The first week meeting of the year was with a rather stimulating presentation by Karen Holland. Thanks Karen!
Geoff Croad had organised with his neighbour a recycling program for Aluminium cans (coke cans etc), Glass bottles (stubbies), LQD Paper board (milk containers) & Petclear (Plastic drink bottles) etc. It has now raised $777.40 for the Surfers Sunrise Wheelchair Trust. Well done Geoff.
At the shed this week Larry discussed with the men (Our Associates/Volunteers) the future activities for the Project Shed for the upcoming year.This included:
The manufacturing, build, dismantle and packing of the Building for Mauna Hospital on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. This I believe will take about 6 weeks to complete starting in February. Shipping: we should allow 2 months as the containers need to be sent to Port Villa, unpacked onto a Sea Barge and transshipped to Pentecost Island. Also, to be included in the shipment are unused medical supplies organised by Rock O’Keefe and separately Dr. Graham Sivyer has organised other items such as crutches and other items from the Gold Coast University Hospital. It is anticipated that construction of the Building would start in late June. In the meantime, the application for a Global Grant from Rotary International for the Pathology, X-Ray Machine, Solar Electricity System and Water Heater & Water Tank should be finalised. This part of the project looks like it will not be completed until September/October and will involve a separate team to install and provide special equipment training.
The manufacture of 20 Sleeping PODs. In early November, we applied for a Grant from the Federal Government for $10,000.00 to be used to manufacture the PODs. The Club is to raise $10,000.00 to match the Grant. I am hoping we can raise the money thought other Club that may have a need for the POD’s. The major problem is to find suitable homes (organisations like Rossies) to take and use the POD’s. I believe that this issue should be resolved shortly.
The manufacture of Wheelchairs will be slowed down while the other activities are given priority. This is also understandable as we do have a considerable number in stocks and we are still awaiting the next delivery of wheels.
We have received another opportunity to apply for a Grant from Angie Bell for “2019-20 Volunteer Grant” for $1,000 up to $5,000. Larry and Des have suggested we ask for a Thicknesser and a new high powered Drill Press. Total Cost $3,985.00. Let’s hope we are successful.
Next is our social event: CHINESE NEW YEAR DINNER
Date: Wednesday 29th January
Venue: Highland Court Chinese Restaurant, Benowa Gardens
Time: approx. 6.30pm
Cost: $30pp Banquet. BYO Wine only. $5pp corkage.
Thanks, Charles, for organising the Dinner. By the way the dinner will mean that the breakfast on Wednesday morning 29th will be cancelled.
See you all on Wednesday morning at the Surf Club.
This Wednesday will be a social get together at the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club. Meet at 07:00 downstairs for breakfast and/or a cuppa. We're meeting at the northern end of the bistro.
Her mother was Italian, her father was a University Academic in French, her husband is Swiss (mother tongue Swiss German), so Karen has had a well above average exposure to languages. But, for her it is more, it is a passion. "I love Grammar!" she enthuses... [Well, I recall that, about 4th grade school when Grammar was introduced, all the teacher needed to threaten us with was to give us an assignment explaining 'Die 4 Fälle: Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ und Akkusativ' and we'd immediately behave like little angels! ☺ Ed.] Then there is punctuation: Karen explained it with the simple statement about the eating habits of a Panda: "Eats shoots and leaves". Compare that to "Eats, shoots and leaves"...
Compared to most European languages, English is not that difficult, she explains: We don't have to deal with genders in nouns. For example, in German, adjective endings change depending on gender and case. What's difficult in English is the spelling of the words which have identical pronounciation, such as 'through', 'blue' or 'rough', 'although', 'Geoff', 'laugh'... And don't get her started on why in some regions the R is pronounced and in others not
If you really want to stretch your brain: consider the Latin Alphabet (that's what we use), then look at the Greek Alphabet (yes, we all remember Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta) but what's next? So spare a thought for those Greek immigrants who came over after World War 2! By the way, if you'd like to learn a bit more about Indoeuropean Languages, click on this link for a 5 minute tutorial. Then there's Hebrew, Arabic, not to mention the Eastern languages, all with their individual symbols. Our guests, President Mario's partner Sylvia (Korea) and YE student Ayana (Japan) would know all about the difficulty of not only learning a new language but to learn a complete new Alphabet at the same time.
You can access a copy of Karen's presentation from the Download section on the right, only slightly reduced to allow for the maximum upload size.
As President Mario mentioned in his closing address, it is always exciting to learn about our members. Here is Karen, passionate about languages, but most of our members were not aware that she is also an AV technician in her husband's business and has recently completed a Law Degree and has started work in the Public Prosecutor's office!
Charles Thomasson and Paul Smith have organized for our club to have a social dinner night, celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Rat. It will be in the form of a sumptuous banquet, held on Wednesday 29th January 2020, from 6:00 pm at the
Highland Court Chinese Restaurant
Benowa Gardens Shopping Centre
203 Ashmore Rd,
Benowa QLD 4217
Cost $30.00 per head. BYO wine only - $5.00 pp corkage. Online bookings will open shortly!
