Greetings, fellow members, associate members and friends of Surfers Sunrise Rotary,
Again, I'm writing this on behalf of our President Paul Seymour, who (at the time of writing) is still in hospital. "I'm on the way up" he reports and expects to be out within days. He asked me to thank everyone for their good wishes; he much appreciates the contact and care.
August is almost over, but there is still time.
“Time for what?” I hear you shaking your head [yes, if you listen carefully, you can hear it grating and crackling. No Henrietta, it's got nothing to do with the rocks in it 😊].In Rotary's calendar,August is ‘Membership and Extension Month’.
Can you remember when you were inducted into Rotary? Have you considered why you were proposed by your sponsor? What made you decide to join? Did you feel a sense of pride, of achievement, to be invited to join an organization of the highest international repute? Did you feel that your sponsor did “the right thing” by considering you to be potentially a good Rotarian? Did you feel a little bit overwhelmed, sort of “am I really up to this?” Yes?
“The more hands Rotary has, the better and more effectively the ideal of service will be achieved. Hence the importance of membership.” These words, spoken by one of Japans foremost Rotarians, Kanejiro Matsumoto, put the point very straight. I put it even straighter: If we are to spread the workload of running this club, if we are to achieve our aims on the local scene (Youth Service, Community Service), if, with our Wheelchairs Project, we are to keep punching above our weight on the International scene, we have an obligation to not only maintain, but increase membership.
Do you know somebody who, in your opinion, would make a good Rotarian? You do? Well, have you popped the question?
Yes, this coming Wednesday 27th August will be a social meeting. While, during the Surf Club's renovations, our 'formal' meetings are held at the TRYP Hotel in Southport, on alternate weeks we'll continue to meet socially at the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club. Come along for a cuppa and/or breakfast. The meeting will be either downstairs or in the upstairs venue - just ask. Lots of good banter and laughter, and - believe it - sometimes there are more club related matters discussed and solutions determined than on a formal meeting!
OK, so Andrew’s official topic was “Situation Awareness and De-escalation of violence in the workplace”, and as Australia’s best known survivor of the 2002 Bali bombing attack, Situation Awareness would be – literally – burned into his retina. 202 people were killed, 88 of them Australian, and hundreds more were wounded. Over 20 years later, Andrew still gets quite emotional, even when just mentioning the horrors in passing. His left leg was amputated above the knee, and he lost part of his right foot.
These days, Andrew runs his own Security Company, AGC Pro-Tec. One of his company’s specialisations is the teaching of – well, just that: How to avoid a confrontation, how to avoid a brawl, how to perhaps even avoid walking into a serious accident. It’s not easy to compress a 4 hour course into less than half an hour, yet we still received some invaluable advice. Let me just recount some major points:
“Situational Awareness is picking up cues from the environment... ... and using that understanding to predict what may happen next” he stated. A lot of the avoidance strategy is non-verbal. “Our natural reaction, when we are in normal conversations with people, is to move closer to them. When dealing with conflict, we need to do the opposite”. For example, if somebody approaches you with an aggressive stance, walk away from it if you can. If you can’t, put a barrier between you to create time and distance. Concealment. Check where your Exit Points are. Do all you can to de-escalate the situation.
‘Should I study Martial Arts?’ was one of the questions. “Not unless you take it very seriously” was his advice. “Those moves have to be trained, repetitively, hundreds of times, before you can be effective.” Instead, practice avoidance: walk away, try to maintain distance, put up a barrier, take a non-aggressive stance. And yes, be conscious, watch out and start avoidance early.
(Photo: Andrew Csabi (right) with our Meeting Chairman of the day, Mitch Brown)
... so we were asked to pick them up so, for once, they could be good for SOMETHING rather than just lying around in the University's store room...
This morning, Geoff, Rangesh, Mike and yours truly took an excursion on a magnificent early Saturday morning to the leafy surrounds of Bond Uni. Rich pickings indeed!
Duty Roster - note: subject to change - please check every week. Note: Fellowship duty also is expected to be at the Project Shed on the Saturday following the meeting
So you are a really active gardener? Well, consider this:
In reality, plants are really farming us, by giving us oxygen daily, until, ultimately, we'll decompose so they can consume us...
No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the sources of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power. P.J. O’Rourke, American Satirist.
If you want a healthy life, you need to avoid dickheads, not carbohydrates.
OK, so Andrew’s official topic was “Situation Awareness and De-escalation of violence in the workplace”, and as Australia’s best known survivor of the 2002 Bali bombing attack, Situation Awareness would be – literally – burned into his retina. 202 people were killed, 88 of them Australian, and hundreds more were wounded. Over 20 years later, Andrew still gets quite emotional, even when just mentioning the horrors in passing. His left leg was amputated above the knee, and he lost part of his right foot.
