Stories

Rotary Pride of Workmanship Awards 23

Photos kindly supplied by Samantha Wantling - Stanthorpe Today - Left to right: Award Recipients: Anneke Jacobson SDRC, Tara Sweeney Milestones Early Learning, Jenny Lutter Wallangara State School, Jason Cooper Stanthorpe RSL Services Club, Mayor Vic Pennisi Southern Downs Regional Council presented the awards, Vanessa Simpson Stanthorpe RSL Services Club, Tania Cobon Bendigo Community Bank, Nancy Benevento Ballandean Estate Wines, Jill Hunter Pozieres State School and Rotary Past President Fran Hodgson MC of the evening.

Congratulations Norm Gale

Posted by Julia Hassall

At our meeting 8th May, during our fact session, Norm displayed his recent Life Membership Award and shared some of the experiences he had with the Navy during his life.. For the photo shoot he said "Come on Helen, you were part of this too". Norm and Helen moved in front of the Honour Boards and posed with the Certificate.

Anna Henderson A&G Rotary Young Ambassador

Anna's Fundraising Begins. Left to Right Robyn Henderson, Paula Passi, Anna Henderson, Mary Puglisi

Waste Not! – turning unsold donated fresh produce into pantry items that are available to those community members supported by the GBNS Food Support Scheme. The project is self funded with the sale of preserves at Markets. Waste Not Jam is provided to school Breakfast Clubs and are also used in raffles and as gifts for Rotary guests, etc. Rotarian Kylie Linton volunteers for the Granite Belt Food Support Scheme, The Scheme is an outreach service offered by the Granite Belt Neighbourhood Centre; providing food baskets for those in need so that they can maintain a healthier lifestyle. Fresh produce is donated to the scheme from a range of local sources. Our Rotary Waste Not! Pantry Project takes perishable donations not consumed by the scheme, freezes them until cooking day, then turns them into non-perishable pantry items such as jams, pickles and sauces. A grant from the Regional Council and the Australian Government provided a freezer, a printer for labels and commercial grade cooking equipment to make the products with. As with all equipment owned by our Rotary Club, other community groups may access the equipment to assist them in their community endeavours. Suttons Cidery on the Granite Belt sponsors the project, allowing us to cook the product in their commercial kitchen. The project is supported on an ongoing basis through the sale of specialty preserves at local and Beachmere markets and stalls. This seed funding covers the cost of non-donated items such as jars and lids and ingredients such as sugar, spices and additional fresh ingredients. Our Waste Not! project: • reduces waste of perishables donated to the Food Support Scheme in quantities in excess of demand • provides a greater range of products available to Scheme customers, including jams, sauces, pickles, etc. Some preserves are made specifically to sell at markets. Funds raised will be used to buy staple products (rice, pasta) for the Food Supply Scheme (staples are not donated in quantities that meet demand). Some of the Waste Not! products such as jams are given to the local school Breakfast Clubs, with obvious advantage in helping schools feed their students as a better start to the learning day. Some Waste Not! products are used by our Rotary Club as raffle prizes in ongoing fundraising, for example, funds to support applicants to attend Rotary Youth Camps at no cost. Since commencing in 2020, the Pantry project has made almost 3000 jars of preserves. So many benefits from our little Pantry Project for so many people! Rotary in Action!

ROSE District Award for Satellite Club

Posted by Julia Hassall

Rotary Merry Christmas 22

Waste Not Products at Markets

February Theme

Stanthorpe State High School Interact Changeover

The first Changeover of this revitalised Interact Club of Stanthorpe occurred on Monday. It was an excited group of Interactors who shared the company of visiting Rotarians. Vice President Stephen Tancred shared some wise words about community involvement before inducting 2 new members. Outgoing President Tessa Pascoe reported on the year gone and thanked her executive. She then handed over to the 2019 President Indyana Walters who introduced her executive.

