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Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, District 9455 Page 1
Meeting 23rd November Meeting 30th November Club Christmas/Birthday Function Congratulations AG Simone New Members Elham Teimouri New Address for Gordon Hay Board Nominations
Community /Vocational Meeting Items for Hamper Pasta and Sauce for Manna Update on Microscopes RF Matching Grant for Maiti Nepal Claremont Christmas Activity Christmas dinner for the lonely Quiz Night
ANZACS Tour Ian Westoby D. 3310 Fundraising Walk for Polio Projects visited in Kota Kinabalu Former Rotary Youth Exchange Student Attachment ‘IN THE CARDS” Birthdays
Meeting 23rd November
Dr. Helen Jones-Fairnie and PP Dr. Ian Fairnie from the RC of Perth and Executive Director of Service Abroad Australasia, spoke about the Save Foundation of Australia. Ian has lead more than 50 study tours to Asia, however this time he spoke on his recent time in Africa and the problems of extinction facing the rhinoceros. Founded in 1987, the SAVE FOUNDATION of Australia (Inc.) is committed to saving Africa's endangered species from extinction, with the main focus of their activities on the conservation of the African Black Rhinoceros in Zimbabwe. Dr. Helen spoke with us regarding the progress made on saving the African Black Rhinoceros and the barriers and struggles in saving endangers species. Projects include small scale breeding ranches for rhinos, the painted dogs project, projects for the conservation of gorillas, hyenas, lions and elephants in Namibia, Zambia, Rwanda, Zaire, and Zimbabwe. The presentation was enhanced by the lovely
pictures of the wild animals taken while working with their partners in Africa. The Save Foundation is a totally voluntary foundation. Funds are raised through a variety of events, trips and donations. All funds raised are committed to direct action on the ground in Africa to support programs and projects that stop poaching and educate on the importance of saving endangered species. We appreciate Helen and Ian taking the time to inform us of the plight of these animals with an engaging presentation.
Meeting 30th November
The Annual Address on the Rotary Foundation, the Dr Ken Collins Address, will replace the regular meeting of the Club. Members need to have registered and paid on line for this. 7.00pm for 7.30pm Laguna Veneto Club, 49 Homer St, Mt Lawley Speaker is RI Pres. Elect Sakuji Tanaka from Japan. Alumni speaker is MP Ben Wyatt.
Club Christmas/Birthday Function
This event is booked for Thursday, 22nd December, 2011 at the Nedlands Golf Club, Melvisa Ave, Nedlands. Cost is $50 pp for a three course meal. Money for this is to be paid in advance and can be paid into the Club’s Westpac Operating Account BSB 036-34 A/c 304015. Please include name and event. Please put the date in your diary and invite friends and family to ensure a good number are present and that it is a successful function.
PO Box 168, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6909 District 9455 ABN: 99 602 195 617
The Official Bulletin of the Rotary Club of
Freshwater Bay Inc.
Volume 4, Issue 21 25t h November - 2nd December 2011
Finish line for the End Polio Walk with PRID Ken Collins & PDG George Kinikun
Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, District 9455 Page 2
An entertaining speaker, actor Faith Richardson, has been organised by Bill Hassell.
Congratulations AG Simone
AG PP Simone Carot Collins has been busy using her IT and social networking skills to update and inform Rotarians in D. 9690, NSW. Simone has been invited to serve on the RI Sydney Convention Committee for the Rotary Convention which will be held in Sydney in 2014. Simone has also been invited to participate in a workshop on Social Networking at the RI Convention in Bangkok in May. Congratulations from all in the RCFB Simone.
New Members
Due to the next meeting being transferred to the Dr KCA, new members Pam Reynolds and Vanessa Wood will be ‘officially’ inducted the following week, 7th December. Delighted to have you both join the RC Freshwater Bay Pam and Vanessa.
Elham Teimouri
Elham, a frequent visitor and ‘Friend of the RCFB’ is a PhD student with Prof Ralph Martins. Elham and her friend Maryam are both from Iran and interested in assisting the club with its projects. Elham suddenly took ill and has been diagnosed with MS. She is currently in the Ramsay section of Joondalup Hospital and no doubt would appreciate a visit from any member able to do so. However, as she may be discharged soon it would be advisable to phone first. The hospital number is 9400 9400. Gordon paid her a visit on Sunday.
New Address for Gordon Hay
This weekend Gordon will be coming onto dry land after living on a boat since his arrival in Perth. Gordon’s new address is 6 Archdeacon St, Nedlands, right next door to our Treasurer Toni and Bill James.
