Well we prayed for rain – now we have it. Although as always, it never quite gets to where it is needed the most. It was almost impossible to hear anyone speak at the Shed on Saturday with the rain pounding on the roof and it kept a few of the guys sensibly at home. Let's hope it clears for the weekend as the Gold Coast puts on one of its biggest events of the year – a week of chaos for all of those who live round the track but a bit of excitement none the less.
On the subject of the Shed, we have had a request from MP for Stafford, Dr Anthony Lyneham, for thirty wheelchairs to go to PNG, so the team have kindly obliged and we are waiting for details on collection. The sale of a bike and a very generous $100 donation brought in a cool $400 for our service projects this week and bodes very well for our Bike Sale Day on 1 December which everyone is gearing up for. Its going to be a super day so please lock it in. We decided to leave the Working Bee until the week prior to ensure that the Shed is in pristine condition for our visitors and if you are able to lend a hand during that week, we would be most grateful. We hear that Bob was able to go home for a few days last week to be with his family and is now back in Gold Coast Private where he is having further treatment. Pauline Sanderson continues her road to recovery although some tough days ahead. We wish Bob and Pauline our best in their return to good health.
It was a busy week for the Club, starting with a large meeting of the Service Project Committee (Fundraising, Youth, Service projects, Foundation) It's a big portfolio and has taken a time to assemble the troops. Paul will update everyone on the outcomes which included a fund raising target, some fund raising activities and local causes that we are investigating supporting.
We are still waiting to hear on how to book for Bohemian Rhapsody on 1st November, our Polio movie night at Pacific Fair but we know it will be $20 and having seen the trailer this weekend – it looks like a sensational movie. Let's get as many of us as possible together – details will be out soon.
Lovely, lively casual breakfast at Espresso Bonsai again this week on Wednesday– a good turnout and lots of "top bants" (UK slang for good conversation) – we get a lot of things discussed informally at those meetings so they're more than good coffee and fellowship. We've decided to take a small collection at casual breakfasts and everyone willingly chipped in.
Then on Wednesday night, the PR and Membership committee met at Rosie's place to discuss getting our message out in the community to build the Surfers Sunrise brand name and perhaps entice some future Rotarians to our lovely Club. Some good ideas came out of that too and Rosie and Charles will report back on these shortly. We also had RYDA running this week so thank you to all who volunteered for that – we love this program and are going to try to support it further in the coming months.
Many people have been asking for a vocational visit to mix things up and I have been able to use my husband's good Melbourne contacts and score us a one off opportunity to have a group of us go to Draculas on Wednesday 24th October (casual meeting day) at 3/3.30 pm – 4.30pm for a one hour exclusive back stage tour. Its short notice I know, but they are very keen to host us in their lead up to Halloween and this time slot means that the technical staff will be there to show us how the technology works for the show. Its not an offer open to the public and they can manage a good number of us (c 30) so if friends and family are keen to see it, bring them along. It will be fascinating and entertaining. I"ll confirm the details at the Club meeting on Wednesday and also by email.
Ill also have more news for you about Melbourne Cup and fundraising at this week's meeting and we have a couple of special presentations to make. Along with a great speaker Dr Michael Pyne, (thanks Darrell Brown) from Currumbin talking to us about Koalas, it will be a great meeting. Bring your brollies and your guests. Don't forget we are going to eat upstairs, so wait for your coffee (if you are ordering one but don't forget there's tea and coffee in the meeting room), grab your brekky and head upstairs so we can all eat together.
Wow, there's a lot going on! People of Action – yes indeed
PDG Darrell Brown arranged for Dr Michael (Mic) Pyne, who is the Chief Veterinarian at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, to speak on the subject of "Koalas". Talking about getting it straight from the horse's Koala's mouth! It is not known whether Dr Pyne will bring a Koala with him for you to cuddle. You'll just have to wait and see!
