Gidday to fellow Surfers Sunrise Rotary members, volunteers and friends of Rotary.
Hard to believe another week has passed and I’m still a bit damaged. I am definitely on the mend but my ribs haven’t received the "it’s time you stopped hurting, Andrew" memo.
Heard that last weeks meeting was another beauty and our Guest Speaker, Jesse Dixon, was superb. Jesse sang the praises of his attendance at a RYLA Camp in 2013, and spoke about how it helped shape his future. Thanks to our IPP Doug Lipp for stepping into the breach and fulfilling the role of President once again. Damn, another beer I owe him.
Geoff Croad, our Services Project Director, has brokered a relationship with RAWCS/RARE which has ensured that our Wheelchairs, as well as other medical paraphernalia, hospital beds, sheets etc are able to be shipped overseas to countries that are in dire need. Great effort and foresight Geoff.
We had a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on at Ashmore today, thanks to the tremendous work of our Fundraising Director Ross Augustine. Sadly I wasn't able to be part of the team working at this BBQ. A big thankyou to all of you gave up some part of your Public Holiday for the cause. A special shout out to Angus Miller who not only makes himself available on the day but spent a good part of Saturday cutting up, by hand, some 20 KGs of onions. Angus refuses to allow the use of frozen onions as they don’t come up to his standards — That, ladies and gentlemen, is commitment to excellence.
"That's what happens when you attend a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) camp - you get to race V8 Supercars" would be a slight exaggeration... Organised by our resident car racing enthusiast, Ian Mayberry, Jesse Dixon might be the only RYLA attendee ever who had raced at the Bathurst 1000 - before attending the camp (he started racing GoKarts at 6 years of age). Still, he left no doubt that this experience had a profound impact on his future career. Jesse recounted moments when, every morning, the wake-up call "Goooood morning, Vietnam" (from 1987 film, starring Robin Williams) came. Team work exercises (yes, you guessed it: Jesse was unanimously elected Team Leader), singing in front of an audience, building rafts. But more than anything, Jesse remembers the sharing of 'stories of your darkest moments'. "I lost my dad of cancer at a young age" he recalls. "We learned how important it is to truly think first before you judge somebody" he said.
In the photo, Jesse holds the first ever GoKart steering wheel, when a very supportive mum encouraged him to take racing seriously. Meanwhile, he runs the Dixon Racing Academy, with "the singular mission to be the ultimate driver academy for racers at all levels" His facilities include a simulator, so tuition can occur in a safe (and far less costly if you crash) environment. Jesse indicated that he would be happy to host a vocational visit - we'll organise this for sometimes in February/March 2025. Watch this spot.
One final must watch item: click on this link to view a video where he demonstrates a 'Hot Lap' to a lady who has never been in a race car. Sound is useful, but not essential - just watch her expressions. It went viral, and no wonder! There is also a copy of his PowerPoint presentation (in PDF format) in the Dowload Files section on the right.
Kings Brithday Bunnings Sausage Sizzle today, raising much needed funds. Photo: 1st team setting up at 7:00 am: "Onion King" Angus Miller, Fundraising Director Ross Augustine (both also took a shift later in the day), Mitch Brown, Ian Mayberry. Other team members second and third shift: Adrian Crowe, Mario Fairlie, Doug Lipp, Fred Hamblen, Charles Thomasson, Ralph Pownall. (And your snapshot taker, yours truly).
With great sadness, we have to inform you that Past President Keith Leaver has passed away on 22nd September, aged 91. Keith, a proverbial "salt of the earth' man, was our club's 4th President (1989/90). Our thoughts and condolences go to his wife Norma and the Leaver family.
OK, get your golf clubs polished! One of our major annual fundraisers, the Surfers Sunrise Golf Day, will be in just 3 weeks' time. Usual place, the beautiful Surfers Paradise Golf Club.
What? You don't play Golf (like me...)? You may have friends, business colleagues who do. It's open to all comers. Click on this link to book: https://www.trybooking.com/CVFRP or scan the QR Code. Want to forward a flyer to a friend? Download it (see Downloads section on the right)
We'll need plenty of helpers on the day, so if you can, please ask the organisers, Doug Lipp or Charles Thomasson, to put you on the roster. And we need Raffle Prizes! (Yes, you have had that bottle of Grange Hermitage in your cellar for thirty years. You might as well donate it! ☺)
Here is your opportunity to play at an international level: in May 2025, the Australian Chapter of the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians will hold a competition at the South Lakes Golf Club in Goowla, on the south coast of South Australia, just a bit over an hour's drive from Adelaide. It is organised by the Rotary Clubs of Adelaide and Goowla and goes on for the better part of a week.
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
Racing drivers are not born, they are made. Their mums feed them Formula. Formula One.
And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.Ayrton Senna, (1960 - 1994), Formula One World Champion. 1988, 1990, 1991)
Why do Swiss drivers have the fewest number of Formula One champions? Because they are always in Neutral...[OK, I'll see myself out. Ed.]
Kings Brithday Bunnings Sausage Sizzle today, raising much needed funds. Photo: 1st team setting up at 7:00 am: "Onion King" Angus Miller, Fundraising Director Ross Augustine (both also took a shift later in the day), 
Mitch Brown, Ian Mayberry. Other team members second and third shift: Adrian Crowe, Mario Fairlie, Doug Lipp, Fred Hamblen, Charles Thomasson, Ralph Pownall. (And your snapshot taker, yours truly).
OK, get your golf clubs polished! One of our major annual fundraisers, the Surfers Sunrise Golf Day, will be in just 3 weeks' time. Usual place, the beautiful Surfers Paradise Golf Club.
