Achieving diversity, the experience of the Queensland University of Technology
Professor Margaret Sheil AO will be one of the two distinguished guest speakers at the 2019 Rotary International Women's Day Breakfast. She will introduce the experience of the Queensland University of Technology in achieving diversity amongst its empolyees.
Professor Margaret Sheil AO was appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of QUT in February 2018, having previously been Provost at The University of Melbourne since 2012.
Professor Sheil has been an academic in chemistry and held a number of senior roles at the University of Wollongong. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), and was inaugural Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry (ANZSM).
Professor Sheil is a Director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and a member of the Advisory Council of the CSIRO Science Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF). She was Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council (2007-2012) and has previously been a member of the Advisory Board for Coursera; she has also been a member of the Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Engineering Council, the National Research Infrastructure Council and the Cooperative Research Centres Committee.
In June 2017 Professor Sheil was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to science and higher education as an academic and administrator, through significant contributions to the national research landscape, and to performance standards. Professor Sheil holds a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from The University of New South Wales, and was presented with the Science and Technology Alumni Award from UNSW in 2016.
Achieving diversity, the experience of the Brisbane City Council
Councilor Adrian Schrinner will be one of the two distinguished guest speakers at the 2019 Rotary International Women's Day Breakfast. He will introduce the experience of the Brisbane City Council in achieving diversity amongst its empolyees.
Adrian Schrinner has served as the Councillor for Chandler Ward since 2005 and Deputy Mayor since 2011.
Adrian has been a member of Civic Cabinet since 2008 and is currently the Chairman of the Public & Active Transport Committee. In this role, he has special responsibility for the development of the Brisbane Metro project.
Former roles include Chairman of the Finance and Economic Development Committee (2008-2012) and Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee (2012-16).
In previous positions he has overseen many major projects including the $1.5 billion Legacy Way tunnel and the New Farm Riverwalk.
Adrian is passionate about Brisbane and his local area and is working hard to help make sure our city and its suburbs are even better in the future. He and his wife Nina live in Carindale and have four young children, Octavia, Wolfgang, Monash and Petra.
The board of directors has set the dues and meeting fees, starting from January 1st, 2019. It was decided to move some of the costs of meetings into annual dues and reduce the meeting fees accordingly. This is in recognition of the fact that some of our current meeting costs reflect room hire costs and are part of the normal operation costs of the club and should be met by all members rather than only those members attending meetings.
Accordingly, half-yearly dues have been raised from $250 to $300 and members' meeting costs have been reduced from $45 to $35 per meeting. It is expected that this will have approximately neutral impact on the club's operating budget, but it will be reviewed before July 2019.
Our last meeting for the year will be on Monday December 17, 2018 - this will coincide with our Annual General Meeting - so lets make it a big one with 100% attendance.
The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Rotary Club of Brisbane to be held at 1:00pm on Monday December 17, 2018 at Level 4, The Brisbane Club, 215 Adelaide Street, Brisbane.
AGENDA:
1. The consideration of the annual financial report, directors’ reports and auditor’s report;
2. The election and confirmation of Office Bearers (the Board of Directors) selected in accordance with the Constitution for the next Rotary Year;
3. The appointment of the auditor;
4. Approval/Ratification of the 2017/18 Accounts; and
5. Any valid matter which a Member gave prior notice.
6. General Business.
Nominations were already called on 11th November for all positions which become vacant on 30/6/19
Your Board has Nominated/holds the following nominations for positions:
President Michael STEPHENS (already elected last year)
President Nominee Dan ADLER
Past President Chris MUIR
Secretary Mark WILLIAMS (continues 3-year term)
Treasurer Warren WALKER
Service/Projects (director) Jaqui DE LACY
Public Relations (director Denise SCHELLBACH
Rotary Foundation Ryan MULLER (continues 2-year term)
Public Ancillary Fund (Trust) John SMERDON (continues 2-year term)
Membership (director) Keith WATTS Director Jillanne MYERS Sergeant-at-Arms Tony PILKINGTON Vice President This is an optional position and no nominations held
Chair for the day was Phil Gresham, who opened the meeting with the usual toasts and grace.
President Chris being away, Vice President Keith delivered the president's welcome and called on Secretary Mark to announce the board's recent decision regarding dues and meeting fees. Mark informed members present that the board had decided to set half-yearly dues at $300 (up from $250) starting from January 1, 2019, and in compensation, Member's meeting fees at the Brisbane club would be reduced from $45 to $35. More detail and rationale in the story above.
