It was with great sadness that I had to inform the Club of the passing of Rae Fairlie, the much loved wife of long time participant and Board Member of Surfers Sunrise, Mario Fairlie. A large number of Club members and their partners attended Rae’s very moving funeral on Friday afternoon. It continues to sadden me that so often we either don't know or we fail to recognize just how wonderful, talented and often times generous people are. Rae Fairlie was one such person. How many of you know that Rae was instrumental, along with her best friend Christine Carberry, in raising many, many thousands of dollars which was donated to The Rotary Foundation for Polio relief. A great lady and I for one am annoyed with myself that I did not know her better.
I received a request from Chris Thurtell , District Chair of YEP, asking if Surfers Sunrise would sponsor Benedetta Marninga, a young exchange girl from Italy. Benedetta had been sponsored by the Nambor Rotary Club but a problem had arisen and this was no longer possible. I contacted the Board and predictably it was agreed upon without hesitation.
The reply I received from Gerald East, whilst in total agreement, pointed out to me a number of interesting facts that I would like to share with you all. The Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise is often perceived as a fairly ‘laid back’, good fun Breakfast Club that has a wonderful project building and distributing wheelchairs. In addition, every 4 or so years it builds a school or some such thing in Samoa. As fantastic as these projects may be, the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise actually does so much more and we have a number of members who contribute an enormous amount of time and effort in District activities, especially in the area of youth. The following are some our members who make often unheralded contributions to the world of Rotary. If I have left out anyone I apologise sincerely.
Jo Gorman - Chairman District Conference 2018
Doug Lipp - District Treasurer
Mark Twyford - Deputy District Treasurer
Chris Thurtell - Chairman District Youth Exchange Program
Gerald East - Treasurer District Youth Exchange Program
Ray Higgs - Chairman District Peace Fellowships
Simon Brook - RYTS and ‘incoming’ Group Cultural Exchange
Franz Hyber - District Newsletter Editor and Chairman District Awards Committee
Geoff Croad - RYDA
Tania Laird - RYTS
And of course our very own District Governor Darrell Brown.
We are also hosting two YEP persons Gigi Ligtenberg and now Benedetta Marninga.
Not bad for a good fun Breakfast Club.
Don't forget to register for the District Conference, as time is running out. The meeting on the 21st is a dinner meeting at the Surfers Paradise RSL. This will be a great night where we present Pride of Workmanship Awards to a worthy Gold Coast company.
This coming Wednesday 29th November, we'll welcome Nina Smythe from the Shen Yun Dance Company.
Nina is a local business owner who is passionate about the fine arts. She was so moved by the beauty of Shen Yun, the dedication of the performers and the mission of the company that she decided to get involved with promoting the show. She has been a marketing coordinator with the tour presenter of Shen Yun’s Gold Coast shows since they first performed at The Arts Centre in 2014.
Nina’s aim is to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to experience the beauty and wonder of a Shen Yun performance.
Last Sunday, Rosie McIntyre (first on left sitting on the bench) organized a 'Samoa Project Appreciation Ceremony' for the people who were instrumental in organizing, constructing and delivering the recently completed School for Samoa project. Attended by about 50 people, it was held at the Upper Coomera State College, one of the five schools who were involved in both fundraising as well as personally working on the project (the others are Helensvale High School, Coomera State High School, Pacific Pines State High School and the Pimpama State Secondary College). In addition to a number of our club's Rotarians and Volunteers, there were also teachers and students of the college there. Many of these had personal involvement on-site to erect the pre-manufactured building in conjunction with the Samoa Victims Support Group in Apia, Samoa. 'On ya! Give yourself all a pat on the back!
Last Friday, starting at 07:00 am, we had another working bee at The Shed to clean up (and get rid of) some of the stuff that had accumulated over the past decade or so... Good news for girls: after removing half a ton of junk from the Ladies' Toilet, you have absolutely no excuse now to stay away! ☺ Guess it's a sign of old age: even though the pubs would have been open by the time we finished, we all opted for a cup of coffee... Picture below, from left: Geoff Croad, Col Laurensen, Andy Bell, Des La Rance, Robbie Bell, Angus Miller and Larry Murray.
