June 2013 June is Rotary Fellowship Month Sandy s Message Greetings to all in District 9640. Fellowship, what an important aspect of being a Rotarian. Friendship, Fellowship and Service above Self. With the Club s Changeovers all starting to happen it is a wonderful opportunity to socially enjoy our fellow Rotarians and families. It is also the time to remember Club or personal donations to the Foundation and Polio Plus. Rotary Foundation Chair Neil Jones is very pleased with the Launch of the District 9640 Paul Harris Society at the District Conference. At present there are 14 members and they are meeting for the first time to have dinner on the 15 th June. If you would like any information re the Society, please call Neil on 0418 663 740. The District responded very well to the two District Assemblies which was very good; knowledge of the role you have undertaken is so important. I am sure all the President Elects and their Boards are busy planning for the 2013-2014 year. However, the current President s and I still have a month to complete our year and reports to be done and plans coming to fruition. Two highlights this month have been the Charter of the District s very 1 st Earlyact Club and the Charter of a new Rotaract Club in Murwillumbah. YEP students are preparing to pack their bags and return to their homes. Sam and I attended the farewell for Hope Island s Geraldine, amidst many hugs and tears, she is sad to go, but it is wonderful they have all had such a successful exchange in District 9640. I wish you all a successful last month of the Rotary year. Warm regards to all, Sandy Future Rotarians President Steve (Coomera River) and I attended the Charter of our first Earlyact Club at St Stephens College. The RC Coomera River sponsored this great initiative.
Sam s Saviour May has been a very busy month looking after the DG and accompanying her to all the meetings and functions. We are doing over 20 Changeovers all over the District, but I am honestly looking forward to our trips in the country, as the Jones s will attest I love the cattle, horses and the countryside and consider that my relaxation ( when not having a quiet doze). I believe we may have set a record in the District when DG Sandy inducted her husband as the Hope Island Club President, this has to be a highlight of my month, so with both roles certainly have been busy, but I am looking forward to the coming year. Have a great month and best wishes. Yours in Rotary. Sam Rotary Banners still flying high Thanks to our District PR Chair, Harold Busch for this fantastic effort still flying high and spreading the Rotary messages to all who pass by.
Inspirational Women s Luncheon. RC Ashmore
As the financial year draws to a close, we are asking Rotarians to consider making a donation to Australian Rotary Health. Help us to fund today s research, tomorrow s cures. Become a Friend of Australian Rotary Health... Or maybe it s time you upgraded your Friendship status? Donors become our: Friend by donating $100 Bronze Friend by donating $500 Silver Friend by donating $1,000 Platinum Friend by donating $2,000 Diamond Friend by donating $2,500 Donors become our: Companion by donating $5,000 Gold Companion by donating $10,000 Ruby Companion by donating $20,000 Emerald Companion by donating $50,000 Diamond Companion by donating $100,000 Please make your Tax Deductible Gift to Australian Rotary Health via the website, thank you for your generosity www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au Member Access Rotarians have a very special place on the Rotary International website and it s called Member Access. To access this exclusive part of the RI website, you need to register and one you ve done that a whole new range of options is available to you. You can access: Rotary Showcase Share successful service projects Rotary Club Central Set and track club goals Learn Get free online training Convention Registration Attend our annual international gathering Update your information Manage your own account details Apply for grants Manage your Foundation grants online Contribute Support The Rotary Foundation with tax deductible contributions in Australian dollars Here s how to get started: 1. Go to www.rotary.org/memberaccess 2. Select Create Account 3. Enter and confirm your email address* *Creating a member Access account requires a unique email address (shared or club addresses can t be used). If your email address is in the RI database, your account will be created immediately. If not, RI will contact your club to confirm your membership.
