Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #28
FEBRUARY IS WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH.
Past RI President Luis Giay (left), Past RI President Sakuji Tanaka (centre), and Past Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Wilfrid J. Wilkinson (right) placed wreaths in Hiroshima Memorial Park during the third Rotary Global Peace Forum 17 May 2012 . Giay served as chair and convener of the forum.
Rotary has a long-standing commitment to peace. At the grassroots level, members have worked to address the underlying causes of conflict and violence, such as hunger, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Ten years ago, Rotary decided to take a direct approach to promoting world understanding by providing future leaders with the tools they need to “wage peace” on the global stage.
Since 2002, Rotary clubs have annually sponsored up to 110 scholars who embark on one to two years of study, earning either master’s degrees or professional certificates in peace and conflict resolution at Rotary Peace Centers at universities around the world. Seventy peace fellows have graduated from the Rotary Peace Center in Tokyo at International Christian University, and another 21 are currently enrolled; 25 peace fellows from Japan have studied abroad at Rotary Peace Centers.
- Learn more about Rotary Peace Centers
- Read blog posts from other peace forums
MEETING MONDAY 3rd. FEBRUARY 2014
{Secretary Paul Weston reminded all directors to have their reports in by Wednesday for next week’s board meeting.}
Gail Commens receiving a vote of thanks from PP Ian Jennings.
Tonight we enjoyed a combined meeting with the Junee Rotary Club held in Coolamon. President Dick Jennings and President Doug Bell welcomed all 28 members and their guests to the meeting. It was a good night of fellowship and networking. Our guest speaker tonight was Gail Commens from Junee. Gail spoke on her recent trip to India with the CWA (Country Womens Association). Gail attended the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) Triennial Conference in Chennai, India last September. CWA of NSW is one of over 460 member societies of ACWW, which represents over 9 million women in more than 70 countries worldwide.
There were almost 350 women at the conference, they were all from different countries, different races, different languages, different social backgrounds, different life experiences. There was a princess, a queen mother, villagers from the highlands of New Guinea, farmer’s wives from outback NSW, but at ACWW they are all women working together. The unofficial song of ACWW is “A Song of Peace” which includes “but other hearts in other lands are beating, with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine”, despite their many differences there are many things that they all want that are the same.
One of the highlights of the conference was to see Ruth Shanks AM, from Dubbo, be elected as the World President of ACWW. Ruth is inspiration to many, she is a past state president, secretary and international officer of CWA of NSW. Ruth is seen in the above photo with members of the hosting association – Daughters of Mary Immaculate.
Gail spoke well of her trip to India and Sri Lanka. Gail did say that the CWA and Rotary have a lot in common and that one day we should work together on serving our community both local and international. Gail has been a member of the CWA for 43 years and has been the State Vice-President and currently the State International Officer.
A number of resolutions were also discussed and passed in Chennai, these covered such topics as:
- encouraging maternal health education,
- registration of all births without prejudice,
- putting a stop to female genital mutilation,
- improving the situation of victims of violence,
- banning the use of Bisphenol A
- acting on UN Security Council resolution 1325, regarding women & children in conflicts.
Well done CWA and thank you Gail!
Diary Reminders
Monday 10th February Regular Meeting followed by a Board Meeting.
Thursday 13th February BINGO Dick Jennings, Rodney Jarrett, Neil Munro, Christine Atkinson
Thursday 20th February Wollundry Rotary Club Polio PLus Movie Night in Wagga Wagga and this year the movie is Las Vegas with Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, and Kevin Kline. It has been reviewed as a great comedy and good fun … that everyone in the audience will enjoy.
Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd February PETS in Young
Sunday 23rd February Rotary’s Birthday 109 years old.
Friday 14th March Trike Convention Catering in Wagga Wagga proceeds to Ronald McDonald House in Wagga Wagga.
Monday March 17-Friday March 21st RYDA in Wagga Wagga (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness)
Friday March 21st-Sunday March 23rd D9700 Conference in Orange.