This will be in lieu of our regular social breakfast meeting. Of course, partners, friends and guests welcome!
OK, first the good news: I’ve just read of the appointment of Dr Jesse Harman (picture left, with DGE Andy Rajapakse) of the Rotary Club of Wendouree, near Ballarat VIC, as “our” Zone Director to the Rotary International Board. [Yes, Henrietta, I just found out that DGE Andy had published this on his Facebook Page ages ago, but you insisted I that I tidy up the garage.]And yes, I now know she is not just a pretty face: Jesse holds a Doctor’s Degree (in Social Entrepreneurship, so don’t ask her about your ingrown toenail! 😊) and is Pro Vice Chancellor of Federation University Australia. And I’ve just learned that she was introduced to Rotary as a RYLA participant in 1987, and that she is a Past District Governor and Past just about every other high office that can be attained in Rotary.
So why do I sound a bit grumpy? After all, Jesse will make a refreshing addition to a Rotary International Board overwhelmingly male (18 to 2 in the current board, actually), and it wouldn’t even surprise me if she ended up to be the first female RI President sometimes down the track. Again, why do I feel grumpy? Well, if I was to know of a person of her qualifications, of her calibre and high profile in society, I would not even have considered asking her to join my club. “Holding down her job, with a family and three kids, she wouldn’t have time to scratch herself!” would have been my excuse. Anyway, she certainly wouldn’t want to join a Breakfast Club… Yes, your Honour, guilty as charged.
So, this being the period of the year when our New Year’s Resolutions start to conveniently fade into distant memory, perhaps now is the time to firmly commit to just the one: By the end of 2020, I will have witnessed the induction of a new member into my Rotary Club who was introduced by me. Doesn’t make a difference whether male or female though, but yes, a high profile lady like Dr Jesse would be great! So now, start thinking about whom you could contact, then… Just Do It!
Vocational Services chief Richard Smith is again organizing the annual Excellence in Workmanship Awards. It will take place on Wednesday 18th March 2020, at a venue to be advised. Social dinner night of course, so make sure your partners know about it too, and all friends and guests are welcome.
Richard is looking for nominations! So, if in the recent past you have received excellent service by a tradie, an employee, a business person or anyone whom you consider to be worthy of that award, please communicate with Richard.
At our first meeting for 2020 Simon Brook was at the door, Richard Smith was Chairman and Ian Mayberry was Sergeant. We had apologies from Adrian Crowe, Ray Higgs, Paul Seymour and Chris Thurtell.
President Mario Fairlie welcomed all members and our visitors, his partner Sylvia and our YE student Ayana, David Baguley (RC of Gold Coast) and 'Honorary Queenslander' Ross Augustine (RC of Frankston Sunrise). Mario briefly elaborated on the upcoming Chinese New Year dinner (see separate article), as well as on the situation of grant moneys applied for: we have one pending with the Federal Government for $15,000 (we'll have to raise $5,000 to qualify) and we may get $5,000 from Runaway Bay Rotary to build 20 Sleeping Sanctuaries. The issue with the latter is for Rosie's to find an area where they can be put. We also will apply for a Global Grant with The Rotary Foundation, in addition to the District Grant, for our Vanuatu project. Next step is to produce a Bill of Materials.
Wheelchairs Trust Chairman Larry Murray elaborated on the future of what we'll do at the Project Shed. Whilst Donations In Kind has picked up a load of wheelchairs before Christmas and is expected to pick up more next month, we still have plenty more.
David Baguley, in charge of the Gold Coast Ramble organizing committee, briefly outlined the details of that event. It will be held on 22nd March 2020, this year starting and ending on MacIntosh Island. We have a new App for the competitors, as well as a new Registration System. We need 100 teams to compete, so in essence, every member of the two clubs should come up with a team. We are associated with seven Charities. Download a PDF from the Download Section on the right for details about the event and how to submit an application for a team.
Richard Smith announced the Excellence in Workmanship event (see separate article), Treasurer Doug Lipp advised that the half yearly Membership Subs will be invoiced shortly, and Youth Service Director PDG Darrell Brown asssured us that we'll have the two RYTS (Rotary Youth Transition Seminar) attendees we sponsored coming to our club sometimes in the future, and he is still receptive for nominations for RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Camp) - see separate article.
The meeting was concluded by what has become a rare event, a Sergeant's session: Sergeant Ian Mayberry clobbered a number of members: John Chirio scored two free coffees... Andy Bell, Mr Grumpy on Facebook... Simon Brook: simply because I can... Franz Huber: that car you sold me some 4 years ago: the brakes already needed replacing! Richard Smith must have been door-to-door singing, with all that shrapnel you carry in your pocket? Larry Murray, have you recovered from your house renovations? Gerald East was last in, Doug Lipp accused your editor of having named Karen Holland Karen Thomas (yes, but that was weeks ago! Ed.) and Angus Miller made the top of the list: bought a new hat recently and had to remove the lining to make it fit onto his big head!
