This is my first message for this year of my Presidency of The Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise.
First up let me congratulate our outgoing President Doug Lipp. Doug did a terrific job of guiding the club over the past year. His leadership and dedication were greatly appreciated by all. If I can achieve half of what Doug did I will be well pleased.
Our Changeover Luncheon was held at the sensational Braeside Estate on the 16 June and we had an excellent turnout of some 40-odd members, partners and VIPs. They included our incoming District Governor Lisa Hunt and her husband Gareth, as well as Angie Bell, our local Federal Member for Moncrieff. A wonderful day was had by all. Special thanks go to Graeme Isaacson for the wonderful job he did in organising the event and to Trent Belling, MC extraordinaire.
Congratulations to all who won awards on the day, especially Geoff Croad, who was awarded Rotarian of the Year.
I will be speaking to our members at our club meeting on Wednesday 10 July about the things I would like to see happen in the coming year, so I will not go into that until I have spoken with them.
I am looking forward to the new year and working with a Board full of exceptional individuals. We have three brand new Board members, Evan Mita (who will assist Angus Miller) in Membership, Elizabeth Celi who is our new Rotary Foundation Chair and Thomas Robinson as Youth Services Chair. I have also created a new Board position, Welfare, and that will be chaired by Graeme Isaacson.
Talk again next week, remember ‘Do as you fear most’.
At last Sunday's District Changeover, Surfers Sunrise, together with the two other participating Rotary clubs of Broadbeach and Gold Coast, were jointly declared winners of the most prestigious District Award, the Significant Achievement Award. The three clubs that were instrumental in the implementation of an X-Ray Unit at Mauna Health Centre on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu.
This project started in 2019, but then COVID caused serious disruption, ultimately completed towards the end of last year. More details to follow shortly. Meanwhile, you can download our club's Changeover Report (in the Download Section on the right), where you will find an excellent report of this project, written by Mario Fairlie.
Photo (by Andy Bell): Immediate Past President Doug Lipp (centre), accepting the award on behalf of our club.
At last Sunday's District Changeover, our Immediate Past President Doug Lipp was presented with a special award, in recognition of his services as District 9640 Treasurer (for 6 years) and District 9640 Finance Chairman (for 7 years).
Congratulations, Doug! You deserve a BIG pat on the back!
We never tire to listen to our incoming President Andy Bell. Last Wednesday, as our scheduled guest speaker from the Pancare Foundation was unable to make it (again), Andy jumped into the breach and regaled us with amusing stories from his early days in the New Zealand Police Force, in 1969.. "In those days, there were height and weight limits applied. I was a skinny bloke, weighing 10 1/2 stone (too light), with a chest circumference of 34" (too small). Then we got to pick up our uniform. Nothing fitted..." In short, Andy ended up (in civilian clothes) as an Undercover Cop. So, here goes...
What do you call a Policeman in bed? An undercover cop....[ok, I know, I'm asking for it... ☺ Ed.]. But that is exactly what it would appear Andy's job was. He got his first assignment to go undercover, with a princely expense allowance of $50 and a direct phone number to the head of the Drug Squad. Assignment: to crack a major drug importing gang. But we are getting ahead of the story: Andy, at the time a uniformed policeman, had a small problem to go undercover: his hair was cut short, in typical policeman's style. But, in the late sixties and early seventies depicted you to be either Army or Police. Unless... Andy gave himself out to have deserted from the British Army. (The problem soon fixed itself - see photo!) Adopting the name of Adrian McKellar (always ensure your first name initial is the same as your real name!), he had found himself at the Waterloo Hotel, where he managed to attract serious interest from a barmaid, who worked at the pub that was suspected to be a major hub of the trade. That then led to attracting the head lady of the organization named Jennifer Ann Wilkinson, who "appropriated" him entirely for herself... Nicknamed 'The Hiker', his initial deployment within the gang was to shoplift "to order". Yup, place your order for whatever you want, and Andy's gang would procure it. Earnings: about $1,200 a trip - in 1971 (wages were about $90.00 a week then).
Not long after Andy graduated to distributing 'Buddha Sticks'. They were imported in 44 Gallon Drums, dumped outside the harbour from the importing ship and picked up by small vessels. His cut: $1 per stick- which earned him a cool $30,000 a year when his annual salary was about $10,000! Ultimately, Andy got the entire gang arrested...
There is much more to the story! Andy has written a book about it: 'Adrenalin Rush - The Adventures of an Undercover Cop'. (it used to be available on Amazon, but checking just now, it is "temporarily out of stock'). If you ask nicely, Andy might be able to procure you a copy.
The inaugural School Sports Australia Games are coming to the Gold Coast from 25th July to 3rd August, and they are actively seeking passionate volunteers to help as Event Crew. UniSport Australia and School Sport Australia are bringing together approx. 2000 school student-athletes to compete in 6 sports. You will receive numerous perks, including a volunteer uniform, meals during your shifts, an official certificate of appreciation and participation in our volunteer engagement activities. Additionally, you'll have the chance to forge new friendships, network with sports enthusiasts and professionals, and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Almost 26 years ago, our wheelchair project hit national TV, with Channel 9's 'A Current Affair' broadcasting a major segment about our project and the delivery of the first 10 wheelchairs to Fiji. As a result of it, Australia opened its purses and donated sufficient money to allow us to setup a proper factory.
We had sufficient funds to also make a loan of $100,000 to the Rotary Club of Scarborough in Perth to start their own project. (They have repaid us a long time ago!) Isn't it great to see that the 'Wheelchairs for Kids' project in WA has flourished and gone gangbusters to reach a remarkable milestone of 60,000 wheelchairs shipped? Well, fellows, in the words of the famous Australian poet C J Dennis: "I dips me lid". Congratulations from Surfers Sunrise!
Duty Roster - note: subject to change - please check every week. Note: Fellowship duty also is expected to be at the Project Shed on the Saturday following the meeting
Overheard this guy the other day, telling his friend that he'd had a serious argument with his partner the night before. "But it ended when she came crawling to me on her hands and knees", he said.
"What did she say?" asked the friend.
"She said, come out from under that bed, you coward!"
Technologies are rarely, if ever, truly foisted upon us, however much that might feel to be the case. They arrive because, as a society, we accept, welcome and ultimately normalise them, often to the extent that they become more or less compulsory. Before mobile phones and social media, we never really recognised how narcistic we are, how desperate we are to escape the reality of our surroundings.Jim Al-Khalil - ‘What’s next?’
Here's one Gerald East sent me recently:
What do you call those things you blow into and make a wish?
At last Sunday's District Changeover, our Immediate Past President Doug Lipp was presented with a special award, in recognition of his services as District 9640 Treasurer (for 6 years) and District 9640 Finance Chairman (for 7 years). 
'Buddha Sticks'. They were imported in 44 Gallon Drums, dumped outside the harbour from the importing ship and picked up by small vessels. His cut: $1 per stick- which earned him a cool $30,000 a year when his annual salary was about $10,000! Ultimately, Andy got the entire gang arrested...
The inaugural School Sports Australia Games are coming to the Gold Coast from 25th July to 3rd August, and they are actively seeking passionate volunteers to help as Event Crew. 
