Chair: Mary Voice.
Visiting Rotarian: Sabrina Schwarz, RC Singapore.
Visitors: Flavia Minikus (Exchange student), Domenic Varrasso, Robin Seale, Jeni Clift, Hamza Wariyo.
Events:
- Sarah Overton spruiked the Royal Talbot gardens working bee on April 14 and demonstrated new software for volunteers to projects
- President Frank, reporting on last week’s board meeting, said we intend establishing a satellite club in Docklands with the goal of 15 initial members.
Induction:
President Frank inducted Bettina Cruise, introduced by Warwick Cavell. She works in Road Safety and says she looks forward to human-centred humanitarian projects, in contrast to her back-office safety work.
Exchange Student :
Our exchange student Flavia Minikus described her home life just west of Zurich.
Her Mum is a gynaecologist and Dad a civil engineer and a Paul Harris Fellow. Her school is in a former monastery dating from 1267. Among contrasts with her Kew High School, the latter enforces school uniforms and has a less individualised timetabling.
Flavia was fixated on becoming an exchange student after hearing of her cousin’s great time on exchange in Barcelona. She will shortly be going on an Australian safari to Melbourne-Adelaide-Coopers Creek-Uluru-Argyle-Keppell Island-Canberra. She’s become a Richmond AFL fan. She speaks Swiss-German, German, English and French, and also took on Italian and Latin, given her Italian background. She has a twin brother whom she misses ‘a little bit’ – they had previously been separated only for two weeks.
Flavia said she’s found Australians exceptionally friendly and helpful.
Member Talk: Nick Clift
He began with his love of travel, including prospectively going into space with the rocket of Bezos, Musk, or Branson, if he can stump up the $250,000 ticket. He has a 30 year membership of Shangri La Beach Club, Bali, and been there annually for the past ten years, often with the family’s exchange students in tow.
Their son Oscar went on exchange to Sweden in 2011 and Sam to Norway in 2013. The family has hosted 9 exchange students over the years.
One trip he has yet to make is Cairns to Cape York by motorbike. On the first training ride he fell off and broke his wrist, and next year was also aborted after Oscar fell into a fire and burnt his arm.
He and Jeni were in Echuca for 20 years where Jeni did a term as RC president. She had long wanted to go on exchange as a kid, and Rotary was a route to see her sons do what she hadn’t. Nick had joined Apex there and graduated to Rotary.
Nick had a hobby of car racing and won a 6 hour rally during a ten year career, but racing became too much of a wallet-buster.
Their family business DWM Solutions has 13 members spread among Geelong, Kensington, Bendigo and Echuca. He is technical services director and reports to his boss and wife Jeni (general manager). She has done his performance review but so far not vice versa. They’ve worked together 22 years. The business includes roles for personal development coach and sales coach.
Closing
Bon voyage: President Frank farewelled Herb and Leonie Greenwood for their impending trip to Iran.
There will be a normal meeting on Tuesday after Easter.
Nick Clift won the draw for the Swindle but to general sadness failed to draw the Joker.