www.rotaryoceangrove.blogspot.com
Volume 26 No 9
August 28, 2007
Rotary's Geoff Brentnall completes the recent foreshore tree planting by watering the new plants.
Notice for the meeting at the Ocean Grove Hotel, Tuesday 4th September, 6.30 for 7.00
This is a partner’ night and you are presumed to attend, with partner, unless you apologise, by noon Friday.
Resuming Presidential Duties President Alison
Chairman/ entrepreneur/ fun manager/ and activities arranger Coral Barker
Assistant Cashier Alex Magee Greeter & Assistant Sergeant Trevor McArdle.
Anniversary 8th Martin & Anne Geerings [To which can be added the following notable events – The unveiling, in 1504, at Florence, of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David, which took three years to complete; the establishment of the first European settlement in North America at St. Augustine in what is now Florida, 1565; and the crowning of William IV as King of Great Britain in 1831.
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Notice for the meeting at the Ocean Grove Hotel, Tuesday 11th September, 6.00 for 6.30
Subject Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory Speaker Max Henry
Chairman John Wynn
Assistant Cashier & Thanker Bob Osbourne Greeter & Assistant Sergeant Dennis Sanders
Birthdays & Anniversaries
11th Charles & Lois Dawborn [and on this day in 2001, the world stood still, as two planes hijacked by terrorists flew into the World Trade Centre buildings in New York. An hour after the crash, both buildings collapsed. A third plane flew into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people died in those attacks, and thousands more were injured.].
12th Fred Andrews [also Henry Hudson -the explorer 1570, Jesse Owens 1913, and Rachel Ward, 1957].
13th Noel Emselle [also Roald Dahl 1916, Jacqueline Bisset 1944, and Shane Warne 1969].
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“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” Groucho Marx.
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Can I transfer my Rotary club membership when I move to a new community?
Your Rotary club membership does not transfer between clubs, and your admission into a new club is not guaranteed. A Rotary club in your new location must invite you to become a member. Therefore, you should contact a club in the area before you actually move.
A ‘Rotarian Relocation’ form goes to your club secretary, [try www.rotary.org/membership/development], who can send it to clubs in your new area. Consider obtaining a letter of good standing from your club president to give to the club you want to join.
Finally, remember that before you can be officially admitted to a new club, your current Rotary club must remove you from its membership list. The point being that you cannot be a member of two clubs at the same time.
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Definitions HANDKERCHIEF Cold storage.
INFLATION Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MOSQUITO An insect that makes you like flies better. RAISIN A grape with a sunburn.
SECRET Something you tell to one person at a time. TOOTHACHE The pain that drives you to extraction.
TOMORROW One of the greatest labor saving devices. YAWN An honest opinion, openly expressed.
PresAl should be back next week
Our esteemed President Alison should arrive home from Glasgow on the last day of winter, and, if you are reading this when you are supposed to, she will be at Hazel Thomlinson’s B & B at Stanwix, Carlisle today.
I will try another e-mail.
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New recognition program focuses on small-club growth
The RI Board recently adopted the ‘Recognition for Smaller Club Membership Growth’, a certificate program designed to increase the size of the 25% of clubs with fewer than 20 members.
District governors have received a list of clubs in their district and will be able to identify clubs with memberships under 20. They should be working with these small clubs to establish membership goals and action plans for the year.
“although many small clubs are carrying out outstanding projects in their community, they aren’t able to achieve the four elements of an effective club”, says Juan Pedro Torroba, vice chair of RI’s Membership Development and Retention Committee. 40% of clubs have 25 members or less.
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Caveat Emptor
Andrew Conlan [WHK Day Neilson], was our fluent and knowledgable guest speaker tonight. Born in Ballan, educ. Ballarat, Coopers & Lybrand [London] for three years, stint with the ATO, public accounting, financial planning, AFL player management, banker. A pretty broad and professional career!
‘Subprime Contagion’ is basically a nasty mortgage lending situation which only the Yanks could dream up, but it sure caused a hiccup on the international stock exchanges recently. If you lend to borrowers with no income, no jobs and no assets, the destiny of your money is fairly predictable. To Andrew’s great credit, he didn’t dwell on that Yankee stupidity.
Mortgage bundles trading, CDO pricing, gullible local government enticement into dubious fixed interest investments were only some of the pitfalls of the financial community, but the general outlook is positive! The market indicator is presently about 6100, but Andrew’s Adelaide-based financial research gurus predict 6700 by the end of 2007.
India & China, with more than half the world’s population, each with a large and growing ‘middle class’, are outstripping the rest of the planet in terms of real growth. In answer to the inevitable question on what stocks to buy, Andrew had no hesitation in recommending bank stocks. The market may perceive infrastructure stocks as an alternative to fixed interest. As I said at the heading, “Let the buyer beware!”
**********************************Notice Board
• 10 members planted 50 trees at the south end of Presidents Avenue last Saturday AM. JC reckoned 500.
• Megan Bainbridge may be our candidate for an Ambassadorial Scholarship. So saith Geoffrey B.
• In chairman Tim Kemp’s absence, at least 20 0f the 40 members present thought that DIK was a great and potentially successful project, but only twice each year.
• Marg. Campbell has some great programs lined up, but will always be grateful for your suggestions.
• Last call from Noel Emselle for nominations for ‘Pride of Workmanship’ awards.
• Richard Grimmett, with 7/8, won the footy tipping award. The bloody ‘Cats’ cost him a clean sweep.
• The overwhelming preference of our members with regard to meeting arrangements is to preserve the ‘status quo’. Dinner meeting on a Tuesday evening.
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Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection? And while you are pondering that, if people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
