Rotary Bulletin - Nunawading 24 January 2018 (Jan 22, 2018)

We meet Wednesdays at 6:30 PM
(Fellowship from 6:00 PM)

Bucatini Restaurant

454 Whitehorse Road,
Mitcham, Vic 3132

(03) 9873 0268

Australia Day Long Weekend

Jan 26, 2018 – Jan 28, 2018

Barefoot Bowls Night

Ringwood Bowling Club

Feb 07, 2018
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Whitehorse Farmers Market

Whitehorse Offices Nunawading

Feb 11, 2018
7:00 AM – 1:00 PM

District Conference

Mar 02, 2018 – Mar 04, 2018

Pack bags for Int. Women's Breakfast

Mar 07, 2018

International Women's Breakfast

Box Hill Town Hall

Mar 08, 2018
7:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Jan 24, 2018

Hank Gibcus

Trip to Panama and Boating

Jan 31, 2018

Sue Warmington

Food Handling Course

Feb 07, 2018

Barefoot Bowling

Feb 14, 2018

Mark Wilson & Amanda Kozik

2018 Special Olympics

Feb 21, 2018

Committee Meetings

Feb 28, 2018

Fellowship Night with Partners

View entire list

Meeting Roster - 24 January 2018

Chairman

Schoner, Peter

Recorder

Tregear, Dick

Cashier

Thomas, Kevin

Host

Vanaria, Joe

Meeting Roster - 31 January 2018

Chairman

Warmington, Russell

Cashier

Vanaria, Mary

Recorder

Wittick, Max

Host

Wilson, Roger

Meeting Roster - 07 February 2018

Chairman

Willoughby, Wayne

Cashier

Warmington, Russell

Recorder

Warmington, Sue

Host

Willoughby, Wayne

Meeting Roster - 14 February 2018

Chairman

Davis, Bob

Cashier

Armstrong, Ian

Recorder

Arnolda, Lesley

Host

Atkinson, Bruce

Meeting Roster - 21 February 2018

Chairman

Cashier

Brear, Len

Recorder

Budd, Peter

Host

Cross, Sue

Meeting Roster - 28 February 2018

Chairman

Cashier

Davis, Bob

Recorder

Eadon, Judith

Host

Dunkley, Brian

Member Birthdays

Ben Stennett

January 25

Peter Budd

January 25

Spouse Birthdays

Louise Budd

January 2

Pam Tregear

January 14

Alex Palantinis

January 17

Libby Atkinson

January 22

Ben Stennett

January 25

Karen Schoner

January 28

Anniversaries

Bruce Atkinson

Libby Atkinson

January 4

Ben Stennett

Susan Stennett

January 14

Susan Stennett

Ben Stennett

January 14

Bruce Simcox

Joy Simcox

January 16

Mike Prior

Glenda Prior

January 19

Join Date

Roger Wilson

January 1, 1990

28 years

Michael Sukkar

January 28, 2015

3 years

2017 - 2018 Board

President	Philip Maxwell
President Elect	Janette Etherington
Secretary	Judith Eadon
Treasurer	Russell Warmington
Past President	David Hatcher

Community Service	Ian Armstrong
International Service	Lesley Arnolda
Vocational Service	Gabby Knaepple
Youth Service	Kevin Thomas

Membership	Neil Ibbott
Rotary Foundation	Sue Cross
Fundraising	Bob Davis

WORDS FROM A FORMER GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE TEAM MEMBER:

“In Warsaw, Woijeich Sierpinski, a Rotary Club President, took me on a tour that I will never forget. We visited his parent’s house - where they lived during World War II. There in the kitchen, under a dusty stack of crates was a secret wood panel in the floor. Woijeich removed the panel to reveal a tiny room underneath the kitchen floor where his parents hid their neighbours - a Jewish family – during the war. As I stood speechless, listening to Woijeich describe how they evaded the Nazis, I realised the full value of the Group Study Exchange program.”

Ian Oxman, Group Study Exchange member from California.

I prefer to be whelmed

Several years ago, I decided to read some of the literary classics that I had ignored over the years. One of the greatest surprises was Moby Dick, written by Hermann Melville in 1851, and in its time a literary failure.

The common perception is that this story is about the reclusive and obsessed Captain Ahab and his hunt for the white whale that took his leg on a previous journey. However this part of the story, based on a true encounter of the ship Essex, forms no more than an epilogue. The true story is the challenge taken on by the sailors, told by Ishmael, where every crewman shared a proportion of the final profit of the journey. To fail was to come back with no pay after two years of hard work and privation.

Whaling and the whale oil that the voyages produced was the fuel for lamps in the Victorian era. Whaling became uneconomic when kerosene from crude oil replaced whale oil.

One of the many images left by this epic was of Captain Ahab sitting in his cabin with the stern windows open. The sun is going down and he is gazing at the wake left by their ship, the Piquod, as it is carried over a calm sea.

“The envious billows sidelong swell to whelm my track; let them; but first I pass.”