Board Nominations
Nominations for the Board for 2012-13 are being sought. If you are interested in serving as a Director, Secretary or Treasurer, please have a nomination form completed and returned to the Secretary by 7th December. Elections to take place at the Club meeting 14th December. Nominations have been received for PE, International and Community/Voc. Directors. Still required are New Generations,
Fundraising and Membership.
Community /Vocational
Meeting
Dir. Wilma McBain has set a meeting for the Committee for immediately after the regular club meeting on Wednesday, 7th December. A Rotary Club is not able to function effectively without regular monthly committee meetings as
that is where direction and projects are discussed and set. Attendance at committee meetings should be treated as a priority.
Items for Hamper
Dir Jenny Gill has requested assistance in the form of a food hamper for a young lady with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. Dir. Wilma has asked that members bring in items to contribute to the hamper. When shopping, perhaps you can put a couple of extra items that may be suitable for the hamper in your trolley and bring them along to the meeting 7th December.
Pasta and Sauce for Manna
Carina Marshall and her friend Jo collect packets of pasta and jars of pasta sauce each year and donate them to Bev and John Lowe at
Manna Industries. Once again, if members would like to assist Carina and Jo with their Pasta and Sauce project they would love your contribution.
Update on Microscopes
Gordon Hay has arranged a meeting with CS Lyn Beazley, Brett Sabien from Royalties for Regions along with Ken and Di Collins to see if funds can be obtained
Children from the School for the Deaf in Kota Kinabalu
Children from the School for the Deaf in Kota Kinabalu
Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, District 9455 Page 3
for regional areas to advance the Microscopes in Schools project. The meeting is taking place on Monday (28th) afternoon. Orders and enquiries continue to flow in. Three further orders are awaiting payment prior to distribution (Albany, Fremantle and Rockingham) plus an enquiry has been received from the Pres. of the RC of Tweed Heads South in D. 9640, NSW Hello Di, My name is Valerie Haywood, President of Rotary Club of Tweed Heads South in Northern NSW, District 9640. While visiting family in Narrogin, I was present at a school assembly where the local Rotary Club presented St. Matthews Primary School with microscopes. This is a wonderful learning tool for young people. I would be interested in exploring the possibility of starting such a project over here. I would be grateful for any information you can provide regarding the setting up of this project. Yours in Rotary, Valerie Haywood. President. Rotary Club of Tweed Heads South.
RF Matching Grant for Maiti Nepal
Gillian Yudelman has prepared a RF Matching Grant application which is ready to be submitted to the Rotary Foundation for equipment for Maiti Nepal Foundation. Look forward to hearing of the progress Gillian.
Claremont Christmas
Activity
On Thursday 24th November RCFB participated in the Claremont Christmas Carnival by displaying a Shelter box and had a money spinner for donations to Shelter box. A big thank you to
David Brockway from Shelter box for bringing it along for the Club and also thanks to Mike Penny for his attendance and bringing his money spinner machine for our use. Setting up commenced at 3:30 and then the streets were closed to all traffic and the event got underway at 4:30pm with a street parade and the whole event went until 8:30pm. It was a very friendly and colourful night with all sorts of stalls and displays to be seen. Stilt walkers, bungy jumps and bongo drums for families to join in, to name just a few. Our tally at the end of the night and for donation to Shelter box was $171.90, this was nearly all five and ten cent pieces put in by the children having fun watching the money spin around and go into the final hole. Thanks also go to Matt Milner (Warren's son) and Andrew Hassell (son of Sue and Bill) who lent their time and their muscle in helping to set up and dismantle the display...very much appreciated by us all. Rotary members who attended were Bill and Sue Hassell, Bryant Stokes, Margaret Stuart, Gordon Hay and Wilma McBain.
Christmas dinner for the lonely
The Post Newspaper has run two articles on the RCFB coordinating a luncheon on Christmas Day for people who are alone and would
like to join with others for a meal on 25th December. To date there have been 5 interested people make contact.
Quiz Night
The RC Joondalup is holding a Quiz Night on 21st January, 2012. Cost $10 per person. Contact [email protected]
ANZACS Tour
After the RI Convention in Bangkok, on 10th May, 2011, a trip to HELLFIRE PASS has been organised by PDG Jennifer Scot t E: [email protected] Cost is $100 pp and will be of particular interest to members with an interest in the history of the ANZACS in the Second World War.
Ian Westoby
DG Liz has advised that Ian is progressing well and it is hoped he will be home in 3-4 weeks. Good news for all concerned.
