Well here we are, the last bulletin of 2018 and half way into our Rotary Year.
Before I move onto the AGM, I’d like to formally thanks Gloria, Andy, John, Nicky and families for hosting a wonderful morning tea at the Project Shed on Saturday morning to commemorate Bob’s life with his Rotary family. It, was of course no surprise that the turnout was excellent – Bob was the epitome of Rotary values. I am a relative newcomer to Rotary (in comparison with most of our Club) and the deep friendship that Gloria described between Bob and some of his fellow Rotarians really reminded me of the many ways that being a Rotarian adds value in life. It was lovely to see the Harrison family focussed so positively on the wonderful memories and we wish them well for what I’m sure will be a tough Christmas.
We were also able to give all the Associates a Rotary Christmas cake in recognition of their dedication this year and they asked me to thank you all for your support. We have a couple left over so they are yours for the bargain price of $14.30 if anyone would like one.
The AGM punctuated the end of half one and with Tania still in the grips of the dreaded lurgy, Andy and I hosted the meeting, facilitating the appointment of next year’s Board. It was a convivial meeting – lots of lively debate, challenging questions and comprehensive answers. Thanks everyone for your contribution. You may recall that in the meeting we discussed having a 2ndVice President in Mario Fairlie to help Tania balance her presidency with her many family and business commitments. Tania concluded that this was such a great idea, she has handed the mantel to Mario on a full time basis and will instead, retain her role as Youth Chair. That’s teamwork right there! Franz will describe the full Board for 19/20 further in this Bulletin. [See PDF in Download Section on the right. Ed.]
Lucy Thorburn, our young YEP’er leaves these shores for her adventure shortly and we look forward to news from her travels. The logistics of getting in and outbound teams organised is an enormous job and Chris Thurtell and his team really do work round the clock for these young people.
So that’s a wrap for 2018 – its been a big year for me personally but even more so for the Club. The Conference and Commonwealth Games and the Bike Sale were my personal favourite highlights and of course we said goodbye to some loved ones too – they will be very much missed, especially at this time of year. Thank you to all our members, Associates and Friends of Rotary for or your commitment to the Club, to each other and to the Community in 2018.
I hope to see many of you on Wednesday at our annual Christmas brekky, but just in case … I wish all of you and your families a wonderful Christmas holidays and Happy and Healthy New Year.
We have again organized our traditional Christmas Breakfast, this year at the QT Hotel - see details below:
QT Hotel (formerly Gold Coast International)
7 Staghorn Avenue,
Surfers Paradise QLD
Wednesday 19th December 2018, 07:00 am
Very special price: Just $32.00 per person for a super-sumptuous buffet. Please pre-pay by direct deposit to our bank account:
Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise Inc
BSB: 484-799 Account No: 047306431
Don't forget to put your name into the Reference section! Everyone is most welcome, partners, friends, volunteers...
We again will support the St John's Centre to provide presents for disadvantaged children. Please DO NOT wrap them. Bring them along to either the meeting of 12th December or to the QT Hotel breakfast.
Last Saturday, Gloria Harrison and her family joined us at the Project Shed to share a meal with the members and volunteers of Surfers Sunrise. As reported previously, Bob had been a Charter Member of our club, commencing in 1987. See full details in the Download Section and the Photo Album on the right. Following President Jo Winwood's announcement that the club will make a donation of $500.00 in memory of Bob to The Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus fund (which will be tripled by the pledge of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to donate $2.00 for every $1.00 from Rotary), your Editor was privileged to say a few words on behalf of the members and volunteers. A number of people asked me about the poem I finished off with (by that great master, 'Anon'), which I feel suits Bob to a tee. So here it is:
Some of you may not be aware that our wheelchairs are assembled in a number of different locations. A number of Men's Sheds and Rotary Clubs along the Eastern Seaboard, even the Palin Creek Correctional Centre is involved. The picture above shows a load of 36 wheelchairs sent by Gladstone Rotary Club, which Des La Rance picked up from Toll Roadfreight, which provides free transport. [No Henrietta, he was not overloaded, just looks that way... ☺]In turn, we sent another 24 sets of components up for them to continue working.
At last Wednesday's meeting, President Jo Winwood had the very special pleasure of presenting a Paul Harris Fellowship pin with 5 Sapphires to Mario Fairlie. Congratulations!
Ray Higgs was at the door, Graeme Isaacson was Chairman and Andy Bell was Sergeant.
President Jo Gorman opened the meeting with well deserved commendations to the volunteers and members who all contributed to the success of last Saturday's Big Bicycle Sale (see last week's bulletin), particularly to Larry Murray, who was the chief organizer, and to Mario Fairlie, who donated 60 baseball caps to be worn by members, and Neil Thurlow, whose company Accent Print & Copy, provided all printing as well as the big posters, the corflutes as well as a couple of Pull-up Banners. Thank you all! The event raised a total of over $3,900, including direct donations to the Wheelchair Trust.
Jo read a very complimentary letter she received from one of the Associate Member volunteers at the Project Shed and also referred to the upcoming memorial event for Bob Harrison, as well as the Christmas Breakfast at the QT Hotel (see separate articles).
A special moment was the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellowship to Mario Fairlie (see story above) - he now has 5 Sapphires on his badge! Congratulations, Mario!
Following on, in absence of President Elect Tania Laird, Secretary Mitch Brown took over to Chair the Annual General Meeting. Once approved, minutes of the meeting will be uploaded to the member's section (requires login). Meanwhile, on the Download Section (see right side), a PDF lists the appointments to the major positions for 2019-20.
Duty Roster - note: subject to change. Please check every week:
New duty: Fellowship. What does it entail? Your job is to ensure that all members, in particular new members, visitors and guests, and in particular the Guest Speaker, are welcomed, are introduced to other members and are comfortable. If required, explain the usual procedures, e.g. when we have our meal, when the speaker is expected to be at the rostrum etc.
"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights." Maya Angelou
Some advice if you intend to go for a drive over the Christmas holidays:
Regular naps prevent old age. Especially if you take them while driving.
And finally (yes, I am aware that Rotary is not supposed to be political, but it's Christmas, the time of tolerance and forgiveness...) here is an image, sent to me by one of our esteemed members, of a commemorative coin issued by the United Kingdom in memory of the British Parliament 2018.
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At last Wednesday's meeting, President Jo Winwood had the very special pleasure of presenting a Paul Harris Fellowship pin with 5 Sapphires to Mario Fairlie. Congratulations!.JPG)
And finally (yes, I am aware that Rotary is not supposed to be political, but it's Christmas, the time of tolerance and forgiveness...) here is an image, sent to me by one of our esteemed members, of a commemorative coin issued by the United Kingdom in memory of the British Parliament 2018. 