Yes, it's short notice, but this came in as a special treat: President Jo (and Tony had a hand in it too) has organized an exclusive 'behind the scenes' tour to the famous Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant - next Wednesday 24th October, starting at 3:00 pm. Meeting in the Dracula Car Park (opposite Pacific Fair, entry before the road into Jupiters) at 2:55 pm.
Note, this is NOT the show, this will give you a behind the scenes insight into how all those effects are performed! Great experience, not to be missed. Partners, friends, visitors all welcome!
Note: this will be in lieu of our usual social breakfast.
Keep calm! Hold your horses! (Pun intended.) What's good for the gander (or is it the other way round?) etc... The fact is that they projected the barrier draw of a certain horse race, on which people can gamble, onto the pristine sails of the Sydney Opera House. There have been unconfirmed reports that the earth trembled in the City of Copenhagen, where Jorn Utzon is buried.
Whilst personally, I'm vehemently negative on an iconic work of art such as the Sydney Opera House being subjected to any graffiti (electronic or otherwise), you have to hand it to the promoters: the controversy generated tens of millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Nay, more: money couldn't buy it; it intimately affected people's emotions. Even your Editor was motivated to fire off a text message to the ABC to protest this vandalizing of a national icon. The result: record numbers of patrons climbing all over the Everest venue, Randwick Racecourse. The lesson? How can Rotary get some maximum free publicity? Do we need to become a bit more outrageous? Should we start a controversy that makes the news, such as, say, one party opposing (Polio) vaccination whilst another argues in favour? (Sorry, might not work - anti-vaxxers are old news.) OK, what about starting a new satellite club to which only males are admitted and mobile phones are banned? OK, pretty weak... Anyone's got a good idea?
By the way: It's not the first time, of course, that the Opera House was used as a canvas. See picture above right. Except that this obviously did not generate any controversy.
This is only a month away: Saturday 17th November. And Gus is going away shortly, so please register your interest.
This is a great social evening with an air of mystery as neither the guests nor hosts know who is attending, respectively who will host. I have a number of volunteer hosts already but I really need final numbers of attendees so we can make sure that we have enough providers. The theme for the evening is ‘SPRING’ (up or down).
For those who have not attended one of these dinners before: Firstly, you will all gather at a particular address for a drink & nibble. The hosts' address for the evening will then be drawn by the guests, who will then make their way to that address for the dinner. Each host will have chosen the number of guests they would like, but they will not know who will come to dinner. The guests will not know who else will be at the given address. The food is provided by the hosts, for which the guests will contribute $15 per head and provide their own drinks [and perhaps have a glass to spare for the host too..! Ed] . The menu is entirely at the whim of the host, anything from caviar to pizza.
I am going to be away from 23rd Oct to 12th Nov so I need to know who will be participating by the next meeting on the 17 Oct. Please register your interest directly with Gus Miller 0418 886 422 or email agipmiller@gmail.com.
I don't know whether the large turnout was due to the attraction of having "Rotary Royalty" present - as a very popular Past District Governor, accompanied by his equally charming wife Dianne, Tony Heading would undoubtedly have some pull. Or was it his subject, The Rotary Foundation (TRF), which drew people in? I guess we'll never know. And Tony certainly didn't disappoint.
Many of our members would only have been vaguely aware of TRF. About half of our club's members are Paul Harris Fellows, meaning that the club has donated US$1,000 in their name to "our" charity. Many of our members also chose TRF as their preferred charity and purchased a PHF for themselves and their partners. But really: how much do you know about one of the most outstanding charities in the world? One of the few which consistently rates four stars on Charity Navigator, which recognizes the fact that TRF has a whopping 92 % efficiency rating, with only a 2% overhead for administration?[Compare, for example, World Vision and the Red Cross, both very popular and undoubtedly highly reputable organizations, but they only get 3 stars. Ed.].