D. 3310 Fundraising Walk for Polio
From 7-18th November two drivers of support vehicles accompanied eight Rotarians who walked (and climbed) 340 klms from East to West Saba to raise funds for Polio Eradication. It is the third walk to raise funds
for Polio that PP Robin Tay has organised. The first was two years ago when Rotarians walked from northern Malaysia to KL, the second was last year when they walked from KL to Singapore and this year it was from West Saba to Kota Kinabalu. The next walk is planned to be from northern Thailand to Bangkok in time for the RI Convention in May. Money was still coming in and it is hoped that Walkers and drivers for the D. 3310 Polio Saba Walk
Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, District 9455 Page 4
the amount this year will be somewhere between $100 and $150 thousand. Rotarians in D. 3310 walked the last leg either 11klms or 4klms. PRID Ken and Di were the Representatives of RI Pres. Kalyan and Binota Banerjee at the District Conference and Ken and his Aide were amongst those who walked the last 4 klms. An outstanding effort. Well done to PP Robin and team!
Projects visited in Kota Kinabalu
Don Bosco’s Orphanage near Mt Kinabalu was one of the projects visited by Ken and Di. Both genders are housed at the Orphanage which receives assistance from the Rotary Clubs in Kota Kinabalu. Currently there are 71 orphans at Don Bosco, which is down (a wonderful sign) on over 100 previously looked after. The children attend local schools and are well cared for by Brother Ben and Sister Loretta. The Rotarians donated a hose and emergency lights to the Orphanage at the time
of the visit on 17th December which were gratefully received. The School for the Deaf is another project of the RC of Kota Kinabalu which they started back
in 1978. As it is the end of the year and schools are breaking up until early January, the end of school final Assembly and Concert was held over to the afternoon for the benefit of the visit by Rotarians. A Matching Grant for an oven and mixers is just one of the many projects undertaken by the Club. With this equipment biscuits etc are made and proceeds from the sale of the products benefit the School.
Former Rotary Youth Exchange Student
On a brief visit to Mulu a World Heritage site in the Sarawak rainforests, Ken and Di chatted with a young recently married couple, Priska and Urs Burri-Muller. Priska, from Bern, Switzerland had been a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to the RC of Canberra in 1999-2000. Six couples from Canberra travelled to Switzerland to attend Priska and Urs wedding. Rotary touches the lives of countless numbers of people around the world and is without doubt the greatest tool the world has for uplifting humanity and creating a better world.
Attachment ‘IN THE CARDS”
As members do not subscribe to the Rotarian Magazine, an excellent article ‘In The Cards’ is attached which it is recommended
all members take the time to read.
Birthdays
Birthday greetings go to Gordon Hay for 29th Nov,, Paddy Ramanathan and Rex Evans for 30th Nov, and Mignon Shardlow for 6th December. A very Happy Day is wished to each one of you. Former RYE Student Priska and husband Urs
Equipment from a Matching Grant for the School for the Deaf in Kota Kinabalu
Oven from a Matching Grant for the School for the Deaf in Kota Kinabalu
Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, District 9455 Page 5
Roster for Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay for Month of Nov/Dec 2011
NB: ‘Duty’ responsibility is to set up venue and to pack away venue after meeting.
Board Rotary 2011-12
Bryant Stokes – President [email protected] Di Collins – Secretary [email protected] Toni James – Treasurer [email protected] Rex Evans –Club Service Director, President Elect [email protected] Wilma McBain - Community/ Vocational Service Director [email protected] Ken Collins – International Service Director [email protected] Hamish Mackie – New Generations Director [email protected]
Jim Gould – Membership Director [email protected] Jenny Gill – Fundraising Director [email protected] Bill Hassell – Vice President [email protected] Club Details The Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay, Inc. PO Box 168, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6909 Meetings Wednesday 5:45pm to 6:45pm Café, Bethesda Hospital Queenslea Drive Claremont, 6010
President-Bryant Stokes E-mail [email protected] Mobile 0419 919 572 Bulletin Editor Clifford Yudelman/Di Collins Website www.rotaryfreshwaterbay.org.au Facebook http://www.facebook.com/freshwaterbayrotary
Chartered 19 December 2008
Date Program Duty Attendance Introduction Vote of Thanks
30th November RIPE Sakuji
Tanaka
Annual Dr Ken
Collins Address
Laguna Veneto
Club, Mt Lawley
7.00pm for 7.30pm Book on line
7th December John Fleming Gordon Hay Ken Collins Di Collins Alistair Brown
7th December Comm/Voc Cttee
Meeting
After Regular
Club meeting
14th December Bernard Bowen Jim Gould Sue Hassell Jill Henderson Paddy
Ramanathan
22nd December Faith Richardson Rex Evans Jim Gould Bill Hassell Sue Hassell
Rorenv SroRrES
INOA
THE
Because Major DonorBill Benter playedhis han d righr,
The Rotary Foundation won
AS Tt)LIl Ttl STEPHEI{ YAFA
was about to turn 40 when I joined Rotary. The timingwas perfect, Id wandered into a profession, computersoftware developmenr, where I was disconnecced fromany communiry.