President Fran Hodgson talked about the connectedness between the 3 parts of Rotary in Stanthorpe and invited President Indy to consider a combined social occasion soon. Fran then presented Service Awards to 8 Interact members who had excelled in Community Service. She also awarded Year 12 Interactor Ryah Frith with the Peak Service Award for Community Service and Club Commitment. Thank you to Fran, Stephen, Kylie and Melissa for supporting the Interactors and their families at their changeover.

Pride of Workmanship 2019

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2019 Pride of Workmanship Awards. The support of employers in recognising their valuable employees is greatly appreciated.

2019-20 Changeover

Congratulations to our President for 2019-20, Fran Hodgson. Photos for the evening can be viewed by clicking on this link photoalbums/2019-20-changeover.

Opera 2019

Opera in the Vineyard 2019

RYLA applications

We are looking for nominees who may be interested in hearing about the Ryla camp.

The Ryla Flyer is below. Please pass names (with a contact phone number if you can) to Nicole Clarke (0448730191) or Ann Richardson (0402 037 358). Feel free to give them a copy of the flyer. We will contact them on Rotary's behalf. Within the next week would be great! Thank you.

Kicking Goals in Community Service

The team, lead by Rotarian Alec, made headlines in Rotary Downunder Magazine this month for the Combined Service Club's Drought Relief Fundraiser. If you didn't see it go to Rotary Downunder Magazine (page 47).

Interact Farewells Josh

Interact President Tessa gave a farewell presentation to Senior Mentor Josh Clark this week. Josh has been in the struggling Interact Club since Year 8. He was very happy to have seen it Re-invigorated this year. He encouraged all members to bring a friend at the start of next year. Tessa thanked Josh for his enthusiasm and wished him well now that he has graduated. Josh intends to stay connected to Rotary.

Mental Health First Aid Workshops

Stanthorpe Rotary is proud to offer the community this 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course. The course teaches adults (18 years and over) how to provide initial support to adults who are developing a mental illness, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. Like physical first aid, mental health first aid is given until the person receives professional help or until the crisis resolves.

Course participants learn about the signs and symptoms of the common and disabling mental health problems, how to provide initial help, where and how to get professional help, what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective, and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation.

Please note this course is not a therapy or support group, rather it is an education course to learn how to give first aid to others.

Talkwise offers this MHFA Course as authored by MHFA Australia and delivered by accredited instructor Sallyanne Keevers.

Location Stanthorpe RSL Marsh St Stanthorpe

Dates January 23-24 RSVP January 18

February 14-15 RSVP February 8
Time 9am -4pm

Cost $35 includes morning tea
Limited numbers- maximum of 2 persons /organisation/workshop

Download Course Details Download Registration Form

The Rotary Club of Stanthorpe is proud to sponsor this course as a service to our community.

Rotary Sponsored Youth Awards

Stanthorpe Rotary sponsors several secondary awards each year at both SSHS and St Josephs.

The worthy recipients of the Rotary Senior Award for Outstanding Service and the Rotary Junior Service Award for 2018 at Stanthorpe State High School are Tenille Abraham and Alicia Paech.

And the winner of the Junior Craft Award from St Joseph's, with his wooden blanket box (or glory box as Bill called it), Franco Pozebon. Runner up, Lachlan Mahoney. Thank you to Stanthorpe Rural and Stanthorpe Mitre 10 for their sponsorship of the prizes for these awards.

Aldi Sizzle

The Royal blue and gold were very visible at the reopening of the Aldi store last week. Not only was this a successful fundraiser but the members all enjoyed the fellowship created while turning snags or slicing onions and chatting with the many locals who visited. Thankyou to Store Manager, Peter Aldridge for offering us this great community service.

Armistice Centenary - Amiens

The following story was posted on the Amiens History Association site and tells the story far better than I could...