Superb Day Out Rotary Cattle Sale (25 th May 2013) What a great day! The annual Rotary Clubs of Fassifern Valley and Toowong Cattle Sale at Silverdale Saleyards was another resounding success. There s no better way to raise funds for Rotary community projects than getting together with a great group of people and having a heap of fun doing it. And, the cattle enjoyed it too! The combined group of about 30 Rotarians cooked up a feast at the sausage sizzle during the cattle sale. Fassifern Rotary stalwarts, Master Chefs Graham Porter and Andrew Kay led the keen band of cooks and Ross McInnes (Rotary Club of Fassifern Valley President) directed proceedings in the saleyards. Marjorie Porter, Lee Williams and Dylan Williams ran the raffles and were very adept at taking money from the hungry customers. Supporting the sale was an entourage of Toowong members who enjoyed the atmosphere and action of the Hayes & Co auctioneers when the fast and furious flurry of bidding got under way. John Boyd, Owen Seamons, Anne Roberts, Barbara Bell, Gay Mason, Dennis Young, Anne & Kim Hockings, Janelle & Henry Bodman, Joan & Murray Bladwell, Graham & Sue Trout, Michael (Rotary Club of Toowong President) & Erica Michaux, and Di & Wes Nichols made the journey on a slightly windy, but beautifully sunny, day. Toowong Rotarians enjoyed a great lunch break on the deck of the Royal Hotel in Kalbar before heading off on a tour of the dairy Inverclyde run by Ross McInnes and his brothers. The farm is a multi-faceted business running a 470 cow milking herd and produces approximately 11,000L of milk per day that is supplied to the local milk factory at Crestmead. It was an eye-opener for many of the city folk and everyone found it to be a very interesting experience. First, Ross took us on a ute ride to his centre-pivot irrigator and explained the operations of a system that has to supply 2 Gigalitres per cow per annum to grow the fodder that goes toward feeding the herd. Next, we visited the feeding station where the fodder mix is laid out for the cattle. Finally, Ross took us to the dairy where some of the more-adventurous city folk went down onto the milking floor and helped to apply the suction cups to the cows. It was a fantastic day and was enjoyed by all. Thanks very much to everyone who helped out and especially to President Ross McInnes for opening his farm to us and sharing his passion with us. PP Wes Nichols Rotary Club of Toowong Service Above Self 100 Not Out! Southport Rotarian and Past President Cyril Richarde AM celebrated his 100 th birthday with fellow Rotarians on Saturday April 20, 2013. Cyril and his sister became orphaned when both of their parents died in 1917. He became a carpenter working in rural Victoria and Melbourne, before coming to the Gold Coast in 1957 where he was inducted into Southport Rotary club on November 18, 1958 and began an extraordinary journey in Rotary community service. Cyril s childhood strongly influenced his Rotary service. His sister had been a victim of Polio, so it was not surprising that he soon arranged for children with Polio in the Xavier Home for Crippled Children in Brisbane to have a beach holiday, a project that continued for many years. In 1962 whilst President of Southport Rotary, Cyril and PDG Keith Hopper (Rotary Club of Inverell) agreed to provide teams to visit Indonesia to build schools and hospitals. To obtain subsidised transport from QANTAS, a project title was needed, which became Fourth Arm In Action FAIM. Cyril undertook 23 tours of duty to FAIM projects in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Cyril s Billy was first circulated at Southport Rotary Club meetings in 1965 to defray the cost of powdered milk for FAIM projects. Donations to Cyril s Billy have also supported schools in Kiribati, as well sponsoring the education of needy children in Indonesia. Educating Indonesian children is now a project in District 9640. In 1986, Cyril s eyesight became impaired. He decided that Blind and Vision Impaired people of the Gold Coast needed a meeting hall. Within two years he had obtained a grant of land and raised $140,000 to construct the meeting hall, with Rotarians donating professional services to this project. Congratulations Cyril, for your remarkable contribution to Rotary. Below are some photos of the celebration of the 100 th birthday on 20 April of our lifetime honorary member Cyril Richarde. A historic event indeed!! It was a wonderful gathering with a man who has been an inspiration to us all especially in his Rotary accomplishments.