I was developing a somewhat complex database pro.gram for beming on horse races, based on 70 variables foreach horse that enabled me and my colleagues ro derernrine
its true odds of winning in any race, once we enrered allthe data and did our modeling. But we had ro key theinformation inro our Kaypro compurers - this was wayback when, and there were no available online racing dara-bases in the mid-'S0s.
My interaction was entirely with a compurer screen.
We didnt have cusromers or clienrs, so I had little oppor-
tunicy to connect with other humans. And I was living inHong Kong a long way from Pittsburgh, my home.Therewere far fewer horses racing in Hong Kong rhan anywhere
IHt ROTARIAN II{OVEMEER 2OII
else, Iii discovered, so my business parulers ard I had packed
up our primirive computer equipment and moved there.
Our goal was to handicap every Hong Kong racehorse
based on past performance, track conditions, and so forth,
and place strategic bets based on the results, It was a huge
amount of work - but profitable and perfectly legirimate.
By 1996, thebusiness was becoming a substantial suc-
cess, I was now beuing my own money and doing quire
well but unless you're an extremely gregarious person,
which I'm nor, yolr dont make that many new friends inforeign surroundings. Thar was the draw of Rotary forme. Our business lawyer, Gilbert Collins, invited me twice
to join the Rotary Club of Kowloon North before Iaccepted. I must have had some rrepidation; I'm not ajoiner by nature, But before I knew it, I was on my way to
becoming a member. Rotarians respect the digniry and
usefulness of all professions. Mine didnt have a service
44
Rorenv StoRrES
I have
component, so I fblt immenselyhonored to have been asked to join.In the first year after I became amember, I learned more about the
Hong Kong comrnunity than in all the
time Id been living there. Lookingback, its not surprising that I wouldbecome deeply involved in the club's
service projects.
I soon became the club's inter-national service director and was
charged with reaching out to joinforces with clubs in other locations.
Bruce Stinson, past president of the
Kowloon North club, had already
made friends with Sai-Hong Choi,past president of the Rotary Club ofMacau, and had visited impoverished
Du an County in southeast China in1999. Hed been moved to tears bythe condition of rnany of the area's
I never made a serious career choice
to become a gambler. My only real
interest has been to beat the system and
come out ahead, I have a fondness and
an aptirude for numbers, which helps
- and, as I discovered through Rotary,
a passion for putting my skills to w,rrk
for causes I believe in, As I got to know
the Chinese government officials inDu'an, my level of trust increased. They
rurned out to be sincere and honesr and
grateful for our help. The governlnent
agreed to put up half the money if we
put up the other half - a total cost ofabout $60,000 to rebuild each school.
To me, dris seemed like a slam-dunk,
and thanks to the sLrccess of my busi-
ness, I was able to donate a substandal
amount of those costs on my own'The
Kowloon Nordr club teamed up withthe Macau club on the first three
schools in the region, and since then, our districtt clubs have
been able to fund many more, Putting the money into bricls
and mortar assured us thar we were creadng something
of lasting valug that the money wasnt being frittered away.
It was my kind of gemble,
For me, one of the most rewarding results of these
service projeccs is to warch my perceptions bump up
against rcality,I expected China to be a tyrannical place,
even brutal. But my Rotarian colleagues and I learned a
few things as we watched the Longbn middle school in
Dubn beingtransformed from a dilapidared building into
a functional structure, I asked the headmaster about dis'
cipline."Do you spank studentsi" I wondered' He looked
at me incredulously."spank studentsi" He was shocked
at the suggestion, Teachers and administrators are forbid-
den to employ physical punishment, he expiained"'They
do that in your councryl" It was inconceivable to him that
we could even chink that was possible' So much for my
concern about social protectors.
Now about 11 years after the first schools were rebuilt,
Du'an has become a thriving region' When we visited in
a fondness anrj an
numbers, and,
to work forCAUSCS
thror-rgh Rotary,a passion for
puttingmyskills
as I discove red
aptitude for
I believe in.
rural schools - the roofs and walls had collapsed, and there
were no desks or seats, he reported. The Macau club lacked
funding, and that's where we stepped in.