Who would have thought so many people would attend the centenary of the 1918 Armistice and the opening of the Amiens Legacy Centre at Amiens last Sunday? Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm. It makes all the hard work over the last two years so special. Every part of the event went so well and weren’t the Amiens State School children a treasure? The weather gods smiled on us as if to say, well done! One of the highlights was the porcelain pedestal we had for donations to build a permanent toilet block; little children were thrilled to hear their coins ‘ting’ on the bottom of the bowl. Some big ‘kids’ tried it as well. Thank you for your generosity.
The ceremony was very moving and respectful. It was fine tuned to include as many aspects of the original signing as we could manage. I loved that the children even did the accents. They were so good. The inside of the carriage is magnificent; from a 1909 wreck it was remade into the Prince’s carriage and our memorabilia facility with many hours of back breaking work by the dedicated volunteers without whom, nothing would ever get done. We hope you enjoyed the day so much that you will tell your friends and acquaintances about the Amiens Legacy Centre and what we hope to achieve; a complete history of the Pikedale Soldier Settlement, the lives, loves and losses of those early settlers who pioneered the Granite Belt. Their stories resonate at the site of every soldier settlement in Australia but the Pikedale Soldier Settlement was the only one where the townships were named after some of the bitterest battles in which the Aussie diggers played a pivotal role. This makes us beloved of the French and Belgian people and unique in the world.

Donations in Kind (DIK)

In Rotary we all know that we use an outrageous number of acronyms. One that comes up often in our Club is DIK or Donations In Kind. But many newer members may not have any idea what this is. Well, it is a part of RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service which is the branch of Rotary that supports Australian Rotarians and Rotary clubs in assisting disadvantaged communities and individuals with humanitarian aid projects. Often this is overseas in developing countries but is sometimes closer to home where communities are disadvantaged or when we have natural disasters. DIK focuses on the aspect of RAWCS where clubs donate physical goods so is essentially a recycling operation which provides a central base for donated goods to be collected so that they can be best allocated to communities that need them. Our nearest DIK centre has recently moved sites (and when I say recently, I mean this week) and is now located in Kingston (off the Logan Motorway). The guys at DIK are currently setting everything up and need help with installation of pallet racking, work benches etc. If this is something you may be able to assist with for a day or two, talk to Morwenna.

Once the infrastructure is in place at the new site, DIK will start receiving donated goods. It is important that the goods that are donated are in good condition. It is not a rubbish disposal site and is run by volunteers so it is important to send things that are useful. Below is a list of the Do's and Dont's on DIK recycling in case you are thinking of donating.

Bohemian Rhapsody for Polio

Stanthorpe Rotarians ventured out to both Warwick and Tenterfield recently in support on the End Polio campaign to see Bohemian Rhapsody, a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

The movie screenings both to our north and south were in aid of Rotary's Endpolio.org Campaign and were mirrored around the world for this cause. Sadly, our northern neighbours in PNG, who were declared Polio free in 2000 have experienced several cases of "vaccine-type" polio in recent months. There is an interesting article by The Guardian at this link.

Interact Update

Marie joined Interact this week and showed them some photos of home, her family and school. They were jealous that Marie didn’t have to wear a school uniform but were glad that they didn’t have to attend school from 7.30 till 5.30pm each day. Thanks for sharing with our Interactors, Marie. I’m sure some are motivated to become YEP students in the future.

After Marie’s presentation, the room became a competitive ping pong arena. No clear winner but lots of laughter!

Where has our drought relief donation gone?

There has been much made of the NSW and QLD drought and efforts by all Australians to raise funds to support those most in need. We mostly hear about drought relief in the form of stock feed being trucked west and see photos of starving cattle and sheep. But drought has far wider reaching effects on communities than suffering livestock. Stanthorpe Rotary, through the combined efforts of ourselves, Lions, Zonta and Stanthorpe Ag Society raised $16 000 which has been forwarded to the Rotary District 9630 Appeal. District 9630 is the district just to our north and encompasses some of Brisbane and Toowoomba, then heads west through Roma, Mitchell, St George and Charleville. It is to these areas that the money has been directed in the form of vouchers for use in local business and family days where the community can come together to support each other and promote mental health and well-being for those who are suffering.

For more information on how District 9630 is distributing funds click here.

Recognition from ESRAG

President Ian Riseley wanted Rotarians to look towards the environment so he created “The Rotary International President's Tree Planting Challenge 2017-18!” Rotarians around the world enthusiastically took President Riseley's tree planting challenge to heart, placing service above self by serving the environment and planting many millions of trees. Healthy trees are the foundation for a healthy environment and a healthy environment will create a healthy community.

The Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG) would like to recognize your club for its contribution to President Riseley's 1.2 Million Tree Planting Challenge. We are enclosing with this note a Certificate of Appreciation commemorating your club's participation in President Riseley's tree planting challenge. ESRAG's hope is that President Riseley’s Tree Planting Challenge will serve as the starting point for Rotarians around the world to work to improve the environment using the premise of environmental sustainability.

Thank you again for supporting President Ian Riseley's tree planting Initiative and the environment.

Best regards,

Peter Moralée
Chair, ESRAG

P.S. President Riseley provided us with a special video recording to convey his personal thanks for your club's contributions. This is linked on the ESRAG website along with the 2017-2018 Tree Planting Challenge District Summary. Click here.

Lift the Lid Breakfast

Congratulations to Jim Barnes on a fabulous breakfast event for Lift the Lid - Mental Health Day on 10th October.

Click here to see photos.

Proposed Nepal Tour

Stanthorpe Rotary is looking to support Goondiwindi Rotary in a building and humanitarian project in Nepal. Members of the Club and community are invited to join a tour to Nepal in April 2019.

Border Post on Marie

In case you didn't get a chance to catch this week's Border Post, it featured an interview with our French Exchange Student Marie.

Polio + Movie "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Lift the Lid

Used Stamps

Marie

Our Youth Exchange student, Marie, has settled in well with her current host Mum, Morwenna, and is seen here helping clear the boat launch area on Storm King Dam beside the new shed. Storm King Boat Club hosted us for dinner one evening last summer and they are about to hold the official opening of their new facility. Marie has also been observed getting special help with Maths homework from her new Mum. What "Mum" lacks in mothering experience she makes up for with teaching ability.

Please remember Morwenna has to work during the school holidays so if you are doing anything of interest-especially if you have kids on holidays yourself- remember it will be a pretty boring holiday for Marie just sitting around by herself at the Nursery for 2 weeks. Give her a call and include her with whatever is going on in your life. It is a good opportunity for club members to get to know Marie.

Apple & Grape Meeting

Big Thermometer Opening

A couple of shots of the Opening of the Big Thermometer. The gentleman sitting in Alec's chair was using walking sticks so Hop-a-long Alec offered him a seat. He was extremely grateful and spent the afternoon there- a great example of Service Above Self! The new tablecloth was put to good use and the helpers also enjoyed the afternoon.

What is RAWCS?

From humble beginnings in the 1960s to hundreds of projects both in Australia and abroad, Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) has transformed the lives of countless people in need.

Gourmet in Gundy this Sunday

Suicide Prevention

Drought Relief Poster

Flyers

Flyers

DG Droughtrelief Story

Interact Induction Afternoon

On Tuesday afternoon 14th August the Interact Club of Stanthorpe inducted 12 new members at a Special ceremony witnessed by parents and Rotarians. The newly elected Executive Committee of six students was announced. The work of two Interactors, Josh Clarke and Tessa Pascoe, was recognised by the awarding of a Service Badge. Both have spent many hours performing a variety of activities that helped others locally and internationally. Congratulations to all the Interact Members. Rotary, the Staff at Stanthorpe High, your families and community wish you and your club success in service and friendship over the next Interact year.

GCE Expression of Interest

For more information please contact Tony Heading on tonyheading@bigpond.com

New Members

Posted by Denise Harslett

Welcome to our two newest Rotary Satellite Members; Valerie Hoffmann and Tom Hodgson.

