Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #44

Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #44

Be a Gift to the World

SEOUL RICON 2016 SPECIAL EDITION

JUNE IS ROTARY’S

FELLOWSHIP MONTH

BREW logo

Seoul 28

This week we feature the Beers Rotarians Enjoy Worldwide Fellowship.  Seen at Seoul last week.

Beers Fellowship Launched at Sydney 2014

Beers Fellowship Web Site.

MEETING MONDAY JUNE 6th.  2016

We had a very good role up for a Club Assembly last night 17 members present.

It was our last assembly for President Wayne Lewis’s year and it was a raucous occasion with some business being conducted.  Many jokes were told some good some not so good.

In the upcoming retirement of John Glassford as Foundation Director the members nominated Alex Thompson as Foundation Director 2016-2017 and the Board will ratify Alex’s nomination on Wednesday night.  Alex will become the youngest Director of our club in memory.

Grahame Miles reported on Bingo and Dave McKinley on Moo Poo and also requested absence of leave as Dave is going to the Outback for some R&R.

The raffle was won by Henk and Ted conducted another amusing sometimes hilarious fines session.

There will be no meeting on Monday 13th June as it is the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend.

John Glassford called for members to form the 2019 DISCON working committee in conjunction with the RC of Griffith.

Reminder that Bingo is on this Thursday.

We need names for our change over dinner please advise Henk Hulsman or Ian Jennings.

 

Diary Reminders

Wednesday June 8th Last Board Meeting for 2015-2016.

Thursday June 9th BINGO: Henk Hulsman (Capt), Trevor Parkes, Ted Hutcheon, Dick Jennings.

Monday 13th June NO Meeting Queen’s Birthday

Monday 20th June LAST Meeting for 2015-2016

Saturday June 25th D9700 Change Over in Orange Hotel Conobolas.

*Monday June 27th Change Over Dinner at Coolamon. 

*Partners and Guests Night.

Apologies for Monday meetings call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157  BY FRIDAY 12.00 pm.

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

This week here is the Korean interpretation of how to boil an egg in a microwave.  Seen in the breakfast room of my hotel in Seoul click on the images for a larger picture:

Seoul 49Seoul 50 Seoul 51 Seoul 52 Seoul 53Seoul 78

My hotel, The Hotel Icon Anguk, Seoul.  Hard to find but a quarter of the cost of the official hotels.

It was FUN!  Especially the shower in a basin.

HOTEL ICON WEB SITE.

 

REPORT FROM JOHN GLASSFORD COOLAMON & RAGES DELEGATE TO SEOUL RICON 2016

Be a Gift to the World – Mahātria Rā, Spiritualist

 

This is one of the sessions that I missed however you and I can watch him here.

Happiness is the way I saw the whole convention and my first visit to Seoul.

The best part for me was meeting every day Koreans on the metro every day.  Finding small eating places with wonderful food.  The Koreans’ happy faces, no policemen with guns, only one baton.  The efficient and super clean metro trains, zero graffiti.  So many happy memories that reminds me what the Object Rotary is all about, friendship through acquaintance!

I do not have enough space here ot convey all of my memories however here are some photos in thumb nail format.

Seoul 2Seoul 4 Seoul 5 Seoul 6Seoul 8 Seoul 9 Seoul 10Seoul 17 Seoul 18 Seoul 19Seoul 23 Seoul 24Seoul 33Seoul 39Seoul 65Seoul 68Seoul 70Seoul 87Seoul 101Seoul 102Seoul 105

 

PRESIDENT K.R. RAVINDRAN “RAVI”

2015-16 RI President K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran

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RI President K.R. Ravindran shares a personal story of triumph over polio at the closing session of the 107th Rotary convention.  Photo Credit: SJ Cho

RI President K.R. Ravindran closed the convention in Korea on Wednesday, 1 June, with a poignant story about his mother’s fight to survive polio at age 30.

