The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
David Robertson
August 7
John Garrett
August 8
Peter Russell
August 14
Anniversaries
Joe Campisi
Katy Campisi
August 8
Jon Gidney
Gail Giles-Gidney
August 17
Join Date
John Bolton
August 9, 2011
11 years
David Hyde
August 25, 1998
24 years
Fay Petrou
August 26, 2008
14 years
Club Meeting News - 26 July 2022
Welcome
President Rob welcomed everyone, especially our guests, PDG Kalma McLennan, with a special welcome back to Peter Grinter who was our latest covid casualty.
Toast
Ian Burnet stepped in to give the toast to the Rotary Club of Pine Gap. Due to the very high level security that surrounds Pine Gap however, Ian could not disclose anything about this Club!
Announcements
Eleanor Chevor reported that the Food Drive on Saturday 23 July had been very successful, with food donations being about 75% of the amount collected at the last Food Drive. She thanked all who helped out with special mention of Liz Gulson, who spent 5 hours assisting, and Michelle Barry and her children, soon to be inducted as a new club member. While donations went to Taldumande and Streetwork, Eleanor reported that she had yet to find a way to get the larger share of donations to Lismore. One option discussed was for a number of Rotarians forming a convoy to take the food to Lismore with a stop overnight each way. This was to be pursued. The Club congratulated Eleanor for the fantastic effort she had put in.
Peter Grinter reminded members that the National Voice of Youth finals are to take place on Saturday 30 July at Shore School, North Sydney.
Ian Burnet reported the wonderful job David Robertson does on his many trips to Fiji. Over time he has arranged for the shipment of 2 tonnes of hospital equipment plus Covid packs. During David’s latest trip, he discovered a school on an island to the north-east of Suva that was destroyed by a landslide over 2 years ago. The rebuild is starting, with donations from a Resort on the island ($25k), 12 Victorian Rotary Clubs ($12-$15K) and a $3k donation from our Club.
Guest Speaker - PDG Kalma McLennan - Rotary Regionalisation
President Rob introduced our Speaker, PDG Kalma McLennan. Kalma was District Governor for the 2019/20 year. She started her service as a Rotaractor with Mosman Club, after which she joined the Rotary Club of Ryde in 2010. She became President of that Club 2014/15. More recently she has taken on the role of District Regionalisation Representative, 2021-2023 and spoke to us on what Regionalisation is all about.
RI is considering a Rotary Regionalisation Pilot project in our Zone to help define a more sustainable future for Rotary. The project was initiated to address falling membership and to revitalise Rotary.
The key objectives are to:
Support Clubs to engage members, volunteers and communities;
Create new attractive leadership opportunities;
Build a stronger unified Rotary brand;
Encourage partnerships;
Improve efficiencies and reduce duplications .
Rotary’s current governance structure in NSW finds us having 24 positions in 21 Districts, which is not sustainable. There is considerable duplication, so opportunities exist to pool expertise. Clubs must vote to proceed to pilot by September, with implementation by 2026. Kalma emphasised that Clubs would stay as they are and encouraged us all to vote positively for the pilot. Rotary Zone 8, being Australia, NZ, PNG and other Pacific nations, is only one of two regions worldwide where the pilot project is being undertaken.
You can find out more about Regionalisation at www.creatingtomorrowrotary.org. The website contains very good detailed information on the plans and process of the Regionalisation project.
Rotary founder Paul Harris said it best: “This is a changing world; we must be prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary will have to be written time and again.”
Sally O'Neill
A little bit of humour ....
Or perhaps a bit more serious but reassuring ...
Memory Loss
If you think you are suffering memory loss...
In the following analysis Prof Bruno Dubois, Director of the Institute of Memory & Alzheimer's Disease (IMMA) at La Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris, addresses the subject in a rather reassuring way -
"If anyone is aware of their memory problems, they do not have Alzheimer's." It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory. "The information is always in the brain, it is the "processor" that is lacking." This is "Anosognosia" or temporary forgetfulness.
Half of people 60 and older have some symptoms that are due to age rather than disease.The most common cases are:
- forgetting the name of a person,
- going to a room and not remembering why we were going there,
- a blank memory for a movie title or actor,
- wasting time searching where we left our glasses or keys...
After 60 years most people have such a difficulty, which indicates that it is not a disease but rather a characteristic due to the passage of years.
Many people are concerned about these oversights hence the importance of the following statements:
1. "Those who are conscious of being forgetful have no serious problem of memory."
2. "Those who suffer from a memory illness or Alzheimer's, are not aware of what is happening."
Prof Bruno Dubois reassures the majority of people concerned about their oversights:
"The more we complain about memory loss, the less likely we are to suffer from memory sickness."
So we can all breathe a little easier!
If anyone has any jokes or funny stories, feel free to send them to me for the humour section of the Bulletin!
Many would have seen the North Shore skyline light up with the Northbridge Rotary Club’s annual community fireworks on the evening of 7 May. And what a spectacular afternoon and evening of fun, food and entertainment it was.
Well done to all those involved.
The event, attended by some 4,000 people, raised close to $50,000 which the Northbridge Rotary Club will use to support a range of worthy charities and causes.
Our special thanks to Willoughby City Council and to Northbridge Plaza for what is now our 30th year of joint partnership with them for this event. Northbridge Rotary Club President, John Gidney, is photographed presenting a plaque to the Plaza management commemorating this achievement.
Thanks to Northbridge Plaza management, the Northbridge Rotary Club bookstall continues at Northbridge Plaza on the third Sunday of every month from 9am to 5pm.
Our next bookstall is on Sunday 21st August 2022
The Club is selling a range of adult fiction at $4 each plus childrens’ books at $2 each; all in mint condition and sales continue grow each month.
Books can be purchased with cash or via credit card. As always, all of the money raised from these sales goes to a range of worthy causes.
