We were delighted to welcome our new District Governor, Deb Frugtniet, and her husband Craig to Surfers Sunrise on Wednesday.
Craig started the morning by sharing a very personal and moving story. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer while still in his 50s and, although his treatment has been successful, he spoke openly about the fact that the journey wasn’t always easy. Normally an upbeat person, Craig found there were days when the physical and emotional effects of treatment really got him down.
That experience is behind his choice of Lift the Lid as his Partner Project for Deb’s year as District Governor. Lift the Lid, an Australian Rotary Health initiative, raises awareness and funds for mental health research.
Craig isn’t asking clubs to do anything complicated. His hope is simply that each club in the District will hold an event, have some fun, start a conversation about mental health and raise a little money along the way. A simple idea, but one with a very personal story behind it.
Then it was Deb’s turn.
Deb described herself as something of an “accidental Rotarian.” A Rotary club happened to meet at a venue she managed. Curiosity got the better of her, she discovered what Rotary was all about — and the rest, as they say, is history.
For Deb, Rotary became a place to belong, an opportunity to serve and a way of making a difference alongside people who genuinely care about their communities.
That sense of connection is clearly important to her. Under the new regionalisation structure, District Governors are no longer required to visit every club. Deb, however, believes those personal connections matter and has made a real effort to visit as many clubs as she possibly can.
She also brought us up to date on regionalisation and what the changes will mean for our club. From 2028, our District footprint will change considerably, with the New South Wales component moving away and our area joining with Brisbane.
Deb also acknowledged the work being done by Rock as part of the Regionalisation leadership team.
It was a relaxed, informative and at times very personal morning. Thank you, Deb and Craig, for visiting Surfers Sunrise — and we look forward to supporting you both during the year ahead.
Photo (by Chris O'Connor): Craig and Deb Frugtniet, President Mario Fairlie.
moons ago) may recall that he got "hooked" into Rotary when he was selected to go on a Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) to Arizona. But did you know that, back in the days when Colonel Gaddafi was still in charge of Libya, Rusty was working in that North African country, teaching the locals how to drive farm machinery? 
Best ever raffle prize that money can't buy: 
Last week, Sr Liz Kane and Mary Lepp from the Sacred Hearts Surfers Paradise Parish delivered another large donation of hand-woven, hand-knitted warm quilts and beanies to be included with some of our wheelchair shipments destined for cold climates, such as the hinterlands of South Africa. Thank you! 
If you are not closely involved in our Wheelchairs project, you may wonder where we source our "raw materials" for the "Rough Terrain" wheelchairs. Well, you name it, from individual donors to the recycling division of our council tips (run by the Endeavour Foundation). But the major points of collection are various high-rise apartment buildings on the Gold Coast. Recently, a trailer load of bikes were offered by Karina and Peter from Portia Meriton Apartments in Southport. Thank you! 
You may recall that we recently added some 12 Boxed Wheelchairs, 3 girls bikes, 3 boys bikes, 1 skate board, 2 scooters and 4 wheelie walkers that was sent to Wau, in Papua New Guinea, via RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service). Where is Wau? Well, let's describe it as "truly out in the sticks" in PNG, about 150 Km by road from Lae, but allow for about 3 1/2 hours travelling time. 
Our two organisations have had a working relationship for years: this church runs youth programs that teach kids the basics of bicyle maintenance, and Wayne is frequently picking up bits and pieces from our discarded items to use in their program. 
There are some events that have all the ingredients of class. Our Changeover Luncheon on Sunday was one of these: organised by Graeme Isaacson, the TRYP by Wyndham Hotel in Southport again demonstrated what the difference is between ordinary and class. Gathering for pre-luncheon drinks and canapées in the downstairs foyer (sponsored by Kane Chisholm and his company Kieser Bundall), we then proceeded to the top floor where we enjoyed a superbly prepared meal.
Mates) to fruition, and to our club's Secretary, Trent Belling, in recognition of his silent background work of keeping minutes, running board meetings etc. A third PHF was awarded to Kane Chisholm (who was unable to attend today), for his ongoing contributions and commitment to our fundraising efforts. Paul then moved on to present the trophies:
Last Monday's Surfers Sunrise Golf Day, one of our regular fundraising events, again was very successful, raising around $7,000. All proceeds to go towards our 'Rough Terrain Wheelchairs' project and to local charities. Regrettably, your Editor was living it up in Sydney, so wasn't there to take the usual photos. Check our Facebook page for some photos that were sent to me by fellow members - hopefully more to come.
On Saturday night, Channel 9's A Current Affair screened an update on our Wheelchair Project, 28 years after the first screening in August 1997. Click on this link to view it on the
As President Andy mentioned in his closing remarks, we always hear the mostly negative stories about "Today's Youth" and - regrettably - one hears so little about young emerging leaders who quietly beaver in their classrooms, the school library and slave over hot computers to qualify for the rather stringent requirements to be selected to attend the annual National Youth Science Forum in Canberra. Future leaders in their professions who well may make headlines when they publish their discovery some years hence. Considering that it is quite expensive (over $3,000, of which our club sponsors 50%), the event is usually oversubscribed and participants are selected purely on their level of scientific knowledge and in particular on aptitude. 
At the last meeting, our freshly baked President Andy emphasised that he wanted to put the Four-Way Test back into the forefront of our 
Last week, the project shed sent off the 11,015th wheelchair. Just on 3 years since we celebrated the 10,000th wheelchair in September 2013. The Photo on the right is our regular project shed worker Al Sirovs pointing out the number on the world map. The photo above shows some of the regulars, taken this morning. The wheelchair displayed is not exactly the 11,000th (that one is already on the way), but nobody needs to know... Third from left is Des La Rance OAM, who invented the concept and delivered the first 10 to Fiji in August 1997, 20 years ago! - See report in the 
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 Queensland's container deposit scheme. Containers should be empty, unbroken, the lid removed and display a 10-cent refund marking on the label. Something like the image (right), 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. For details of what can / cannot be returned for cash, and where the locations are, 
In the olden days, for a new member to join a Rotary club the unofficial rule was, expressed in simple terms, he should be "somebody who is in a position to hire and fire". Yes, 'he'. Thankfully, around 1987, the 'he' was expanded to also include the fairer sex. There were lots of other rules too, for example, weekly attendance at our meetings was considered to be just about essential. 
A great way to start the day
Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217
Australia