Our "Minister for Everything" Geoff Croad has advised that the 'Containers for Cash' so far has raised well over $770 for our Project Shed (Surfers Sunrise Wheelchairs Trust). Yes, that is half of what we earn on a really busy Bunnings sausage sizzle, with very little effort. So, why not collect the empties for us as well?
Our ID / Registration Code is C10199443
So, keep your soft drink bottles, stubby bottles, aluminium cans, milk cartons etc.As a general rule, most drink containers between 150ml and 3L can be returned for a refund under your state’s container deposit scheme. Containers should be empty, unbroken, lid-free and display a 10-cent refund marking on the label. Something like this, but many others are simply marked as suitable for recycling. Note: they must NOT be crushed. See image above what is and what is not accepted. [No Henrietta, your wine bottles are not, but you still can recycle them in the yellow council bins...] How do you go about it? Very straight forward: click on this link www.envirobank.com.au/locations which will show you where you can drop your containers off, using the above Registration Code. That is also where you can pick up their orange coloured Envirobank bags, suitable for 50 containers. When you drop off your bag, simply use the above Registration Code. Make a note of it now. You have started setting all those containers aside, haven't you?
At the last board meeting, approval was given to sponsor two RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) Candidates for the upcoming seminar 14 - 19th April 2020. Our club will sponsor $550.00 of the total cost of $650.00 per person to attend this superb training camp.
What is RYLA? It is a premier youth leadership development program for people aged 19-28. During a week long camp designed to promote proactivity, personal and professional development through a range of inspirational speakers, team building exercises and leadership training. The development of communication and presentation skills, problem solving, conflict resolution, self-confidence and self-esteem are key objectives of this program. RYLA is one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences which truly has a lasting impact on your life. The high intensity seminar is filled to the brim with Australia’s leading inspirational and motivational guest speakers, who give up their time purely based on the benefits they see every year for those attending.
RYLA helps young people, the future leaders of the Australia to realise their full potential and ignites their passion for life. Whether you have a sister or brother, a son or daughter, a niece, nephew, cousin, friend, colleague or even an acquaintance within the age bracket, who you think may benefit from a week of personal discovery, professional development in an uplifting and infectiously positive environment, I urge you to send them along. It will be the greatest gift you could give. Need more information? Click here.
Duty Roster - note: subject to change. Please check every week:
New duty: Fellowship / Project Shed. What does it entail? There are two aspects to this:
a) At the club meeting, your job is to ensure that all members, in particular new members, visitors and guests, and in particular the Guest Speaker, are welcomed, are introduced to other members and are comfortable. If required, explain the usual procedures, e.g. when we have our meal, when the speaker is expected to be at the rostrum etc.
b) This person is also to attend the Project Shed on the following Saturday, as the representative of our club and to assist in the general management.
Your editor travelled down the Newell Highway last week, staying in West Wyalong (western NSW), where it was a nice steady 45 degrees C... Having a bit of a yarn with an elderly gentleman (as a guess in his mid to late 80's). He said he was a local who was born in that town and has lived there ever since. It went along these lines:
"Bit warm out here, isn't it?"
He looked at my QLD number plates, put on a bit of a derisive expression, and asked
"Where 're ya from, mate?"
"I'm from the Gold Coast" I replied.
"Well, it's pretty normal for summer, mate" he said, "I recall, when I was a young bloke in 1948, the temperature out here never went below the ton for two solid weeks. 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and never lower than 100 degrees during the night. I was a builder's apprentice then, and we never knocked off for even an hour because it was too hot! You guys living on the coast wouldn't know what hot weather means!"
I thought it advisable not to start a discussion about Climate Change with him... ☺
Looking into the future … which groups will ultimately prevail, no man can predict; for we well know that many groups, formerly most extensively developed, have now become extinct. Charles Darwin, ‘On the Origin of Species’, 1859
People think New Year is a life changing event. But if your life sucked last year, it probably will still suck this year too unless you really make a change!
It is not advisable, … to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener. Ayn Rand, ‘Atlas Shrugged’.
Her mother was Italian, her father was a University Academic in French, her husband is Swiss (mother tongue Swiss German), so Karen has had a well above average exposure to languages. But, for her it is more, it is a passion. "I love Grammar!" she enthuses... 
Charles Thomasson and Paul Smith have organized for our club to have a social dinner night, celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Rat. It will be in the form of a sumptuous banquet, held on Wednesday 29th January 2020, from 6:00 pm at the
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Vocational Services chief Richard Smith is again organizing the annual Excellence in Workmanship Awards. It will take place on Wednesday 18th March 2020, at a venue to be advised. Social dinner night of course, so make sure your partners know about it too, and all friends and guests are welcome.
but many others are simply marked as suitable for recycling.