Meeting report

Invitation to Amiens History Assn Dinner

Posted by Denise Harslett

Interact Club Induction

Italian Christmas in Winter

The Stanthorpe Rotary family joined forces on Wednesday night at the Italian Christmas in Winter. ‘Monday’ members and Satellite members combined with Interact members and Friends of Rotary to eat their way through 3 courses of an Italian feast, play Tombola with an Italian accent and share stories of Italian experiences, especially from our YEPstudent, Lily who recited some of her experiences at Christmastime in Italy last year. Leeanne forgot to mention that it was tradition to leave the toffees and peanuts for AFTER dessert rather than consume them all BEFORE Entrée.. Lucky she didn't as we would have been too full by then from our sumptuous dinner. She did however give us a good insight into the traditional Christmas with La Befana vs her own family hybrid with Santa Claus included. The Interactors dominated the multidraw raffle winners. Thank you to the Scouts for assisting with service and cleanup and to the Satellite Club members for hosting a great night of fellowship. Where will Christmas be in Winter in 2019?

Looking Forward to........

On 30th July our club will be entertained by the creative ramblings of Alec and Denise Harslett as they reminisce about their recent adventures in Europe.

Satellite Changeover

The Satellite Club held their Changeover meeting on Wednesday evening at the RSL. The meeting was attended by several Monday members and partners as well as six of the Satellite members. Outgoing Chair Kylie spoke about what the group has achieved over the past 18 months and incoming Chair Ann spoke about her goals for the coming two year term. Ann said that she and Kim "will be working together to common goals for both clubs, including building close ties, growth and community image of the Stanthorpe Rotary Family". This family includes our Interact Club who Ann hopes to involve more in our Rotary activities. The Satellite Club are currently working hard on planning the Christmas in Winter Dinner as a combined event with members of both clubs, partners and Interacters. An invitation to this dinner can be found later in this bulletin. Jo Bell is continuing in the role of secretary and Glenn Turner the treasurer. Janelle Bell is now the Chair Elect. District Governor Elect Harry Bolton was the guest speaker for the evening and spoke on the challenges of balancing the modernising of Rotary Clubs with being respectful of Rotary traditions. Among his words of wisdom, he shared with us this...

A new year begins

Congratulations to the outgoing Rotary team and welcome to the new. The Stanthorpe Rotary Changeover was held on Monday 2nd July at the International Club and a lovely evening was shared by Rotarians, partners, friends and guests. We welcomed official guests MP James Lister, Mayor Tracy Dobie, Zonta President Peggy Channon, Lions President David Hume, representatives from Warwick and Tenterfield Rotary Clubs and Past District Governor Darrell Brown. Stephen Tancred presided as Master of Ceremonies, Julia Hassall gave the toast to Rotary International and chose as her focus, Australian Rotary Health - Lift the Lid on Mental Illness. Darrell Brown responded, Morwenna Harslett delivered her outgoing speech and Kim Thorburn his incoming.

The Club honoured long serving partners and friends with well deserved PHFs to Fay Winter, Gail Baxter, Lisa Vichie, Judy Lee, Veronica Ryan, Nev Beddow, Mario Gangemi and Ian Henderson. All of these people have been great supporters of Rotary and Rotarians for more than a decade.

Introducing the new RI President

Farewell Nev

Today we farewelled beloved and respected Rotarian Nev Jones. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Helen and the Jones family. He will be greatly missed.

Opera In The Vineyard 2018

Thanks to all the Rotarians and Friends who came, helped, donated and enjoyed the 26th Opera in the Vineyard.

Pride of Workmanship

Nominations are now open for Stanthorpe Rotary Club's Pride of Workmanship Awards. This is a chance for employers to recognise the achievements and dedication of their top staff.

Nomination Form

Bridget takes the Crown

Congratulations to Stanthorpe Rotary Young Ambassador Bridget Campbell who won the Apple and Grape Young Ambassador title at this year's festival. It is a credit to Bridget and her committee for all their hard work over the past months. This is the second festival in a row that Rotary's candidate has won the honour.

Florida Group Study Exchange

Throughout the week of the Apple and Grape Festival, Stanthorpe Rotary Club was delighted to host the Group Study Exchange Team from Florida, USA. The six visitors were welcomed into the homes of Rotarians and shown (hopefully) the best of of what the Granite Belt has to offer. To see photos and stories of what they have been up to go to their facebook page Rotary 6980 GSE Australia 2018. Thanks to the Harsletts, Tancreds, Thorburns, Klemms and Lees for opening up their homes to our visitors and to Tony for his wonderful organisation!

