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RCoB Sends Drought Aid to Longreach

Shoppers at the MacArthur Central shopping centre in the Brisbane CBD might have been a little surprised to see people wearing Rotary aprons and carrying collection tins on the 3 days from the 17th to the 19th of October. These normally mild-mannered and retiring Rotarians from the Brisbane Club were moved by the scale and severity of the drought across Queensland and NSW to ask shoppers for donations for the Western Queensland Drought Appeal.

John Smerdon and Cameron Gibson on the job at the booth.

Over the three days, in excess of $1150 was collected. This was added to cash donations from members and the total raised will be matched 2:1 from the Rotary Club of Brisbane's charitable foundation and donated to the Western Queensland Drought Appeal. Funds donated to the Western Queensland Drought Appeal are loaded onto pre-paid debit cards or vouchers and distributed directly to landholders in western Queensland, for them to spend on personal needs in their local communities. This keeps the money in the region, allows landholders to choose how they spend the money, and gives local businesses a boost with the extra trade. In this case funds will be distributed near Longreach, one of the many areas that has not had a break from the recent rains in eastern Queensland and NSW.

Country Clouts City in Burnett Cup

Dan Williams has been organising an annual charity golf day in Mundubbera since 2013. The initial motivation for this event was the disastrous flood of 2013 that devastated low-lying areas of Mundubbera and caused great hardship. The Burnett Cup charity golf day was a gesture of solidarity with the bush by some people from Brisbane and some money was raised for flood relief as well. The event proved so enjoyable that it has been held each year since, with different charities relevant to rural Queensland such as Care Flight and Sisters Inside being chosen each year. The Rotary Club of Brisbane has teamed up with Dan since 2017, with focus being placed on mental health issues in general and rural mental health in particular.

It was with this background that 12 Brisbanites including 6 from the Rotary Club of Brisbane trekked to Mundubbera on the 22nd of September (or the day before) for the Burnett cup, this time to seek revenge for the loss they suffered last year, have some fun playing golf and raise some cash for the Royal Flying Doctor Service Mental Health Unit and Australian Rotary Health.

The City and Country teams Ready for some hard golfin'

RCoB Chills on a Friday Evening

The first Friday evening social meeting was held at the United Service Club on 7th September. In all, there were 20 people registered for the event. A late apology was received from Dan Adler who ran out of runway preparing for his imminent trip to LA. We were pleased to see some Rotary fellows who have been precluded from attending by work commitments recently and it was also pleasing to see so many Rotarians' partners attending. A special welcome was also extended to Andrew Lyon, President of the Fortitude Vally Club and his wife Margaret.

President of the Rotary Club of Fortitude Valley, Andrew Lyon and wife Margaret with Paul Choy and President Chris Muir

The only item of business on the agenda was a presentation by President Chris showing some photographs from his recent ~~fishing~~ research expedition to the waters off the Northern Territory. The intrepid crew braved hot weather, crocs, fierce barramundi, mud and no doubt flies to bring us a report replete with beautiful scenery and a disturbing situation analysis of the amount of plastic waste washed up on the Wessel Islands.

President Chris presents on his trip north.

Before and after the presentation, members, partners and guests we able to enjoy fellowship in the salubrious surroundings of the United Service Club. We will return to the United Service Club on the 7th of December for the RCoB annual Christmas Party and on the Fridays following the first Mondays of October and November we will be holding social events in lieu of a Monday meeting. See You There!

RCoB helps Red Frogs Help Students

Red Frogs is a support network for young people, aiming to provide safety responses, referrals to professional services, education and alternative event programming. Each year 24 tonne of ‘Allen’s Red Frogs’ (provided by Nestle), are used as an ice breaker to connect Red Frog volunteers with 1.43 million people (predominately youth & young adults) in environments such as Schoolies, Universities, Festivals, Schools, Skate Parks and Sports Events.

The Rotary Club Of Brisbane became a major partner of the Red Frogs program in September 2017 with a commitment of $50,000 across two Rotary years.

Rural Endoscopy Training Makes a Difference

Endoscopy training of rural GPs at the Princess Alexandra Hospital is already starting to make a difference to rural Queenslanders. The project was initially the brainchild of RCoB's Professor Gerald Holtmann who also happens to be the Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Dr Jennifer Wharton from Thursday Island at the PAH Rural Endoscopy Training Centre observed by Prof Gerald Holtmann, Director of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, PAH and Dr Derek Holroyd from Proserpine.

Gerald was concerned about the amount of travel required of rural patients who generally need to travel hundreds of km to regional centres for endoscopic examinations. This is not a problem that can be solved simply by spending money to locate equipment in far-flung locations. Trained personnel need to be on-hand to perform the procedures, and they just are not available in rural areas. Gerald brought a proposal for the training of rural generalists in endoscopic procedures to his Rotary Club, who agreed to seed-fund a start-up project to the tune of $20,000 in collaboration with the Princess Alexandra Foundation and Queensland Health.

