Last Thursday Anne and I attended the Student Leaders Seminar held at the Fred Flanagan Room at Kardinia Park during the day. Good work by the Youth Committee and some last minute work by Anne in particular. What a great event it was with 84 students from 20 primary school leadership teams (out of 25 schools in the Geelong and district) and 5 secondary school leadership teams, principals and teachers.
Schools from Lorne, Deans Marsh, Moriac, Torquay, Winchelsea, Barwon Valley and local Geelong schools participated. Steve Durkin, Principal of Moriac PS coordinated the event and another 10 Principals attended.
The attentiveness by every student was very noticeable and they all participated fully in the exercised, feedback sessions and fun - even writing a song and performing it as part of the days event.
The groups from each school mixed and re-mixed covering the following subjects:
* Qualities of Leadership
* Leadership Attributes
* Friendship, Peers and Leadership
* Having an open mind - Looking at issues with many lenses
* Values of a great leader
One of the most pleasing outcomes was that students established contacts for future interaction - e.g. Deans Marsh have decided to visit Barwon Valley school.
I also spoke about Rotary, volunteerism and how Rotary makes a difference in this community and throughout the world.
Snr Sgt .Tony Francis spoke to the group about the impact of drugs on people and the addictive nature of illegal drugs. He also spoke about strategies to avoid becoming involved in drug use.
There were many opportunities to talk to teachers and much interest shown in students raising funds for Shelterboxes and Aquaboxes, as well as Principals showing a keen interest in Rotary Junior Community Awards and commending us on the Chef for a Month program. The leaders of the future are amongst this group and it gives me great confidence that our community will be in good hands. What a mature and thoughtful and fun group they were and what an important learning opportunity it was.
Thursday evening David Farnsworth and I attended the final combined Presidents meeting for the year. It was reported that funds raised by the 15 Geelong Clubs in the 'Ride the Bellarine' event is set to exceed $50,000 for Polio eradication. Thanks again for all who participated, marshalled and in any way organized the event.
The Lara Golf Day also raised over $20,000 for Autism research.
The Science and Engineering Challenge went ahead at Deakin Uni on 24th & 25th April as $9,000 of district funds were used to enable Warnambool, Mt Gambier and other year 10 students to participate. DG Geoff James attended the Deakin event. It is interesting to note that 15 of the Deakin first year graduates had done the Challenge prior to enrolling in Engineering and Science. A great endorsement of the program. Funding for next year is yet to be decided.
We started last week's meeting with Doug in the Chair - Ian was at a President's meeting and his report covers that.
He welcomed Peter Cavennagh - our guest speaker from Shelterbox Australia and also Adam from Entertainment Books.
Adam congratulated Colin on having sold 25 entertainment books so far and challenged the club to give even more support - if we get up to 44 books sold, he'll give us a couple of bottles of wine to auction - and don't forget each book sold brings in $11 for our Club. Were you aware that the entertainment book idea was the brainchild of a Rotary Club in America ? Were you aware that you can now get digital membership so you don't have to use the book ?
Anne told us about the Junior leadership conference held last week. Ian Campbell spoke to 84 students about the opportunities in leadership and in particular the application of the 4-way test. Senior Sergeant Francis also spoke to the students about a number of items - the main one being drugs. It seems that only 4 schools from the South Barwon Region did not attend the conference, so that's a really worthwhile project and our contribution is highly valued.
Ken mentioned that Peter Hall (remember he gave us a presentation at the Yacht Club) was in Nepal at the time of the disaster. We haven't been able to contact him, but anecdotally we believe he's OK.
Ros thanked Eeon for masterminding the donation of laptops to both the Owairtilla project and also to Nepal through DIK
Then it was on to our guest speaker and his presentation on Shelterbox Australia.
Peter was a farmer for 20 years in Camperdown before joining the CSIRO in their IT department. He's still there, but now doing training. He joined Rotary in 2006 and has been involved in Shelterbox since that time.
