Participants in last week's ZOOM meeting on 9th May, with our guest David Annear at the far left of centre row. Astrida and Ron joined the meeting a little later.

 

 

 

David is a member of the Launceston (pronounced "Lonceston" ) Tamar Rotary Club  and has enjoyed an enviable association with Rotary since the age of 7. He is very active in many aspects of community service, Club development and innovative membership programmes. He showed a few  videos of the Windward Bound tall ship project where 7 or 8 young people who are usually disadvantaged or new settlers to Launceston participate in a sailing expedition. They included newcomers from Syria, Myannmar, Sudan and Ukraine. They have plenty to see around the Tasmanian coast however they have also travelled to Bundaberg Queensland on occasions. The ship has a Peace Pole prominently affixed to the mainmast. He says the youth thrive when given tasks and responsibility. He said "Youth wants to learn about community service and we do our best to offer it". Their approach is to get the whole family involved in the activity so there is a multiplier effect of spreading the Rotary message.

 

They work closely with schools and supported the school leaders' decision to raise money for  Gynaecological Cancer Research, as well as a joint international project to buy generators for schools in Ukraine where electrical supplies have been destroyed by indiscriminate bombing. He says the children benefit from Rotary as they have boundless enthusiasm but need guidance and mentoring to get the job done.

 

David discussed novel membership schemes including one where they induct very young members but agree to pay for their subs and meals for, say 3 years until they have the resources to take over. They are lucky to have a back up financial resource being an Op Shop which provides a steady stream of income to the club.

 

It was a stimulating, encouraging and inspirational talk. I hope we can adopt some of his ideas.

 

Bill

 

 

Our next Club meeting will be held on Thursday, 16 May 2024, at the Commonwealth Club. We will hear from Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian Christian biologist from Bethlehem. He and his wife, Jessie, who is a Chinese-American citizen are on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. 

 

Mazin is President of the Rotary Club of Bethlehem and will speak about their positive work in areas of environment and health while situated in an unstable region as Palestinians and Israelis struggle for peaceful co-existence. 

 

Mazin is also founder and volunteer director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University (http://palestinenature.org). He has overseen several projects ranging from formulating the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan to environmental and climate justice and empowerment projects with farmers, women, and children that benefited tens of thousands.

 

As we expect a large audience, please let the Club know via Club Runner ASAP if you can make it. 

 

To see the program of future meetings, visit: Rotary activities Spreadsheet. 

 

 

Here is a report from Anne McNally, teacher at Hay WMHS who supervises our Indigenous Scholarships  scheme . This year 4 students are benefitting from our financial support. The real test is in her comments about school attendance, and aspirations expressed by "our ' students. Read on:

 

" The 4 recipients of the scholarships have settled into school well for 2024 and  are making good progress. 

Students' school contributions and fees for electives will be taken out of their scholarship money. The students have used scholarship money to pay for various excursions too.

 

AS is in year 11 this year.He has had a 98% attendance in term 1. The courses he is studying are maths standard 2, Earth and Environmental Science and Business Studies. He applies himself in class and his behaviour is excellent. As we run a compressed curriculum, our senior students study 3 courses in Year 11 and sit HSC exams and then do 3 other courses in year 12. He is a keen chess player and is a member of the school chess team playing in the inter-school competition. Through his involvement with chess he is a positive role model to younger students. He attended the C S U explore day in term 1 to find out about attending Uni and the Courses  CSU offer. In the last week of Term 1 he attended a week long residential work experience programme at Royal Military College, Duntroon, for indigenous students to find out about Duntroon, ADFA, typical and academic requirements and careers with the  ADF. He found it and interesting experience.

 

HH is in Year 9 this year. She has a 89% attendance in Term 1. She generally tries hard in class and responds positively to one on one assistance. The electives she has chosen are Food Technology, PASS (Physical and sports studies) and Visual Arts.

 

JD is in Year 9 this year. His attendance in Term 1 was 93%. Of the 4 recipients of the scholarship he has the greatest understanding of his indigenous heritage and culture. He attended the CCC cultural camp for indigenous boys on Nari Nari land led by local indigenous elders for a week in Term 1. The electives he has chosen are History Elective, Commerce, and PASS. He attended the History Elective excursion to Melbourne in Term 1. He is a member of the school tennis team, U15s rugby and the U14s rugby league team competing in interschool competition and participated in the school swimming carnival. He participated in a NRL league coaching course in Term 1 . This week is the school athletics carnival and he will be a competitive athlete.

 

TM is in Year 8. His attendance in Term 1 was 93%. He is generally a positive member of class and tried to do his best.He enjoys sport playing basketball in the school hall most lunchtimes and PDHPE is one of his favourite subjects. He has represented the school as a member of  U15s basketball, U15s rugby and U14s rugby league and soccer teams.

 

Anne McNally, Careers Advisor/ VET Coordinator, Head Teacher HSIE (Rel.) 

Hay War Memorial High School, Hay, NSW."

 

 

Ross will be away on holidays until the end of May 2024. While he is away Eric Carmody will be sending out the meeting invitations. 

 

Please respond promptly to Eric's invitations, to make his job a little easier, however if you do need to contact him his email is:  ekcarmody@yahoo.com.au   and his mobile number is 0407 221 145.

 

 

If you are not able to perform your allocated duty, please arrange a replacement and advise President Warrick. Please advise Stephen of any planned absences to avoid being rostered on while away.

 

 

"Tony Waring was a dear friend to his colleagues in the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin, to business associates and a wide circle of social friends he made during his long life in Canberra. He will be remembered as a trailblazer, outgoing, friendly and knowledgeable Canberran, and a loyal friend who listened to, counselled and supported them over many years.

 

He has left an indelible mark on the collective memory of the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin, as his achievements continue to remind members of his strength of character and the satisfaction he displayed when he accomplished a project and planned for the next. Those achievements have made small but important changes to our world and the way we work together to achieve peace and prosperity.  His love and devotion to his late wife Jan is a testament to his determination and loyalty.

 

I am sure Tony would adopt the salient advice of Tina Turner who passed away last year, when she said: 

 

Some of his history with our Club might not be known to everyone, so here is a summary:

 

Tony started the Club in 1986 with about 22 business colleagues. Bill had the pleasure of working with him in those early years. In the 90’s there were many volunteers who were valued for their support and projects were tackled quickly and efficiently. 

 

Some of the projects he initiated were

 

This is a small snapshot of Tony’s Rotary achievements. His laugh, good nature and loyal spirit will be remembered by his friends.

 

As was said by Nishan Panwar:

 

Tony’ s story will be long remembered by his friends in Canberra and the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin.