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Via Past President Allen Horrell – It is an interesting exercise to try to say what Rotary means, in less than 2 minutes! 

“Anyone of good will can make a difference in the World, but Rotary gives you the leverage to change the World!"

"What is Rotary? It is the World's largest volunteer organisation for Business and Professional people. In the words of our President:

“Rotary is the best in the world at linking people of goodwill around the globe and then gaining their cooperation and support to make the world a much better place to live and work.”

What do I believe about Rotary?
– I believe a person's greatest possession is their character and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than service to others
– I believe community service nurtures the friendships that make life rich in ways that money just can't buy
– I believe my children are learning values that will last them a lifetime and can be learned in no other way than by example
– I believe in Rotary because it makes all these things possible.

Greetings my fellow Rotarians

This month is Literacy month in our Rotary calendar.  The purpose of declaring a Literacy month is to draw attention to the significant impact literacy (education) has on the success of our humanitarian projects.  It has been found that all community service projects will have improved outcomes if it is supported with efforts to improve literacy.

 In more recent years Literacy is one of the six areas of focus that Rotary has chosen to focus on in its humanitarian and educational work.  Helping the disadvantaged people in the world to become literate is absolutely critical in helping them out of the traps of poverty and hunger.  Unless people can read they cannot get jobs, cannot gain equality of opportunity, and cannot easily be taught the fundamentals of nutrition, hygiene and the other basic essentials of healthy lives. Also, the ability to read and write has a miraculous impact on a person’s self image!

Recent publications suggest that 15% of the world’s population lack basic literacy skills. Of the world’s children, 113 million do not go to school and 500 million women are uneducated. Two-thirds of the world’s population cannot read. To make this even worse, in the developed world, 17% of adults are functionally illiterate; that is to say they cannot read well enough to function effectively in our complex post-modern society. Rotary’s Literary Resource Group helped us to develop many tools to share in developing literacy projects.  

All of these tools and guidelines are still available and functioning.  One of these, CLE (Concentrated Language Encounter solution), developed in Australia 30 years ago, has spread to all of Rotary.

It is difficult to quantify the number of clubs involved in literacy projects within our district.  However we do know that a number of clubs support Stay in School programs. Others provide computer or other technical equipment and support and donate dictionaries.  We have a proud tradition of building schools and classrooms in schools in developing countries, and more recently several clubs have really focused on the building of toilets in schools.  Getting girls along to school will improve their chances of becoming literate and moving their lives and the lives of those around them forward.  I am impressed that our district continues to support improved Literacy as an important part of Rotary’s involvement across the world.

Two weeks ago I mentioned Anne’s library project in Timor Leste, Biblioteka Ermera.  And we continue to thank the clubs for the great support they have been and continue to be in supporting this important literacy project.

This will be my last chance to encourage you to register for our District Conference where we will be Going for Gold at the Gong.  Registrations are still coming in, but we have to close registrations at the end of the week as catering must be finalised.

 You will experience lots of information, lots of fun, lots of Rotary and lots of fellowship and networking.
A MUST for newer Rotarians.  Less than two weeks away now, so while time is running out there is still provision for last minute registrations for another few days.  Please come and join us for a wonderful and inspiring weekend.  If you have any difficulty at all in registering, please contact Les Walsh, our Editor and the conference registrar and he will give you immediate assistance

 Anne and I look forward to greeting you in Wollongong as we share a wonderful weekend of fellowship and learning.
 
Kind regards
 
David Rands
Governor 2011-12

Rotary has an amazing number of sub-organizations, programs and initiatives.  They usually end up being named something that almost always turns into an acronym.  So, for those who get a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of Rotary acronyms, thanks to Past President Allen Horrell, we hereby present his collated list of Rotary acronyms... also available here:

The Regions of Rotary International

What an exciting year it has been for the Rotary Club of Ryde!  From a PR perspective, I couldn’t have asked for a better year.

