Stefan Sojka

Vocation:

Producer/Director, Media Production

Year Joined:

2006

Phone:

02 9877 5544

Email:

stefan@cyrius.com.au

Biography:

Stefan was born in Watford, England in 1963 and moved to Australia in 1969. His father, Joe Sojka, was Polish and mother, Shirley Beaver, is English. Joe served in the Polish navy as a Morse Code operator in submarines, and wound up in England after being depth-charged by the Germans at the beginning of WWII. After the war, he couldn’t return to Poland.

Shirley is a teacher, librarian, writer and active member of U3A.  Shirley’s father was a composer, who was responsible for such well-known movie sound tracks as Alfred Hitchcock’s "The 39 Steps".

Stefan began his education in England and finished high school in 1979 in Maclean, on the far north coast of NSW. Upon arrival in Australia in 1969, his family settled in Sydney's Western Suburbs then moved to Maclean when his mother was posted to Grafton for her first teaching job.

Stefan went through school, two years younger than his class-mates, after skipping from 1st class to 3rd class in primary school.  Before leaving school in 1979, he sat the Commonwealth Bank entrance exam and was offered a job which he did for two years.

Music was Stefan's passion.  He played in the school orchestra and in a school rock band with his brother, Marek, before joining the first of many professional bands while still at the bank.  The early 80s was a vibrant time for Australian rock music, so he left the bank and pursued a full-time musical career.  He toured all over northern NSW, then joined the Queensland 'circuit' from 1983 to 1986 before heading over to Perth.  His Brisbane-based band split up in Perth and Stefan decided to stay on, performing at piano bars and studying jazz and drama at the WA Conservatorium of Music and WA Academy of Performing Arts.  After many successful stints in Perth's top piano bars, Stefan made the move to Sydney in 1989.

Stefan quickly established a reputation in Sydney's piano bars.  He gradually evolved into a consummate entertainer and MC for private events, building a network of word-of-mouth referrals that have seen him perform for large corporations, celebrities and people from all walks of life.

In 1995, Stefan discovered the Internet.  He also discovered that he really liked writing.  So, Stefan started writing about the Internet for magazines and newspapers and soon found that he had developed an understanding of the Web that could benefit other people.  So he gradually moved into the Web Design business, studying small business management at Macquarie Community College, while continuing to perform and entertain.

Late 1997, Stefan met his wife, Lata Nasomjit, who was visiting her twin sister in Australia from Thailand. They married in July 1998.  At the time of writing, there are no children on the scene.

Stefan's business, Cyrius Media Group, incorporated in 2007 with Lata coming on board as a director, bringing her business experience into the partnership.  Cyrius manages a large client base of small businesses, while Stefan continues to evolve as a multi-media professional, writing a column in NETT magazine, producing Websites, hosting a podcast, producing videos for YouTube and ABC TV and serving our Club as PR Director and newsletter editor.

Why I joined Rotary: Back in high school, I was an active member of Interact and almost became a Rotary exchange student. Many years later, I was fortunate enough to perform at a Wedding for Ryde Rotarian, Duncan Taylor's daughter. I got talking to Duncan at the wedding about Interact and Rotary. Duncan invited me to a meeting and I have never looked back. The memories of Interact from my school days were strong. As someone who is heavily involved in networking through the Internet, I understand how powerful and effective Rotary's network is.  It gives me an opportunity to serve my community in many ways and to tap into a huge wealth of knowledge and experience possessed by my fellow members.

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