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Upcoming Events
Lunch Meeting - Club Assembly before Board Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Aug 20, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Lunch Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Aug 27, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Lunch Meeting Cancelled due to Cocktail Meeting
Sep 03, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Cocktail Meeting - United Service Club
United Service Club
Sep 07, 2018
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Lunch Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Sep 10, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Lunch Meeting - Club Assembly before Board Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Sep 17, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Burnett Cup - City vs Country in Mundubbera
Mundubbera Golf Club
Sep 22, 2018
12:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
Lunch Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Sep 24, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Lunch Meeting Cancelled - Public Holiday
The Brisbane Club
Oct 01, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
Lunch Meeting
The Brisbane Club
Oct 08, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
 
President's Message
 
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends of the Club, 
 
It was great to see Denise Shellbach again after her energetic trip to the USA and Europe, especially as her first meeting coincided with a most entertaining presentation, by the conductor of the Queensland Pops Orchestra, Patrick Pickett, organized by Denise. I conveyed our best wishes to Wal Bishop, who was very keen to be part of a spirited discussion on drought aid but was unable to attend as he needed a number of medical tests. Wal has made a most generous donation, through the club, for drought aid and has also initiated a possible Club or Cluster  project to garner public donations for the cause. More on this next week once we have sorted out the arrangements but to be successful a number of volunteers able to give about four hours of their time on one or more days will be needed. Commiserations to Warren Walker who survived a tyre disaster resulting from a sub-standard wheel alignment and consequently missed the meeting.
 
We currently have 17 persons confirmed for the inaugural Friday evening meeting at the United Service Club on 7 September and I remind everyone that there will not be a Monday lunchtime meeting at the Brisbane Club on 3 September. Dress for men is a long or short sleeved buttoned shirt, tailored trousers and business shoes. Dress for women is skirt or pant suit, jacket/blouse with skirt or tailored trousers or dress. Dymphna and I will book a table in the club dining room for dinner that evening and we welcome anyone who wishes to join us but will require numbers by Monday 3 September. Men must have a jacket and tie for the dining room. Final numbers for the earlier general Club gathering at 5.30pm will also be required by Monday 3 September
 
Yours in Rotary,
Chris Muir
Volume 96 no. 5
16th August, 2018
Upcoming Speakers
Aug 27, 2018 12:30 PM
Cyber Safety, Social Media and online Fraud
Sep 10, 2018
Leading a Not-For-Profit in a challenging environment
Sep 24, 2018
Advancing our knowledge of PTSD in Defence Force Veterans
View entire list
Meeting Responsibilities
20 August - Meeting
 
Chairperson
WATTS, Keith
 
Minutes Secretary
DE LACY, Jaqui
 
Meeting - August 27
 
Chairperson
BISHOP, Wal
 
Minutes Secretary
SHEPHERD, Clive
 
10 September - Meeting
 
Chairperson
VANKOV, Daniel
 
Minutes Secretary
DE LACY, Jaqui
 
17 September - Meeting
 
Chairperson
ADLER, Dan
 
Minutes Secretary
WILLIAMS, Mark
 
24 September - Meeting
 
Chairperson
VANKOV, Daniel
 
Minutes Secretary
WILLIAMS, Mark
 
8 October - Meeting
 
Chairperson
WHITMORE, Graeme
 
Minutes Secretary
DE LACY, Jaqui
 
15 October - Meeting
 
Chairperson
BURRIDGE, Robyn
 
Minutes Secretary
SHEPHERD, Clive
 
22 October - Meeting
 
Chairperson
WILLIAMS, Mark
 
Minutes Secretary
SHEPHERD, Clive
 
ClubRunner
Stories
Club Assembly 20th August
As you all know, the Rotary Club of Brisbane Board meets on the third Monday of each month after the regular meeting. Following members' input to the strategic planning process and in an attempt to bring club governance more into line with our current club size, President Chris is trialling a regime where we have a club assembly each month at the meeting before the board meeting.
 
At these club assemblies, committee chairs will present their board reports to the club at large and members will have the opportunity to have their say and guide the board in their decision making.
 
On 20th August we will have reports at least from the service projects chair, the membership chair and the administration chair.
Meeting Notes, 13th August 2018
Chair for the day was Michael Stephens who kicked of the meeting with the usual toasts and Rotary grace. He then invited President Chris to address members and Guests. Pres. Chris welcomed guests Paul Choy and Patrick Pickett and noted apologies from Warren Walker, Phil Gresham, Jillanne Myers and Wal Bishop. More of Chris' address can be read above.
 
Chair Michael then called for spots. There was a diverse and lively discussion on the form which RCoB drought aid should take, with Contributions from PP Graeme Whitmore, Max Winders, Michael Stephens, Mark Williams, Pres. Chris and others. The view that we should do something was strong, but getting aid to where it is most needed is not as simple as it sounds.
 