For those who don't know the history, Shelterbox started in 2001 and has distributed more than 140,000 (from at least 20 countries) to areas in need worldwide. I wasn't aware that shelterboxes (although they commonly come in standard form) can be tailor-made to suit particular circumstances. Some are even used within existing buildings to provide privacy for the occupants. That's why the response team meets with representatives in the disaster area as a first priority then immediately arranges for the appropriate boxes to be forwarded. They then arrange for assessment and distribution of the boxes. For example in the case of Nepal, the team was there on the Tuesday following the disaster interviewing and making arrangements with the boxes expected to arrive before the weekend. The tents in this particular case are likely to be of the insulated variety given the extreme weather conditions. Shelterbox contents are always under review and being improved where possible. The latest addition is a solar light which will give light for up to 6 hours with a fully charged battery.
The Rotary Club of Highton has close links with Shelterbox having donated the money to purchase 24 since 2007 - Keep up the good work.
So many things happening in the world - good news, bad news, just plain news - difficult to know what to focus on.
Obviously the tragedy in Nepal and surrounds is obviously still in everyone's minds - and so it should be. But are we aware of all the other natural (or I guess man-made) disasters in the world ? I was surprised by the list of countries to which Shelterboxes had been distributed. I simply didn't know that number of disasters requiring Shelterboxes had occurred.
The good news of the safe arrival of Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was expected, but nevertheless welcome. I wonder how many other safe births there were on the day - none of whom (probably) will lead such a privileged but "under the microscope" life. Are we conscious of the number of births to parents where they're already subject to poverty and their newborn will be welcome and loved but nevertheless add to that poverty.
If we concentrate on all the negatives we know we'll become overwhelmed, so although we don't ignore them, they tend to become "statistics". On the positive side of statistics, however, did you realise that our Club has purchased 24 Shelterboxes since 2007 ? I certainly didn't. And that doesn't take into account donations (purchases) which we've made to Disaster Aid for similar emergency equipment such as water units.
Whilst we may sometimes run a bit short on manpower (a generic term which according to the oxford dictionary includes women) our ability to continue giving to the community is outstanding and we should celebrate that. We tend to concentrate on finishing a project in order to get on with the next one without stopping to consider just how much we've achieved. It is certainly true that our work in the community is recognised by our current or recent physical presence or media reports of the success of our projects. I'd like to see something which reports the collective efforts of Rotary in either Geelong or District 9780 over the last 10 years. The result would be mind-blowing even for us who think we know what's going on.
On completely different topic, I recently re-watched a good old(ish) film called "What Women Want"- a lighthearted spoof but nevertheless one with a message. The advertising executive who is challenged to "get into women's heads" in order to gain part of the advertising budget targeting women's discretionary expenditure achieves that in a completely unexpected way. I won't say how and so spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the film - it's worth watching. But it raises the point - what do we have to do to "get into women's heads" to attract more to Rotary membership. We know from our own experience in this club that the women bring a different point of view and are enthusiastic and hard workers. So maybe we should "Light Up Rotary" with scented candles ?????
As we near the end of the Rotary year it is now time to call for nominations to make Paul Harris Fellow recognition to a member or members for 2014/15.
The nomination can be for either a Paul Harris Fellow or a sapphire as an addition to a PHF previously awarded.
Nominations should be forwarded to Paul Brewster who will head up this year's committee. Any nominations should have a covering letter spelling out what the nominated member has been involved in and why the nomination is being made.
Nominations should be forwarded by the end of this month to enable sufficient time for the Secretary to receive the relevant medallion etc before the changeover dinner at the end of June.
Please give it your consideration.
Brenton
Editor's comment
The "Elephant in the Room" is the reason for which a Paul Harris Fellow recognition is given. The guidance from Rotary International is quite specific.
"Paul Harris Fellow
Paul Harris Fellow recognition is given to an individual who contributes (or in whose name is contributed) $1,000 or more cumulatively to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or an approved Foundation grant. Recognition consists of a certificate and pin. An optional medallion is available for $15."
Every District Governor I have spoken to emphasises the fact that a PHF recognition IS NOT AN AWARD.
