[President Paul asked me to ‘ghost write’ his message for this week, as he is tied up in a business meeting. So here goes… Ed.]
Over my 35 years as a member of this wonderful organisation, I’ve always had a soft spot for International Service and its various facets. This month’s theme of ‘Peace & Conflict Prevention’ seems to be too big a job for individuals or even a club or district. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago: ‘Whaddya want me to do about it?’ Hello! Is my name Biden, Putin or Xi?
Well, you don’t need to be a world leader, and being there on the ground yourself would hardly make a difference. (*)
Well, an old management rule says: delegate! Send somebody else. Such as a Peace and Conflict Prevention Scholar. Huh? Yes, our club has sponsored two Peace Scholarships in recent years; just ask Ray Higgs who was District Chairman of that committee at the time. In this month’s District Newsletter (it’s in your Inbox now – go and check it out!) current Chair Moktiar Singh invites applicants for this important program.
On behalf of President Paul Seymour
Franz Huber.
(*) Though, “going there” can have momentous consequences: almost 30 years ago, on a holiday in Fiji, Des LaRance ventured into the non-tourist areas of Suva. What he saw shocked him. He came home and invented a low-cost, rough terrain wheelchair. Over 10,500 disabled people, mostly children, have been given the gift of mobility since.)
In his younger days, Nigel Fotheringham was an Air Force pilot for the (then) Rhodesian Air Force. After emigrating to Australia in 1981, he ran his own business, specialising in non-asbestos insulation products. Today, he is a pilot for Angel Flights. This organisation is a charity which coordinates non-emergency flights to assist country people to access specialist medical treatment that would otherwise be unavailable to them because of vast distance and high travel costs.
All flights are free and may involve travel to medical facilities anywhere in Australia.
A hearty welcome back to our volunteer workers last Saturday!
Good turn up, despite the fairly stringent Covid prevention restrictions we put on. We are back to normal, opening every Wednesday and Saturday morning. But please do observe common sense Covid restrictions. Particularly, please stay away if you are feeling unwell, irrespective of whether you think (or have tested) to have Covid or you think it's just a common cold. Thank you.
This is an annual fundraiser for The Rotary Foundation - HOTA will donate $10.00 of your ticket! (That means, in essence, you get to see the movie for ten bucks, and you donate ten bucks to the most efficient major charity in the world, The Rotary Foundation). And with one of my most favorite stars, Helen Mirren, starring in the lead...
This year's event is going to be a real country affair, it's in Tenterfield! Go to the Expo Website https://rotary9640.org/page/district-conference and check out what's happening. There you find the program, a brief summary of all the Keynote Speakers, and of course, you can register. But of course, one of the big attractions of attending a conference is always the deep feeling of Rotary Fellowship. Being in the country, formalities will be kept to a minimum. Here is another introduction of a keynote speaker:
Dr John Parker was born and bred in Liverpool, UK and medically trained at Edinburgh University. He came to Australia to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef and never returned. He commenced medical practice in Airlie Beach, Queensland, to follow a passion for diving medicine and later worked at Golden Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. He was part of the teams that quarantined the crews of the Diamond Princess in Tokyo, Grand Princess in San Francisco, and the Ruby Princess in Woollongong. More recently, in Dubai, he helped medically assess the Afghan evacuees from Kabul in transit to Australia.
Duty Roster - note: subject to change - please check every week. Note: Fellowship duty also is expected to be at the Project Shed on the Saturday following the meeting
Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one. Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1852)
The strongest sign that intelligent life exists somewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us. Bill Watterson, American Cartoonist
In his younger days, Nigel Fotheringham was an Air Force pilot for the (then) Rhodesian Air Force. After emigrating to Australia in 1981, he ran his own business, specialising in non-asbestos insulation products. Today, he is a pilot for Angel Flights. This organisation is a charity which coordinates non-emergency flights to assist country people to access specialist medical treatment that would otherwise be unavailable to them because of vast distance and high travel costs.
A hearty welcome back to our volunteer workers last Saturday! 
Wednesday, 16th March 2022, 7:00 pm
This year's event is going to be a real country affair, it's in Tenterfield! Go to the Expo Website 
I'm not afraid of flying.