IPP Daniel Vankov presented his findings from the social media experiment he conducted over the previous week along with some reaction to the conversation at the previous meeting about gender equality:
  • "Following on last week conversation about gender equality and given that I try to raise two boys with the believe that being a man is not a sin (as quite often portrait in gender talk) I have pulled out some stats depicting the "advantage" the contemporary Australian men are in:
    In 2015, 187 of the 195 workplace fatalities (96 per cent) involved male workers (Safe work Australia, 2016). In 2014 more than 2000 men committed suicide, four times the rate of women. Men are:
    - Three times more likely to die in car accidents 
    - Two times more likely to die from drug overdoses or cancer
    - Far more likely to be murdered or assaulted
    - Twice as likely to suffer from gambling addictions
    - Far more likely to suffer substance abuse.
    92% of prisoners are men.
    I personally think that true gender equality will be achieved when people are valued as people with no importance of their gender. Each gender has certain gender-specific problems to deal with and solving those is something our club can get involved in. However, labelling one gender advantaged over the other won't do any good.
 
  • Second topic of discussion is our social media following my last week call for everyone to make a little effort and help out with results dissemination. Here is the result:
    The specific post we tested, the 2018 Golf Day one, has reached 852 people (from 66 before the intervention) and its engagement jumped to 4% of that larger base from 1.5% initially on the smaller one. This is an achievement worth comparing with paid advertising and it is a great example how we can collaborate to let the outside world know about the wonderful achievements of our Club without incurring any additional costs. Thank you to all who assisted me in being able to show this example by getting involved and keep up the level of involvement! Mark shall make that easier for everyone from now on."
Following spots, we enjoyed a short period of fellowship before chair Michael invited guest speaker Patrick Pickett to the podium. (see separate article below).
 
Denise Schellbach was the holder of the winning raffle ticket, but even her vigilance in making sure the joker was actually in the pack didn't help her to draw it. The Joker laughed and the jackpot climbed.
 
President Chris closed the meeting with the singing of the national anthem at 13:55. 
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.
Date Claimer: 22nd September Burnett Cup City vs Country Golf

The Annual Burnett Cup City vs Country Matchplay event is on again. This year charity funds from the event are being donated to charities that work in the mental health field, specifically the Royal Flying Doctor Service Mental Health Unit and Australian Rotary Health, which supports an active research programme in mental health.

Dan Williams sponsors the green fees and trophies each year, and asks that each city player make a donation of at least $50 to the charity collection.

Tee off is by shotgun start at 12:30pm on Saturday 22nd September. Since Mundubbera is 4.5 hours' drive from Brisbane, many city players make a weekend of it. We start with a strategy meeting and informal dinner at the Royal Hotel, starting with first arrivals around 6:30pm and continuing until late. The Royal Hotel serves meals until after 9pm. The golf is followed by a quick presentation at the Golf Club and a BBQ at Mark Williams' place for the city players. Some City players stay on for Sunday to play in the Monthly Medal competition starting at 12:00noon registration and 12:30 tee off.

For accommodation we recommend the Billabong Motor Inn or the Mundubbera Motel. Both are between the Royal Hotel and the Golf course and close to both. (Everywhere in Mundubbera is close to both.)

You can register your intent to take part by signing up at the link below or by emailing, phoning, carrier pigeon or semaphore to Mark Williams.

http://brisbanerotary.org.au/event/burnett-cup---city-vs-country-in-mundubbera/

Kyeema Foundation Papua New Guinea Chicken Project
 
Papua New Guinea has the fourth highest incidence of childhood malnutrition and stunting in the world. Nearly 50% of children are affected but in Bouganville the incidence rises to 80%. Most people live a rural subsistence existence collecting what food they can from their food gardens and the environment. Improved small-scale chicken keeping is a quick, easy and ideal solution to dietary shortages. The Kyeema Foundation has developed successful chicken keeping projects in Africa and Fiji and with the support of Rotary are endeavouring to replicate these in PNG and eventually the Solomon Islands. The initial programs are planned for Wau and Lae. The operation in Wau is especially urgent as it will assist a long term Australian resident of PNG, Donna Harvey-Hall, who is caring for 28 orphaned children whose parents have died of AIDS and are consequently outcasts in their wider communities
 
The first step in the programme will bring an Australian specialist in tropical chicken keeping to Lae to train a small number of master farmers and it is hoped that one of these will be from Bouganville. Once the master farmer has been trained the average cost for each new project will be about $10,000. The RCOB is hoping to obtain a district grant of $5,000 and contribute the remainder in order to set up the project in Wau.
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.
Read more...
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.
 
