Back at the Yacht Club last week, enjoying the wide open spaces of the verandah area, in perfect spring weather, enjoying the view of the big boats which somebody else is paying for...
Ray Higgs was at the door, Ian Mayberry was Chairman and Andy Bell was Sergeant.
We had an apology from Ashley Harris.
President Conrad Martens (YES!! he was there! ☺) welcomed guests Alex Batcu and Honorary Member George Keily. Conrad thanked all for the 'welcome back' and all who helped during his absence - first due to business commitments and then, last week, due to illness. And thanks to Graeme Isaacson who kindly re-introduced him to what needed to be done... ☺ He briefly alluded to a couple of items which were part of the recent board meeting and also asked for anyone who would want to participate in an upcoming Fundraising Luncheon organized by 'Men of Business' (remember, we had Marco Renai along as a guest speaker in June - see bulletin of 24/06/14). $150.00 per head, includes a 3 course meal, beer, wine... More info on www.menofbusiness.com.au/
Darrell Brown formally announced that he had relinquished all ownership in the company he founded over 40 years ago and has now become "just a consultant". Simon Brook has been appointed a partner in his stead. Good on you, Simon! Congratulations!
Mario Fairlie needs to get rid of a 50 litre keg of beer he won at the Australasian Order of Old Bastards luncheon raffle...
George Keily advised that he recently organized some 5 boxes of prescription glasses for Donations in Kind (DIK) as well as some 7000 stamps. 'On ya, George!
Club Administration Director Graeme Isaacson advised that on 8th October we'll again meet at Ollie & Luca - see notice above, and Gerald East, in charge of our association with The Suns Horizon programme, advised that Clint Ford will be our guest speaker
Paul Seymour referred to another good chance of getting another Bunnings Sausage Sizzle soon
Wheelchair Trust Chairman Daryl Sanderson read a letter he received from the Rotary Club of Hamilton, VIC: a school student raised $150.00 and gave it to them for whatever purpose they wanted to use it. One of their members visited The Shed on a Men's Tour organized by Adrian Crowe at the recent Innerwheel Changeover Dinner (Adrian's wife Beverley is the current National President). Hamiltoni decided to double it and sent us a cheque for $300.00. Further, some 13 wheelchairs were sent to Papua New Guinea and somebody donated 3 bikes which raised $110.00
Chris Thurtell followed up from the previous week's presentation by Grant Pforr on the Festival of Elegance. Manpower on the ground is needed - please contact Chris directly if you can help on any of the days from 15th to 19th October, with Sunday expected to be the busiest day. A 3 m2 Marquee has been organized, complete with sink etc. Through his company's tradespeople at Seaworld, Chris will organize the structures required.
Wearing his Youth Service Director's hat, Chris confirmed that Blake Goodman will be at the Rotary Youth Transition Seminar (RYTS). Any further applications would need to be in by the end of this month.
This week: Meet up with Clint Ford from The Suns at Ollie & Luca
This week, we again meet at Ollie & Luca, 15-21 Via Roma, Isle of Capri(albeit in a different area, hopefully with better accoustics) - see mudmap.
Our guest speaker will be Clint Ford, one of the friendly people from The Suns AFL team (well, aren't they all friendly? Except when they play Collingwood.. ☺)
This will warm the cockles of your heart... especially if you enjoy the bagpipes. Gerald East sent me a contribution (this one I can actually print without the risk of being accused of political incorrectness... ☺):
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life. As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions.
I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played "Amazing Grace", the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothing like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
A brief (we were running out of time...) but nevertheless effective session:
Conrad Martens: who are you? Darrell Brown has announced his retirement - now just "a consultant". Now, Franz, what was that definition of a consultant again? ("A consultant is a man who knows 100 ways on how to make love but hasn't got any girls")... Alex Batcu, you don't accuse the Sergeant of making things up! The Sergeant always tells the truth and nothing but the truth...! [Unless it gets in the way of a good story...] Peter Morgan, come on, seriously: I had about 384 messages in my Inbox from you... Bruce Rigg, I'm amazed that you cannot afford to buy socks... Mario Fairlie, are you ok? You have not mentioned any illnesses at all... Simon Brook: well done! Appointed a Partner in Burling Brown! Now, watch it. Have a look at the hairstyle of Darrell. This is what it will lead to!
