What a wonderful morning! Organized by Graeme Isaacson in his usual professional manner, our ladies, Youth Exchange Students and several guests joined us at the Marriott Hotel in Surfers Paradise. What a feast!
There were no formalities, just good ol' Rotary fellowship. Good to see that John Ellemor, who had been unable to attend in recent weeks due to a medical condition, obviously is on the way back to the top. His charming daughter Lynne gave him a lift into Surfers. John assured me that he is planning to be back at the Yacht Club in the new year.
Our Exchange Students Laura Burtscher (incoming, from Austria) and Felicity Cooper (shortly leaving for Finland) together with her mum Sarah (see below with Sergeant Andy Bell), were joined by Gaelle Ameye (n picture with Laura) who hails from Belgium and is currently on Exchange at Yamba. And, in addition to our partners, it was great to meet again with Debbie Cohen and Jan Lutz.
Thank you, Graeme, for organizing and seeing this event through with your usual impressive precision.
Following up on the report in last week's bulletin, Principal Mark Blackshaw and his charming Marketing & PR Manager Allina Leal joined us for breakfast to bring us up to date on what will happen. An happen it will!
But this is not just for charitable purposes, but also very much involves the fostering of leadership skills, social conscience and even providing a vehicle for students to work hands-on when the school will be built. A fundraising dinner (to be held on Tuesday 3rd December at the Sharks) aims to raise some $25,000. Our club will participate with a table of 10 attendees. Our member Mario Fairlie again put his shoulder to the wheel by donating a bottle of Grange Hermitage valued at about $1,000 for auction or for a Raffle Prize. Thank you, Mario!
Mark also outlined some statistics of his school: there will be some 700 new students coming in to make a total of 2,400. 50% of the students come from outside the schools traditional boundaries. And with leadership like that and projects like that, no wonder!!
With the typical penchant for Surfers Sunrise to keep formalities to a minimum, the election of the incoming board took all of a few minutes. The board for 2015/16 will be made up as follows:
President: Paul Seymour
Secretary: Peter Morgan
Treasurer: Mitch Brown
Director, Youth Services: Chris Thurtell, with John Franich as 2IC
Director, Services: John Franich, with Alex Batcu taking on Community Service
Director, The Rotary Foundation: Darrell Brown
Youth Protection Officer and Youth Councellor: Gerald East
Wheelchair Trust Chairman: Daryl Sanderson
However, there are still a few positions still to be filled:
OK, your Editor was gallivanting around Adelaide and then Melbourne when Alex Batcu (left) was inducted, so last Wednesday President Conrad "re-presented" the badges to our newest members Alex Batcu and Terry O'Shea (right). Let's hear it one more time:
Download the latest of Isabelle's reports from France (see link on right), including pictures. Visiting Taizé in Eastern France, new host parents, playing Wednesday Addams in a Haloween Party...
Every day public opinion is the target of rewritten history, official amnesia and outright lying, all of which is benevolently termed ‘spin’, as if it were no more harmful than a ride on a merry-go-round. We know better than what they tell us, yet we hope otherwise.”
Thomas Pynchon, in his Introduction to George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Wheelchair Trust Chairman Daryl Sanderson is looking for more volunteers
OK, so you have gone through your list of potential future Rotarians... but not everyone may want to commit to be an active Rotarian, for various reasons, be that time commitments, financial etc.
Daryl Sanderson needs more volunteers at The Shed! They meet every Saturday morning. Perhaps you could bring it to the attention of a couple of your friends? Communicate with Daryl directly on 0408 729 118 or by email to daryl.sanderson@gmail.com.
were joined by Gaelle Ameye (n picture with Laura) who hails from Belgium and is currently on Exchange at Yamba. 
And, in addition to our partners, it was great to meet again with Debbie Cohen and Jan Lutz.
Following up on the report in last week's bulletin, Principal Mark Blackshaw and his charming Marketing & PR Manager Allina Leal joined us for breakfast to bring us up to date on what will happen. An happen it will!