When Ravindran was 11 years old in his native Sri Lanka, his mother awoke one day feeling weak and short of breath. Sitting down to rest, she found herself unable to move. The polio virus had quickly invaded her nervous system, resulting in paralysis.

She was placed in an iron lung at the hospital to enable her to breathe, and was told that her chances of walking, or even surviving without a ventilator, were slim. But most Sri Lankan hospitals were not equipped with ventilators in 1963.

Ravindran’s grandfather, a Rotary member, hosted a club committee meeting in his living room the evening after his daughter was rushed to the hospital. Rather than simply offer consolation, his fellow members went to work, using their business acumen and professional connections to find a ventilator.

One of the members was a bank manager who called a government minister to facilitate a quick international transfer of funds. Another member, a manager at Swiss Air, arranged to have a ventilator flown in. The next day, it arrived at the hospital.

 

FULL STORY HERE.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR GARY ROBERTS D 9700

GR 01

DG Gary

Find out how Rotary members are improving the lives of mothers and children in Nigeria and Pakistan. http://on.rotary.org/1QXrPQj

 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined us at the Rotary Convention and shared that “Rotary’s Polio Plus has helped to avert massive suffering. Some 16 million people who otherwise would have been paralyzed by polio can walk now. Around a million and a half children are alive today thanks to Polio Plus. I thank you for such a great contribution.”

 

District 9700 Web Site

ROTARY INFORMATION

This week we concentrate on the Rotary International Convention Seoul 2016.

Here is a summary of the event from PP Ron  Ron Nethercutt RC of Mabalacat, The Philippines and  D 3790 Information Chair & Fellowship Director.  Ron is also Past Chair of ROTI and a great friend.  (Rotarians On The Internet Fellowship).  You can down load the report below in pdf, this was published in the Korea Joongang daily newspaper.

This is a very good report and worth reading.

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RICON 2016 01

Convention goers await the beginning of the opening session on 29 May at KINTEX, the Korea International Exhibition and Convention Center in Goyang city. Photo Credit: Andrea Yoon

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Members of Rotary and Rotaract, wearing traditional Korean attire, get ready for the Walk for Peace in Seoul Plaza on Saturday, 28 May. Photo Credit: S.J. Cho
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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon indicates that we are “This Close” to ending polio because of Rotary’s great work, during the opening session of the Rotary Convention in Korea on Sunday, 29 May. Photo Credit: SJ Cho.
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A Korean drum solo is part of the entertainment during the Welcome Festival on Saturday, 28 May.
Photo Credit: Andrea Yoon.
CLOSING CEREMONY
Psy 01

Korean Pop Icon PSY set the hall on fire with his electrifying performance. His internationally acclaimed ‘Gangnam Style’ had the audience up and dancing, and ended up with some amazing performers from around the world BUT that is a  story for another time.

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RAGES NEWS

This week we look at the RAGES booth at the Seoul Rotary International Convention 2016.

Our booth was just behind but hidden by the RI Resource centre.  We were located with all the other Action Groups.

I attended the Action Groups Chair meeting run by Marion Bunch.

We had plenty of material for our RAGES booth and did not run out of forms or cards.  I had my lap top with a power point presentation on loop at all times.

If I may make a comment; we in the Action Groups area had one or two unmanned booths.  We were located behind the RI area right at the back end of the massive hall.  We experienced a very low visitor rate.  No Korean no Japanese Rotarians stopped at our booth and only a few I am told stopped at the other Action Groups.

My observations indicated that the Koreans and Japanese only came for one day and the opening ceremony.  I maybe wrong but I do not think so.  However the visitors that came to our end where genuine and most sought us out.  So quality v quantity in Seoul.  The RI staff also wrote to a couple of the Action Group booths to say that they must stay until closing time and not leave early.  Fair enough.

