Download the Bulletin for Meeting 1044 here.
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From President Ian Coat:
We welcomed Rotarians Kevin and Sam (ex-Adelaide East) who visited our meeting in search of a replacement Club to join. We hope they found us a friendly crowd. And we also welcomed Perth Rotarian and Guest Speaker, Chris Herrmann. I just celebrated my birthday with family members coincidentally also in Perth and provided some yummy Margaret River Chocolate Factory treats after breakfast.
Chris Herrmann – My Senior Gap Year
Chris spoke to us about the joys of travel, and yes, he was speaking to the converted, especially with our numbers depleted with Ian, Julie, Colin, Pauline and Sue who are all travelling. Chris related his personal story; after the loss of his wife to cancer he finally deciding to pack up everything and travel the world – while still a young man in his 60’s. Chris spoke about the circumstances leading up to the decision, the challenges in making it happen and more importantly the joy and satisfaction of getting up almost every day in a new place, meeting new people, and learning new things.
Chris, originally from Adelaide, is a member of the Rotary Club of Mills Point (Perth). He spoke of how he wanted to make this year of travel something worthwhile to others in need. He described how a chance meeting led him redirect about half a million dollars’ worth of unwanted new bedding that was being thrown into the tip from mine sites in outback WA to charities across Australia and into South East Asia. That’s Rotary at work.
Chris sold copies of his book, My Senior Gap Year, to some club members and you can also find it on line:
District Assembly
Chris, Susan and I attended the recent District Assembly at Murray Bridge. Chris was acknowledged as the incoming President of RC Magill Sunrise and received the new theme banner. One of the key messages from the Assembly surrounded the creation of District 9510 from the current 9500 and 9520. The way in which the District is structured will have to change because of the enormous size of 9510, covering well more than the state of South Australia. The creation of Areas within the District and Area Governors is being discussed. The structure of the District Committees will also be affected. Clubs are being asked to comment on the current proposal. Chris and Ian will provide more information soon, and it will be the subject of our Club Assembly on 19th June.
Congratulations Kirsty Stark
Our own Kirsty Stark announced that after her most recent travels to Germany she returned, not with a critical flu infection this time, but with Gold. Kirsty attended the Prix Jeunesse Film Festival where her recent film First Day won best “Gender Equity” film and also came second in the “7-10 year old Fiction” category behind the latest Roald Dahl film. This festival is big on the world stage. Kirsty describes it as the Oscars of Children’s Television. Kirsty story was a feature article in Tuesday’s Advertiser. So, huge congratulations Kirsty.
Check out Kirsty’s ground breaking work on iView ( http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/first-day) and also her six part series exploring transgender issues: Unboxed (https://iview.abc.net.au/programs/art-bites- unboxed)
Club Management
Another significant change in Club Management coming from the District level is a new set of risk management and insurance processes and templates. These can be found on the District website (Clubrunner).
Next Meeting
Our next meeting Tue 19th June where we will discuss the new District 9510 and proposals for its management. Clubs are specifically being asked to discuss these proposals and seek feedback.