Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #27

FEBRUARY IS ROTARY WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH.

MONDAY MEETING

The Glassford Family Into and Out of Africa

We had a total of 22 attend the meeting on Monday night including Bernadette Milne and Miffy Clarke from Ganmain who are looking at being invited to join our club.  Other guests were Enrico and Marco from Italy guests of Susan and myself, Maureen Hulsman, Sharon Miles, Susan Wingate-Pearse, Ted Hutcheon, Christine  Lorraine and Sandra West.

Dinner was provided by the club catering team and was excellent.

This was a member’s night and it was the turn of John Glassford (seen laughing above), to give a presentation on his life.  As I am preparing this bulletin I will leave it up to others to comment.  What I will do is to add some photos from the presentation here, just a few of many, click on the thumb nails to get a larger photo.:

The talk included the slave trade, the colonisation of Kenya, George Glassford at Gallipoli (Father), growing coffee, the Mau Mau, football and rally driving African style, school in England, wild life and Kenya as it is today.  The talk finished up with a quick look at what is proposed for ANZAC Day 2015 by climbing Mount Kenya.

PRESIDENT PAUL WESTON’S REPORT

President’s report

Monday’s meeting saw another great rollout of members and guests, many of whom were there to hear John Glassford’s life story.  After an excellent dinner of lamb cutlets and dessert of apple pie à la mode, we were treated to an extraordinary tale of a life beginning with riches and privilege and a dramatic change of fortune following the political upheaval of the 1960s in Kenya and much of Africa.  John’s upbringing is so far removed from what most of us have experienced, it was a bit hard to comprehend a life growing up on a coffee plantation with servants, Rolls Royces, racehorses at Ascot, etc., but the photographs and John’s narrative made it come to life.  The sorrow and fear that followed as native Kenyans worked to oust the British colonists layered more hard-to-comprehend life experiences on an already unreal existence.  John managed to escape all the turmoil, a few dollars poorer, but somehow landed on his feet and started a new life for himself.  I find it amazing that, despite the loss of wealth and privilege, John forged ahead with his life and has done so much for the needy in Africa and elsewhere.  I think it’s safe to say that all in attendance were awestruck and impressed by what they heard and saw, and came away with a new appreciation of our John Glassford.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Yours in Rotary,

Paul

 

DIARY REMINDERS

*Monday March 4th David Jenkins from Charles Sturt University Veterinary Department Guest Speaker.  Gilbert catering.

Monday 11th March Business and Board Meeting Club catering.

Thursday, 14th March at 7.30 pm:   Rotary BINGO  – rostered on are  –  Henk Hulsman,  John Burns, Grahame Miles and John Glassford. (Reminder to Garth Perkin and Rod Jarrett you are both rostered on as a swap).

*Monday 18th March Guest Speaker Ross Sinclair RAAF Forest Hill RAAF base speaking on the modern day Air Force.   Gilbert catering.

*Monday 25th March Club Member Night Henk Hulsman.  Club catering.

Saturday 30th March Rotary Community Easter Markets in the Up-to-Date-Store,  complemented by ‘Grand Designs Coolamon Style’  & a main street full of 100 or so Hot Rod Cars.

Monday April 1st NO Meeting Easter Monday.

*Monday 8th April Max Chapman Europe on a Shoe String.

Monday 15th April Business and Board Meeting Club catering

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April 2013   D9700 Conference Leeton.

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.

**West Wyalong Fellowship Night**

You are invited to a night of inspirational Rotary fellowship Wednesday 6 March 2013
7.00 for 7.30pm at the West Wyalong S&C Sports Club,  Tallimba Rd.

Cost per head – $40 which includes a drink and dinner (Two courses main & dessert)

Guest Speakers are two inspirational former RI directors Stuart Heal and Tom Thorfinnson.

Click here for details.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT SAKUJI TANAKA

 

I wish to thank RI Director José Antonio F. Antiório and Rotarians in District 4430 in Brazil for organizing the São Paulo Rotary Peace Forum, which I attended the morning of Rotary’s 108th anniversary. In the evening I attended a highly successful Interdistrict Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Accompanying me on a visit to the Paul Harris statue in Buenos Aires are (from left) District Governor-elect Juan Carlos Rey (D-4890), District Governor-elect Gustavo Verta (D-4855), Past RI President Luis Vicente Giay, Director-elect Celia Cruz de Giay, and District Governor-elect Carlos Pristipino (D-4940).