The biggest news was of course our involvement in building the school in Borjegai, Afghanistan.  Such a good news story enabled us to get front-page billing in the Northern District Times, with a huge photograph and a headline “Ryde’s New School – 11,700km away”.  Just recently, we landed on page 4 of the Sydney Morning Herald.  We also got press in Rotary Down Under, thanks to PDG Alex Sawyer’s support and perseverance.

John Booth and his Weekly Times team has been an incredibly generous supporter of our Club this year, giving us numerous cover stories and column space galore, for The Tree of Joy and Red Shield Appeal, School Public Speaking Competition and our big Graffiti (Paint Vandalism) program, headed up by the dynamic PP Charles Kilby.

I have to say, much of this publicity had me running on autopilot this year, such is the momentum and influence the Club seems to have in the area these days.  I have had so much support by each Club member driving each event that they run, my job was a breeze!

While the press juggernaut forged onward – whether I was manning the helm or not – I was able to put a great deal of my efforts into the new Club Website, which launched on 12 August 2010.

Since launching, our Website:  www.ryderotary.org.au – has had 5,000 visitors and has attracted all kinds of interest.  Old friends have made contact, people have applied to give presentations to our Club, applied for scholarships, asked for support, offered to help out and asked about joining.  With continued attention, updating and maintenance, the Website can only become a more and more valuable asset to the Club.  I am very proud to have been in a position, both as PR director and as part of my chosen vocation, to have been able to facilitate this for the Club, of which I am equally proud to be a member.

I have to say a huge thank you to Adrian Hallet, my right-hand man, who is now stepping up into the PR directorship for 2011–12 – and rightly so.  He is a one-man PR machine.  With his trailers and signage, tools and gadgets.  Adrian is always there to help.  He makes 110% look like a cop-out.  He is always out there – on the ground at events and programs, flying the Club banners and stamping our name clearly around the city.

I thank the Club for having faith in me this last year and look forward to seeing what Adrian is going to deliver, as I focus exclusively on the Website and online marketing for the Club in the year ahead.

After a ripper of an Aussie Day celebration (literally), our esteemed President Allen was not only unable to preside over the meeting, but couldn’t write his report either, as he wasn’t there.

In his place was acting President PP Geoff Brennan – and what a convincing act it was.  We almost believed he was in control of the evening.  In fact the four-way test speakers were in total control, as you will read about later in this report.  Our acting Hub editor toasted the Queen as splendidly as she edited this report, but Rotary Grace had a little trouble settling on the right pitch, for some unknown reason… an increased proportion of altos and sopranos in the room, perhaps.  David Johnston gave us a 4-minute run down of life at the 10, uh… I mean, 1, 10 & 11 Network, including the revelation that the board is swarming with billionaires.  Who would have thought The Biggest Loser would have had such broad appeal?  Ironic.

Acting Pres. announced a huge crowd of guests who managed to fit in the room thanks to an almost equal number of apologies.  However, it was great to see the triumphant return of Hameed Fazal and Terry Kerim, after their recent scarcity.

John Mazlin announced Red Shield appeal’s 2011 return (28 & 29 May) and Bill Payne explained just how valuable Bowelscan is, as it also returns for ’11, with 144 cancer and polyp detections and 164 positive results last year, saving untold lives in the city.  Peter Cooper gave Friday’s pasta-fest at Il Bolognese one last plug, before exchange student Anna Gossweiler detailed her hectic week, including a hair-dye malfunction and sailing on a rough and windy day in the open ocean.  Then it was Sgt. Longfield’s turn to take the stand – and all our loose change – with a barrage of loose cannon accusations.

After all the regular formalities, it was time for the absolute treat of the evening, The Four-Way Test speaking competition.  Bob Kaye-Smith announced the event and introduced four amazing young competitors.

ERINA YIP, from Cheltenham Girls raised the bar rather high with a superb dream sequence, linking the subconscious mind to The Four-Way Test, the meaning of life, Nelson Mandela and the collective goal of improving the world.

NIKKI RAFTOPULOS, from Pymble Ladies College (PLC) astounded us all with a theatrical press conference from Julian Assange, complete with journalists’ questions and a very clever twist at the end, explaining why Julian is disguised as a schoolgirl.  Her presentation was very well researched and weaved powerful social justice issues in perfectly with the theme.

SKYE DONALDSON from The Pittwater House Schools took a very personal approach, talking about her memories of her Rotarian grandfather and her concern for homeless people.

ANEESH KANCHARLA from Shore School discussed racism and prejudice as a challenge to uphold The Four-Way Test and how Australia has sometimes demonstrated unacceptable levels of discrimination in years gone by.  Aneesh proposed that education and admitting that there could be a problem, was the way to a more peaceful and friendly society.

In the end, Judges DGN John Dodd and PP Doug Thompson had a very difficult time, being forced to separate the contestants in order of merit.  NIKKI took out the top prize with her highly polished performance, followed very closely by Aneesh, with Erina and Skye both awarded certificates.  All four demonstrated the highest standards and ideals, which is precisely what The Four-Way Test is all about.

At the recent Ryde Chamber of Commerce event, hosted by John Booth at The Weekly Times, Ryde Rotary President surprised Lorraine and Malcolm Cox with a Paul Harris Fellow award each.  Paul Harris Fellows are awarded to Rotarians and Non-Rotarians alike, who show outstanding commitment to community service.  Lorraine and Malcolm are ideal recipients, with all the charity and community work they do.

Lorraine and Malcolm's business, Ryde Furniture Freighters, has become very well known for helping those in need.  They cart furniture for charities and they donate large amounts of furniture left over from their clients' downsizing moves – all at their own expense.

Ryde Rotary has been at the receiving end of Lorraine and Malcolm's generosity, when they offered to cart a shipment of furniture bound for one of our international aid program destinations.

Tony Abboud from Ryde Rotary introduced President Allen Horrell to the Ryde Chamber crowd (a crowd which, for some reason, seemed to be padded out somewhat with a few Rotarians!).  President Allen commenced his presentation with an explanation of the Paul Harris Fellow award and its significance, not only as a recognition of great respect and honour, but that one aspect of the award is that Rotary donates $1000 to the Rotary Foundation on behalf of the recipient.  This evening, $2000 was donated and two very surprised recipients were asked to come up and receive their awards.  Malcolm and Lorraine are two of the nicest, humblest people you could meet and they certainly weren't ready for all the accolades and the attention.  There were more than one or two tears from the recipients and from the crowd as the emotion of such a public recognition of great community service unfolded.

Congratulations Lorraine and Malcolm, on all your amazing support and good work. 

Photo (L-R):  Malcolm Cox, The Weekly Times Editor John Booth (OAM), Lorraine Cox, Ryde Chamber President Tony Abboud, Ryde Rotary President Allen Horrell

The year has been exciting for me and for my PR role in Rotary. The most significant thing has been the development of the club’s new Website. This has been a long process, as a club has generated a huge amount of information over the years and will do so into the future. It is essential that we organise and manage this information, as it is not only good from a management point of view, but it makes all communication and public relations easier. Each event that we participate in generates promotional material, photographs, articles and comments.
The more we can consolidate the collection and delivery of all this media, the more effective we will be at PR. The new Website has been designed from the ground up with this in mind. It will launch soon, but will never stand still. I am asking all members to contribute everything they can to help make our Website the best Rotary Club Website in the world – and we can do this by simply supplying it with great content and accurate information. This will set an example to other clubs and raise our own profile, both within Rotary and with the wider community.
I had some time off this year, due to personal circumstances and also a bit of a major flu attack, and in my absence I must say I was amazed at the efforts of PP Charles Kilby and Rtn Adrian Hallett. From Fords in the Park to the huge Graffiti launch, our club has been spearheaded into the local headlines and is poised to capitalise on their great work over the year ahead. Thank you so much for your support, Charles and Adrian.
Other highlights for me for the year have included the production of the MUNA video and audio files, which are both a permanent record of our involvement and an excellent marketing tool for all future MUNA events. We also gained a big spread in the paper for our Vocational Excellence Awards and our donation of the ultra-sound machine to Ryde Hospital. Throughout the entire year, I managed to keep pumping out a new Hub each week, thanks to the fabulous contributions of Allen Horrell’s journalism and PP Geoff Brennan’s On-Time Printing Solutions.
Next year is going to be bigger and better, with the Website springing into life, huge visibility of the club with the Graffiti program, Adrian Hallett’s amazing work on signage and his travelling trailer show, more videos, photo galleries, some 30 second commercials on 2RRR and, what I hope will be a big scoop for the club, our branding rights to a new community domain: ryde.nsw.au. This is in its very early stages of development, but will grow to become an excellent vehicle for our club.

The new Website is coming together very well indeed. In fact this blog post is part of it, which just goes to show that everything is working!  No doubt this section of the site will grow and grow as time rolls on.  Please bookmark the site so you can return at any time to see all the updates, which will be done regularly.

Please also tell your friends and anyone who has been connected with the club over the years. Guests speakers, exchange students, past members and friends.  We would love to hear your feedback and comments, contributions and links.

Warm regards,

Stefan Sojka

PR Director
Rotary Club of Ryde 2010-2011

A huge “THANK YOU” to all the Rotarians who sponsored me to do the MS Gong Ride. The total I sent in to MS Events was $1175, which will surely help to either provide care for sufferers, or enable a bit more research to find a cure.

AND to those who cast nasturtiums on my claims to have actually reached The Gong, here is a picture of me at the finish line, and another with my team-mates Patrick and Michael, after the ride. I think we look pretty chipper for a couple of Seniors. (Michael is not yet 40)

       

‘Til next year!
Martin A

It has been an exciting year for our club, with many activities occurring in all avenues of service and within the club itself. My first year as PR director has been a challenging and exciting one, with much learning taking place, getting runs on the board and slowly but surely building a PR case for the club that I am very proud to say I can pick up and run with into next year, as I retain my current position.
I have to say I have been supported strongly by some members of the club, almost to the point of them taking over my role! My weekly Hub report was on many occasions submitted before I put finger to keyboard. Rtn. Adrian Hallett is a one-man publicity machine, carting behind him - as he does to every event - a trailer packed with signage and paraphernalia promoting the club. This was particularly helpful as many weekends I am called to duty in my business. Thank you Adrian for all your support! I have had some discussions with him, and we have some big plans for that trailer and all it contains.
On the media front, I have begun learning the ropes. We have had one or two nice articles in the paper, and I have placed the obligatory accompanying advert on one occasion to ensure a nice placement. The Hub is a central tool in the PR arsenal, and my weekly reports have hopefully provided mirth and merriment, as well as informative insights into the caliber of our guests and the high quality of our regular meetings. The district’s “Humanity in Motion” magazine is a splendid publication, in which I was proud to have contributed a wonderful two-page spread that is now popping up all over our community.
Since I took on the role of PR director, I have been maintaining an interim Website, in preparation for the imminent launch of our brand new Website. The interim site has been a source of information for anyone searching for the club, and we have had numerous members of the public approach us directly as a result of finding us in Google. The new site is a big undertaking, and I am very much looking forward to completing it. It is fully branded to Rotary International style guidelines, and is designed to grow with every activity that we undertake. It also has a newsletter mailing list facility for both members and the general public, so that we can send out two different e-news publications. The Website is taking a while to produce, because it is a huge project – and I do need some help – but it will be launching within the next month or so – ready for the new board to marvel over… and take credit for!
Recently, I participated in MUNA as video and audio producer. The audio version of the entire event is complete and is of huge benefit to all participants, past, present and future. The promotional video will highlight just how much fun and how rewarding the event is. It will be a good vehicle to promote MUNA and our club, setting a good standard for future publicity. I have already set up a YouTube site for Ryde Rotary, in readiness for the video’s completion.
Thank you to everyone who has mentored and supported me all year. I am looking forward very much to the year ahead, as I consolidate a lot of the ground work I have laid down these past 12 months.