Pictured here are Denise, Voncara, Amanda, Bryan, Fred, Greg and past GSE delegate Peter O'Reilly from the QLD College of Wine Tourism.

Busking@Stanthorpe

The first Australian National Busking Championships™ Stanthorpe Regional Finals, South East Queensland was held in February 2016 as part of the Apple & Grape Harvest Festival.

This event was a resounding success, and led to the committee decided to hold it as an annual event.

This year it was held in conjunction with the opening weekend of the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival.

Committee chair Fran Hodgson wrote the following letter of thanks to Stanthorpe Rotarians and Friends following the Championships.

Dear Stanthorpe Rotary Members and friends
Thank you so much to all the members, partners and friends who volunteered their time on Saturday to make busking@stanthorpe such a great success. The committee has had some wonderful feedback from the businesses in town, the visitors who came to watch, the buskers themselves and the general Stanthorpe population. The Noosa rotarians who also run a regional finals for the Busking were very impressed.
I really appreciated the support and the long hours that many of you gave to the busking in various ways.
Special thank you to Jim Baxter for organising the sausage sizzle and his roster of helpers and to Helene and Georgia for their role in selling the busking dollars.
It was fantastic to see so many Rotary shirts up and down Maryland and High Streets… great advertisement for Rotary..

See you again next year!!
Regards
Fran

The Great Debate 2017

"Actions speak louder than words".

Lions - affirmative, Rotary - Negative.

Katy led off with a little active ice-bucket help from her teammates. She set the scene for a lighthearted and laughter-filled evening. Mellifluous Melissa dazzled us all with quotes from Churchill and mathematical proofs from who-knows-where. Ray tried desperately to steer us all back to a life of activity but was thwarted at the next turn with some heavy-hitting rebuttal from loquacious Leeanne. Stuart did his best to swing the judge in his favour but made the mistake of quoting Shakespeare. Sadly for him it was not to be as Morwenna poetically wrapped up the evening for the negative. MC Judi declared Rotary the verbose victors and that was that!!!

Junior Craft Awards

On 13th November, the Stanthorpe Rotary Club hosted the annual Junior Craft Awards at St Josephs High School. Students had entered projects from dog kennels to picnic tables. Congratulations to Jared Hitchener on his winning entry of a Squatters Chair. Thankyou to judges Jim Baxter and Nev Winter and to Vocational Chairman Jim Barnes on a great event.

Support for Boomerang Bags

Earlier in the year, the Stanthorpe Rotary Club had a vocational meeting at the workshop of Boomerang Bags at the Summit. We were shown how this enterprising group is taking waste materials of all sorts and turning them into reusable shopping bags. In July 2018, QLD will begin a state-wide ban on plastic shopping bags so this group is not only helping to save our environment but also providing a resource for the people of our community in readiness for this ban. Our own member Jim Baxter has donated hessian sacks to the group from his coffee business and in order to turn these into usable products, the group is in need of an industrial overlocker. Unfortunately, Boomerang Bags was unsuccessful in a recent SDRC grant application so the Stanthorpe Rotary Club has pitched in with a financial start so that they can get themselves the equipment they need.

If you'd like to help further go to Stanthorpe Boomerang Bags.

Amiens History Walk and Talk

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club was hosted for one of our November meetings by the Amiens History Association at the site of their Soldier Settler project. Professor Roger Willis guided members around the site with stories of what it looked like in the past and what he hopes it will look like in the future. The site is the terminus of the old railway branch line from Cottonvale and was a crucial point for the survival of the settlers as they loaded their crops for transport to the larger markets at this station. The group has plans to create a Memorial Avenue of trees in honour of the early orchardists, restore and refurbish a 1920s rail carriage and construct a period building to house soldier settler memorabilia and stories. The Rotary Club of Stanthorpe will assist with the cost of trees for the avenue as this aligns perfectly with the goal of planting one tree for every Rotarian in the 2017-18 year.