Regrettably, our scheduled speaker was unable to make it, so at short notice, our President came to the rescue, giving us some valuable tips on Home Security. Most of us had heard him speak on his career and escapades as an Undercover Cop in his younger days. However, prior to retiring recently, Andy was managing a major Security Firm. "So, you want your home to be secured? So you go out and buy an Alarm System..." he thundered. "Well, let me tell you: it's a total waste of money... unless it is monitored. An alarm system will not stop burglars, as a matter of fact, when I was a young (uniformed) cop, if we came to drive down a street and heard an alarm going off, we'd do a 180 degree turn around..." So, what is one to do? Here are 12 of the major points Andy listed:
Build a fence or a wall, and of course ensure that your gate corresponds to the wall. Make it difficult to enter.
If you do have an alarm system, make sure that everybody knows. Display the sign of your security monitoring company prominently. They might just pick on another place.
Ensure you have deadlocks on your doors and window locks installed. Burglars might enter via a window, but they don't like to carry your TV out through a windows. Did you know that the bathroom window is the most popular place of entry? (However, don't deadlock the doors during the night).
Install sensors, they work on detection of body heat difference but be aware that they only work from approximately 1 metre above the ground.
Don't forget your garage! Too easy to get in and out of the garage.
Stow expensive items such as your bar-be-que grill, bikes etc in your garage. And don't leave any ladders outside!
If your car is in the garage, keep it locked anyway and make sure the keys are not simply laying around.
Install cameras connected to lights, so if a sensor triggers the light, at the same time they get filmed.
Make it difficult for them, but remember: if the burglar was to get hurt, he will sue you!
When talking to an Alarm Installer, ensure that he is licensed. Too easy to pretend to be an alarm installer when indeed he is intending to burgle you at a later time. There is no need to tell the installer where your valuables are stored!
If you go on holidays, don't put it up on Facebook, stop the mail etc.
Get to know your neighbors and make sure that somebody is around to pick up your junk mail and has a bit of a look around the house.
Did you know that most burglaries happen during the day, between the time mum has dropped the kids off at school and picks them up again in the afternoon? And, by the way, if you are out the back enjoying a bar-be-que with your mates, don't forget the lock the front door!
Your long suffering Editor was the first one to be clobbered: Unsure of whether Clive Edwards' funeral was held on Wednesday (as per the President's message) or Friday, he had a bet each way... Andy Bell, those on-going sports commentaries on Facebook: who cares, Grumpy! A general fine for all who are not wearing badges... Adrian Crowe, your Rotary shirt is always so perfectly ironed every week, I cannot but admire your wife's care for your impeccable dress! Darrell Brown, might be casual, but excellent colour coordination! Mario Fairlie, so you got yourself a "new" Mercedes antique car, but you didn't even invite me for a ride! Andy Bell promptly cross-fined the Sergeant: that is because she had her mouth full of food..! Larry Murray, I hear you felt a bit lonely at the recent Gold Coast University Hospital do? Ian Mayberry: suggest you engage in getting your beard "shaped"...
Peter Morgan was at the door Angus Miller was Chairman (for Simon Brook) and Ian Mayberry was Sergeant.
We had apologies from Des La Rance,Neil Thurlow , Simon Brook, Paul Seymour, Graeme Isaacson as well as Rosie McIntyre and Tania Laird who are both unwell.
President Andy Bell welcomed all members and our guest speakers Nina Smythe and Maria Meyer. Andy briefly reported on the recent clean-up efforts at The Shed: "My Robbie would now use it"... Another working bee is planned for early in the new year. Also, a big Thank you to Rosie McIntyre for organizing the recent event at Coomera College (see last week's bulletin).
