Last Wednesday, we again met for a trial at the Southport Life Saving Club.
Club Administration Director Graeme Isaacson organized a second "trial" for a different venue at the Southport Life Saving Club.
Angus Miller and Gerald East were at the door, Fred Hamblen was Chairman, Ian Mayberry stood in for President Conrad Martens and Andy Bell wasSergeant.
Apologies were noted from President Conrad Martens,Tony Bird, Des La Rance and Mario Fairlie.
Vice President Ian Mayberry welcomed visitors, Honorary Queenslander Ann O'Connor, Errol Roulstone, our Youth Exchange Student from Austria Laura Burtscher, Alex Batcu (father of our Youth Science Forum candidate Maria) and our guest speaker Scotty Gregory of Donate for a Mate Foundation. Ian informed us that, whilst President Conrad had indeed returned from his sojourn to the Queensland Countryside, he had fallen ill. Get well soon, Conrad!
Ray Higgs reminded all that Money Boxes for The Rotary Foundation were still in plentiful supply, Paul Seymour expressed his sincere thanks to all who participated at the previous Sunday's Bar-be-que at Bunnings, and Gerald East wistfully recounted his Rotary experiences on the island of Bali: $16.00 for the meal and the Raffle Prize was a full body massage...
Wheelchair Trust Chairman Daryl Sanderson outlined the latest happenings at The Shed. As has been the case many times before, the boys not just make wheelchairs, they also helped out a lady with her walking cart. We understand she intends to walk around Australia in support of Mental Health. A special thank you to Bruce Rigg who helped at the Shed the previous Saturday.
Youth Services Director Chris Thurtell advised of an upcoming major event where we may be involved in: The Festival of Elegance, to be held over 3 - 4 days in October. (Note: former City Councillor Grant Pforr will give a presentation on this this Wednesday 24/09/14!). Manpower is required in various areas, including Food, Traffic Management, and working behind the bar. Chris formed a mini-committee to make further arrangements.
Chris then introduced Laura Burtscher for a brief outline of her recent experiences at a camp to orient the incoming Youth Exchange Students at Lennox Head. Laura will shortly head off to the Great Barrier Reef for her school holidays, staying with Chris' brother at Airlie Beach (it's a tough life, but somebody's gotta do it... ☺)
The competition for a place at the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) is quite fierce: Maria was just one of some 67 applicants. 48 made it to be eligible for selection, a total of 16 only were selected... Our club has sponsored many students in the past, many of them were successful, however, on occasion our candidate didn't quite make it, That is how tough entry into this august forum is!
NYSF candidates are selected from Year 12 High School Students and similar schools, such as the Qld Government Health Sciences Academy (Griffith University) where Maria currently studies, with majors in Chemistry, Biology and Philosophy. Maria's family comes from Romania, initially immigrated to New Zealand and then moved to Australia. Her goal is a Doctorate of Medicine.
The forum will take place for a week in January 2015. We look forward to receiving your feedback from the forum!
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings.
To give top guest speaker Joy sufficient time, Andy Bell was mercifully short, but not any less effective ...
There is clear discrimination in this club! Have a look at the Rotary badges of Ray Higgs, Darrell Brown and Franz Huber: They have all those little bits and pieces of writing and symbols on theirs, whilst ordinary blokes like me have nothing but a plain name and job description... [just put your name down for President, Andy, and we'll buy you one of those in no time at all! Ed.]Franz Huber, just because I send you some educational emails about Socrates and Diogenes does not mean that you need to send me your contra opinion... Alex Batcu: you have been here now three times. This means that you are now officially able to be fined... Paul Seymour sold his house for a reported outrageous amount of money... But The South Effrikens still lost at Rugby last Saturday... And all those who did not watch the game and applaud the Wallabies: pay up!
Last Sunday, Gerald East was joined by his charming wife Margaret, Tony Bird, Simon Brook, Geoff Croad and Madonna Martens to sell Raffle tickets at the last game of the Suns' season at Metricon Stadium.
Last Wednesday, Franz outlined his vision on how to get PR, how to engage the next generation of business people: run a major event which involves corporate team participation...
“Rotary takes ordinary men and gives them extraordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they ever dreamed possible.” Clem Renouf – RI President 1978-79 – Nambour
“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” Groucho Marx
“I want to be a member of a Rotary Club which is still fulfilling the basic principles of Rotary of almost 110 years ago, whilst conforming to the conventions of a modern society”. My quote.
What is your quote? “I want to be a member of a knife & fork club?” or “I want to be a member of a vibrant Rotary club”? If the former: plenty of other opportunities. But none of them fit the principle of Service Above Self. If the latter: Do you want that club to be Surfers Sunrise?
