(This message is by Immediate Past President Andy Bell, on behalf of Jo Winwood, who is currently on honeymoon in Scotland... ☺)
Our President, Jo and the ’first bloke’ Tony are still enjoying their honeymoon in the UK. I can report that they had a wonderful time in Scotland, where they were married. They have also said that the weather has been exceptional, with Jo acknowledging that some of the beaches, yes beaches, are almost up to the standard we are used to on the Gold Coast. The happy couple are now on the final leg of their trip and are back in England having a ball with family and friends and soaking up the excitement of England's success to date in the World Cup.
Al Sirovs, one of our Paul Harris Fellow recipients, and his lovely wife Coral are also holidaying, in their home country of Latvia. From reports received they are also having a great time with family and friends. There will be lots of material for his ‘ Speaker's Spot’ on his return.
The Lutzy Awards will be held this Wednesday, named in honour of Keith Lutz, a well respected and active member of both the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise and the Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club who passed away in 2013. This event has evolved into one of the most highly anticipated events for our Club. This year it is being held at Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club for the first time, making it even more special.
Our ongoing quest for an alternate venue for our regular Wednesday morning meetings continues and Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club is in the mix. As I said at the last meeting, if you want to have creditable input into the suitability of these venues you need to attend the meetings at them.
Change the word can’t to won’t and then ask yourself why not………..just sayin
It's on again! This week we'll meet at the Surfers Paradise (NOT Southport) Surf Life Saving Club to present the Lutzy Award presentation, in conjunction with the Surfers Paradise SLSC. The venue is on the Esplanade (corner Hanlan Street) Surfers Paradise - right in the middle, opposite the beach, in their upstairs restaurant. Usual time - meet 07:00 for 07:15 start. Plated breakfast will be served at a one-off price of $15.00 (normally $20.00) per person.
Note: if you have not already done so: you must advise Franz that you are / are not attending - we need to provide the SLSC with exact numbers.
Hydrogen Power? Doesn't that relate to bombs? Well, yes (as a matter of fact, they are roughly 1000 times more powerful than the "plain vanilla" atomic bomb), but that is not what Jim presented on. Hydrogen power has been used for quite some time: rocket propelation, the Space Stations are powered by Hydrogen. Actually, the first Hydrogen powered fuel cell was invented in 1838. And the stuff is not exactly rare: Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe.
Jim, whose professional background is all things electrical and related to it, gave us a thorough insight into what undoubtedly will become the engine of the near future. In essence, the efficiency of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell is around 70% - compare this with an efficiency factor of about 20% of a Diesel engine - and many manufacturers have already fully developed Hydrogen Engines. At the forefront is a US based truck manufacturer,Nikola Motor Company (named after Nikola Tesla, who in 1888 patented the AC induction motor, no connection to Elon Musk's Tesla Motors). In the passenger vehicle market, many brands, including Hyundai, Lexus, Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan have already Hydrogen powered vehicles on the market or will have them available within a couple of years.
So, how does it work? Sorry, whilst - so Jim Blackburn - "it is not overly complex", it is just a bit too complex to outline in a Rotary Club bulletin... See Jim's Power Point presentation in the Download Section on the right, where you find not only his principal points of discussion but also plenty of diagrams.
In Australia, CSIRO is into it in a big way: they have invented a membrane which converts Ammonia to Hydrogen. Why would you do that? Because Ammonia is much more stable to store and is not highly combustible. Newcastle University is very advanced on Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) energy, just to name a couple. Very much worth your while to read up on it a bit more. Start with downloading the Power Point!
On the 18th July 2018, we will have a dinner instead of breakfast. The occasion? We will host four recipients of the Rotary Peace & Conflict Resolution Scholarship, currently studying at the University of Queensland campus. They'll visit the Gold Coast to do a presentation on what they do, what they are planning to do after their studies and how they will make a difference. Organized by the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise, this is a Multi-Club meeting with partners and friends. It will be held at the Surfers Paradise RSL Club. So far, the Rotary Clubs of Burleigh Heads, Surfers Paradise, Nerang, Broadbeach and Southport as well as a number of individuals have accepted our invitation to join. Also a wonderful opportunity to bring along a prospective member. All Rotary clubs are invited to join - the venue can cater for as many as 200 people. Who will speak? Check the PDF on the Download section on the right with photos and bios!
Cost of just $22.00 per head includes plate served dinner, coffee/tea and free parking for the first 3 hours at the Bruce Bishop Car Park across the road! You must book - click on the link above. Cash Bar open right next to the dining room.
The 2nd Gold Coast Ramble is on in just a bit over 3 weeks! Can you assist, participate, promote?
As last year, this year's event will be in conjunction with the Rotary Clubs of Gold Coast, Griffith University and Surfers Sunrise. It is one of our major fundraising events for the year, so we need your help!. The event is only 3 weeks away - SUNDAY 5 AUGUST - starting earlier at 9am and finished by 1pm. Details on website: www.goldcoastramble.org.au
How can you help?
Encourage clients, suppliers, staff, family and friends to enter a team/s (personalise one of the attached messages and send out invitations)
Volunteer to help on the day - we need to man 40 checkpoints from 08:30 to 12:30
We would love to get checkpoint sponsors - if you have business contacts in the Main Beach or Surfers Paradise areas, we can locate a check point to their advantage. Please advise contact names and we will follow up.
This year we are partnering with the Surfers Paradise Alliance, who will be supplying and setting up our start and finish sites. They are staging the Viva Festival from 14 July to 22 July and
has offered us the opportunity to promote the Ramble over the weekends 14/15 and 21/22 July with an information stand.
We need to man this stand so need some volunteers during time 10am to 4pm - please advise if you can assist.