My person experience shows this to be the case - in some clubs in Japan for example, it is required that a donation of $1,000 US be made as a condition of admission to the Club. This could hardly be considered to be an award.
However, it can't be denied that for many clubs in Australia, the PHF recognition is given by the Club to a Club member or other person in the community in recognition of their service to the club or the community. The fact that the Club chooses to operate in this way is not contrary to R I rules, but it has led to the PHF recognition being called an Award - which it's not. Members are able and in fact encouraged to donate to The Foundation which may result in their "collecting" PHF recognitions, sapphires, rubies or whatever, or they may choose not to receive any recognition. Just so long as we are aware of these facts and keep them in perspective, we can still wear our PHF badges (if we have them) with pride.
Our thoughts are with the people of Nepal, where the polio infrastructure is closely involved in relief operations. Polio staff are often among the first to respond in emergencies by utilizing their local knowledge and strong systems to plan, monitor and implement the response.
Following a year since the last detection of wild poliovirus in the environment, Israel has been moved from the International Health Regulations (IHR) list of countries infected with poliovirus to the list of countries no longer infected but vulnerable to the international spread of polio. The Emergency Committee of the IHR met on 24 April for the fifth time to discuss the temporary recommendations and a report will be released shortly.
Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases
Total cases
Year-to-date 2015
Year-to-date 2014
Total in 2014
WPV
cVDPV
WPV
cVDPV
WPV
cVDPV
Globally
23
0
68
12
359
55
- in endemic countries
23
0
59
12
340
52
- in non-endemic countries
0
0
9
0
19
3
- See more at: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx#sthash.rvGuWEAn.dpuf
We now have sufficient members who have volunteered to be hosts for the Guess Who's Coming to Dinner event to enable it to proceed; it will be held on Sat 23rd May from 6.30 pm (Geelong play on the Friday night.)
Note that this will be in place of our normal meeting so it is important that you notify me whether or not you are attending.
It is a partners' night but that does not preclude members from attending on their own. Please notify me of any dietary requirements that you may have, so that the hosts can be alerted in plenty of time.
Attendance should be notified at least two weeks before the event so that we can work out who will travel to which host's place.
For those who have not attended one of these events before it is usually great fun and gives you a chance to meet other Rotarians in a convivial atmosphere. Guests pay the host the normal Rotary dinner amount, $30/head to cover the cost of the meal.
It's that time of the year again when I start thinking about how to put together the Annual Report - so I'm asking directors and anyone else who usually submits stuff to go in the Anhnual Report to start work on the report now. If there are any photo's you particularly want to append to your report, please put them in also. It akes the best part of 3 weeks to a month to collate everything, format it, and print it so the "drop dead" date for getting your report to me (in electronic format saves me a great deal of time) is the end of May - but before if possible.
On a visit to my wife's native England for our honeymoon, we arrived at London's Gatwick Airport. Tania headed for the British passport control line while I, an American, waited in the foreigners' line. When my turn came, the customs officer asked me the purpose of my visit.
"Pleasure," I replied. "I'm on my honeymoon."
The officer looked first to one side of me, then the other. "That's very interesting, sir," he said as he stamped my passport. "Most men bring their wives with them."
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A band director was standing outside on a metal ladder during a concert, when a thunderstorm broke out.
Amazingly, he wasn't hit by lightning, but the music was awful - it seems he just wasn't a very good conductor.
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A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?"
I said, "No, why do you ask?"
She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that is very rude!"
After putting her on hold for a minute while I 'looked into it' (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno California is FAT, her bag was overwieight, and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
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On a lonely, moonlit country road a young man's car engine started to cough. Immediately pulling over to a scenic little spot he said to the young lady next to him, "That's funny, I wonder what that knocking noise was?"
"I'll tell you one thing for sure," said the girl coolly, "It wasn't opportunity."
We started last week's meeting with Doug in the Chair - Ian was at a President's meeting and his report covers that.
There's no proliferation of celebrations this month..jpg)
