June: Rotary Fellowships
Rotary Club of Ocean Grove Meeting: 10th June 2014
Roster for Meetings @ 18 The Terrace, Ocean Grove, 6pm for 6.30pm start:
17th June
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Activity
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Club Assembly
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Chairperson
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John Paton
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Greeter & Assist Sergeant
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Gerry Spencer
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Assist Cashier & Thanker
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Peter Cullen
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Weekly Raffle
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Geoff Ford
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3 on Me
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Martin Geerings
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Rotary Induction Anniversary
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Peter Cullen - 18 yrs
James Ricchini - 5 years
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24th June
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Activity
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Changeover Dinner
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Chairperson
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Rod Birrell
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Greeter
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Gil Morgan
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Assist Cashier
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Alex Magee
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1st July
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Activity
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TBC
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Chairperson
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Graeme Chamberlain
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Greeter & Assist Sergeant
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Coral Barker
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Assist Cashier & Thanker
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John Fox
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Weekly Raffle
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Wal Kelly
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3 on Me
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Richard Clay
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Birthdays
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1st - Rod Greer
7th - Tony Haines
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Report of meeting 10th June 2014
- Congratulations go to Ann Hodgkinson on being awarded a PHF in recognition of her outstanding service to Rotary and in particular Youth Services since her induction in 2010. Ann joins the union of thousands of Rotarians invested in making this world a much better place.
- Gordon & Marion attended 2014 Rotary International Convention in Sydney from 1-4 June. He found it quite inspiring and informative with stimulating speakers, great entertainment, updates on Rotary projects, discussion on membership and the importance of the Rotary Foundation. 18,500 Rotarians & partners attended this event from 130 countries. Next year's conference will be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, then Seoul in 2016, then Atlanta the following year. Gordon strongly recommends Rotarians plan on attending an International Convention, especially incoming presidents.
- The placement and re-erection of the water feature is still at a standstill, with no response as yet from CoGG.
- Volunteers are needed to give 2hours of their time to man the gates at the Geelong West Football Club on 29th June, from 10am - 4pm. Let Peter Cullen know if you can help.
- Community committee meeting next Tuesday night.
- Helen & Craig Salmon have been informed that the funding for the Solemaid Community School has been approved and will be used to sponsor 6 students at $300/student. This will provide tuition, uniform, books & requisites for one year.
- 3 students were interviewed for the National Youth Science Forum, with 1 student to be nominated for District level selection.
- Art show application forms will be available in July, with entries closing 30th September. All raffle prizes & Art prizes are in place.
- Good publicity in the Voice on recent Rotary projects & speakers. Continue to provide Margaret with information that she can use to pass on for publication.
- Club Assembly next week - committee leaders to have reports ready on the night.
- Winner for the Footy Tipping last week was Adrian Schmidt, Geoff Chandler still the over leader.
Guest Speaker: Les Pecheurs, Madagascar – Kevin & Ann Fuller
Firstly some facts about the country:
Population; 23,201,926
Age structure: 0-14yrs 40.7%, 15-24yrs 20.6%, 25-54yrs 31.3%, 55-64yrs 3.2%, 65+ yrs 3.1%
Capital City: Antananarivo
Agriculture: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava, beans, bananas, peanuts, livestock products.
Industries: meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism % of population below the poverty line: approx. 50%.
Kevin was confronted with the poverty and primitive conditions of the vast majority of Madagascans when he visited years ago, and decided that if he could, he would go back there and try and make a difference. In 2013 he and Ann started a humanitarian aid program called Les Pecheurs (the fishermen), with the aim to teaching the people business creation skills so that they can start looking after themselves better and improve their quality of life. They operate from a small office and conduct training sessions, where the participants learn the skills that any businessperson needs to know to run a business. At the end they graduate with a certificate to acknowledge the skills learnt. They have also adopted a regional village and in doing so work with the local people and the government to improve conditions - water, health, education, economy and community welfare. Their aim is to make this a model village that others may follow.
Kevin is flying back next week to continue this vital work and he obviously has a deep sense of admiration and concern for the people of Madagascar.
Jill G