At this point, Chair Phil called for spots:
PAF Chair John Smerdon announced that a sum of $15,000 had been donated to the Western Queensland Drought appeal. John read out the thank you letter received from the WQDA:
Dear John and fellow Rotary Members,
Thank you for the very generous donation made to our Appeal this week after your fantastic fundraising efforts recently. We are truly appreciative of your very thoughtful support to our outback communities.
Please find attached your receipt and thank you acknowledgment on behalf of the Western Queensland Drought Committee.
Warm regards,
Ingrid Miller for Western Queensland Drought Appeal Inc.
Chair Phil noted that the chairperson of the WQDA committee is a past president of the Longreach Rotary Club.
Denise Schellbach reminded members that Eddie's Van would be running from the start to the end of January and that she still had a few gaps in the roster for members to fill.
Rtn Phil Little updated members with some recent developments in the solar power industry and pointed out that it is now possible for us to power everything using light. Rotary should be a part of that.
After a short time for fellowship, it was time for "member in the spotlight". This week it was PP Keith in the spotlight, and he chose to use the time to give a short presentation on recent developments in membership thinking for Rotary with regard to club flexibility. Topics covered included associate membership, satellite clubs, dual Rotaract/Rotary memberships, and more. Keith has since distributed his powerpoint slides to members for their quiet consideration.
There being no sergeant, members were asked to make silent confessions and give generously to the sergeant's pots.
The winning raffle ticket was held by Ryan Muller, but to his consternation and everyone else's relief, all he could draw from the pack was the 4 of clubs.
VP Keith closed the meeting at 13:50 with the singing of the national anthem.
The Rotary Club of Brisbane is pleased to call for applications from people who will be aged between 18 and 27 in May 2019 to attend the 2019 Rotary District 9600 RYLA training seminar, fully sponsored by the Rotary Club of Brisbane.
The 2019 Rotary District 9600 RYLA training camp will be held from May 4th to 10th 2019 at Luther Heights Youth Camp at Coolum Beach, an engaging venue with ocean views and friendly staff who are dedicated to creating the best opportunities and experiences for you. Transport to RYLA will be facilitated via bus, departing Brisbane Saturday morning and returning Friday evening. Interested candidates should get in touch with Mark Williams, Rotary Club of Brisbane secretary, before submitting a Motivation letter and a short CV to be considered. Applications to the Rotary Club of Brisbane should be lodged by Friday, 15th February, 2019.
Rhys Williams (photo above) was one of the RCoB's sponsored attendees at RYLA 2018 and he recently reported to the club on his experience. Rhys was very positive about the motivational atmosphere and content of the RYLA camp, and reported that after 6 months, several of the learnings had stuck with him and impacted his life.
By Konrad Niemann, President of the Rotary Club of München-Münchner Freiheit, Germany
Konrad Niemann, left, and his son by the junk car they used in the Carbage Run. The car was auctioned off, and combined with funds raised by the run, to benefit the Salberghaus, a home for children.
In February, my son and I were driving in Germany when we began passing a bunch of strange-looking cars on the highway. We discovered they were part of a road rally called the Carbage Run, that is essentially a five-day road trip across Europe in a junk car. For the past 10 years, participants have paid about €350 (about $400) to take part in the event, originating in the Netherlands, with cars that must be more than 18 years old and worth less than €500 ($560). Looking at all these junk cars, my son and I thought “what a funny idea for a father-son activity.”
To make the idea even better, we decided we would do the trip as a fundraiser for a children’s home in Munich. The emphasis of my presidential year is children, because they are our future.
We signed up for a German version of the ride that was launched two years ago, that crosses 2,500 kilometers (about 1,550 miles) from Germany, through Switzerland, France, and Andorra, to Spain. We convinced my Rotary club and the clubs of München Residenz and Bavaria to combine support for our trip with €2.30 ($2.60) for every kilometer we drove.
We drove about 500 kilometers a day through breathtaking landscapes. We would get up at 8 a.m. each day to pack our gear and tent and tackle that day’s journey. Each day, you have a choice between a longer and shorter distance, but we always decided to take the longer. It was an excellent bonding experience organizing our day, charting our way, and figuring out how to tolerate the heat (as our junk car had no air conditioning.)
We were able to complete all five days with no major problems. At the end of the road trip, we auctioned off the car and some memorabilia we picked up along the way for €1,600. Combined with the pledges we had received, we were able to give €7,500 (roughly $8,500) to the Salberghaus, a safe house for children who have been removed from their homes by the government because their lives were in danger from violence, drugs, or abuse.