Read more...
What value does your club have for young professionals?

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of blog posts celebrating Membership Month.

By Michael Walstrom, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton, Florida  

Rotary, like any business, has customers. For us, those customers are our members and we must provide value to assure satisfied customers. The key to attracting and retaining young professional “customers” is presenting a Value Proposition that is attractive.

In a previous post, I discussed the Young Professional (YP) Membership Development project I took on in District 6930. I put together a survey of ten questions designed to get at the core of what brought those members into Rotary, why they stay, what they want, and what challenges they face. From this, we learned that young professionals are looking for networking and mentorship, but have concerns about time, money, and family commitments. Fortunately, Rotary has considerable value to offer in all of those areas.

  • Networking: Many young professionals are looking for business, and that’s OK. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. Rotary can help there, as long as expectations are set from the beginning.
  • Leadership: Through Rotary, young professionals are able to establish themselves as leaders in the community. Their values can be made clear; they give back, and learn to work with others. “Come, join us, be a leader.” This is a strong value proposition for the young professional.
  • Mentorship: Many of our young professionals are also interested in working with current community leaders and in being mentored. How many of your club members could provide this value?
  • Time & money: Clubs have increasing flexibility to address the time and money issue in ways they see fit, ways that are adapted to their unique communities and challenges. Some examples include corporate memberships, and “Rule of 35” memberships which allow members under the age of 35 to pay a reduced rate that just covers dues to RI and the meals they attend.
  • Family Commitments: Family is important, and there may be no better place for a young professional to spend quality time with their family, while teaching kids valuable life lessons in service. We say, families welcome!

Once we have identified the value our clubs have, the key is to get that message out. Again, like any business, we need to develop a coordinated marketing plan to “sell” our club to young professionals in the community. A Young Professionals Committee is a good start, but I’ll save more on that topic for a future blog post.

Check out Rotary International’s Engaging Younger Professionals, a new online toolkit that helps clubs better understand younger professionals. From ideas for outreach and engagement to long-term benefits of becoming a Rotarian, this toolkit helps clubs rethink their membership, from a broad perspective down to a tactical level.

Source: Rotary Voices

Changing public perception of homelessness

By Elyse Lin, Rotaract Club of Taipei Tin Harbour, Taiwan

Being a part of the Rotary family for years, I’ve learned to be more aware of social issues in our community. Having taken part in a number of service projects, I started to think about what we could do to make sustainable change in the city.

Rotaract members in the Taipei Tin Harbour club talk with a homeless person as they deliver a single-meal home-packed “Bento Box.” Members are trying to change people’s stereotypes of the homeless.

Homelessness is a complicated issue in Taipei. Most people have a stereotype of the homeless that makes it difficult for them to find a job or break out of the vicious cycle they are in. We decided to take action to meet the basic needs of people living on the street and change people’s perceptions about the homeless.

Club members prepare the single-meal boxes for delivery.

Left: Club members prepare the single-meal boxes for delivery.

In “The Stone Soup Project,” we raised money from our families, friends, colleagues, and the community. After buying ingredients using the money we raise, we cook together, make Bento Boxes and share with the homeless. However, the project is not just about giving away these single-portion home packed meals. We sit down, listen to their stories, and seek to understand more about the difficulties they’re facing. It is always rewarding to hear friends telling us they have dismissed their stereotype of the homeless after participating in the project.

It is never easy to tackle social problems. We definitely had to overcome challenges. We talked to organizations that have been working with the homeless for years; we evaluated different locations for the project considering the negative reaction of neighbors; and we talked to homeless individuals to get a full understanding of their situation and real needs.

When it came to promoting our effort, we realized that the essence of taking action is to be part of the action. And it is this that further inspires people in the community to join us. As People of Action, we learn, we grow, and we apply that knowledge in our service to the world.

It all started with one thought of making a difference. The spirit of People of Action lies in our hearts. We see the problem and take real steps to deal with it. It is always hard to make a change by oneself. However, when we gather people together with a common desire to do good, we make the impact of our action even greater.

Members can learn more about the People of Action campaign in the Brand Center. Not a Rotarian? Learn how Rotary members take action to make lasting change and how you can join us.

Source: Rotary Voices

Spring is Coming

Club Officers

President                   Chris Muir
Secretary                   Mark Williams
Treasurer                   Warren Walker
Imm. Past President  Daniel Vankov
Sergeant-at-arms       Luke Marshall
The Rotary Club of Brisbane Inc.
ABN 75 152 438 499
GPO BOX 2909 Brisbane Qld 4001
District               9600
Club Number   17787

Brisbane City Cluster Assistant Governor

Lisa Bateson

District Governor

Wendy Protheroe

Rotary International President

Barry Rassin