Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #34
APRIL IS ROTARY MAGAZINE MONTH.
MONDAY MEETING
Some photos of Ray Foley when he was at Coolamon Rotary.
PRESIDENT PAUL WESTON’S REPORT
President’s report
We’ve had a couple of weeks of meetings featuring presentations by former members who have hit the road in very different directions and shared their interesting travel stories with us. Last week, Max Chapman, accompanied by wife and travel companion Sue, described their recent canal tour of the Rhine river through Germany, Austria, and Budapest. Although not actually a shoestring adventure, Max and Sue clearly had a great time seeing the sights on and along the river, and enthusiastically recommended the trip to anyone interested in seeing historic and scenic sights along the gorgeous Rhine River. One of the major advantages of this type of travel is that there was no need to pack and unpack their luggage as they went along; they stayed in the same room (on the ship) for the duration of the voyage along the river. The ship stopped frequently as they progressed down the river, so there was ample opportunity to get a close-up look at many of the interesting sights along the way.
Ray Foley’s presentation at this week’s meeting described a very different way to travel. As you likely recall, Ray and Maria hit the road about 18 months ago, and have been touring Australia by caravan and 4-wheel drive vehicle. Ray described and illustrated with great photos the first leg of their journey, which took them through Mildura, Lake Eyre, and northward up the middle to Uluru. Along the way, Ray and Maria have spent lots of time getting to know the history and geography of the places they’ve visited rather than just passing through and ticking off another location on their list. As a result, they’ve discovered that there’s a lot to see and explore in locations that most people just experience as another postcard stop. An interesting dimension to Ray and Maria’s tour of Australia is that when they find someplace they want to explore more extensively, they get temporary work in the area and tour at their leisure, basing themselves in caravan parks or free-camping where possible. A very interesting way to get to know this great country in exquisite detail! Ray and Maria have also ventured westward through Western Australia and are planning to tour Queensland next; stay tuned for the next episode of Ray and Maria’s “Living the Dream” tour of Australia!
Next week’s board meeting may not offer much in the way of entertainment, but I hope you’re able to attend so we can carry out the more mundane but vitally important business that allows our club to continue to have a positive impact on our community and beyond.
Yours in Rotary,
Paul
DIARY REMINDERS
Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April 2013 D9700 Conference Leeton.
Monday 22nd. April Business and Board Meeting Club catering.
*Monday 6th. May Member’s Social Night Craig Corrigan on his life: “Nuts and Bolts”. Club Catering.
Saturday June 8th Coolamon Rotary Street Raffle. June 23-26 2013 Rotary International Convention in Lisbon. RI Convention Lisbon.
*Monday July 1st our 42nd Change Over Night. *Partners and Guests Night.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT SAKUJI TANAKA
More encouraging news for our fight against polio–the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication went live this morning! More than 400 scientists, doctors and technical experts from 80 countries signed the declaration, in a rousing show of support for the new polio endgame plan. Our very own Dr. John Sever is one of the signatories.
I encourage you to read the full declaration and the names of all signatories. http://bit.ly/10WLesN
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
The Perfect Man
A man walked out to the street and caught a taxi just going by. He got into the taxi, and the cabbie said, “Perfect timing. You’re just like Brian!
Passenger: “Who?”
Cabbie: “Brian Sullivan. He’s a guy who did everything right all the time. Like my coming along when you needed a cab, things happen like that to Brian Sullivan, every single time.”
Passenger: “There are always a few clouds over everybody.”
Cabbie: “Not Brian Sullivan. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone and danced like a Broadway star and you should have heard him play the piano. He was an amazing guy.”
Passenger: “Sounds like he was something really special.”
Cabbie: “There’s more. He had a memory like a computer. He remembered everybody’s birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order and which fork to eat them with. He could fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out. But Brian Sullivan, he could do everything right.”
Passenger: “Wow. Some guy then.”
Cabbie: “He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams. Not like me, I always seem to get stuck in them. But Brian, he never made a mistake, and he really knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. He would never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too. He was the perfect man! He never made a mistake. No one could ever measure up to Brian Sullivan.”
Passenger: “An amazing fellow. How did you meet him?”
Cabbie: “Well, I never actually met Brian. He died. I’m married to his bloody widow”.
ERIC VAN SOEST
Eight Again
A man asked his wife what she’d like for her birthday.
“I’d love to be eight again.” she replied.
On the morning of her birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Coco Pops, and then took her off to the local theme park.
What a day! He put her on every ride in the park: the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, every thing there was.
Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down.
Right away, they journeyed to a McDonald’s where her loving husband ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake.
Then it was off to the movies: the Lion King, a hot dog, popcorn, all the Coke she could drink, and her favorite M&M’s.
What a fabulous adventure!
Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted.
He leaned over his precious wife with a big smile and lovingly asked,
Well, Dear, what was it like being eight again?”
Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.
“I meant my dress size you idiot!!!!!!!!
The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he’s gonna get it wrong
ROTARY INFORMATION
World Rotaract Week
Two decades after the first Rotary club was chartered in Ukraine, the country’s youth have embraced Rotary in a big way.
Ukraine now has 24 Rotaract clubs — Rotary’s service clubs for people ages 18 to 30 — many of them focusing on the challenges facing the country today. In Kyiv, Rotaractors in the capital city’s four clubs collaborate often on service projects, including a campaign to draw attention to the plight of stray animals.
Members of the Rotaract Club of Kyiv Multinational take time to honor their elders (see gallery above): For nearly three years, they’ve been visiting a nursing home in Peremoha, about 40 miles away.
“These are the people who did their best for future generations, for us, to live in a free country,” says club treasurer and past president Taras Mytkalyk. “We wanted to fill their lives with a feeling of being needed.”
The Rotaract Club of Kyiv-Centre promotes health and wellness through an HIV awareness campaign, and has worked with Rotaract clubs in Russia, Belarus, Germany, and Romania to raise over US$13,000 to equip a medical center in a rural village in Ukraine.
Rotaract clubs are either community or university based and sponsored by a local Rotary club. World Rotaract Week, 11-17 March, commemorates the 1968 chartering of the first club, in North Carolina, USA.
During the week, Rotaract clubs are asked to partner with their sponsor Rotary clubs on a service project and to encourage a nearby Rotary club to sponsor a new Rotaract club in the area. Also, members of the Rotaract and sponsor clubs are encouraged to attend each other’s meetings.
BUCKET LIST
CAUSES WORTH SUPPORTING
Clean Water
Our mission and vision
We want to help every less fortunate person in the world to have clean drinking water. More than one billion people lack this most basic commodity. Having safe drinking water helps to liberate people so they can live healthier, fuller, and more productive lives. 6,000 children die every day from water borne diseases. We want to help solve this problem and lessen the suffering.
We will help find International and Host Rotary Partners so they can do Water Projects in developing counties. Through our fundraising efforts we expect to support these Projects financially. It is our goal to make more people aware of this tremendous worldwide problem.
Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka
Governor of District 9700 Greg Brown
Coolamon Club President Paul Weston
Coolamon Club Secretary John Glassford
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
The Orphan Rescue Kit a Coolamon RC Project: http://theork.com/
Our Rotary Centennial Twin Club Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa: http://www.rotaryhoutbay.org
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.