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Parrot Part 2

Jerry received a parrot for his birthday.

The parrot was fully-grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren’t expletives were, to say the least very rude.

Jerry tried hard to change the bird’s attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, anything he could think of to try and set a good example. Nothing worked.

He yelled at the bird and the bird yelled back. He shook the bird and the bird just got angrier and became even more rude. Finally in a moment of desperation. Jerry put the parrot in the FREEZER.

For a few moments he heard the bird squawk and kick and scream. Then suddenly, there was a quiet—–

-Not a sound for half a minute. Jerry was frightened that he might have hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.

The Parrot calmly stepped out onto Jerry’s extended arm and said: “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I will endeavor at once to correct my behavior. I really am truly sorry and beg your forgiveness.”

Jerry was astonished at the bird’s change in attitude and was about to ask what had made the difference and caused such a dramatic change when the parrot continued: “May I ask what the chicken did???”

In the Genes

A man and his wife were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The wife says to her husband, “For our anniversary this year, you can ask me one question, any question you want to. I will answer it truthfully.”

The husband replies, “Okay, this has been bothering me for a long time, but I haven’t had the courage to ask before…but I have noticed that all of our eight children look similar to one another except one. I can’t figure out how he got to look so different. Did he have a different father than the rest?”

The wife stops. She is unable to look her husband in the eyes. Slowly she replies, “yes. Yes he did have a different father.” Her husband was taken aback. “Oh! Okay…I must know. Please tell me. Who was that child’s father?” Again she cannot look her husband in the eyes. She is very distressed, and after a long silence she slowly said, “YOU.”

ROTARY INFORMATION

Below is a link to the whole proposed items up for discussion in April:

Council on Legislation

Here is one proposed change to the Constitution:

PROPOSED ENACTMENT 13-36

To provide that clubs shall meet at least twice per month

Proposed by the Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew, New York, USA and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Sunrise, ON, Canada and the Rotary Club of Waterdown, ON, Canada

Endorsed by the Conference of District 7090, Niagara Falls, New York, USA October 2011

IT IS ENACTED by Rotary International that the STANDARD ROTARY CLUB CONSTITUTION be and hereby is amended as follows (page 244 MOP)

Article 6 Meetings 5 Section 1 — Regular Meetings.

(a) Day and Time. This club shall hold a regular meeting once each week regular  meetings at least twice per calendar month on the days and at the time(s) provided in the bylaws.

 

It will not get up!

 

BUCKET LIST

The Masai Mara in Kenya one of the wonders of the world and do it in a balloon.

Places to stay in the Masai Mara.

 

CAUSES WORTH SUPPORTING

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.

 

We are having a member’s talk tonight and it will feature John Glassford and his life in Kenya. Roger Whittaker is a Kenyan and he can sure whistle.

 

We are going back to Kenya in 2015 to climb Mount Kenya fro 4 beneficiaries including Legacy, RSA New Zealand, Mathare orphans and Coolamon House in Cape Town.   See:

Mount Kenya 2015

On 23 February we celebrate Rotary’s 108th anniversary. Please take a moment to reflect on our organization’s tremendous accomplishments over the years and on that winter day in Chicago in 1905 when Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey, and Paul Harris made history by participating in the first Rotary club meeting.

Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey, and Paul Harris

 

After two years of working with the Future Vision Global Grant for Nairobi, we are certainly aware that change and sustainability are important concepts to Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. We are still in the process of this Global Grant and here is a good video on what RI is implementing through our Foundation with Global Grants. It will also give you an insight as to why sustainability is the key to the new grant structure under Future Vision.

What Is Sustainability? (EN) from Rotary International on Vimeo.

Coolamon Rotary News Bulletin #25

FEBRUARY IS ROTARY WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH.

Above: Dick Jennings and Mark Reardon selling tickets.