I have no complaints even though I missed every plenary as I wanted to be at the RAGES booth.  My sincere thanks to PDG Barbara Shayeb-Helou for all the help on our booth which gave me time to go do some souvenir shopping and have a break.

Our break out session was very well attended and our Moderator PRIVP Anne L. Matthews did a very professional job and thanks so much Anne for being there.  On the panel was Moderator Anne with PDG Barbara Shayeb-Helou and PE RIBI Eve Conway.  Plenty of genuine questions from the floor and we finished on time and in time to get to the closing ceremony.  That was something special for another day.

The organising committee are to be congratulated.

Seoul 01

The RAGES booth before the opening all ready to go!

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Chair John Glassford RAGES, speaking at the break out session for RAGES.  Moderator was PRIVP Anne L. Matthews RC Columbia East. District 7770 USA, and fellow RAGES Board members PDG Barbara Shayeb-Helou RC of Pleasantberg, District 7750 and PE RIBI Eve Conway RC Redbridge District 1130 UK were on the panel as well.
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PE RIBI Eve Conway with John Glassford at the RAGES booth.

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The RAGES shirt with Tears of the Rhino got a lot of attention!

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Above Rotaractor Oyumaa Davaajav from the Rotaract Club of Nairamdal Mongolia.  Oyumaa wants to save the remaining 22 Mazaalai bears from extinction in her country Mongolia.  Oyumaa also made us aware of the plight of the White Tiger in Mongolia.

Mongolia Oyumaa

Nairamdal Rotaract Club Facebook Page

Mongolia Oyumaa 3

Mazaalai – this simple mongolian world means Gobi Bear who inhabits in the Gobi desert of Mongolia. No other place on the entire Earth is home for this rare specie of Bear. Its scientific name is Ursus Arctos Gobiensis. It’s listed in the Red Book of Mongolia with a status of VERY RARE. They were found in the Desert of Aj Bogdo of West Altai mountain ranges in early 1920s. Mazaalai is near extinction & globally threatened bear.

The last 22 members of this brown bear subspecies (known in Mongolian as mazaalai) live near three oases in the Gobi Desert, where the golden-coloured animals subsist on a mostly vegetarian diet of hardy desert roots and other plants.

But rising temperatures appear to have already started reducing the available water in the Gobi, making those plants harder to find and threatening the future of the bear.

 RAG-EndangeredSpecies_Standard logo (1)

RAGES WEB SITE       JOIN RAGES HERE.

 

ONLY IN AFRICA KOREA

Seoul 110

 

 Special toilets at the Icheon International Airport for children AND adults.
TWO Lids one smaller than the other, clever.

FOOTNOTE

 RICON 2016 05

 Only a couple days left to take advantage of our special offer to register for the 2017 Atlanta Convention for only $265! Register and pay by 6 June 2016.  TOO LATE Next deadline 15th December 2016 at $340 US.
Bulletin Editor and Web Site:  John Glassford

Yours in Rotary 

John Glassford Chair 2014 -2016

Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species
Don’t  forget to regularly check our club web site for current information such as bingo rosters and various newsletters from the District Governor, the School of St. Jude’s, the monthly membership on the move newsletter as well as several other club bulletins.

Rotary International President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran

Governor of District 9700 Gary Roberts

Coolamon Club President  Wayne Lewis

Coolamon Club Secretary Paul Weston

Club Treasurer  Henk Hulsman

Coolamon Rotary Club Inc. P.O. Box 23 COOLAMON N.S.W. 2701

Websites of Interest

Coolamon Rotary Club: http://coolamonrotary.com

Road MAPS to Africa a Coolamon Rotary Project: http://www.mountainsofthemoon.org/

Rotary Down Under on line: http://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/26587/49598/pub

Mount Kenya 2015 Web Site incorporating the ORK: http://theork.com/

Our Rotary Centennial Twin Club Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa: http://www.rotaryhoutbay.org

Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species RAGES: http://www.endangeredrag.org/#