Saturday 22nd March Music for Mates Concert in Coolamon.
Saturday 19th April EASTER MARKETS in Coolamon.
*Saturday May 10th International Night in Ganmain for AFRICA’S rhinos.
Sunday 18th May D9700 Assembly in Grenfell
Saturday 24th May Red Shield Appeal Street Stall.
Sunday June 1st-Wednesday June 4th. SYDNEY 2014 RI Convention See promotion at the end of this bulletin.
Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 June Wagga Wagga Book Fair.
Saturday 28th June D9700 Change Over Dinner in Orange. *Partners and Guests Night.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT RON BURTON:
In a speech at the Organization of American States, President Ron Burton said, “Young people are not our future, they are our now.” Ron Burton met the Swedish Ambassador as well as representatives from the Organization of American States — in Washington, DC, United States on January 30th 2014. 
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Little Johnny
Little Johnny and Jenny are only 10 years old, but they just know that they are in love.
One day they decide that they want to get married. So Johnny goes to Jenny’s father to ask him for her hand. Johnny bravely walks up to him and says “Mr. Smith, me and Jenny are in love and I want to ask you for her hand in marriage.”
Thinking that this was the cutest thing, Mr. Smith replies, “Well Johnny, you are only 10. Where will you two live?”
Without even taking a moment to think about it, Johnny replies “In Jenny’s room. It’s bigger than mine and we can both fit there nicely.”
Still thinking this is just adorable, Mr. Smith says with a huge grin, “Okay then how will you live? You’re not old enough to get a job. You’ll need to support Jenny.”
Again, Johnny instantly replies, “Our allowance – Jenny makes 5 bucks a week and I make 10 bucks a week. That’s about 60 bucks a month, and that should do us just fine”
By this time Mr Smith is a little shocked that Johnny has put so much thought into this. So, he thinks for a moment trying to come up with something that Johnny won’t have an answer to.
After a second, Mr.Smith says, “Well Johnny, it seems like you have got everything all figured out. I just have one more question for you. What will you do if the two of you should have little ones of your own?”
Johnny just shrugs his shoulders and says “Well, we’ve been lucky so far………”
C.I.A. Interview
A man and a woman are applying for a job at the CIA…
They both get to the end of the interview process when they are told there is only one test left. They are brought into a room where the interviewer says to the man:
“Through this door is your wife, I need you to take this gun, go in there and shoot her.”
So the man goes through the door… and about a minute later he comes out saying, “I couldn’t do it i love her to much.”
Now it’s the Woman’s turn. The interviewer says: “You have the same test, i need you to take this gun, go in there and shoot him”
So she goes in the door… and about a minute later they here two loud bangs, some yelling, a couple thuds, and then a body hitting the floor.
When the woman comes out the interviewer asks what happens, she says: “Some idiot loaded the gun with blanks, so i had to beat him to death with the chair!”
ROTARY INFORMATION
Marion Bunch, founder and CEO of Rotarians for Family Health and AIDS Prevention, speaks about our partners in service during plenary session 8. International Assembly, 17 January 2014, San Diego, California The Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD) are a signature programme of the Rotarians For Family Health & Aids Prevention, Inc. (RFHA), who initiate, coordinate and manage this program with the other partner organizations.
Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD) are a comprehensive, holistic offering of free health care services over three days across South Africa for parents, children, grandparents, friends and all the family. The RFHD will be carried out at 180 sites across the country, and will include the following services:
- HIV counseling and testing
- TB testing
- Diabetes and blood pressure screening
- Polio and measles vaccination
- Deworming
- Vitamin A tablets
RFHA WEB SITE
ONLY IN AFRICA
OUT OF AFRICA
The Victoria Falls are considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Also known as Mosi-o-Tunya (the smoke that thunders) the spray from the falls is visible for up to 50 km away. As a popular tourist destination the Falls provide breathtaking views and many different activities for tourists enjoy. Ranging from sightseeing to bungee jumping there is something to suit all tastes.