This week we ran a street raffle in Coolamon and raised around $380.00 a good result for a Saturday morning.  We also had our weekly meeting which was our monthly planning and board meeting.  Many items and projects discussed and we enjoyed home made pizzas by our President Paul Weston, great tucker mate!

Volunteers came forward to support Blaze Aid with offers to help with fencing around Tarcutta following the very recent bush fires in that area.  We discussed holding a follow up dinner/finger food meeting to keep the Shop Locally Campaign in the eyes of the local community.  We felt that this meeting should be a financial one based on talks from a bank, a financial consultant and a credit union.

We approved the Coolamon Grand Designs open houses for Easter Saturday which is now a Coolamon Rotary club project with the proceeds of the tours to go to the Coolamon Mens’ Shed (a Rotary Coolamon initiative).

Colin Paterson a well known and long term resident of Coolamon will be our guest speaker on this Monday night.  Members are invited to bring a guest along to hear about Colin’s life in Coolamon.

 

SATURDAY STREET RAFFLE

 

 

ROTARY PEACE SUNDAY 

17th. FEBRUARY 2013

A reminder to all that this Sunday is Wagga Rotary Peace Sunday and the award presentation to those who have made significant contributions to Peace and Harmony in our community will be recognised.

The ceremony in the Victory Memorial Gardens commences at 11 am and will last approx. 1 hour

Wagga Wagga was the first declared Rotary Peace City in the world.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE LEETON APRIL 19-21.

Book now for the District Conference in Leeton this year,

The Rotary Clubs of Leeton and Leeton Central cordially invite you to attend the Annual Conference to be held in Leeton from Friday 19th April to Sunday 21st April, 2013.

The town of Leeton was the first town built as part of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Today it is a showcase of contemporary rural Australia with its diverse agricultural and horticultural industries, value added processing plants and yet it is still renowned for its country hospitality. Leeton will also celebrate its art deco heritage with the bi-annual Art Deco Festival being held on the same weekend as the Rotary District Conference.

The Roxy Theatre is located in the main street of Leeton so there is ready access to cafes and shops if you need a break. Art Deco Festival markets and other activities will also be happening in the park directly opposite the theatre during the weekend.

An interesting range of Keynote Speakers have agreed to speak at the conference.

Former Deputy Prime Minister The Hon Tim Fischer AC will talk about “From the Riverina to Rome: Diplomacy & Peace”. Army Major Matina Jewell will present about her time as a UN Peace Observer in Lebanon in 2006. Dr James Masson will show us the work he does as part of an Interplast medical Team and Kim Savill will show the great work of the school of St Jude in Tanzania.

Art Deco Conference Dinner Dance – Saturday Evening, April 20, 2013

The Conference Dinner Dance on Saturday evening will be held at the Leeton Soldiers’ Club commencing at 6.30pm for 7.00pm. Dress will be art deco era and we will expect to see lots of feathers and beads to help celebrate this important local heritage. There will be a great band for music and dancing and official duties will be kept to a minimum to allow for fun and fellowship.

PRESIDENT PAUL WESTON’S REPORT

President’s report

We’re back into the swing of Rotary for 2013, having had our first official board meeting this week.  Although the meeting went longer than many had planned, we covered lots of ground and laid out the framework for many of the programs to be run before our next changeover.  The most significant, in my view, is a follow-up planned for our meetings with local business owners and operators.  Two events are planned: a financial workshop involving some local banking representatives and a financial planner.  Henk and Leslie will be taking the lead on organising the event.  The other follow-up is a purely social event with the business community, intended to be held soon now that nearly everyone is back from holidays.  The sense among those involved with these programs is that we will have done about as much as we can for promoting the Shop Locally campaign: signs will soon be hanging again in Coolamon, Ganmain and Marrar, we will have brought the small business owners and operators together and provided professional guidance in matters of greatest importance, if not perceived need (advertising and financing), and promoted fellowship.  After the final planned events in this series (the financing workshop and the social event), the ball will be in the hands of the business community.

Another vital issue discussed at our board meeting is membership.  While a number of our programs have raised our profile in the community indirectly, we need to continue to take a more active approach to soliciting members.  We agreed that personal contact with prospective members is the most effective way to garner new members, so committed ourselves to speak to at least one prospective new member in the coming weeks.  An invitation to one of our meetings is probably the best avenue of exposure, so consider inviting someone to one of our upcoming speaker meetings.