Final Rotary Global Swimarathon 2013 totals and awards announcement! Hi Everyone, This is it! Sorry it's taken an extra month to get the final totals together and communicated, but hopefully it's worth the wait. Drumroll please... The Worldwide total to 31st May 2013 is $111,081 or 70,304 of which $95,388 for End Polio Now with an additional $15692 raised for other local charities (12 in all)!! - so we've officially passed last years total of $105K! Number of clubs taking part - 186 clubs in 36 countries worldwide at 95 separate events (compared with 118 in 23 countries at 64 events) Number of swimmers 6103 - compared with last years record of 4546 in 1 hr. Through your extraordinary collective efforts, together we have established Rotary Global Swimarathon as the biggest mass participation simultaneous annual fundraiser in Rotary history - you are amazing!!! Most importantly in these first 2 years the total is just over $200,000 for End Polio Now and $216,000 overall, enough to protect up to 1 million children worldwide from the devastating disease of Polio. Now it's time to announce our special awards. As you know, we previously announced 3 main award challenges. The first for the event that raised the most money for End Polio Now. Delighted to officially confirm that by raising A$9858.60 or US $9721, Rotary Club of Kwinana District 9465, supported by Rotary Clubs of Rockingham, Canning Bridge, Willeton, and Booragoon are our deserving winners - many congratulations on a very innovative online fundraising campaign that provides a great model for other clubs to follow! Next we have the prize for the event that had the most swimmers taking part - that honour goes to Rotary Club Green City Jaysingpur in District 3170 who recorded a fantastic 350 swimmers with local schools and colleges taking part. Finally there was the overall District Prize. Based on the number of clubs taking part there were 5 finalists 1. District 2980 India 5 points 2. District 9320 South Africa 4 points 3. District 9550 Australia 3 points 4. District 2450 Egypt 2 points 5. District 3170 India 1 point We then judged them based on 3 additional criteria 1. Number of events staged 2. Number of Swimmers who took part 3. Amount raised These were the results in the 3 categories 1. Number of events staged 1. 9320 = 5 points 2. 9550 = 4 points 3. 3170 = 3 points 4. 2980 = 2 points 5. 2450 = 1 points
2. Number of swimmers 1. 3170 = 5 points 2. 9320 = 4 points 3. 9550 = 3 points 4. 2980 = 2 points 5. 2450 = 1 point 3. Amount Raised 1. 9550 = 5 points 2. 9320 = 4 points 3. 3170 = 3 points 4. 2450 = 2 points 5. 2980 = 1 point Final totals: 1. District 9320-17 points 2. District 9550-15 points 3. District 3170-12 points 4. District 2980-10 points 5. District 2450-6 points So the overall Best District participation award winner is District 9320 - congratulations to everyone involved!! However, so worthy of recognition were the contributions of the other 4 finalists we would like to make 4 additional awards 1. District 9550 Australia - for the most money raised by 1 district 2. District 3170 India - For the most swimmers in 1 district 3. District 2980 India - For the most clubs taking part in 1 district 4. District 2450 Egypt - for the most clubs taking part in 1 single event We also felt it was important to recognize the outstanding contribution of so many new clubs to the event. so we have added a Best Newcomer award. Deserving special mentions are the Rotary Club of Hamilton D9600 Australia, Rotary Club of Waynesboro D7360 USA Rotary Club of Los Olivos District 5240, and Rotary Club of Cabarrus County 7680 who each featured in either the worldwide top 10 for funds raised or for most swimmers However the overall winner, with 240 swimmers taking part and raising well over US $5000 was judged to be Rotary Clubs of Murwillumbah in District 9640 - not bad for a first year! Three clubs participated, the Rotary Club of Murwillumbah Central, the Rotary Club of Murwillumbah and the Rotary Club of Mt Warning AM. Finally, we felt it was very important to recognize the outstanding efforts of individual fundraisers. This years award for the most amount raised by 1 swimmer goes to Kero O Shea, of the Rotary Club of Canning Bridge District 9465 who raised over $2000 in sponsorship at the Kwinana event. So there