Students plant native trees

There is no limit to the lengths to which some people will go to prepare themselves for their year in office as a District Governor.

District 9550 Governor Elect Allan Church and his devoted partner Pat recently completed a memorable trek along the Inca Trail in Peru, South America – some 82km long and rising from 2200 to 4200m in altitude.  The trek took four days across some steep and rugged terrain.

It was a real test of stamina and Allan and Pat were delighted to have the company of friends from Townsville accompany them in fellow Townsville Sunrise Rotarian Paul Ryan and Tony Hengst and his 17-year-old son, Josh.

Water summit

Clarissa Brocklehurst, Chief of Water and Sanitation at UNICEF, will be one of the star attractions at the third annual World Water Summit on June 19, in Montreal, Canada – immediately prior to the 2010 RI Convention.

Over 6,000 people die from water related illnesses EVERY DAY and a further 2.6 million from the impact of no sanitation. Water related diseases provide the greatest health concern in the world today.  The summit will be held in downtown Montreal and interested Rotarians should go to the Wasrag and RI websites: http://www.wasrag.org or http://rotary.org/en/Members/Events/Convention

Springwood’s 25 years

Twenty-five years has not dimmed the enthusiasm of charter members of the Rotary Club of Springwood, Alan Cameron, Fred Thompson and Tony Hammond, and all spoke with pride of memorable events in the club’s history at a celebratory dinner on December 7 last.

Charter President Gerry Taylor was also present at the dinner and joined the illustrious trio in recounting ‘tall tales but true’ from an excellent record of community service.

Club President Peter Sparkes was chairman for the evening and outlined some of the memorable achievements in the club’s history. District Governor Paul Reid and his wife Julia headed an impressive guest list of past and current members and District 9690 senior leaders, including Past Governor Richard White and his wife Robyn who presided over the original charter of the club in 1984.

Membership conference

One vital date for Rotary diaries in the 2010/11 Rotary year is July 24/25 – the next national Membership and Public Relations Conference in Australia.

RI Regional Membership Coordinator Rob Wylie advised recently that the July dates were locked in place to avoid conflict with other major events at that time, including the annual Director’s Briefing Weekends in Australia and New Zealand for Governors Elect.

TRF boxes back!

After an absence of two years, the popular Rotary Foundation Moneybox is back – thanks to the generosity of TRF Major Donor, PDG Ron Geary of the Rotary Club of Belmont, WA.

Manager, The Rotary Foundation, South Pacific & Philippines Office, PDG Bruce Allen, announced in December that, as a result of the donation, the Parramatta office was now in a position to supply Rotary clubs planning to use the money boxes to get the concept of ‘Every Rotarian Every Year’ off the ground.

“The money boxes are available on request – free of charge – from the RI Parramatta office and they provide direct and simple means for clubs to encourage their members to join The Rotary Foundation Centurion or Sustaining Member programs.  As little as $2 or $3 per week – a couple of gold coins – will cover the required commitment and spread Rotary’s humanitarian services even further.

“If every Rotarian in New Zealand and Australia gave the equivalent of $100 a year, TRF would generate more than US$4 million in annual giving!” he said.

Boost for learning

Learning new words is fun for youngsters at Addington Sacred Heart School, NZ, after the Rotary Club of Christchurch West presented them with 45 pictorial dictionaries. A book was given to every Year 5 and Year 6 pupil.

Project coordinator Dave Burford said the club also donated dictionaries to children at West Spreydon School – and other schools are now being included in the program.

Sacred Heart School principal Trish Sleeman said the school was delighted to receive such support and described the dictionaries as “a wonderful resource”.

PR funds for Districts

RI Public Relations Zone 8 Coordinator, PDG Dick Garner, announced late last year that 15 Australian based Districts have been successful with RI Public Relations Grant applications from 2009/2010 allocations. The Districts will add their own District funds to a total of US$118,226 for public relations projects ranging from promotional billboards to radio, television and other media advertising.

In a new move this year, RI has agreed Districts within Australia can pool part of their PR Grant funding to achieve more effective outcomes – regionally and nationally.

PDG Dick is now encouraging DGsE for 2010/2011 to allocate a portion of their PR grants to a joint Australian campaign – similar to that conducted for several years by their New Zealand neighbours. He sees such a project as a constructive way to maximise the benefit of US$220,000 available from RI to Rotary in Australia and significantly lift Rotary’s national profile.

In a similar cooperative public relations project, PDG Dick has organised a reprint of the popular Australian version of the People Like You and Me promotional brochure. This is a generic Rotary brochure suitable for use in all parts of Australia and can be ordered through District PR chairmen – or direct from Dick Garner by email (richard_garner@optusnet.com.au) or telephone 03 9530 8805.

Clean up Australia

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Clean Up Australia Day and organisers are planning to make the event the best ever!

Clean Up Australia Day is scheduled for Sunday, March 7; Business Clean Up Day is Tuesday, March 2 and Schools Clean Up Day is Friday, March 5.

Michelle Grogan is Project Officer – Community Partnerships for Clean Up Australia Ltd and has urged all interested community organisations – especially Rotary clubs – to develop a relationship with the organisation and register to be a part of the 2010 anniversary clean-up. 

More information is available from Michelle, who can be contacted by email at michelle@cleanup.com.au or by accessing the Clean Up Australia Day web site on http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Partnership/allies.html.

Michelle said the 2010 campaign will focus on inspiring individuals, businesses and schools to join the “Just 1” campaign.

“Last year we picked up over two million pieces of rubbish.  If every Australian picked up just ONE piece of rubbish this year, we’ll collect ten times more than last year – 20 million pieces of rubbish,” she explained.  

Innisfail to the rescue
The Rotary Club of Innisfail, Qld, came to the rescue of the annual Innisfail Harvest Festival last October when the popular event was struggling through lack of funding and willing organisers.

The Rotary Club of Fitzgerald Innisfail’s Sam Pagano and Brothers Leagues Club’s John Beare joined forces to mount a very successful 2009 festival in just three months.  The Rotary Club of Innisfail took up the challenge of organising the spectacular street parade and was delighted with the show of support from the general public at the first community meeting.  The Innisfail Harvest Festival is the longest running festival in Queensland and it was obvious that the community wanted the event to continue.

Sam and John’s tireless efforts were rewarded when 3,500 people enjoyed the parade on October 10, along with a huge variety of games, rides, food stalls and entertainment attractions – culminating in a spectacular fireworks display. More than 50 vehicles and floats took part in the colourful parade.

Plans are already underway to make the 2010 event bigger and better!