Rob Coote & Helen Gulson (Reserves: Mike Cocks Peter Fehon)
Set up & pack up:
Valda Andrews & Bob Edwards (Reserves: Fay Petrou & Denise Woodward)
Speakers & topic:
Jennifer Horrigan - Redkite
Rotary Club Changeover Dinner 25 June, 2019
A very enjoyable 2019-2020 Changeover dinner was held at Gunners’ Barracks last Tuesday evening. President Ranald welcomed club members and their partners, and introduced guest speaker PDG Harold Sharpe and his wife, PDG Gina Sharpe, before reflecting on his term as president. He then presented awards to various club members as follows:
Rob Coote and Kevin Tattrie were honoured with Paul Harris Fellows, and a Sapphire Pin was awarded to Liz Grey.
Additionally, Presidential Awards were given to:
Valda Andrews
Helen Gulson
Karin Eurell
Kim Wilkins
Alan Hession
Eleanor Chevor
Angie Fernandes
Following the handover to new RCN President Peter Antaw, he introduced the new Board:
President in Waiting - PP Peter Grinter
President in Waiting - Malcolm Lye
President-Elect - Kevin Tattrie
Vice President - Derek Matz
Secretary - Liz Grey
Treasurer - Jon Gidney
Community Service - Rob Coote
Fund Raising - Sally O’Neill
Club Administration - Fay Petrou
International - Luke Keighery
Vocational - Garth Carter
Youth - Denise Woodward
Membership - John Turner
Foundation - Valda Andrews
PR Communications - Karin Eurell
Immediate Past President - Ranald Stewart
President Peter highlighted that the Rotary theme for this coming year from our RI President Mark Maloney is Rotary CONNECTS the WORLD. In his presentation Peter said he wanted the Club to have Fun and to have Fellowship, not only to Connect with the World but with each other and out of the Fun and Fellowship to make the World a better place through programs of Service. He concluded by saying 'our Club, and all of us, have much to be proud of.'
Guest Speaker - Past District Governor Harold Sharpe
PDG Harold Sharpe gave a most inspiring speech at the Changeover dinner which reads in part as follows:
“In the last 17 years Rotary International has risen to many, many challenges. We have answered conflict with peace, and poverty with education. We have responded to a lack of basic health care with projects large and small, from equipping clinics in tiny villages to very nearly eradicating polio across the entire universe.
It is now 30 years since Rotary International, under the leadership of the then world RI President Australian Sir Clem Renouf, commenced the Polio Plus campaign to eradicate polio. Today there are only two countries in the world where the transmission of the wild polio virus still occurs, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2017, 430 million children in total were vaccinated against polio in 39 countries.
My wife and I returned from Hamburg, Germany earlier this month having attended the annual Rotary International convention where approximately 26,000 Rotarians from 160 countries assembled. I can report that, sadly, in the area of membership of Rotary International, numbers have remained static with the exception of Africa and Asia where numbers have grown enormously. This has covered the loss of membership in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, USA, Great Britain and South America. Although Rotary International and Rotary clubs throughout the world have tried numerous methods of attracting new members, none has been as successful as the tried and tested method of simply asking individuals! Statistics have shown that 80% of all Rotarians have never asked someone to join Rotary. Here in Australia, at the end of my year in 2003 there were approximately 36,000 Rotarians. Today we are down to approximately 29,000 members.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge should feel proud of the fact that you have maintained your membership numbers and most importantly, grown your female members to 25% of your total membership. In 2002-2003 you had one female member and today you have 14. Worldwide female membership is around 25%. Sadly, we here in District 9685 still have five clubs that are all male!
The magic of Rotary International is that it allows ordinary people like me to do extraordinary things. It allows people like you and me, people whose lives centre round our families, our jobs and our communities – to reach beyond our daily lives to do and be something more. RI is about human beings’ love and care for other human beings regardless of their religion, colour or whoever or whatever they may be. It allows us to express that love and care and to share it.
This troubled world in which we at present live needs RI more than ever. It needs our courage, our optimism and our idealism. It needs the voice of tolerance, cooperation and hope that we are able to offer, and the example of an organization that has proven that citizens from all countries can work together successfully, gladly and in friendship.