you have it - 9 awards in total and all fully deserving of the recognition. Rotary Club of Grantham President Irvin Metcalf and I will be in Lisbon for the Rotary International Convention. On Tuesday 25th June I'm proud to be representing Rotary Global Swimarathon at the Advanced social media workshop at 2.30pm local time http://www.rotary.org/en/members/events/announcements/pages/13may23_annc_conv_sm.aspx -that would be a great opportunity for participants in 2012/13 Global Swimarathons to meet up. For the award winners, please let us know if you or other representatives of your district will be in Lisbon and we will get in touch to make arrangements for presenting the awards if we possibly can. Finally, delighted to announce that for 2014 event planned for Sunday 23rd February 2014 we will be partnering ( I am actually leading the social media campaign for ) Rotary Crocus https://www.facebook.com/rotarycrocus and
video http://youtu.be/83q07wtgqyk. We plan to make these fantastic silk Flower pin badges available to raise funds at every event worldwide in 2013/14 and you can find out more details in Lisbon in the Hall of Friendship So hope to see as many of you as possible in Lisbon - will be wonderful to meet up in person after all this time working together! Enjoy your weekends and get ready for further announcements around August time for the 2014 event! Thanks and Very Best Wishes Paul Paul Wilson Rotary Club of Grantham Rotary Global Swimarathon worldwide event co-ordinator Action at the Tweed River Aquatic Centre for the Murwillumbah Swimarathon Paul Harris recognition to We wish to advise that the Rotary Club of Tenterfield awarded Paul Harris Sapphires to PP Grahame Braid and PP Karen Tapscott at a club meeting on the 26 th March 2013.
Sparkling Success Rotaract Charter Night Excitement was in the air as the Rotaract Club of Murwillumbah was welcomed to the Rotary family at a Mad Hatters themed Charter night on Friday May 31 at Murwillumbah Golf Club. Charter President Ema Marks said I very happy to have the club Chartered. This is the result of nearly twelve months preparation and we can now look forward to being part of the worldwide Rotaract movement sponsored by Rotary. The Charter document was presented to the new club by District Governor Sandra Doumany, assisted by District Rotaract Representative Troy Lawlor in the presence of several Past District Governors, incoming District Governors and members of the three sponsoring Rotary Clubs. Seventeen Charter members of the club were presented membership certificates, badges and Rotaract pins as they were introduced to the over seventy Rotarians and guests keen to welcome the new club. President Simone Wong from the Rotary Club of Mt Warning AM welcomed the guests and presented a gift of a leather Treasurer s briefcase to the new club. President Ian Batten of Murwillumbah Rotary Club spoke of some of the history of Rotaract and the many lifelong friendships and even marriages that have occurred through Rotaract membership. The gift from Murwillumbah Rotary Club was a Secretary s briefcase. President Jack Heffernan of the Rotary Club of Murwillumbah Central offered a gift of a solid timber table lecturn suitably engraved, to be used at meetings of the new club. In addition, Jack had a Charter Cake made, beautifully decorated using the Rotaract logo. Rotaract is a club for young people 18 to 30 years of age. Rotaract is a global organisation that empowers students and young professionals to create positive change in their local communities and around the world. Rotaract provides unique opportunities that assist its members in becoming the business and professional leaders of tomorrow. Enquiries Denis Hallworth, Phone 66779302 or email denish@onthenet.com.au
More firsts for our District On the 21st May The E-Club created a first with the meeting being held at the home of the District Governor. Ian, Heather, Sam and Sandy enjoyed a meal together prepared in the usual style by the "CHEF" of the house. They enjoyed fellowship before the 7.30pm start of the meeting. This was attended by many members from Australia and overseas and the highlight of the night was the Guest Speaker telling us about the Lantern Parade held in Lismore. A wonderful experience and "Go to Meeting" electronically made it happen.