz) was interviewed (last ep season 1). It's a series on immigrants to Australia after WW2 migrating between 1949-1959), when Australia was looking for workers. She first it found by accident on SBS, only short episodes. Also maybe people will have heard of Beppi's in Sydney and Guiseppi who opens Opera House restaurant (after growing up in Brisbane). Season 3 looks at refugees from Afghanistan.
By Herb Silverman, president of the Rotary Club of IMPACT Ocala, Florida, USA
Rotary International has united people through service, fellowship, and purpose for over a century. From leading the effort to eradicate polio, to providing clean water and sanitation, to empowering generations of youth, we have proven what can happen when thoughtful leaders come together with a shared purpose of Service Above Self.
But what worked well for clubs many years ago is not necessarily the best set up for today. The world has changed, and people with it. Attention spans are shorter. Calendars are packed. People today connect over podcasts, group texts, livestreams more than over Tuesday chicken lunches.
That is why our club has embraced a format change that is more than just a new club format. Read about the changes here.
Rotary Down Under
Out of the Gate
With just two weeks’ notice, Francesco Arezzo confidently takes the reins of Rotary International.
In the short walk between Francesco Arezzo’s makeshift office in the BMO Centre at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary and a patio outside it, enthusiastic Rotarians stop him no fewer than a dozen times. With a warm smile, Italy’s Francesco thanks two sergeants-at-arms from India, hugs and jokes with a past RI director and poses for a selfie with a group of Rotarians from Korea.
It’s the day before the start of the convention, and while all Rotary presidents draw well-wishers, there’s another reason why everybody is clamouring to meet Francesco and his wife, Anna Maria Arezzo-Criscione: He’d been appointed 2025-26 Rotary president less than a week earlier.
Rotary initiative aims to lower maternal death rates in Papua New Guinea
Gwyneth Weuta is the only midwife serving a population of 12,000 in a rural part of Papua New Guinea. The area is a remote place where lush palms drink in the moisture that hangs in the air and forests are sonorous with the calls of shorebirds and tree frogs.
The isolation, as beautiful as it may be, is one of many challenges for the 37-year-old midwife: The clinic where she used to work, a single-story building tucked on a narrow island in the South Pacific nation, had no running water until she procured a grant a couple of years ago. A new health center where she’s now stationed is more developed, but there’s no reliable transportation to get there. Read more 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. Meeting jobs will be allocated via email before the meeting.
Tickets: $44 per person (includes breakfast and a $5 donation to End Polio Now)
Members: Use the BHR1955 code at checkout to apply your member discount.
9 October – Hat Day (Australian Rotary Health)
