Wednesday, March 23

VOL 28 NO. 38

23rd March, 2011

 

Notice for the meeting at Club Grove, Tuesday, 29th March, 6.00 for 6.30

Subject       Australian Future Fibre Research institute.        Speaker        David Pardoe

Chairman          Geoff Brentnall

Assistant Cashier & Thanker     Geoffrey Cummins     Greeter & Assistant Sergeant   Phil Edwards

Birthdays & Anniersaries      30th  Coral Barker      2nd April      Geoffrey & Ingrid Cummins

 

Notice for the meeting at Club Grove, Tuesday, 5th April, 6.00 for 6.30

Subject        MS Australia Megaswim          Speaker       Mark Sims      Chairman      John Paton

Assistant Cashier & Thanker        John Dodgshun     Greeter & Assistant Sergeant    Hans Franken

Birthdays & Anniversaries    8th  Martin Geerings   9th   John Calnin, Vic Harnath,  Gordon King

10th  Peter & Jo Hawthorne

 

Club reports from last night

The Ballarat Conference

The 2013 District Conference Chairman Gary Golding reported that the official conference attendance in Ballarat was 416, including, at a guess, 250 for the opening session on Friday evening. Your editor suggests that out of the total of 416, perhaps 250 were Rotarians, and the rest would be spouses. Gary, a Rotary conference first-timer, reported his enthusiasm for the Friday and Saturday sessions, but not Sunday.

Another OG attendee reported privately that the mob from our club, like all Saturday evening dinner-goers, got seated by 7.00 PM, and got well fed with good food but with such slow service, that the sweets didn't arrive until 10.30, by which time, many diners had gone to bed. I like sweets, but if I had been seated for dinner over a span of 3.5 hours, I would have been less than gruntled! The 2012 District conference will be held in Waarnambool.

Our club was presented with the 'Preserve Planet Earth Award', for our association with the Surfside Primary School garden project.

Committee reports

Standard procedure for this time of the year was the shortage of reports, but Ian Downing became the exception to the rule, and advised that a delegation of four will inspect the Queenscliff Town Hall next Mondayfor the Art Show.

Bob Osbourne made an interesting announcement by reporting that 31 Probus Clubs have 'folded', due mainly,[in Bob's opinion] to the reluctance of Probus members to take the responsibility of office, such as President, Secretary or Treasurer. The 31 'goners' have been at least partly offset by 20 new Probus clubs.
Two volunteers are required for the collection of books for the district Literacy programme.
John Calnin seeks volunteers, at $90 pp, to provide duties at next Saturday's 'Otway Cycling Classic'.
'No-shows' are again becoming a problem for our club with members failing to lodge apologies for Club Grove dinner meetings. If you don't attend, and haven't apologised by noon Monday, we have to pay the $20. Frankly, I don't see the problem. If you are one of the recalcitrants, you should have to pay. No exceptions!!
Red Cross Calling coordinator Peter Hawthorne can't be at next Tuesday's meeting, and asks all collection material to be handed instead to Geoff Ford.

 

If you are not 50 plus, you may not understand this

The local radio station was interviewing an 85-year-old lady because she had just married for the fourth time. The interviewer asked her questions about her life, and what it felt like to be marrying again at 85, and asked about her new husband's occupation.

"He's a funeral director", she answered.

The newsman thought that interesting and asked her about her first three husbands and what they did for a living.

She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all those years. After a short time, a smile came to her face and she answered proudly, explaining that she first married a banker when she was in her early 20's, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40's, a preacher when in her 60's and now, in her 80's, the funeral director.

The interviewer looked at her in astonishment and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers.

She smiled and patiently explained, "I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go."

 

How to become a FROG         [Friends of Rotary Ocean Grove]

RI Director Stuart Heal introduced this concept at the conference, calling on us to Connect, Share, Identify [the three pillars] He wants us to shift our focus from attendance to 'engagement'. [Personally, I think that the latter flows from the former- Service activities start with good fellowship].

 

RI took the initiative in this new programme by introducing the 2011-14 Associate Member Pilot Program,

but President Noel has prepared, introduced and now launched FROGat last night's meeting.

He is to be highly commended for the considerable time and effort he put in to an excellent power point presentation last night, and has 'shown the way' by inviting 17 prospective associate members to a 7am breakfast on Wednesday 6th April. You all know the details from that and earlier announcements, but it attracted numerous comments from our members, and few adverse comments.

It was significant, and timely, that one member suggested it will be a challenge for us to get out of our comfort zone, and another member warned of the danger of perhaps introducing an 'associate' club rather than aiming straight at full Rotary club membership from the start.

You are probably sick of my frequent editorials, but no-one writes 'letters to the editor' so I have to resort to my own views on the direction in which Rotary appears to be heading.

 

Is it such a terrible thing that the average age of Rotarians is increasing? During my time in Rotary, life expectancy tables have blown out by at least 15 years.
Reflect on our major office bearers and constant workers. Are they not all retired from their vocations? And are they not performing to expectations?
We seek younger members, and there is nothing wrong with that, but what is the current position with young peoples' service clubs? When I joined Rotary, membership of Apex or Jaycees was a more logical move for a 'service oriented' male in his twenties. Both those organizations have disappearedHow about the offshoots of Rotary – RYLA & RYPEN? How many clubs are there on the Bellarine peninsula?.
Rotary is probably too expensive, particularly for young people with family and work commitments. If Rotary doesn't cost you at least $1,500 p.a., you are not complying with minimum attendance requirements.

 

Noel's initiative is very well thought out and constructed. It deserves our support. But Rotary survives very well, utilising the skills and experience of retired business and professional men and women. By the end of your life, you may have been retired from your vocation for twenty years. By the end of this century, that gap may have become 40 years. What are today's new-borns going to do with that 40 years? If they join Rotary too soon, they may be clapped out too soon – like me!!

 

Our last market for the season is 3rd April

Gate people will be announced next week, but PP Colin Brown, PHFhas announced the following parkers to start at hourly intervals, commencing 0830 – Colin Brown, Geoff Brentnall, Hans Franken.

 

The farmer allows walkers to cross his field, free, but the bull charges

 

John Fox

23/03/11