Luke Dons Dress for Legacy (and raises $2500)

Life must be hard in the financial planning industry, because our very own Luke Marshall recently took a break from it to compete in the Canungra Challenge, a gruelling exercise based on the torture undergone by our service men and women in training to serve our country. It represented an opportunity for civilians to put the JPs on the other feet, so to speak, and serve the families of service personnel who have seen active service by supporting Legacy Australia.

Luke wore a tasteful floral number to the Canungra Challenge.

2018 Charity Golf Day Breaks Records

The Rotary Club of Brisbane Charity Golf Day was again held in fine sunny weather at the Virginia Golf Club this year on 15^th June, the course was in good condition, and fairways were a bit more forgiving. quality of greens was generally good. The club’s golf co-ordinator, Andrew Halliday had all the necessary paperwork and sponsors' banners in place, motorised carts all individually named, with the help of John Smerdon selling raffle tickets and myself attending to the registration of players, the pre-game issues of the day were quickly attended to. Breakfast was served, bacon and egg muffin with coffee, and players were briefed on the day, its purpose and method of scoring. The clubs golf co-ordinator then identified where the special prize holes were, advised there was a map of the course on scorecard and then directed the field to the respective start holes.

This year we again had a grand raffle as well as our multi draw prize table with some great prizes.

It is important to note that several of our clubs’ members helped with prizes on the day and these include:

Rotarian Georgina Bishop for providing two beautiful bangles which would have pleased some players mother, girlfriend or partner when they got home, one was on the raffle table and one was allocated for ladies nearest the pin.

Rotarians: Michael Stephens, John Smerdon, Don O’ Donoghue, Gerald Holtmann, Graeme Whitmore all of these members provided cash donation’s, I sincerely thank them for their generosity and financial support to our day, where practical these cash contributions were paid into a PAF for future use, and finally to Price Line Pharmacy ( James Delehunty) & Jacqueline Page ,for raffle prizes.

This year we also received cash donations from persons outside the club, and they included Mr Paul Wall, Mr Derek Morell, & Mr Earl & Marg Ryan, these have been acknowledged by the issue of certificates which have been delivered or posted.

Attendance report:

This year we keep the day to a Friday morning, hoping that this would increase the numbers along with a return to Virginia Golf Course. Attendance this year was better, with 59 players finally teeing off, the good thing is that we only had one defection, and mor importantly ten ladies were in the field. The challenge for day was a four-person Ambrose event, with a special double Perrier system of handicaps. This makes the scoring fair as the handicaps for the day are taken on six hidden holes selected by the club. This was the second time in eight years that I have played and was intending to defend our teams title, but alas it was not to be. Part of last years’ winning team with some new players (two ladies) teamed up, and were close but not quite there, although they took out a few of the major prizes.

Most importantly, a good day was had by all and in excess of $8000 was raised for doing good in the world.

Rotarians Bend Backs for Donations in Kind

27 Rotarians were at DIK last Saturday 23^rd June.

This was the wrap up of DIK’s time at Durack. This is because the owner wants his property back, and gave 6 months’ notice last November. From our club Brisbane Rotary, there were 6 members – Denise Schellbach, Keith Watts, James Delahunty, Jacqui Page, Robyn Burridge and John Smerdon.

Most awarded club in District 9600

The Rotary District 9600 Changeover event took place on the 17th of June at the Old Petrie Town. Past District Governor John Lane reported on a very successful Rotary year with numerous achievements as examples before passing the collar to District Governor Wendy Protheroe. The Rotary Club of Brisbane was the only Club to get two awards at the event: the Alan Ward Memorial Shield for outstanding activities in vocational service and the Herrington Shield for best club bulletin.

Rotary Club of Brisbane President Daniel Vankov with the two trophies, the Alan Ward Memorial Shield and the Herrington Shield, at the Changeover event together with District Governor Wendy Protheroe.

RCoB Celebrates 95th Anniversary in Queen Street Mall

The Rotary Club of Brisbane was chartered on the 29^th of May, 1923, becoming the third club in Australia after Melbourne and Sydney. We celebrated our 95^th anniversary one day early in the Queen St. Mall on 28^th May. Since it was not a major anniversary, the celebrations were low-key, but nevertheless it was an important event for the club both in terms of the visitors who came to celebrate with us and the culmination of a significant service project.

(From Left) Visiting Rotarian from Kobe East Masaki Sawada, Pres. Daniel Vankov, DG John Lane, Pres. Elect Chris Muir and Past President Keith Watts at the 95th Anniversary Celebrations.

Rotaract Rivercity Puts on a Good Night

On the evening of May 2nd, The Rotaract Club of Brisbane Rivercity held the culmination of a multi-week professional development workshop at the Pig'N'Whistle.