In return VIVA would like assistance from Rotary to marshall their street parade of classic cars, tribute performers, stilt walkers, musicians on 14 July from 5pm until about 6.30pm. Who can join me? Partners and friends welcome - we need about 10 people. Should be worth seeing
Angus Miller was at the door (for Col Laurensen), Des La Rance was Chairman and Tania Laird was Sergeant.
We had apologies from Charles Thomasson, Gerald East, Rosie Rocco, Al Sirovs, Jo Winwood, Daryl Sanderson, Ray Higgs, Col Laurensen and Bob Harrison (who, regrettably, is still ill).
Vice President Andy Bell advised that our new President Jo is now officially Mrs Jo Winwood, married in "subtropical" Scotland...
Des La Rance reported on the Wheelchairs: another 20 units were recently sent to Papua New Guinea, and a big load of seats are coming in. Mark Twyford brought us up to date on the foam inner tubes for our wheelchairs.
PDG Darrell Brown again expressed his sincere appreciation for our club's assistance throughout his year as District Governor, and in particular a big Thank You to Jo and her conference committee. And, yes... he stll has another 10 club changeovers to attend...
Treasurer Mark Twyford reminded all that the invoices for the club dues have been sent out - payment is required no later than 30 September, which attracts a settlement discount of $10.00.
Club Admin chairman Franz Huber elaborated on alternative venues, meeting formats and speaker arrangements for our club. After last week's trial meeting at the Freshwaters Resort, on 11th July we'll have the Lutzy Award meeting at the Surfers Paradise SLSC which also will serve as a trial meeting. They have also offered us a very attractive deal to serve a plated breakfast in their upstairs venue. A survey will be sent to all members upon which a decision will be made by the board. At the same time, we will consider an alternative to not have formal meetings every week, but instead have more casual, social events. Again, feedback from members is invited. And finally, guest speakers are everyone's responsibility! A roster will be sent out - each member to speak and/or arrange for an interesting speaker.
Mario Fairlie informed us that Reverend Jon Brook of the St Johns Crisis Centre (he was a recent speaker at our club) was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by the Rotary Club of Surfers Paradise. Well deserved!
Richard Smith, when did you (eventually) pay?? Mark Twyford is trying to hide that he has lost weight - 6 Kg so far! Franz Huber, you are not trying to sport a Mullet haircut, are you?? [No, actually, it is called the 'Pompadour' (see picture right), but the barber didn't do a very good job, it seems... ☺ Ed.]Darrell Brown, obviously you were very hungry... Tania herself, still fining herself for not submitting the 33 Questions to Franz... Des La Rance mixed up the Darrell's (or was that Daryl's?)... Adrian Crowe for something or other... Larry Murray, perhaps you should invest in an umbrella... Andy Bell, the longest Acting President... Geoff Croad, you are simply the nicest person! (Andy Bell, having experienced Geoff "sorting out" an obtuse Supervisor at the recent Commonwealth Games cleaning exercise, begged to disagree... ☺) Fred Hamblen, as the only guy in our club with a Yankee accent, what do you mean, "what day??" The 4th of July is the USA's National Day! Ian Mayberry has a new term of endearment from our Sergeant he has not had before: "My furry friend"... (!!)
And the best is saved for last: Mario Fairlie had a better reason to feel truly sorry for himself: going to church last Sunday, he parked his Bentley. Coming back after the congregation, he didn't notice that he had picked up a puncture [wot!?! Bentley's tyres get punctures??], which resulted in the car lowering itself onto the pavement.. Yes, you guessed it: it ripped the entire front off! Total damage: approximately the cost of a Toyota Camry!
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.
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and Stupidity. And not necessarily in that order. Harlan Ellison, American author and scriptwriter
The cold fact is that few people really want to pay to save the world. But there are still plenty who want to make money from trying to make it happen.
Graham Lloyd, Environment Journalist, The Australian
Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. Frank Zappa, American Musician
It's on again! This week we'll meet at the Surfers Paradise (NOT Southport) Surf Life Saving Club to present the Lutzy Award presentation, in conjunction with the Surfers Paradise SLSC. The venue is on the Esplanade (corner Hanlan Street) Surfers Paradise - right in the middle, opposite the beach, in their upstairs restaurant. Usual time - meet 07:00 for 07:15 start. Plated breakfast will be served at a one-off price of $15.00 (normally $20.00) per person..JPG)
Hydrogen Power? Doesn't that relate to bombs? Well, yes (as a matter of fact, they are roughly 1000 times more powerful than the "plain vanilla" atomic bomb), but that is not what Jim presented on. Hydrogen power has been used for quite some time: rocket propelation, the Space Stations are powered by Hydrogen. Actually, the 
Click here to book (secure site): 
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Richard Smith, when did you (eventually) pay?? Mark Twyford is trying to hide that he has lost weight - 6 Kg so far! Franz Huber, you are not trying to sport a Mullet haircut, are you?? 
still fining herself for not submitting the 33 Questions to Franz... Des La Rance mixed up the Darrell's (or was that Daryl's?)... Adrian Crowe for something or other... Larry Murray, perhaps you should invest in an umbrella... Andy Bell, the longest Acting President... Geoff Croad, you are simply the nicest person! (Andy Bell, having experienced Geoff "sorting out" an obtuse Supervisor at the recent Commonwealth Games cleaning exercise, begged to disagree... ☺) Fred Hamblen, as the only guy in our club with a Yankee accent, what do you mean, "what day??" The 4th of July is the USA's National Day! Ian Mayberry has a new term of endearment from our Sergeant he has not had before: "My furry friend"... (!!)
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and Stupidity. And not necessarily in that order.