You'd think that because there was no official meeting on Thursday there wouldn't be anything to report. Wrong !!!
The substitute meeting on Friday morning was superb. The ladies of our club are to be congratulated on organising such a professional, well-run, well-attended and presumably profitable fund-raising event.
It was interesting to hear not only about the Days For Girls organisation but also the first-hand experiences of 2 Deakin students (of 20) who visited Malawi and taught the locals to make their own kits - as well as passing on lots of other useful information.
If you weren't there (and a lot of our club members WERE there) then it's no good trying to describe the atmosphere of conviviality but with an overtone of business and support for the cause. Di Pearce said the raffle alone raised more than $500 which was great. Thanks again ladies for a job well done.
Thanks also to the sponsors
The Athlete’s Foot, Beekon Pty Ltd, Martlette: Geelong Graphic Design, Artist Photographer, Luminosity Laser & Skincare, Highton Cellars, Pardey’s Highton Pharmacy, Officeworks, Geelong Hair Colour Gallery (Yarra Street), Middy’s Electrical Geelong, Woolworths Voucher, Barb Sheehan, Mammoth Health Shop Highton. There were other anonymous donations, but of course we can't tell you who they were !!!
Got dobbed in to be the "Guest Speaker" this week.
Did I even have to think about it ? Not really. There's so much to talk about in Rotary it's a problem to know what to leave out. Or should it be something apart from Rotary. Decisions decisions.
The obvious thing is the upcoming District Conference - starts on Friday if you didn't know. We have 15 members and spouses attending which is absolutely great. I know some members think Conferences are boring, but it's all about what you make of it - catching up with friends who you probably haven't seen since the last conference, listening to what are usually enjoyable and yet challenging speakers, having fun at the Saturday night dinner. The only boring bit is the business session, but you have to grin and bear that - it's something which just has to be done. This year there's a winery tour on the Sunday afternoon and a dinner on the Sunday night so Jan and I are lucky enough to be able to arrange a late arrival at the office on Monday so we can enjoy these 2 functions as well. Having said all that, I'd better not repeat it all on Thursday !!!
I'm reading a book at the moment which is called "A Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman. It’s really interesting and re-iterates some of the messages we’ve been hearing lately – we’re living in an ever-changing world and the problem is to stay relevant. Rotary is subject to the same business principles as any organisation - we need to have a product which people want at a price they’re prepared to pay and we have to deliver what we promise. Marketing is important to attract not only customers but also the right “sales” personnel to deliver the product in a professional and enthusiastic way. How we do that and keep within our budget is a problem which he can’t help us with, but he has a number of useful suggestions which I'll share with you some other time.
If you read the "Next 4 weeks" you'll see the title of my address is "Giving or Receiving ?" I'll let you think about that a bit and you may even be able to predict what I'm going to say - but no prizes for guessing correctly !!!
Please find the latest Volunteer Spreadsheets attached, both the detailed one for your benefit and the less detailed one for public distribution.
I have also modified the Volunteer calculator table so that you can track how your club is performing against target.
Please remember that this is event is a collaborative effort by the combined Geelong Clubs in a District project that you all committed to. We are pioneering new ground embarking on a project of this magnitude within our District and it is really our opportunity to show the Rotary world just what can be achieved when clubs join forces.
We are now less than 5 weeks from the event and the organising committee is getting down to the serious end of business. The greatest priorities for us all are:-
a. Promoting the event to attract as many entrants as possible for ultimately this is what generates the dollars for Rotary.
1 We have DL cards and A3 posters available for distribution (please contact Tony Stewart or John Paton for these) which need to be placed anywhere cyclists hang out in Shops, coffee shops, bike shops etc. If your members know of any suitable locations please help with this.
II. Ensure that the event is promoted in your Club Bulletins, especially the website and Facebook page (see details below)
III. Encourage Facebook users in your Clubs to please 'like' the event page and “share†it amongst their own friends
b. Make sure that your club is contributing your fair share of volunteers to the event. There are still lots of tasks available across all times and locations. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further details.
Your Club will be visited by one of the event committee soon to update your members about the event so if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask them.
On International Women’s Day 2015 we celebrated the essential role women play in polio eradication efforts around the world. More. Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases
Every man is a volume if you know how to read him. - William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842
Successful people...focus on the rewards of success: learning from their mistakes and thinking about how they can improve themselves and their situations. - John Maxwell, 1947-present
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. - Mark Twain, 1835-1910
If you were at the Days For Girls breakfast, you would have already joined in the celebration of Graham Blood's birthday.
Stephen Bath joins him as a birthday boy on 15th
Spouses birthdays are multitudinous compared with the lack in previous weeks. Sheila Mansfield on 15th, Gwenda Morrison on 18th and Marta Sinclair also on 18th.
Ray and Derrie Dunn are celebrating a wedding anniversary on 14th and Rod Morrison chalks up another year with Rotary on 19th.
A woman said to her friend, "I don't know what to do. My husband is such a mess maker that you can't imagine. He doesn't put anything in its place, I am always going around the house organizing things."
The friend says, "Take a tip from me. The first week after we were married I told my husband firmly, 'Every glass and plate that you take, wash when you are done and put back in its place.'"
The first woman asked, "Did it help?"
Her friend said, "I don't know. I haven't seen him since."
"Honestly must be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second best policy." -George Carlin
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For those who don't know what "Days for Girls" is all about, here's their brochure and also the Programme for the Breakfast.
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