Club Administration Chief Jo Gorman run a brief survey as to where we want to have the Christmas Breakfast: the vast majority opted for the Surfers Mirage. Watch this space for specifics.
A jubilant Treasurer, Mitch Brown, announced that 'We are in the black!"... Whilst Fundraising Director Doug Lipp announced that the Australasian Order of Old Bastards had donated $1,500 (the auctioning of Mario Fairlie's bottle of Grange Hermitage would have contributed substantially to this). Gerald East is still chasing the remaining Foundation coin boxes.
Al Sirovs displayed some photos taken at the recent building of the School in Apia, Samoa. There is a Photo Album on our website too.
Franz Huber clarified the procedure relating to registering as a volunteer to do the Housekeeping at the upcoming Commonwealth Games - we have a method which allows secure registration of your personal details, Photo ID etc.
You'll need Internet access for this: Dante's 9 circles of hell - revised for the modern era... (click on the image to go to the link)
Politics have no relations to morals. Niccolo Macciavelli
Think what evil creeps the [insert name of political organization of your choice] would be if their plans to enfeeble the individual, exhaust the economy, impede the rule of law, and cripple national defense were guided by a coherent ideology instead of smug ignorance. P. J. O'Rourke [In concert with Rotary's policy of being non-political: O'Rourke was NOT talking about Australian politics. Ed.]
Popularity should be no scale for the election of politicians. If it would depend on popularity, Donald Duck and The Muppets would take seats in senate. Orson Welles [hmmmm.... don't get me started now! Ed.]
The Angus & Virginia Miller clan has a new heirloom: a ticket belonging to their family was the winning entry for Kerrie Brown's hand embroidered pillow. Kerrie selected ROMAC – Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children as her 'District Governor's Partner Project'. ROMAC flies severely disfigured or injured children to Australia for surgery. All work by the surgeons and volunteers is provided at no charge. Now you normally expect District Governors to ask for money. This time expect the unexpected. We are giving you something for money. Fair deal? I hope so. Kerrie is aiming to raise $25,000 for an operation to save the life of a child. We call it “Stitches for Stitches”. She has made 54 embroidered cushions - one for every club in the district. Every one is unique. There are 10 hours minimum in each cushion and about $50 of material.
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This coming Wednesday 29th November, we'll welcome Nina Smythe from the Shen Yun Dance Company.
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Regrettably, our scheduled speaker was unable to make it, so at short notice, our President came to the rescue, giving us some valuable tips on Home Security. Most of us had heard him speak on his career and escapades as an Undercover Cop in his younger days. However, prior to retiring recently, Andy was managing a major Security Firm. "So, you want your home to be secured? So you go out and buy an Alarm System..." he thundered. "Well, let me tell you: it's a total waste of money... unless it is monitored. An alarm system will not stop burglars, as a matter of fact, when I was a young (uniformed) cop, if we came to drive down a street and heard an alarm going off, we'd do a 180 degree turn around..." So, what is one to do? Here are 12 of the major points Andy listed:.jpg)
Your long suffering Editor was the first one to be clobbered: Unsure of whether Clive Edwards' funeral was held on Wednesday (as per the President's message) or Friday, he had a bet each way... Andy Bell, those on-going sports commentaries on Facebook: who cares, Grumpy! A general fine for all who are not wearing badges... Adrian Crowe, your Rotary shirt is always so perfectly ironed every week, I cannot but admire your wife's care for your impeccable dress! Darrell Brown, might be casual, but excellent colour coordination! Mario Fairlie, so you got yourself a "new" Mercedes antique car, but you didn't even invite me for a ride! Andy Bell promptly cross-fined the Sergeant: that is because she had her mouth full of food..! Larry Murray, I hear you felt a bit lonely at the recent Gold Coast University Hospital do? Ian Mayberry: suggest you engage in getting your beard "shaped"...
.JPG)
The Angus & Virginia Miller clan has a new heirloom: a ticket belonging to their family was the winning entry for Kerrie Brown's hand embroidered pillow. Kerrie selected ROMAC – 