Short and sweet this week – I think I might be running out of puff – so much so that when Franz baited me last week that in the new Rotary year it was the job of the Past President to do the Bulletin message each week so that the President could concentrate on Club work – I bit the hook line and sinker and told him that he could get knotted! Not very ladylike of me and gave him great amusement. I don’t know who owes the fine – he or I – maybe both of us. [Not me! I did provide an embedded link in my message, which obviously was simply ignored... ☺☺ Ed.]
Shout out of the week this week to Mario and Andy, who after months of investigative work have arranged for us to have a lovely new alarm system at the Project Shed with back to base monitoring. We recently had an attempted break in, thwarted by our fancy new locks and this will be the final piece in making the Shed safe and secure. Thank you to you all for raising the funds to make all of the improvements at the Shed happen.
Larry and Col have been constructing a deal to ship 200 wheelchairs and a host of desks over to PNG – it will be great to get some chairs out to where they are needed and Col and his contacts have been instrumental in this. Thanks guys for your hard work in making that happen.
I’m looking forward to the meeting this week- Charles will give us his updated view of the investment landscape but is also going to start a discussion with us about introducing a new type of membership to encourage more people to join us. If you want to have your say, make sure you are there.
And if you haven’t already, book your changeover seats so we can finalise the numbers. I always love our changeover – especially this one!
After his presentation in early May on the likely issues in relation to how the Federal Elections will affect your personal finances, our resident finance adviser and share market guru Charles Thomasson will present "Stage 2 - No we know which way it went".
Not to be missed!
Get your breakfast at the downstairs bistro counter, then take it to the upstairs area and enjoy the Rotary fellowship. Visitors welcome.
Over the last weekend, our new security system was installed at our Project Shed. President Elect Mario Fairlie advises that Peter and Karen of PTS Security (the company has taken care of Mario's home security for some 15 years) worked all day to get it professionally installed. Sensors which are located indoors, outdoors as well as on the Roller Doors (see picture right), are connected to a control panel and are ultimately monitored 24/7.
Did you know that the Surfers Sunrise Wheelchair Trust was formally brought into existence exactly 21 years ago? Here is an extract from the last club bulletin of 1997/1998:
Our Club registers its own Charity Company
At last Wednesday’s Board Meeting, the formal go ahead was given to setup our own Charity Organization. This was also necessary to ensure that the people donating to the Wheel Chair Project receive full Tax Deductibility, and that the materials purchased can be bought Salestax Exempt. [Yes, that was before GST! And yes, I still had hair then... ☺ Ed.] Jonathon Withers and Peter Presser have worked tirelessly to get this on the rails prior to 30 June. The structure of the company will be that the members of Surfers Sunrise will always have total control of the Charity Company: Its office bearers will always consist of both the current and past Presidents, plus another three directors as well as the Secretary and Treasurer are to be elected/confirmed annually to their positions by the club members. The initial board of the Charity Company will be as follows:
President: Des La Rance
Vice President: Phil Parry (Club President 1998/99)
Directors: Franz Huber (Immediate Past Club President)
John Appleton
Secretary: Johathon Withers
Treasurer: Bob Harrison
The Wheelchair Trust has truly come of age! 21 years later: going stronger than ever!
Set your diary (and your partner's) for this year's Changeover Luncheon:
President Jo Winwood and Elect Mario Fairlie invite all members, Associate members and their partners and friends to join them for our traditionally classy event. This year it will be held at
Links Hope Island
Hope Island Road
Hope Island 4212
Price $30.00 per head for an elegant two course lunch.
Superb venue, easy parking.
Please pre-pay (we really don't want to collect money on the day)! Click on this link to reach to booking site: https://www.trybooking.com/BCVPN. Note: Bookings are limited to a maximum of 60 seats - first come first served. We need to advise the venue of final numbers a week ahead, thus bookings will close on Monday 17/06/19 at 07:00 am. Please contact Graham Isaacson business@mainbeachpo.comif you require assistance.
Remember the Lutzy Award, which, in conjunction with the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club, is presented to a promising young Life Saver. Last year's award, presented in July 2018, went to Sebastian Robinson (see picture, with Jan Lutz). Previous winners are Lucy Thorburn, our current Youth Exchange Student in the USA (by the way, has anyone heard anything from her since??) and before that, the inaugural winner Jessica Webber. A specially designed and sign written Surf Paddle Board is presented (see picture). The cost is around $2,500. Please contact organizer Ray Higgs.
When Mario Fairlie attended the President Elect Training Seminar (PETS), he met with the Presidents Elect of the Broadbeach and Gold Coast Rotary Clubs, Dr Graham Sivyer and Rowan Johnstone respectively. Dr Graham indicated that he had identified a major need for a X-Ray Unit to be established in a hospital on the Espiritu Santo Island, in the Samna Province of Vanuatu. The hospital doesn't have one at all; travel to the nearest one that does have one takes over 5 hours. It needs more than just a X-Ray Unit: they don't have electrical power off the grid, so it needs to be solar / battery powered...
We all know that "there are no flies" on Des La Rance, our Chief Designer and Mover & Shaker at the Project Shed. He set to work and here is the preliminary draft. To an extent, it is based on the very successful design of the Samoa Schools we have installed, with solar panels and batteries. Next step is to obtain a District Grant as well as a Global Grant. For the Global Grant, Mario will liaison with his friend who introduced him to Rotary, PDG Fred Hansen in Norway.
Jump over to the Photo Album Section on the right for more images of Des' design. Note: Des will present at a joint meeting on Wednesday 17th July with the Rotary Clubs of Gold Coast and Broadbeach.
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.
You may accuse me of pretending to be a clairvoyant when I predict the Queensland Budget to be presented tomorrow...
Call me old fashioned. But how good is to not only have a Queenslander winning the French Open, but here is positive proof that a champion doesn't need to be 6 1/2 feet tall and scream out every time she hits a ball! "I'm certainly not the tallest girl on the tour, so I know that I have to sort of try and match the girls in the way I know. For me, it's trying to be super aggressive, especially off the first ball in the rally." Ashleigh Barty
On the 70th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's '1984':
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink. George Orwell
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After his presentation in early May on the likely issues in relation to how the Federal Elections will affect your personal finances, our resident finance adviser and share market guru Charles Thomasson will present "Stage 2 - No we know which way it went"..jpg)
Over the last weekend, our new security system was installed at our Project Shed. President Elect Mario Fairlie advises that Peter and Karen of PTS Security (the company has .jpg)
taken care of Mario's home security for some 15 years) worked all day to get it professionally installed. Sensors which are located indoors, outdoors as well as on the Roller Doors (see picture right), are connected to a control panel and are ultimately monitored 24/7..jpg)
Did you know that the Surfers Sunrise Wheelchair Trust was formally brought into existence exactly 21 years ago? Here is an extract from the last club bulletin of 1997/1998:
Set your diary (and your partner's) for this year's Changeover Luncheon: 
When Mario Fairlie attended the President Elect Training Seminar (PETS), he met with the Presidents Elect of the Broadbeach and Gold Coast Rotary Clubs, Dr Graham Sivyer and Rowan Johnstone respectively. Dr Graham indicated that he had identified a major need for a X-Ray Unit to be established in a hospital on the Espiritu Santo Island, in the Samna Province of Vanuatu. The hospital doesn't have one at all; travel to the nearest one that does have one takes over 5 hours. It needs more than just a X-Ray Unit: they don't have electrical power off the grid, so it needs to be solar / battery powered....JPG)