For a small club, we’re quite active and strong.  Let’s build on that and become a great Rotary club.

Yours in Rotary,

Paul

 

 

DIARY REMINDERS

 

Thursday 14th February VALENTINES DAY BINGO rostered on are: Neil Munro, Garth Perkin (for Christine Atkinson), Dick Jennings & John Glassford (for Rod Jarrett).

Sunday 17th February Rotary PEACE Sunday in Wagga Wagga 11 am Victory Memorial Gardens.

*Monday 18th February Guest Speaker Colin Paterson from Coolamon with Gilbert catering.

Saturday February 23rd and Sunday February 24th PETS at Young. (President Elect Training).

*Monday 25th February Club Member Night John Glassford “Into and Out of Africa My Story.”  Club catering

*Monday March 4th David Jenkins Guest Speaker Gilbert catering.

Monday 11th March Business and Board Meeting Club catering.

*Monday 18th March Guest Speaker Ross Sinclair Gilbert catering.

*Monday 25th March Club Member Night Henk Hulsman.  Club catering.

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April 2013   D9700 Conference Leeton.

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.

**West Wyalong Fellowship Night**

You are invited to a night of inspirational Rotary fellowship Wednesday 6 March 2013
7.00 for 7.30pm at the West Wyalong S&C Sports Club,  Tallimba Rd.

Cost per head – $40 which includes a drink and dinner (Two courses main & dessert)

Guest Speakers are two inspirational former RI directors Stuart Heal and Tom Thorfinnson.

Click here for details.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT SAKUJI TANAKA

 

Please encourage the young people in your community to become involved in our New Generations programs. Find creative ways to promote Rotary and to interest them in our humanitarian mission.  Please share this on your Facebook page.

 

http://www.facebook.com/interactofficial

 

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

 

A Cranky Husband:

An elderly lady went to the supermarket, she stole 1 tin of pears, she was caught and had to go to court.

The magistrate said “How many pears were in the tin?” the elderly lady replied “6” magistrate replied “Well you can do 6 weeks in jail.”

The husband of the elderly lady stood up and stated ” She also stole a can of peas!”

The Earring:

A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring. This man knows his co-worker to be a somewhat conservative fellow, so naturally he’s curious about the sudden change in fashion sense. The man walks up to his co-worker and says, “I didn’t know you were into earrings.”

“Don’t make such a big deal, it’s only an earring,” he replies sheepishly.

“Well, I’m curious,” begged the man, “how long have you been wearing an earring?”

“Er, ever since my wife found it in our bed.”

The Parrot

An old man was sitting on a bus. A young woman sat down beside him. She had spiked hair in all different colours: green, red, orange, blue and yellow. The old man Just stared. Every time the young woman looked, the old man was staring. The young woman finally said sarcastically, “What’s the matter old timer, never done anything wild in your life?” Without batting an eye, the old man replied, “Got drunk once and had an affair with a parrot. I was just wondering if you were my daughter”.

 

 

ROTARY INFORMATION

Rotarian circles Australia in a dinghy for polio eradication

Many Rotarians have gone to extremes to raise money for Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge.

But Australian Rotarian Robert Pennicott set a record with his fundraising venture. Pennicott, fellow Tasmanian Mick Souter, and cameraman Zorro Gamarnik became the first people to circumnavigate Australia in boats powered by outboard motors.

Pennicott, a member of the Rotary Club of Kingston, and Souter piloted two 17-foot-long inflatable dinghies, propelled by twin 60-horsepower engines, on the 12,000-mile journey around the Australian continent (including the island state of Tasmania). They began in Sydney on 2 June and arrived back on 11 September.

Rob, Mick and Zorro completed their circumnavigation of Australia on Sunday 11th September, 2011.

Their circumnavigation took 101 days and has raised over $285,000 to date.

 

FULL STORY

This is why we fight polio which is still endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

 

A victim of polio we saw in Kampala in 2011.

 

BUCKET LIST THE SEYCHELLES EAST AFRICA

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.

 

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the Rotary Global Peace Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii. This program was broadcasted on ‘Olelo Community Media.