The man in charge of our program, Simon Brook, came up with a new idea: Have a Soap Box meeting, where members can voice their opinions about anything they feel strongly about, bothers them, would like to see improvement... He led off with the question "Is our club too exclusive?" Simon's view was not just referring to our club being a single gender, but also strongly advocates that we "cross pollinate" with other clubs. [Hear hear!! Ed. Do we involve ourselves with Rotaract? We learn that Rotaractors don't know whether they would be welcome to come along? [Yes, they are!]/span>
Barry Lea commented on the excellent idea of occasionally having a Bar-be-que in the Park. But why not charge the normal fee of $26.00? This quickly brought the overall theme to our meeting location:
Mario Fairlie brainstormed the idea that we could build a "demonstration school" at the rear of The Shed in Arundel and have breakfasts there? Whilst this would certainly lead to a Rotary meeting with a difference, it was knocked over the head for two reasons: Paul Seymour pointed out that the costs of caterers (even with the capable assistance of Russell Voyce who used to own a catering business) make it very unfeasible - it is dearer than having it at the Yacht Club. Franz Huber commented that we are "Surfers Sunrise" and thus we ought to be at least near Surfers Paradise. However, Daryl Sanderson commented that a few weeks ago, Ashmore Rotary had a dinner meeting at The Shed which was well received, but he supports us remaining at the Yacht Club or nearby. Further, Darrell Brown pointed out, that the Rotary Club of Broadbeach already has a fairly sizeable place on Hinde Street. Angus Miller also brought up an important factor: we need to be able to store our paraphernalia somewhere. Ideally, it should be a place where they are cooking breakfast anyway, so there is no need for a chef to specially open up for us.
Gerald East is very much in favour of either remaining at the Yacht Club or then moving into Surfers Paradise - perhaps the newly renovated RSL club would be a good idea? Gerald and Club Admin Director Graeme Isaacsonwill check it out.
The discussion was lively enough to make the meeting go 10 minutes overtime - very uncommon indeed! - so this looks like it is a good idea to have it more often!
Madonna Brosnan, the power behind Toowoomba based charity 'Jesus Abandoned' Charity with whom we have frequently worked together, advises that another lot of wheelchairs has been distributed in Nigeria. Here is her email:
Dear Folks
Nothing like a bit of good news for the long weekend!! Fr Anthony Ananwa secured Customs Exemption from the Nigerian government after months of "paperwork" & personal visits to the capital Abuja. The 4th Jesus Abandoned Charity container has been "waiting" for exemption since June ... so it was with great joy that I farewelled the container from the land behind my home this morning. Woods Transport generously donated the transport (see website for video). The ship leaves Brisbane on Wednesday Oct 8th & will be in Lagos December 3rd. The Jesus Abandoned Home for the Needy is up & running so the contents of this 4th container will be much welcomed. www.jesusabandoned.wordpress.com
Surfers Sunrise Rotary Wheelchair Trust have offered me another container load of their wheelchairs ... so if you would like to donate a little something towards the cost of shipping this 5th container ... please contact me.
Date Claimer: This week!Polio Plus collection at Runaway Bay Shopping Centre from Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th November 2014.
If you haven't yet put your name down... do it now! Geoff Croad maintains the roster.
This is our annual fundraiser, aiming to match the donation by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of some US$550 Million. Surfers Sunrise has a proud history of not just meeting but exceeding our target over the past several years.
Only 3 countries remain where Polio still is reported. We are almost there!
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.
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life. As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.