I knew that it would be something of a gamble to make
our way through the Chinese regional bureaucracy and
ensure that the money we raised went where it was
intended, but I d been gambling successfully for most ofmy adult life. In myjunior year,I had dropped our of Case
Western Reserve University, where I was studying physics
and philosophy, and gone to Las Vegas with my friends
to play blackjack. I remembered a sign Id seen as a teen-
ager in an Atlantic City casino: "Professional card counters
are prohibited from playing at our tables." That alwaysstayed with me; it meant that if you learned to count, youcould win. And that's what we did undl we gor bouncedout of all the Las Vegas casinos. Card-counting improves
your odds and is complercIy legaI, but Nevada casinos are
private property, and owners can bar anyone they wantfrom entering, In our early 20s, we were averaging about
$80,000 each per year atblackjack, which was pretcy good
back then for young kids.
THE ROTARIAN I I{()VEMEER 201,|
Whoare we
Is it to make
feelsood,oideor to Provr
genuine helpwhere
poor village children may be able to qualifr for betterjobs.Our Kowloon North and Macau clubs, wi# help from
other Rotarians, have been able to give children in rhatregion a chance to become educated in a safe environment.
Duhn has been the perfecc project. We were able to launch
it, chen eventually step away and applaud the success oftheschools from afar, Thac is an ideal scenario. And there was
no donor fatigue, as there can be when funding seems to go
on ard on with no end in sight and no progress.
Thac brings up another point about philanthropythat I pay attention tor Who are we really doing this foriIs it to make ourselves feel good, or to provide genuine
help where it's neededi I've been supporting a hospitalin Haiti that serves a region devastated by the 2010earthquake, with no visible signs of improvement, Tirepeople are as poor as chey've always been; there's no end
to the deforestacion. They're mired, and the moment the
f-uncling stops, the hospital will shut down. If we can justkeep the hospiral going, isn't that enoughi I try to remem-
ber that service is about serving, not getting somethingback in retLrrn.
Ror.q. nv Sro Rr E s
i
.l
;1
llI
rir
rlil
real\y
2008, schoolchildren no longer looked
at our cameras in awe; they snapped
digital photos of us with their smart-
phones. Thele had been an amazing
r-rpsurge in prosperiry. Our first school
project was dwarfed, in a good way,
by high-rises a1l around.
On rhat visit, I suggested thatbecause the cicy centers were boom-
ing, perhaps we could help rebuildschools in the surrounding mountainvillages, which are srill quite primi-cive. The local authorities told us
thac they hoped everyone would be
able to move our of rhe villages,because there is no way people can
live prosperous lives in those areas.
The land is arid; they can raise onlya few goats and not really grow any-
thing. With a berter educacion ar one
of the schools, the officials said, the
doingrhis farl
For rhe RI Afghan Refugee Relief
Effort, which helped people iiving inrefugee carnps along dre Afghanisran-
Pakistan border, we raised over $2rnillion; I contributed a lot myself
Again, cherewas an open-endedueed
created by internal conflict, and we
were able to adopt a few camps along
the border to provide basic comforts
and food. But tfiere was another kind
of reward, too. I visited P;rkistan,
where there are nllmerous Rotary
clubs, and discovered that rnany oftheir problems are the senre problenrs
we deal with daily. Thatt nothing Idever have learned sirting in front ofa
comPuter screen.
Because of the success of my
business, I also was able co give a
large gift recently to The Rotary
Foundation's Rotary Peace Cen[ers,
ourselves
it's neededi
in support of programs leading to graduate degrees or
professional certificares in peace and conflict resolution
at eighc universities around the world, Our goal on rhe
Rotary Peace Centers Major Gifts Initiative committee is
to help raise $95 million to fund the Rotary Peace Centers
program in perpetuity, in the hope that peace fellows willrise to leadership positions in their respective counrries.
The idea is to create a community of graduates so that,
when conflicts arise between countries and cultures, these
former peace fellows can get rogether and use their skills
co resolve them before che tensions escalate.
Did I ever expecr to become involved in so rnany proj-
ects, or to meet my wife, Vivian, in rhe Rorary Club ofKowloon North - she is a past president of the Rotary Club
of Peninsula Sunrise, Hong Kong - and to marry for th"
first time at age 53? I wouldnt have laid odds on any ofthose things happening. But computer programs, even mine,
have serious limitations. They couldnt have predicted the
adventures I've had or the personal rewards rhat have come
my way through Rorary. I donate to The Rorary Foundation
because I believc in irs mission. r
l
li
II
iiI
NOVEMBER 2OI1 I THE ROTARIAN 47