The Rotary Foundation has six areas of focus:
Promoting Peace
Providing Clean Water
Saving Mothers and Children
Supporting Education
Growing Local Economies
Fighting Disease
You can get full details from Rotary International's website - click here. There are numerous sub-sections below each heading. Just looking at Fighting Disease: Rotary's signature project for the past three decades has been the eradication of Polio: from some 350,000 cases reported world wide when we started in 1986 (and, I suspect, many remained unreported), we now have just 18 cases reported, all in the war torn regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nigeria again has had no cases reported. And where else can you get Microsoft Founder Bill Gates to add two dollars for every one you donate? Yes, if you donate to the Polio Plus fund of The Rotary Foundation, that's how!
TRF is not just directly active on an international basis: via District Grants, any Rotary club can apply for a District Grant. Take as an example a project by the Rotary Club of Bribie Island: their own investment of $1,000 grew to $139,000 by taking advantage of all the various grants that are available. Our own club benefited when last year we needed a container to ship the materials for the school in Apia, Samoa.
So, my fellow members and friends of Rotary: why not donate US$1,000 to our foundation and get a Paul Harris Fellowship recognition? It is entirely up to you whether you want to wear the PHF pin or not[I rarely wear mine except on formal Rotary occasions - far too ostentatious for my taste. Ed.], it is what is being done with your donation that counts. And with an efficiency rating that surpasses just about any other charity out there, you can relax that they are not wasting your money on administration, outrageous marketing expenses, commissions and - heavens forbid - "backshish". Click on this link to go to our District Website where you can fill in the form, securely pay via Credit Card online and in turn be assured that it goes to the right place. And yes, you'll get a Tax Receipt - donations are fully tax deductible.
Picture above (by Charles Thomasson): They are quite a rambunctious mob at Surfers Sunrise - visit by a group from Taiwan. Tony and Dianne Heading on right.
On Saturday, 1st December, we'll have a giant Bicycle Garage Sale at the Project Shed. By now, our volunteers have restored dozens of bikes to their former glory, simply far too good to be scrapped for just their frames to make wheelchairs. They were either donated, or were given to us by the Police - unclaimed property. For example: this Scott Racing Bike, light enough to lift with one finger (see picture right). Yes, new, they sell for $3,000. Read that again: Three grand! They are ready to be sold at very attractive prices to the public, just in time for Christmas. But wait, there will be more! Music, Sausage Sizzle, Tours of the Shed...
We'll need manpower [no, Henrietta, 'manpower' does not exclude women! ☺], so put it into your diary now.
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.
PDG Darrell Brown arranged for Dr Michael (Mic) Pyne, who is the Chief Veterinarian at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, to speak on the subject of "Koalas". Talking about getting it straight from the 
Yes, it's short notice, but this came in as a special treat: President Jo (and Tony had a hand in it too) has organized an exclusive 'behind the scenes' tour to the famous Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant - next Wednesday 24th October, starting at 3:00 pm. Meeting in the Dracula Car Park (opposite Pacific Fair, entry before the road into Jupiters) at 2:55 pm.
Keep calm! Hold your horses! (Pun intended.) What's good for the gander (or is it the other way round?) etc... The fact is that they projected the barrier draw of a certain horse race, on which people can gamble, onto the pristine sails of the Sydney Opera House. There have been unconfirmed reports that the earth trembled in the City of Copenhagen, where Jorn Utzon is buried.
I don't know whether the large turnout was due to the attraction of having "Rotary Royalty" present - as a very popular Past District Governor, accompanied by his equally charming wife Dianne, Tony Heading would undoubtedly have some pull. Or was it his subject, 
On Saturday, 1st December, we'll have a giant Bicycle Garage Sale at the Project Shed. By now, our volunteers have restored dozens of bikes to their former glory, simply far too good to be scrapped for just their frames to make wheelchairs. They were either donated, or were given to us by the Police - unclaimed property. For example: this Scott Racing Bike, light enough to lift with one finger (see picture right). Yes, new, they sell for $3,000. Read that again: Three grand! They are ready to be sold at very attractive prices to the public, just in time for Christmas. But wait, there will be more! Music, Sausage Sizzle, Tours of the Shed... 