District has supplied 5 nominations for RYLA and RYPEN.....Rhonda's committee to review
There are two resolutions proposed by District for which approval is being sought from clubs:
That District takes over the control and running of the One and All (RC Glenelg is currently responsible but finding it difficult to manage)
That any member of the selection committee for District Governor must have at least a 3 year break from that committee before nominating for DG.
The Pride of Work Small Business Award to Zinc Hair is proudly on display in their Unley Shopping Centre shop.
Our next Bunnings' engagement is on 17 April and Mitre 10 will now be 24 April.
Big Music
Brendan Kenny provided an update on the Unley has Talent competition. A workshop was run recently at Tabor College with the assistance of Dr Janelle Fletcher, the musical coordinator. It was designed to assist musical development, and 12 female students who had singing, song writing and instrument playing ability attended. Each was given feedback to assist in their musical journey. One 11 yo student provided a stunning performance. 26 entries have been received. Preliminary performance testing for vocals will be on May 3 and instrument playing on March 10 at Tabor. The Gala Concert, a fundraiser, will be held Saturday May 29 at Concordia College.
Rhonda Hoare provided further detail on the Musical Sensory Garden to celebrate 100 years of Rotary and 150 years of Unley City Council. Council has approved the concept and is assessing the best site....between Orphanage Park and Ridge Park. The outdoor instruments will be sourced from Percussion Play a UK company. A video was played showing a range of these instruments, their sounds, the imagery they invoke and their cost. A sensory garden for all seasons.
Some instruments like bells cost as little as $1000 and as high as $6,000. Stepping stones are about $20.6k and an intriguing hexad costs $28k but can come in smaller sizes for as little as $6.4k. A grand floor piano will cost about $70k. All prices include delivery. A preliminary estimate to produce a first rate garden is of the order of $215k for the instruments. A noise assessment has been carried out by council with a positive result.....no sound beyond 50 metres and less noise than a bus.
A wide range of options are being considered to fund the venture including whatever State, Federal and Rotary grants may be available and sponsorship (including instrument and paving purchases by benefactors, with plaques acknowledging such donors). Council is conducting its own feasibility study. Teams are being formed within our club to perform the following functions:
garden design
selection and placement of instruments
grants pursuit
sponsorship and public liaison
Council liaison
publicity
Valerie and Patsy urged everyone to be involved, and circulated nomination sheets for those teams yet to be filled.
This is one of the most exciting and venturesome projects ever undertaken by the club. It will require the very best of planning and execution.
All speakers were thanked for their presentations.
Here is the link from Patsy to listen to the instruments:
Go to ‘Instruments’ in the pull down menu – select by instrument and then press play.
Spots
Patsy Beckett informed that it was now time to pay the $40/head for the TAFE meal, being held Wednesday 12 May - 31 registered to attend.
Nathan White explained that the incoming RI President has set a target for increasing Rotary membership from 1.2 to 1.3 million by bringing someone to Rotary. He is planning to set this in train.
Bob Mullins recited 3 shorties from a book of bad jokes and they were truly appalling.....a $10 fine would have been in order.
Christina Way reminded that the coffee chat was on again this Friday at 10.30am at Impressa.
Finale
John Peacham won the big bucks and the fruchocs will age gracefully for another week. President Graham, in closing the meeting with a few minutes to spare, quoted Valdimir Putin (or one of his predecessors) as having enlightened the world by suggesting that it was impossible to milk a cow with hands in pocket. Perhaps he should have reflected on Vlad's amazing ability to milk Russian pockets.
Pride of Work footnote
Len Sampson, by random draw, won the prize of $250 for submitting a POW nomination. He generously donated this to a charity nominated by Impressa and was appreciative of our efforts to promote small business.
By Chris Bloore, inaugural President, E-Club of WASH District 9980 (New Zealand)
A decade ago, Rotary water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects were having mixed results and limited sustainability. Establishing an e-club dedicated to WASH was a way to apply the discipline of humanitarian work psychology to volunteer-based aid programs to address these issues. By carefully matching volunteers’ skills, experience, and personality to the real needs of sustainable water and sanitation projects, Rotary projects could give better value for the time, money and effort expended.
How?
The e-club was the brainchild of past RI President Bill Boyd, via convention conversations with former Dunedin Central Rotary Club President, Steve Atkins, building on a Rotary co-funded Smart-Aid research project. It took nearly two years to arrange sponsor clubs, recruit members, and select officers and all the usual administrative tasks necessary before we chartered on 5 October 2016. Active and enthusiastic support from three successive district governors; Karen Purdue, Trish Boyle, and Janice Hughes and Assistant District Governor Lesley Brook, who mentored us during our first two years of operation, were crucial. We also had a lot of support from Rotary senior leaders, including past RI President Bill Boyd, Nicholas Mancus, Ron Denham, and Anna Shepherd (executive secretary of the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group).
Challenges
We faced many challenges; being an e-club rather than a face-to-face club, having a globally distributed membership, being one of the first cause-based Rotary club in the world.
E-clubs had already been established within Rotary, so adapting our constitution and by-laws was not too daunting. We had to set up a website, a social media platform and a forum for e-meetings (initially GoToMeeting and later Zoom).
The global membership required some creative thinking about meeting times, complicated by daylight saving in different time zones. We had to set up a New Zealand bank account with an overseas treasurer and internet banking signatories in different countries. Arranging training for our club officers required co-operation with the many different districts in which they lived. We had to invent ways to fund-raise with members distributed over the globe such as trivia night fundraisers over Zoom.
Advice for other clubs
Rotary clubs form, grow, and flourish by adapting, learning, and changing. Learning by doing keeps our club relevant, responsive to changing circumstances, and a lot of fun. As in all clubs, finding tasks for all members is vital to ensure engagement. For single focus clubs there is a risk of “capture” by special interests, for example NGOs in our case. It is also important to remain a Rotary club. Our president, Heidi, stresses the need to keep members “Rotarrified”!
Benefits of being topic focused
Having a single focus means that all the members are committed to that focus, employing their disparate skills and experience in a common task. It also gives us access to a deeper pool of expertise through a related Rotary Action Group (WASRAG), and a variety of professional societies and NGOs aligned with our goals. This makes us more effective and helps us recruit new members.
Our impact
We are developing the capacity to help clubs with district and global grant applications for WASH related projects. We do this by reviewing grant applications, by developing tools to help clubs meet the Rotary Foundation’s requirements, and tools to help project teams in the field. We are in the midst implementing a global grant for WASH in Schools in Nigeria as well as performing community assessments for district grants for Household Water Supply in South Sudan and WASH in Healthcare Facilities in Malawi. This helps us learn first-hand what resources are most effective.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre
Twice monthly, 10.30 am on a Friday, is good for a chat with Rotary friends and a caffeine fix! Next one this Friday 9 April
Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday 13 April - 6 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: Paul Duke Its all about the tooth fairy and Vera-Ann Stacy Behind the Badge
Set-up and Welcome......Patsy Beckett and Valerie Bonython
Tuesday 20 April - 6 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: Colonel (Ret) Steve Larkins RSL Anzac Day
Set-up and Welcome......Patsy Beckett & Valerie Bonython
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Pam Trimmer & Vera Holt
Week 4: 24 April 2021
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Ver-Ann Stacy
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Jerry Casburn & Reno Elms
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Pam Trimmer (T) 8293 2612; (M) 0415 238 333; e-mail: pamela.trimmer@bigpond.com
Bunnings Mile End and Mitre 10 Barbeques
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm