I am actually writing this from my room at Gold Coast Private Hospital. I came in yesterday straight after our fortnightly social Rotary meeting, for a full knee replacement. All good so far. The staff, Doctors, nurses and support staff are simply exceptional.
Not rain, hail, snow, drought or heat waves (used to be said about the mail delivery) will prevent your President from attending either formal or casual meetings. Oops, just contravened point1 of the 4 Way Test - 'Is it the Truth?' May not be there at the next meeting. Doug be acting President if I’m not there.
I know I've spoken about this before. This member needs to honoured and applauded by everyone. I’m obviously talking about Mario Fairlie and his exceptional tenacity, vision and organisational skills. Most of you would be aware of the enormous obstacles that needed to be overcome to build and commission an X-Ray Unit and Blood Analysis station on a remote island 500 Km out of Port Vila, the Vanuatu capital. I understand it is only a couple of weeks away from being completed. Mario, I salute you. Surfers Sunrise Rotary Club salutes you. What a champion.
Talking of Champions, Geoff Croad, with some input from his brilliantly artistic wife Carol have arranged business cards for the Club. They are generic so able to be used by all members and associates. Great job.
I believe we have just enough volunteers for the upcoming Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Friday 9th of August. The Physio has just arrived to inflict pain upon my person.
This coming Wednesday 31st July, it's just social: meet on the ground floor at the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club bistro, and join us for a chinwag, solving the world's problems, discuss footy (and possibly Olympic) results. Even politics are permitted, but no heavy arguments please!
Then on Thursday late afternoon (from 4:30 pm onwards), some members gather for pre-dinner drinks at the Benowa Tavern. Everyone welcome!
At last Wednesday's meeting, President Andy Bell outlined some slight changes/additions to the format of our 'formal' meetings. The principal aim is to enhance cohesion within the club. No change to the guest speaker spot: starting immediately after the President's welcome (30 minutes), then
one of the members will be selected (at random) to present a brief 3 minute talk. It can be about anything... Mitch Brown was "the first cab off the rank", giving us a brief outline of his recent big trip through various countries in Europe, from Greece in the south to a German Submarine Base on the Baltic Sea.
all directors will present a brief report on the activities within their committee. Of the major announcements to report: Services Director Geoff Croad advised that, cumulative to date, Containers for Change donations coming out of Q1 & Skypoint amounted to well over $19,000. However, in view that Skypoint is replacing the chutes, this will substantially reduced for the next 6 months or so. Graeme Isaacson, appointed to the newly created job of Welfare Officer, asked that he be kept in the loop if any member or their immediate family is unwell and/or might require assistance, support, or just a friendly call. Adrian Crowe, in his capacity of organiser of social events, foreshadowed outings to the Gold Coast Little Theatre, 'Guess who's coming to Dinner', and, as the weather gets warmer, a picnic in the park.
One of my most favourite Rotary quotes would be that of the first Australian RI President, Sir Clem Renouf: "Rotary takes ordinary men and gives them extraordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they ever dreamed possible”. I'm sure, though, he didn't consider that getting to within an inch of dying was part of the plan...
Last Wednesday, our member Rock O'Keefe gave us a fascinating run-down of his experiences as team leader to establish a home for abused boys in Bhutan, that small nation to the north of India and east of Nepal. (Some of our members might recall our club doing something very similar for girls, with the 'House of Hope' in Apia, Samoa). The project, under the auspices of RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) and principally executed by the Rotary Club of Ashmore (of which Rock was a member at the time), was nothing short of a gigantic project. Rock first outlined how to get there: fly in via Kathmandu (Nepal) into Paro Airport. "The runway was very short, an there were lots of burn marks at the end of the runway" he quipped. But that was not his (personal) biggest problem: upon arrival, he fell so ill that, genuinely, he expected to die. Whatever the local hospital could provide didn't fix it. Then, a monk procured some 'Red Rice', a miracle cure. Literally.
Rock's account of how, against all odds, it all happened cannot be summarized in a couple of paragraphs. Sorry, peeps, you should have been there. As a consolation to those who couldn't make it, Rock gave me permission to upload a copy of his slides (in PDF format) - check it out, it's in the Download Section on the right.
Photo: Rock (right), meets the Minister for Happiness. "It's the most powerful ministry in the nation of Bhutan" he said. The costume? A special honour, only bestowed on very important visitors.
All members should have received an email, asking which committee you would like to be assigned to. Here is a reminder:
Membership
Evan Mita, Angus Miller
- Membership Development
- Membership Retention
Youth Service
Thomas Robinson, Darrell Brown
- Youth Programs (RYTS, RYPEN, RYLA)
- Youth Exchange Program - incoming and outgoing
- National Youth Science Forum
- Lutzy Award (liaison with SLSC)
Services
Geoff Croad
- Wheelchairs project
- Community Service
- Vocational Service
- International Service
The Rotary Foundation
Elizabeth Celi
Fundraising
Ross Augustine
- Grant applications
- Containers for Change
- Bunnings BBQ's and similar (organisation)
- Golf Day
Club Administration
Franz Huber
- Public Relations
Ashleigh Symes
- Guest Speakers
- Club Bulletin, incl Roster (ClubRunner)
- Social Media (Facebook, lnstagram, X)
- Club Website (Club Runner)
- Wheelchair Trust Website (WordPress)
- Social Events (Club internal)
Note: It's not uncommon for a member to be on multiple committees. Thank you to all who replied. If you didn't, President Andy will interpret that as "happy to serve on any committee you'd like me to be on, no job too big or too small". At the upcoming meeting, Andy will outline more details.
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
In case you felt a bit neglected over the past few days: you're not alone!
Coach (pick the team of your choice) to the club's board after ending up at the bottom of the ladder: "We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees".
I ran the effort to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to New York City. We lost - on a global scale. To my surprise, life went on, and I learnt that nobody cares about your failures as much as you do. Daniel L. Doctoroff, US businessman
Why does Cinderella's team never win the Olympics? She has a pumpkin for a coach and runs away from the ball.[OK, I'll see myself out...]
One of my most favourite Rotary quotes would be that of the first Australian RI President, Sir Clem Renouf: "Rotary takes ordinary men and gives them extraordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they ever dreamed possible”. I'm sure, though, he didn't consider that getting to within an inch of dying was part of the plan...
