G’day everyone and welcome to another fun filled Rotary week!!
Last week saw us “back at the pub” with a newly renovated room and revamped menu and a very large table! It was nice to be back to familiar territory, but I would like to acknowledge and thank Zest Cafe and Elevation Restaurant for housing and feeding us for a couple of weeks. As they say, a change is as good as a holiday. :)
I’m writing this on Friday morning, eagerly awaiting the film night at the Cameo Cinema tonight. Hopefully there will be a terrific turnout of people and we’ll all enjoy watching “Ride Like a Girl” whilst supporting the eradication of Polio from the world! End Polio Now is a phenomenal undertaking that Rotary is doing…and has made an almost unimaginable difference throughout the world. Although there are literally only a handful of cases reported so far this year, we cannot stop! The whole world needs to be polio free for 3 years (I believe) before we can claim we have been successful. Until then, polio can make a resurgence without the diligence and perseverance of Rotarians and other volunteers throughout the world. “We are this close!!!” The funds raised by the film night will go towards getting the vaccination drops to every nook and cranny of the world.
Tuesday 24th September will see the Rotary International President, Mark Maloney, at a dinner in Ballarat. A few members from Emerald & District are venturing to the gold town to be inspired by Mark and his Rotary story. I believe he is a very good speaker, so will be looking forward to sharing that with you next meeting. (Don’t miss us too much this week!!) ;)
On the website www.rotary.org you can learn more about our International President and his vision for this Rotary year. He wants Rotary clubs to “…foster a culture where Rotary does not compete with the family, but rather complements it,” and to be “…realistic in our expectations, considerate in our scheduling, and welcoming of children at Rotary events on every level.”
I think we do this pretty well already and I would like to thank the whole club for its fantastic support in recent weeks when I’ve been juggling hospital visits, children, absent husbands and Rotary commitments. I’m so grateful to you for picking up the slack that this Club President leaves behind!
Mark Maloney also said “(Rotary) allows us to connect with each other, in deep and meaningful ways, across our differences,” Maloney said. “It connects us to people we would never otherwise have met, who are more like us than we ever could have known. It connects us to our communities, to professional opportunities, and to the people who need our help.”
When we look around the table at our Club members, ask yourself, “If it wasn’t for Rotary, would I have met you?” I suggest in many cases the answer would be no. It’s an amazing organisation that can bring together people of all ages, all religions, all cultures, all occupations for the greater good! My mother-in-law once said to me that she couldn’t understand why I would want to hang out with people so much older than me. I honestly don’t see ages in our club. I see people who are caring, sharing of their time and energy, extremely interesting and certainly diverse…but most of all FUN to be around!! Thanks for letting me hang around y’all!!!
“Conundrum for this week?” did I hear you call!?!?
A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to purchase. The farmer knows that the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?
Have a terrific Rotary week and see you round like a Rotary Wheel.
C xxx