Together, RI sees a world where people unite and take action to create lasting positive change across the globe and in our own communities and most importantly, in ourselves. Wherever we live, whatever language we speak, in whatever projects or programs our clubs are involved, our vision is the same. We are here because RI allows us the opportunity to build a world that we want it to be.”
Funds raised by Northbridge Rotary via a bucket appeal at Northbridge Plaza have been put to good use as reported below.
During Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017, the Sarina Range in Queensland experienced a massive landslide that effectively cut off 16 families (30 students) from the school campus. Education Queensland quickly established accommodation for the isolated students. However, suddenly and rather traumatically, the 30 students and their families had to adjust to changed life circumstances, grief and loss, separation from their previous school community and increased cost of living to travel extended distances to access shops, doctors, workplaces and other social supports such as scouts, sporting activities and dance.
This project, funded by the Northbridge Rotary Club totalling $3255, provided support for children’s skill development (swimming classes) and social interaction with peers at Inter school athletic activities. These monies paid for bus services to transport children between schools, then on to the swim classes and their athletics carnival. Without this grant the school, P&C and students would have been financially disadvantaged and unable to provide the access and learning opportunities that were offered to the students at the temporary accommodation.
The Rotary Club of Sarina and the Swayneville State School students, parents, teachers and community are thankful to the Northbridge Rotary Club and Townsville District 9550 Disaster Management grants that facilitated the social, and emotional well-being of these school children, alleviated a potentially onerous financial burden on the P&C and parents who were already financially disadvantaged. Your financial and club support has provided joy, growth, opportunities, personal development, pride, skill and water safety in all the children of the Swayneville State School Campus. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Dianne Barnett
Secretary, Rotary Club Sarina, Qld
Outcome measure evaluation: The project success was measured through the implementation of the project plan within the time frame below.
May 2018: 24 children and 8 parents affected attended that inter-school athletics event at Sarina State School. The children participated in all events and several children were successful in securing places in the district events.
December 2018: 30 students from the Range campus attended all school swim classes held at the Sarina Swimming Pool over a seven- week period. These children were transported by bus and participated in classes with other students as well as attending their swim classes through the day. All students passed the required water safety standard requirement for their age.
Full acquittal of funds occurred in January 2019 for the bus services that took students between their accommodation, school and swimming.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge is building on their long-standing support of youth with expanding support across 6 different youth specific, leadership and experience focus programs. The outcomes of these programs continue to motivate the club to build on these programs with increased support.
Among these programs are high school leadership, science, engineering and experience programs. One of these programs is RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) aimed at year 9 & 10 who want to build their confidence and self-esteem. RYPEN provides young people the opportunity to build leadership potential, encourages them to explore their ideas in problem solving, team activities, and experiences that will assist them in forming their own values. RYPEN is about building confidence and developing skills to cope in a range of situations. The Rotary club of Northbridge has doubled it’s support of this amazing program from sponsoring 4 awardees each of the last 2 years to 8 awardees this 18/19 year. Follow this link https://rotarydistrict9685.org.au/page/rypen for more information about RYPEN.
Another program worthy of mention is the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA is a transformational leadership program designed for young adults aged 18-27. This intensive program over 7 days, enabling leadership to grow and develop to its full potential. RYLA combines amazing Australian speakers with activities and challenges in a supportive environment. Unlike other programs, RYLA has a focus on practical hands-on opportunities testing leadership in a controlled environment. The RYLA program is unique in linking outcomes to self-improvement with considered reflection; building a better leader with the necessary skills for improving their leadership as they move forward in life. RYLA is run annually, with close to 90 candidates in Elanora Heights, on Sydney's Northern beaches; the Rotary Club of Northbridge has sponsored 9 RYLA awardees over the last 3 years. Follow this link http://d9685ryla.org.au/ for more information about RYPEN.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge is also supporting the initiation of the North Sydney Rotaract Club; a new Rotaract Club which is a driven community of young professionals aged 20-30 who are committed to creating social change in their community whilst developing as leaders. The inaugural meeting is scheduled for February 20th and the following links are available for further information.
The life changing effects of these sponsored Youth programs continues to motivate our club and members support; the Rotary Club of Northbridge will continue a focus on our local Youth and our leaders of tomorrow as one of the most rewarding areas where we support our community.