The trip taught me that it isn’t difficult to come up with fun ways to raise money. We do a lot of things in our lives for fun, and spend a lot of time figuring out how to amuse ourselves. But just think how much good we could do if we put some of that time and energy to planning activities that would also make the world a better place. My encouragement to you is to try and combine fun and charity the next chance you get. Trust me, it makes life more exciting. And if you have a family member who is up for it, bring them along for the ride.
By Alexandra Hudson, former Rotary Global Grant Scholar
Looking back on my year in London as a Rotary Global Grant Scholar, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that Rotary has enabled me to do. On one level, I was born into a family of Rotarians: my grandmother was a founding member for her club in Streetsville, Ontario, and my grandfather was a Paul Harris Fellow.
At Right: Alexandra Hudson and her husband at her graduation from London School of Economics.
On another level, I chose to become part of Rotary when I was asked to reinvigorate my community’s Rotaract Club in Langley, British Columbia. Service of others was always a family value, instilled in me from youth, but it wasn’t until I was in Peru’s Amazon rainforest on a humanitarian relief trip – where I encountered abject poverty and deep human need first hand – that my love of service became my own. Becoming Rotaract President fostered that love, and gave me an outlet to channel it.
As Rotaract President, we raised funds for women who were victims of domestic abuse, an organization which rescues young girls from the sex trade in Southeast Asia, a microfinance organization, and a foundation that trains teachers in post-genocide Rwanda. It was an honor to represent my Rotary district, club, and community when I was invited to speak about our work to hundreds of young leaders from across the world at the International Rotary Youth Leadership Awards in Sydney, Australia, in May 2014. Observing the depth of human suffering, and learning about the excellent work of many organizations to alleviate it, I was inspired to be a part of the solution, too.
But I knew I had a lot to learn.
Benefits of a scholarship
As I began exploring opportunities to attend graduate school, my host Rotary club approached me about applying for a Global Grant Scholarship. Earning the scholarship was an unexpected blessing.
I was invited to study comparative social policy at the London School of Economics, where I enrolled in September 2014. Living in London was an incredible experience. The best part, of course, was my Rotary community. Throughout my year in London, I was generously hosted by the Rotary Club of Paddington.
Left: Hudson in Venice with Rotaractors.
Paddington Club was brimming with warmth from the first visit. They even invited me to join them on a service trip. Paddington Club had supported a small northern Italian community in the wake of the 2012 earthquakes, and were planning a trip to visit and meet the people of their sister community. In addition to being able to serve a community that had been devastated by natural disaster, we also enjoyed being brought into their history and culture!
We enjoyed tasting Prosecco, Italy’s famous sparkling wine, in the rolling hills of Treviso, a beautiful area just north of Venice and the home of true Prosecco. We also visited a magnificent villa designed by the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. It was a perfect mix of service, culture, and bonding for Paddington Club!
My education and time at the London School of Economics was rewarding on multiple levels. Yet as thought-provoking and educational as my classes were, it was the people I met and befriended through my time abroad – and especially my Rotary community – that made the year the most meaningful. I am thankful for the friends I made and experiences I had in London, all made possible by being a Rotary Global Grant Scholar.
The great Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said:
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Memories make us who we are. Reflecting on memories from my year as a Global Grant Scholar reminds me of the way in which Rotary and its values have increasingly become a part of who I am. I am overcome with thankfulness for the investment that Rotary made in me, which in turn made these experiences possible. I have since sought to demonstrate my deep appreciation by being an ambassador for Rotary and its principles of other-oriented service.
One way I am currently using the education that Rotary empowered me with is through a book I am writing on civility and human dignity. While living in Washington D.C. and serving at the U.S. Department of Education as a special assistant to Secretary Betsy DeVos, I learned first-hand the importance of treating every person one encounters with dignity and respect. Can you imagine how different our conversations with one another might be if our leaders abided by The Four-Way Test? If we interacted with a little more grace and a little less fury, and were more inclined to give others the benefit of the doubt?
Where change begins
Many of us want to change the world. But change begins with us – in how we interact each day. Rotary, in its high standard of conduct it expects of its members, is a model to the world. Rotary has given me opportunities to serve, learn, meet new people, and travel to amazing places – all of which are now parts of who I am.
I count it a profound blessing to have been a Rotary Scholar and to be a part of Rotary’s global community. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.
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The ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Rotary Club of Brisbane to be held at 1:00pm on Monday December 17, 2018 at Level 4, The Brisbane Club, 215 Adelaide Street, Brisbane.
