I was given the privilege to attend the Wheelchair and Projects Shed on Saturday morning to present a Certificate of Appreciation to Heather Barnard. (See report from Franz below).
I would like to encourage all members to attend ‘the Shed’ , if not to work, then to at least have morning tea with our Associate Members in the company of Des, Darryl and Bob.
I am aware there is a reluctance by a number of members to go to the shed due to a perception of being made to feel unwanted and un-necessary. In the words of Bob Dylan ‘The times they are a changing’.
On Saturday when I was there I could not have been more welcomed. You need to be aware that the volunteers who work there, and let me say, work damn hard, are now part of The Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise. For far too long a lot of us have been happy to take the kudos of the wheelchair and other projects with only marginal involvement.
You will find our Associate Members welcoming and keen to be part of our club. Do yourselves a favour and get to know the guys who put in the hard yards to make our major project a reality.
If you were a Queenslander and named Cameron Smith you had a sensational weekend. Cameron Smith captained the Kangaroos to a hard fought World Cup win on Saturday night and Cameron Smith won the Australian PGA Championship on Sunday. ……… just sayin [...yes, amazing man indeed. Even though I rarely follow mass entertainment sports, this guy obviously is a cut above the rest. Probably decided to chill down on Sunday with a round of Golf and - waddya know: he won it...! ☺ Ed.]
Dr Shirley Mcilvenny trained in the UK and completed a doctoral thesis on fatigue. She has over 30 years experience as a general practitioner and has worked in several different countries and health systems, gaining a variety of experience in conventional medicine, traditional therapies and integrative medicine.
Her main interests include mental health issues including Depression, Anxiety, Addiction, Bipolar illness, Dr Shirley offers a new approach to addictions incorporating biobalance therapy, nutritional and psychological techniques to balancing brain hormones, which can reverse addictive behaviour.
To the uninitiated, last week's Guest Speaker Megan Blake turned out to be a surprise: There is no question that there is a strong resemblance of her face to that of our President Elect Jo Gorman (see picture left). No wonder: Megan is Jo's daughter! She is a Creative Team member at Manning Gottlieb OMD, one of the world's largest advertising firms. Based in London, one of her tasks is to sell Renault, a French brand, to the British...
"So, what's changed since Mad Men?" she asked: Well, in the 'olden days', we had principally two sections: Creative and Media. Today, we have the above, plus PR, Auditor, Experiential (no, not a typo: it means 'Events' etc), Digital, Data Agency, Customer Experience, Outdoor, direct mail, online, mobile, podcasts, Video on Demand, sponsorships, social ads, search ads, affiliates... Get the drift?
Megan took us through a comprehensive set of steps of planning and executing a marketing campaign. From 'Product Insight' (e.g. Saloon market is declining,
pricing is non-competitive, nobody wants Diesels anymore etc) to KPI's (Key Performance Indices) such as measuring Growing Awareness, Competitor Analysis. In her example of promoting the new Renault Megane Sports Tourer (picture right), her budget is some 3 Million (one assumes this means Pounds)! By he way: did you know that McLaren Formula 1 ditched Honda and is switching to Renault engines?) The result of the analysis: "Position all new Megane as the luxury vehicle for stylish career driven men". [OK, I qualify for 2 out of 4. But what about women?? Ed.]. Will Media Agencies prevail or is it all going to be swallowed up in 'The Internet of Things', the automatic connection between various devices embedded in every day objects, Voice Activation, Youtube, Catch-up TV? "Not at all!" is Megan's view. "The Digital Revolution will continue, but there will always be Media Agencies.
As President Andy's message in this week's bulletin states, the construction of the Samoa School is ahead of schedule! Below is a picture by Al Sirovs (left), Tanya and Mark Twyford (3rd and 4th from left. Mark, without doubt, will win this year's 'Best Dressed Male' award.), and isn't the lady with the 'Breakfast at Tiffany' sunglasses our very own Rosie McIntyre? There are more photos on Al's Facebook page.
Our DG Darrell Brown is over there now. And if you were wondering about the curved walls and beams: haven't you heard of the latest architectural designs?? ☺
Your news starved editor is looking forward to receiving an updated report!
Des La Rance was at the door (for Larry Murray), Daryl Sanderson was Chairman and Tania Laird was Sergeant.
We had apologies from Gerald East, Mario Fairlie, Al Sirovs, Bob Harrison, Clive Edwards, Col Laurensen, Chris Thurtell, Ray Higgs, Rosie McIntyre and Doug Lipp.
President Andy Bell welcomed all members and visitors AG David Baguley, Warren Croad (guest of Geoff Croad) and our Guest Speaker, Megan Blake (who is Jo Gorman's daughter - see separate article with photo). Andy read an email from Conrad Martens (sent from Italy) announcing his resignation which was sort of expected, as Conrad had been unable to attend any meetings or functions for over a year. He also gave a brief report of him seeing off the Samoa team on the weekend at Brisbane Airport, led by Rosie McIntyre. "It was great to see our members and the students from Helensvale High School, all dressed up in special T-Shirts, so enthusiastic" he announced.