The focus of the workshops were three skill areas particularly valuable to young professionals - interview skills, public speaking skills and conflict management skills. To that end, Rotarians attended meetings of Rotaract Rivercity over a number of weeks to impart theoretical knowledge in these three areas, and then on the evening of the 2nd May, about a dozen Rotarians from the city cluster clubs, including RCoB's own Luke Marshall and Mark Williams came together with Rotaracters to put the icing on the cake with practical exercises. Cluster Assistant Governor Lisa Bateson was also present, underlining the importance of the event.

Rotaracters and Rotarians Come Together for Professional Development

Police Commissioner's Visit Tops Charts

Each year our speaker coordinator Denise Schellbach organises one or two "special event" speaker meetings at the United Services Club for the RCoB, other city clubs and invited guests from the general public. For the last couple of years Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has featured to acclaim. This year was again a sell-out function with over 90 Rotarians and guests attending.

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart gave an entertaining address on "Project Sentinal" and security around the Commonwealth Games. The United Services club once again did us proud with the lunch, service and venue and President-Elect Chris Muir did a great job as last-minute emergency MC. Many thanks Denise for all the hard work that went into this event. It was a corker!

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart with event organiser Denise Schellbach and President Danial Vankov

RCoB Takes Part in "Target 1414" Tree-Planting Project

When he took office in July, 2017, Rotary's global leader, Rotary International President Ian Riseley challenged all Rotary Clubs across the world to plant one tree per Rotarian as a sign that Rotary is committed to sustaining and improving the environment. Rotary District 9600, to which the Rotary Club of Brisbane belongs, took up the challenge with project "Target 1414" to plant at least one tree for each of the 1414 Rotarians in the 65 clubs throughout the district.

Rotarians from District 9600 present and ready for action in project "Target 1414".

Honoring ingenuity

Rotary honors 6 who are changing the

Final Exam

After a grueling year of preparation, two Rotarians and a Rotaractor face one last challenge before they can join the elite ShelterBox Response

Jack Nicklaus to play golf with Rotary donors

Play golf with legend Jack

Rotary Foundation receives Charity Navigator rating for 11th year

Rotary Foundation receives highest rating from Charity Navigator for 11th

November 2018
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11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	01

Wendy Protheroe

Nov 26, 2018

Rotary District 9600 District Governor

Professor Margaret Sheil AO

Mar 06, 2019

Achieving diversity, the experience of the Queensland University of Technology

Councillor Adrian Schrinner

Mar 06, 2019

Achieving diversity, the experience of the Brisbane City Council

View entire list...

Lunch Meeting - Club Assembly before Board Meeting
The Brisbane Club

Nov 19, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Lunch Meeting - DG Visit
The Brisbane Club

Nov 26, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Lunch Meeting Cancelled due to Cocktail Meeting
Dec 03, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Christmas Celebration - United Service Club
United Service Club

Dec 07, 2018
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
2019 Rotary International Women's Day Breakfast
United Service Club

Mar 06, 2019
7:00 AM – 8:45 AM

Epigenetics of PTSD - Guest Speaker 24th September

Our guest speaker on September 24th was Professor Ross Young, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health at Queensland University of Technology and his topic was a very interesting one - "The Epigenetics of PTSD"

Ross prefaced his talk with some discussion about the prevalence of PTSD among service personnel and first responders. We owe a great deal to these people, and we know that they pay for their service with their mental health. In fact, in modern wars it is likely that more personnel die from suicide than from battle trauma. Somewhere between 40% and 90% of these groups are exposed to situations that are known to provoke Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and about 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan vets have developed or will develop PTSD. Some people develop PTSD and some don't. Ross's team have been asking the question "why?" and they have been getting interesting results.

Professor Ross Young Presents on the epigenetics of PTSD

Guest Speaker 13th August 2018

Our Guest Speaker on August 13 was Patrick Pickett, Music and Artistic Director of the Queensland Pops Orchestra.

Patrick Picket accepting a certificate of appreciation from President Chris Muir

Patrick took us through a rollicking journey tracing his creative life from humble beginnings as a member of his school pipe band through joining the army as an apprentice musician to becoming Director of Music - Army and organising a string of musical spectaculars in and out of Australia. During that time he saw overseas deployment in Bouganville, East Timor, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the celebrations for the Sultan of Brunei's 80th birthdays, the 90th anniversary of Gallipoli and elsewhere. He also talked about his life and goals outside the army, including a stint as CEO of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and current assignment as Artistic Director at the Queensland Pops Orchestra. He also talked about ongoing work to provide stable work for musicians at the Australian Musicians and Orchestral Services. Thank you, Patrick for a most entertaining insight into the things that go on behind the scenes in the production of musical spectaculars.

Member in the Spotlight - 6th August 2018

Today Rotarian Ryan Muller treated us to a high-energy narrative about his life so far. We all thought he was a mild-mannered accountant, but actually he has played against Sean Pollock and almost played against Jonty Rhodes (in hockey), has jumped off tall buildings without a parachute and has a black belt in karate. Do Merrotts know what they actually have stalking their cubicle jungle?