CAUSES WORTH SUPPORTING
THE SCHOOL OF ST JUDE’S
Gemma is heading to Australia in March to spread the word about St Jude’s! She is keen to meet with our supporters and others who are passionate about fighting poverty through education. If you’d like more information or are interested in hosting an event, you can contact us via [email protected].
SYDNEY ROTARY CONVENTION 2014
SOME ATTRACTIONS IN AND AROUND SYDNEY
ROTARY DOWN UNDER
“I always wanted to be a cover girl! at this age I’m grateful for any cover I can get, and attempting to set a Guinness World Record with 450 #Rotarians waving 200 world flags from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 30th May is going to test our event planning/engagement and communication skills to the m-a-x over the coming months.
We’ll be raising money to help End Polio Now which is so far eradicated from all but 3 countries. This event, when fully articulated (as the vision has it) has the potential to immunize over 200,000 children asBridgeClimb Sydney will donate 50% of ticket sales to the cause.” Bob Aitken Former Editor of RDU.
Human Nature — Entertainment at Opening Plenary Session
Brothers Andrew and Mike Tierney, and high school friends Phil Burton and Toby Allen celebrate the impressive milestone of 25 years together this year as Australia’s most successful male vocal group, Human Nature. They are one of the great Australian music success stories; releasing 10 albums, 5 of which reached the #1 spot, over 24 platinum awards, 18 Top 40 hits, ARIA Award winners, and with album sales in well excess of 2 million in Australia alone.
For the past 5 years the group have performed 5 nights a week in Las Vegas becoming the first Australian musical group to secure a residency in the entertainment mecca. This year will see them surpass the equally impressive milestone of 1000 shows performed in Las Vegas Strip at the Venetian Casino & Resort.
The Host Organising Committee for the Rotary International Convention 2014 looks forward to welcoming you to Sydney, Australia’s beautiful harbour city and host of the 2000 Olympic Games. The Rotary International Convention 2014 will be held at Sydney Olympic Park from Sunday 1st June to Wednesday 4th June 2014.
There will be plenty of exciting and interesting things going on during the Sydney Convention, only some of which will be at the convention itself. We invite you to get out and explore our wonderful city and experience our Aussie culture first hand. This section of our site will help you uncover what’s on in Sydney and around our island nation during the 2014 Sydney Convention.
The programme Click to Enlarge:
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION LISBON 2013
Rotary International Conventions are held annually in a different country in the world. Some conventions have had over 40,000 attend, this year it is in Australia and then to Brazil in 2015. Here are some photos from the 2013
Convention in Lisbon (remember to click on the thumb nails to get a larger photo):
FOOT NOTE
RAGES Proposed Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species.
We are looking for more members to join this proposed Rotarian Action Group. We have received some encouraging news from Rotary International and we will be re-applying to RI for approval at the RI Board meeting in June in Sydney.
Our advice from Evanston included the following offer of help:
“Please note that this is an atypical approach to an application, but I want to ensure that it succeeds, as I believe deeply that RAGES can be part of the movement to stem the tide of species loss around the world. Let’s have a short back and forth via email regarding these answers, and I’ll be sure to take them back to the RAGs Committee con gusto.”
To join us go to our web site:
RAGES
RIP SIR FABIAN 26 JANUARY 2014
Cape Town – A seven-year-old white rhino bull, Sir Fabian – known by visitors for his unlikely friendship with a pug puppy – has been killed by poachers at a Garden Route reserve.
FULL STORY HERE
The Nyaru Game Lodge near Mossel Bay had sold the rest of their rhinos in an attempt to keep poachers at bay, but kept Sir Fabian because of his popularity with visitors.
We need ACTION.
Yours in Rotary John Glassford Chair 2013 -2014
Bulletin Editor and Web Site: John Glassford
Rotary International President Ron Burton
Governor of District 9700 Geoff Tancred
Coolamon Club President Dick Jennings
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
Proposed Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species RAGES: http://www.endangeredrag.org/#