Let us get back to basics: Have you ever come across ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’? This goes back to the 1940’s: Here are the principal levels:
2. Safety needs: (in the Western world largely taken care of by government)
3. Love and belonging: Whilst love and intimacy come into this category, the major component of Friendship is where Rotary can become a major contributor. Almost everyone needs to belong to a group.
4. Esteem: All humans have a need for self esteem and self respect. Rotary provides the opportunity to shine, to gain recognition, to gain confidence.
5. Self-actualization: What is the level of your full potential? It may be to be President of your Rotary Club. It could be District Governor or President of Rotary International. To achieve this need, all the previous levels must have been achieved first. Rotary provides an ideal vehicle.
Michael McQueen – Engaging the Next Generation in Rotary
Our club owns a DVD which records McQueen’s presentation to a Rotary Convention. It specifically deals with how to attract the younger generations into Rotary. I strongly recommend members to watch this in their own time and really pay attention. It is good. Real good. don’t really want to rehash the entire contents. Some major highlights:
‘Young people are perceived to be soft, disrespectful, lazy…’ you would expect the last thing they would want to join Rotary. Engagement is actually a lot simpler than you think. There is a huge opportunity before us.
That young people are globally minded is not just a notion. It is reality. We used to have pen pals… Now they have a network of friends all over the world, instantly.
96% engages in social networking daily. They fully believe that the world can be changed. Previous generation didn’t think so. They are looking for a vehicle to make an impact.
They are socially engaged: 76% of teenagers engage in volunteering on a weekly basis. Whilst this may be at the local footy or surf club, there is no reason why Rotary cannot provide a vehicle for this need.
They are ambitious – drive through traffic, texting… but it also applies to careers. Opportunity for networking and mentoring that will get them ahead. There is so much Rotarians have to share. We are an ideal source. Why wouldn’t I join if I can sit next to a person every week to get advice…
So why aren’t we doing it?
They don’t know who we are. Rotary is one of the most identifiable brands, but young people don’t know about it. It is by and large positive, e.g. doing good. But they don’t know what it is about. We are perceived as exclusive group of wealthy old men who meet once a week to eat bad food. The average age is over 60: they probably feel as if they were unwelcome. Everyone sharing their heart by-pass surgery experiences…
They don’t know if they are welcome. Nobody ever asked. They don’t know if they have time. They are fast paced, demands on their energy is enormous. They are busy! They are put off by restrictive rules, long committee meetings. “don’t have time” means they don’t have compelling reasons to make Rotary a priority.
So, how can we get them interested? Don’t necessarily ask them to join the club. Ask them to volunteer.
We need a major event (such as was the Wheelchair Challenge) which involves the entire community
• It must be of interest to attract Local Government sponsorship (as did the Wheelchair Challenge) in both financial as well as logistical support, permissions etc
• We need this event to be of interest to corporate, not just individuals
• It must be real fun
• It must be suitable to attract a major sponsor
• It must be suitable for annual repetition and escalation
You would all have heard of the Todd Regatta in Alice Springs?
Visualize: [I then briefly outlined an idea for a major event, however, since it is still in its very early stages of incubation, I’d rather not provide any details at this stage. There is a good possibility that somebody may come up with a better suggestion. But in any case: since corporate teams are invited to participate, this should also promote membership, not just Public Relations.
What opinions the masses hold, or do not hold, is looked on as a matter of indifference. They can be granted intellectual liberty because they have no intellect. In a Party member, on the other hand, not even the smallest deviation of opinion on the most unimportant subject can
be tolerated. George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
The reason women don't play football is because 11 of them would never wear the same outfit in public.
-Phyllis Diller
Wheelchair Trust Chairman Daryl Sanderson is looking for more volunteers
OK, so you have gone through your list of potential future Rotarians... but not everyone may want to commit to be an active Rotarian, for various reasons, be that time commitments, financial etc.
Daryl Sanderson needs more volunteers at The Shed! They meet every Saturday morning. Perhaps you could bring it to the attention of a couple of your friends? Communicate with Daryl directly on 0408 729 118 or by email to daryl.sanderson@gmail.com.
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The competition for a place at the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) is quite fierce: Maria was just one of some 67 applicants. 48 made it to be eligible for selection, a total of 16 only were selected... Our club has sponsored many students in the past, many of them were successful, however, on occasion our candidate didn't quite make it, That is how tough entry into this august forum is!
There is clear discrimination in this club! Have a look at the Rotary badges of Ray Higgs, Darrell Brown and Franz Huber: They have all those little bits and pieces of writing and symbols on theirs, whilst ordinary blokes like me have nothing but a plain name and job description...
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“Rotary takes ordinary men and gives them extraordinary opportunities to do more with their lives than they ever dreamed possible.” Clem Renouf – RI President 1978-79 – Nambour