The image of a beautiful sunset on the horizon and the wake of the ship rolling in to hide the path of the ship is lovely. The event is appreciated and supported by using “whelm” instead of a more dramatic word.

I have never seen whelm used before or since Moby Dick. We are constantly “overwhelmed” by events and the latest and greatest thing. Think iPhone 10, blockbuster movies and the latest model of car. We are constantly told that we MUST have these things or we will be left behind and become a lesser being. Being overwhelmed becomes a drug habit that needs to be fed constantly in order to exist.

I prefer to be whelmed by the good people within Rotary, those unsung heroes who work tirelessly without the need to be recognised by others. The breadth and depth of Rotary programs that renew my faith in humanity due to their compassion and results. Our remarkable members who whelm me with their humanity, sense of community and concern for others. Thanks for renewing my faith in humanity.

Phil Maxwell

Last Week's Meeting - 17 January

Posted by John Lynch

Vice President Janette conducted the meeting but it was good to see President Phil and Sue in attendance.

Janette reported that a few members including Kevin Thomas, James Tan, Peter Schoner and Len Brear were all recovering from medical conditions. Unfortunately for the Schoners, Karen has also broken her leg.

Fellowship Chairman Harvey Lane reported that the Christmas Breakfast at the Brears' raised $ 360 and the funds will be allocated to a project by the Board shortly.

Janette also announced that the January 24 Board Meeting had been cancelled.

Program Chairman Bob Hoskins then ran a fun session to ask selected Members to answer the following questions:

What was your first car?
Where did you meet your partner?
Where did you go to school?
What was your most memorable traffic fine?

Colin Taylor, Graeme Moorfoot, John Lynch, Mike Prior and Harvey Lane all were under the spotlight but you had to be at the Meeting to find out what was disclosed. It was a enjoyable evening and a great start to 2018.

Former Rotary Exchange Student Now Published Author

Our Club’s Exchange Student from the early 1990s, Ai Seiki wrote and got published a book about child care and education in 2017, which got a write up in a Tokyo newspaper.

Ai became a journalist after she completed her education. She is now married with a 10 year old daughter and is a Minato city Tokyo politician. Her husband Kyoma works in his father’s property business.

Youth Exchange Welcome Home Dinner

The District 9810 Youth Exchange Committee is pleased to invite members and partners of your Club to the Welcome Home Dinner for our recently returned exchange students. This is an opportunity particularly for newer members to see and hear first hand about the program from the students.

A Club’s involvement in the exchange program provides two students (outbound and inbound) an opportunity to study abroad for one year and gain enormously. Studies have shown a similar experience can equate to between seven and nine years of personal development. During the evening the students will have a brief opportunity to say thank you and share some of their great experience with those present.

The Welcome Home Dinner is without doubt one of the highlights of the Rotary year. It has an atmosphere of warmth, appreciation and friendliness brought about by the student’s presence. District Governor Malcolm Chiverton will welcome all students back home and present them with their personal Certificate of Achievement.

Date: Friday February 23rd 2018
Time: 7-00pm for 7-30pm
Venue: Mulgrave Country Club, Cnr. Wellington & Jells Roads, WHEELERS HILL
Cost: Returned student & Parent/s – No Cost
Other attendees - $30 per person
2 course Dinner – Drinks @ Bar price
RSVP: Before February 14th, with booking form and payment to - Stuart McDonald

More information about the Youth Exchange program can be found here.

I'm On A Committee

Posted by Dick Tregear

I'm on a committee

Oh, give me pity

I'm on a committee

Which means from morning to night

We attend and amend,

And contend and defend

Without a conclusion in sight.

We confer and concur,

We defer and demur,

And we re-iterate all of our thoughts,

We revise the agenda,

With frequent addenda

And consider a load of reports.

We compose and propose,

We suppose and oppose

And the points of procedures are fun,

But though various notions

Are brought up as motions,

There's terrible little gets done!

We resolve and absolve,

But never dissolve,

Since it's out of the question for us,

What a shattering pity

To end our committee,

Where else could we make such a fuss?!

Ambulance Victoria Mentor Program

Rotarians are invited to apply to be a mentor for Ambulance Victoria (AV) senior management staff. Applications must be submitted by February 25^th.

All D9810 Rotarians, and especially those living or working around Mulgrave or adjacent suburbs, are invited to apply - a senior female AV staff member, currently acting group manager and working in Mulgrave, will be the mentee.

You may be familiar with the Victoria Police (VicPol) Mentoring program. This was started in D9800 and is considered to be one of the more prestigious Vocational Service projects in Australia with D9810 having a major involvement over the last 3 years.

This newly-established AV mentoring program is similar to the VicPol program but with important differences - primarily that the mentor should have solid and recent business/management experience. This reflects the AV requirement that mentoring cover both business knowledge and skills as well as involvement with Rotary's community projects.

A Project Guidelines document is available which includes the selection criteria, time commitment and a link to the application form.