BULLETIN JULY 5th, 2014 (Jul 03, 2014)

Bulletin

INDEX

Guest Speaker 26th August.
Duty Roster 26th August.
Member News
Meeting Report 19th August.

PASSING OF MEMBER JOHN PRICE

Members were deeply saddened by the sudden passing of John this week.

John has been an active and valued member of our club since his induction in April 2013. He quickly became in involved in club activities, known for his incisive questioning of guest speakers and his enquiring mind. He will be much missed.

Our thoughts and condolences are with Cathy and family.

John's funeral will be held at the Jewish Memorial Gardens at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery on Sunday, 6th July at 1.30pm. No flowers by request.

SPEAKERS TUESDAY 8TH JULY

This week we are privileged to hear from two of our own members:

1. Rob Hines - "Member behind the Badge."

2. Bruce Heron - "What's new in my profession."

Member talks are always in demand, unveiling matters of interest within our own walls.

DUTY ROSTER AUGUST 19th 2014

Chair	Roy Garrett
Sergeant	Bernie Gerlinger
Greeter	Kevin Walklate
Reporter	Mik Wells
Photographer	Tony Thomas
Door	Pat Barry
Director Report - Youth Service	George Mackey
Bulletin Editor	David Jones

IFTAR DINNER INVITATION

The Rotary Club of Central Melbourne-Sunrise Inc

and the Australian Intercultural Society

cordially invite you to the

ROTARY CLUB RAMADAN IFTAR DINNER 2014

4.54pm arrival for 5.15pm commencement

Tuesday 15^th July 2014

The AIS Office

Level 1, 436 St. Kilda Rd., Melbourne,

R.S.V.P. 10^th July

Bernie Gerlinger

marben@bigpond.net.au

Phone 0419 302 104; Fax 9888 3692

MEETING REPORT 1st JULY

Posted by John Ilott

Guests

Anne Duke (Justine Murphy’s mother)

Peter Duras (RC Essendon)

Announcements

Presentation on the 2014-15 Youth Service Committee (George Mackey).This a small (but big-spending) committee of 5 members.They are hopeful of sponsoring two students to the National Youth Science Forum. District interviews will be held in early August.
Ed Pettitt from the RC of Houston, Texas will be visiting Melbourne in July for the AIDS 2014 congress. Our club has organised home stay for Ed and one of his young team from Botswana. Ed is featured as our keynote speaker on 22 July.
John Price is very ill in hospital after a serious heart attack. He cannot receive visitors at the moment and his family is extremely concerned about him. As soon as more is known about John’s condition and progress a message will be sent to members.

Barrie Tassell was presented with a certificate of appreciation from Past President Doug for his untiring service to club throughout the year.

Guest Speaker: Justine Murphy. “My Ultra Marathon Experience.”

Can you believe that Justine weighed 90 kg at age 30? Since then she has lost 20 kg through swimming and other exercise which eventually led her to running.

In 2007 she did a snow hike across the Razorback at Feathertop. She learnt from this that she possessed the quality of resilience.

A subsequent Oxfam 100 km walk saw her team withdraw at the 75 km mark due to fatigue, though Justine felt that she may have been able to complete the distance. She learnt from this that she can always do more than she thought she could.

In 2010 she completed a 24 hour mountain bike race. The lesson from this was that she also possessed the qualities of endurance and tenacity.

After sorting out some debilitating health problems, Justine finally decided to do the ultra marathon at Katoomba in 2014. This required a minimum 12 week preparation.

Her protein and energy intake was a big problem due to the volume required and her dietary restrictions.

The race plan was simply to finish which involved walking the hills and running wherever possible – though the last kilometre was a 300 metre ascent. She had no support for the first 46 km, though at this point she was feeling relatively fresh. However she discovered that although it was technically a 28 hour deadline to finish, in order to qualify for a badge she needed to finish in 20 hours.

With 5 hours and 22 km to go Justine was still feeling OK but very close to the finish, anxiety set in, wondering where the finish line was and whether she would finish in time.

She completed the run with 5 minutes to spare!

Out of a field of 1,000 runners, 300 retired. Just to complete the 100 km was a remarkable effort.

Justine held the audience in suspense, not knowing whether she would finish in time or in what condition. This was a typically animated presentation by Justine and it was most enjoyable.

SURPRISE PAUL HARRIS RECOGNITION FROM DISTRICT FOR ALAN SEALE

Posted by Doug Robertson

At our changeover dinner DG Ross Butterworth asked for time to make a special presentation.

“In Rotary there are people who go about their Service to others without any fuss or thought of personal recognition but they are committed to ensuring that our District will be served at the highest possible level so that our member clubs can continue to do their good work in changing lives.

The contribution that these committed Rotarians make to the success of the District has often gone unrecognised. Until recently it was not possible for our District to say thank you to these Rotarians in any tangible way for their contribution and commitment to the ongoing success of our District they have made over an extended period of five Years when at all times doing so at his own personal time and expense.

Therefore at this special occasion on behalf of D9800 we would like to recognise Alan Seale. Rotarian Alan has served District 9800 and our Club’s in the following capacities:

· D9800 Chair, Vocational Service 2002 – 2003

· Assistant Governor – Yarra Cluster 2007 – 2009

· D9800 Chair, International Service 2009 – 2011.”

DG Ross then asked Alan to come forward and made the presentation with congratulations to Alan.

Editor; This PHF is a third sapphire for Alan. Alan continues in other roles for 'District' too, the award however has been specifically for the Chairmanship and senior positions noted in the citation.

MEMBER NEWS

UNSEALED or "To The Power of Ten"

A recent guest speaker explained why most early Scot immigrants were free people – i.e.. had to pay their passage to Australia as opposed to many others of our ancestors who had a free voyage - ‘on the queen’.

Alan Seale has now brought to the light of day a family tale that threatens to dispel these pure thoughts about Scottish immigrants.

Regular readers of BULLETIN will recall Alan’s chance meeting with a distant Scottish relative at the Sydney Rotary International convention in April. In true Robyn and Alan hospitality the Scottish Seale, Claire Mackie, was invited to dinner when she was passing through Melbourne after the convention.

When pressed for further comment Alan has provided a written response;-

“We figured out her grandfather and mine were cousins. So we invited Claire and her husband Alastair home for dinner as they were travelling through Melbourne on their Antipodean Sojourn. Turns out Claire had met my late Uncle Peter in Sydney some years ago in her quest for the truth about the Seale’s. Pete was our family genealogist and when he died his family handed his working papers onto us, along with accounts of Seale’s who were barred by the Victorian Bar Council or ostracised by the Broken Hill miners for a mistake in a gold assay of a factor of 10 which had a dramatic effect on the stock price…..that’s enough.”

Editor: Thanks Alan. We do not believe the clerical errors of your antecedents will endanger your well earned Paul Harris recognition from District, which you can continue to wear with pride.

ROTARY IN A MORMON COMMUNITY

Posted by Tony THOMAS

The Rotary Club of Logan, Utah, is in a strongly Mormon community 83 miles north of Salt Lake City in the Cache Valley.

Members are so welcoming and polite that when I announced that my category in Central Melbourne-Sunrise was "ethical journalist", no-one laughed and I received a polite round of applause, which I modestly acknowledged. I had also felt under-dressed for this lunchtime hotel-based meeting, being clad in borrowed pants and shirt and wearing sandals -- all as a result of a lost-luggage debacle en route from Frankfurt. However, not one of about 55 members wore a coat, only a few wore ties and several wore t-shirts and shorts. I was told this partly reflected the July 3 date as many were already in July 4 holiday mood.

I found proceedings far more formal and patriotic than in Australia. Mary Lynne Glatfelter, one of about 10 women present, recited the Oath of Allegiance and followed through with a speech honouring both veterans and American freedom. We then had a minute's silence to reflect on what freedom and independence means to ourselves and our family. This was followed by a reading of the Four Way Test. This is the regular formality, not just for Independence Day week.

Another visitor was acknowledged, a woman who has a Native American tepee (tent) at the front of her front house. To my surprise, she was a Hong Kong Chinese economist.

Entrepreneurs were well represented. I was sitting next to a member who owns three McDonalds restaurants. Logan's previous Mayor, Randy Watts, is also a member.

Ken Kennedy, Assistant District Governor, made a good point to the incoming club president, Mike Wallace, that although 2014-15 was dubbed "Michael's Year", Michael should be sure not to try to 'do it all' but rely on his full team.

Speaker was Bob Oaks, a retired geology professor, who made a very technical presentation on the long-standing fresh-water problems of the Cache Valley.

President Mike told me later that the club has 82 members, down from its high of 132 in 2005. As with most clubs these days, member growth and retention is a top priority. The club raises about USD20,000 a year for charity. Much is from organisation of bike races and rides. About $12-15,000 gross and $7-10,000 net comes from one Saturday's fun ride around the Wellsville Mountains, with riders paying $30 entrance and sponsorships from local businesses and institutions. Riders on July 26 can choose a 25, 60 or 100m ride. Organising involves a lot of red tape and safety issues but riders do not require police escorts.

Another event is a bike race from Logan to Jackson (200 miles) involving sponsored teams. This raises about $5000 net. That money funds the club's 'Dictionary Project', providing dictionaries (2200 a year) to every third-grade primary student in the Cache Valley. Teachers say the kids benefit in terms of spelling and vocabulary but the programme is under review, given the increase in on-line lookups.

Another project is clean water for Peruvian villagers and sidewalks in place of mud paths. The club joins with other Utah clubs to send members south for the work. Of about 25 workers, Logan RC provides 15. With international and matching grants, the programme funding trebles to $35,000.

Fun activities are topped by a golf and barbecued ribs day, and an annual Jeep ride to enjoy the autumn leaves splash of colour. About 60 take part and finish off the meat left over from the golf day.

Mike says women comprise 20% of members, and the club's median age is about 55.

The club runs with eight on the board. Several directors have oversight of more than two committees, grouped under International, Administration and Youth.

Michael, who is an executive with Zions Bank, attended the just-finished International Convention in Sydney and says the organisation of transport and events was great - especially the free public transport. His only suggestion for improvement is fewer conference items of a generic kind and more involving insights into Aboriginal culture and education about the history and culture of Australia.