It was great to hear from our newest members Adam and Tash last Wednesday - please have a read of Franz’s excellent summary below if you haven’t already. Adam and Tash are both truly inspirational people that have and continue to achieve great things - Rotary and Surfers Sunrise are lucky to have you on board!
Also great to hear is that the 224 Wheelchairs we sent to Durban at the end of November arrived this week. It should make us all proud, that thanks to the efforts of the Shed volunteers and Surfers Sunrise Rotarians, that there will soon be 224 disadvantaged South Africans given more independence through the mobility our all terrain wheelchairs provide. Well done all and hopefully we will receive some more photos from South Africa over the coming weeks.
Just a reminder, The Rotary Club of Gold Coast are kicking off the 100 years of Rotary in Australia with a Free Australia Day Family Event in the Gold Coast Botanic Gardens from 10am -1pm tomorrow. Angus Miller, Geoff Croad and Andy Bell have volunteered to help out on the BBQ – I’m sure they would be happy if you dropped by.
Our first social event for the year will be a Chinese New Year Celebration at Highland Court Benowa (same place as last year) on Wednesday 17th February. Banquet Menu and trybooking details to follow next week.
This Wednesday morning we have a social meeting at the Surf Club. See you there from 7am.
So you think you have got a problem, huh? Well, visualise for a moment: you were born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (Adam). Or you are a professional dancer touring the UK and come down with a rare disease which, almost overnight, leaves you close to totally blind and paralysed (Tash). How do you proceed?
Last Wednesday, our new members Adam Sheppard and his business partner Tash Price gave us a good run down of what you can achieve, regardless of your disability. Let’s start with Adam: at 38, is happily married to Christy. They have a beautiful son Fletcher, aged 4. He was introduced to Rotary via RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program for Enrichment) and RYTS (Rotary Youth Transition Seminar) which he attended in 1998. Incidentally, that is where he met his wife… [OK, I've heard some enthusiastic reports from RYTS attendees before, but that takes the cake! ☺ Ed.] Adam has been involved in racing wheelchairs himself, as well as coaching both able bodied and disabled athletes for some 13 years now. Tash is not only his business partner in InvincAble, but he is also her coach.
Tash Price not only had to overcome her paraplegia and blindness, but in addition had the challenges of diabetes, gastric paralysis, severe chronic pain and arthritis. That didn’t stop her from taking up wheelchair racing. She owned her racing wheelchair for just six weeks when she took out the Bronze Medal in her first competitive Marathon (yes, it’s 42 Km as well!) in July 2018. OK, go on..! in October 2019 she took out Gold in the Auckland Marathon! Next target: representing Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
I could go on, with heaps of inspirational anecdotes they recounted. But why not check out Adam and Tash’s PDF ‘Meet Team InvincAble’ in the Download Section on the Right. It’s a truly inspiring read and also has some great pictures! Needless to say, we are so stoked to have you both joining Surfers Sunrise Rotary!
On our National Day, Tuesday 26th January, Rotary South Pacific organises an on-line event to celebrate Australia Day, in the year of Rotary's celebration of 100 years in Australia and New Zealand. The event starts at 11:30 am Queensland time (12:30 pm ADST)
You can join the event by registering on this link:
We need another load or two of unwanted bicycles (any condition) to re-purpose them into 'Rough Terrain' Wheelchairs. Over 10,000 of them have been made by our volunteers over the past 23 years. Do you have any, or know of anyone who has some?
We can collect (Gold Coast region only). Please MESSAGE us. Share this too, thank you!
We have received a message from Charlie Panday of the ROTARY CLUB of RESERVOIR HILLS (near Durban, South Africa) to advise that our container of wheelchairs and other paraphernalia have arrived and are "being distributed as we speak". Thank you to all who were involved, particularly our volunteers who manufactured them, Charmaine Wheatley who was our go-between with the South African Rotary Clubs, and Col Laurenson who organised the shipping and communication with his logistics counterparts in South Africa. Well done all!
Ray Higgs was at the door, Karen Holland was Chairman and Ian Mayberry was Sergeant. We had an apology from Richard Smith.
President Charles Thomasson welcomed all members, visitors and guests: Malcolm Griffin (guest of Karen Holland), Trent Belling (guest of Simon Brook), Nathan Bond (guest of Adam Sheppard and Tash Price) as well as "our" Rotaract team: KJ Jewson, Blake Foster and Matt Howard. Charles elaborated on the major decisions made at the recent Board Meeting and foreshadowed an upcoming social event, a Chinese New Year dinner to be held shortly after the official day. It will be held on 17th February 2021 at the same place as last year's, the Highland Court Restaurant in Benowa. A Trybooking site will be set up shortly.
Following Adam Sheppard and Tash Price's presentation (see story above), Secretary Mitch Brown elaborated on the necessity of all members getting a Blue Card (yes, you too!). Members, please check your email Inbox for detailed instructions, sent out by Mitch on 14/01/21. Project Shed Chief Larry Murray advised that the shed will now open not only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but also on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Geoff Croad has managed to get Bunnings to allocate us another day for a Sausage Sizzler: mark the 21st March 2021 in your diary and look out for the Roster to be distributed shortly. Treasurer Doug Lipp confirmed that, while we didn't exceed the record broken just before Christmas, last week's effort was still very much worth our while.
The end of January marks the deadline to pay your club dues, otherwise you'll lose the early payment discount. If you haven't already done it, why not do it now, before you forget again?
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
“You don’t need to follow me, you don’t need to follow anybody! You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re all individuals! You’re all different!”
The crowd, chanting in unison: “Yes! We are all individuals. Yes! We are all different!”
Vengeance, deep-brooding o’er the slain,
Had locked the source of softer woe,
And burning pride and high disdain
Forbade the rising tear to flow.
Sir Walter Scott, ‘The lay of the last minstrel’
Here is one in celebration of Australia Day:
Two Aussies are adrift in a lifeboat. While going through the locker one of them finds an old lamp. He rubs it and a genie suddenly appears. The genie tells them that he only grants one wish. The lamp finder blurts out: "Turn the entire ocean into XXXX Heavy!" The genie claps his hands and immediately the sea turns into beer. The genie disappears and only the gentle lapping of beer on the hull breaks the stillness as the two men consider their circumstances. The second Aussie turns to the first and says, "Nice going mate! Now we're going to have to pee in the boat."
This Wednesday we'll have the usual fortnightly social meeting at the Surfers Paradise SLSC - downstairs Bistro. See you there at 07:00 am!
So you think you have got a problem, huh? Well, visualise for a moment: you were born with 
We have received a message from Charlie Panday of the 