Des La Rance gave a brief status report on the Samoa Project: the decking is down, the floors are laid. We are well ahead of schedule! [With a record like that, should Rotary take on a few Government Projects...? Ed.]
Membership Director Paul Seymour confirmed that the Associate Membership for our Shed Volunteers has all been done.
Treasurer Mitch Brown reminded us that membership fees are due now. To enjoy the Settlement Discount, your deposit needs to be in the bank account no later than this coming Saturday 30 September.
Geoff Croad is looking for helpers at the upcoming RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) seminars on Friday 13th October and 20th November (Southport venue). An easy job: you are assigned a group of about 30 students and need to guide them to the respective rooms where the various seminars are held. And you get a free lunch! Contact Geoff at geoffcroad@atrealty.com.au
Assistant Governor David Baguley invited us to participate at the Gold Coast Rotary Club's 40th Anniversary on Saturday 28th October at the Southport Golf Club. Book online at http://www.goldcoastrotary.org.au/. And next year's Gold Coast Ramble will be held on 5th August 2018. Start getting your costumes ready!
Just in case I haven't mentioned it: Our District Governor Darrell has quite a lofty goal for his year: double our Membership. Yes, lofty it may be, but it is achievable! Our Membership Chair Paul Seymour wants you to generate a list of potential people you can take into closer consideration. Doctor, Dentist, Accountant, Lawyer, where you get your car serviced... you name it! Then let's invite them to join us for breakfast.
Got 10 minutes to spare?[Don't say no - nobody is THAT pressed for time!] In the September issue of Rotary Down Under (sent to you by mail last week) on Page 8 you find a letter from 1928, well worth reading. "... even 10 years ago there were hundreds of clubs... ...all largely composed of men in their middle thirties..."
In the recent District newsletters NineSixFOUROh (which are sent to all Rotarians in the district), you will find several articles on promoting membership. If you have lost / deleted or simply ignored it: click on this link to download the latest edition, or here for the August edition.
By the way, have you recently visited the District Website www.rotary9640.org? Our new webmaster Denis Hallworth has continued to build on the massive work of his predecessor Teresa Dawson. It is kept current, smooth and tight, so why not go and have a look?
One would have thought that a lady Sergeant might be a little bit less tough than ex-cop Andy Bell was last year. Wrong!
Graeme Isaacson: What a tie! Does Mrs Isaacson know you are wearing it? Larry Murray, dressed up for a secret date? (No! he said, going for a job interview...) Welcome AG David Baguley, and welcome long absent Franz Huber! Nice French suntan! [no, Swiss suntan, even though we only had 3 out of 10 days of good weather there. Ed.]Adrian Crowe, nice Rotary shirt. Are you ironing this yourself every week? (No! Beverley is...!) Jo Gorman, the Jewellery Handbag Queen... Richard Smith, good to see you back after breaking your hand... Ian Mayberry, I'm really concerned about your choice of wardrobe... Geoff Croad, good to see you bringing your brother in this morning... Andy Bell, have you ever heard of colour coordination? Like, black and dark blue? Peter Morgan, your son Nathan is still supposed to call me!
"In other words, to disagree well you must first understand well. You have to read deeply, listen well, watch closely. You need to grant your adversary moral respect; give him the intellectual benefit of doubt; have sympathy for his motives and participate emphathically with his line of reasoning. And you need to allow for the possibility that you might yet be persuaded of what he has to say." Bret Stephens, 'The Dying Art of Disagreement' addressing the Lowy Institute 23/09/17
[OK, yes, I know that Rotary is not supposed to have anything to do with politics. But two major nations having an election on the same weekend is simply too good to ignore... Ed.]
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To the uninitiated, last week's Guest Speaker Megan Blake turned out to be a surprise: There is no question that there is a strong resemblance of her face to that of our President Elect Jo Gorman (see picture left). No wonder: Megan is Jo's daughter! She is a Creative Team member at 
pricing is non-competitive, nobody wants Diesels anymore etc) to KPI's (Key Performance Indices) such as measuring Growing Awareness, Competitor Analysis. In her example of promoting the new Renault Megane Sports Tourer (picture right), her budget is some 3 Million (one assumes this means Pounds)! By he way: did you know that McLaren Formula 1 ditched Honda and is switching to Renault engines?) The result of the analysis: "Position all new Megane as the luxury vehicle for stylish career driven men". 
Our DG Darrell Brown is over there now. And if you were wondering about the curved walls and beams: haven't you heard of the latest architectural designs?? ☺ 
Just in case I haven't mentioned it: Our District Governor Darrell has quite a lofty goal for his year: double our Membership. Yes, lofty it may be, but it is achievable! Our Membership Chair Paul Seymour wants you to generate a list of potential people you can take into closer consideration. Doctor, Dentist, Accountant, Lawyer, where you get your car serviced... you name it! Then let's invite them to join us for breakfast..jpg)
One would have thought that a lady Sergeant might be a little bit less tough than ex-cop Andy Bell was last year. Wrong!.png)
. You need to grant your adversary moral respect; give him the intellectual benefit of doubt; have sympathy for his motives and participate emphathically with his line of reasoning. And you need to allow for the possibility that you might yet be persuaded of what he has to say."