Amiens History Association

Rotary announces Apple and Grape Ambassador

THE Rotary Club has announced its 2018 Apple and Grape Young Ambassador - 21-year-old Bridget Anne Campbell.

Ms Campbell said she was excited about the chance to contribute to the community.

The sales assistant is studying business at university but has taken a year off and decided to donate her spare time to being a Young Ambassador.

"I have always really admired the work they do in the community and I was really involved with community events when I was in high school,” she said.

"I think this will be a really good way to spend my time.”

Ms Campbell thanked the Stanthorpe Rotary Club for sponsoring her.

She said she had always loved the Apple and Grape Festival.

"My dad is a member so I have been involved with them ever since he joined a couple of years ago,” she said.

"Having a service club as my sponsor is really good because there is already a nice sense of community and they are already passionate about fundraising. They have similar morals to what I have as well. It's a perfect fit.”

Ms Campbell said she was most looking forward to interacting with those involved in the festival.

"I am looking forward to making lots of connections, meeting all different people,” she said.

"Moving away (to Townsville) made me really appreciate Stanthorpe more and the community that we have here. It is really special and I am really excited to celebrate that and give back.”

Zoom Meeting

Have you ever felt that Stanthorpe Rotarians miss out on some information and opportunities to participate at District Level due to our isolation in a regional area. DG Darrell is trying to help with an online conference for all interested Rotarians:

World Polio Day

Plant a Tree

Stanthorpe Rotary Club is looking into how we can support Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). Here are some suggestions:

Murder on the Orient Express

Blog on Life at the Head Table

Our President is writing a blog about her year at the top table. Should you be interested, go to rotarypresident2017.blogspot.com

Start from the bottom and read up - it may not make sense otherwise!

WARNING - it's not all rainbows and lollipops.🌈🍭

Why, you may ask, is she doing this? Well, she is a better writer than she is an orator so it's easier to share thoughts and opinions this way. It's also a diary of her year for posterity and an opportunity to get feedback both to and from her. Comments and criticisms are encouraged.

DISCLAIMER - all content in the Blog is Morwennas and is not a reflection of of the thoughts and opinions of other members of the Stanthorpe Rotary Club.

2017-18 Rotary Goals

Posted by Morwenna Harslett on Jul 27, 2017

Rotarian Nev Jones Honoured

Posted by Stephen Tancred on Jul 03, 2017

Rotarian Neville Jones was recently honoured and thanked for his 37 years of membership of the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe. President Stephen Tancred presented Neville with a certificate of recognition and commented that Nev was a very good member - always ready to help and always with a cheery outlook. He took his membership seriously, and fulfilled the role of Club President very well in 1984-85. Rotary International recognised Nev as a Paul Harris Fellow in 1998. It was noted that Nev was retiring for health reasons rather than resigning and all the members and their partners wished him well.

A walk down memory lane...

I recently came across some lovely photos in an album belonging my parents of the year that my Mother, Denise, was President, 2003/04. During that year my Father, Alec and past Rotarian Don Stirling went on a IFCR tour to India. If you have ever thought that Rotary has a tendency to go too far with acronyms, you will love this... IFCR stands for International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians! Along with their 5-test tour (4 wins, 1 loss), Alec and Don and the team participated in Rotary's fight against Polio by vaccinating several Indian children in Mumbai. Now, as we strive to End Polio, what a lovely reminder that we as Stanthorpe Rotarians have played our part in this great fight.

9640 Disaster Relief Fund

9640 Company Directors

Lily's Adventures in March

Hello😊

Everything has been going extremely well here I have joined a gym and have been doing alot of sport activities at home and at school, i actually am quite good at high jump ahaha i would never of known, i have been doing discus, shot put and long jump as well as kickboxing, School has been really great i am understanding a whole lot more now, i spent this month only speaking in Italian which improved my Italian immensely, i watched movies and also read a book in Italian as well, although i wasnt able to make it the whole month without speaking English i had to teach a few English classes which was alot of fun, i read out to the class their tests and we talk about random topics for their speaking exams in which i get to grade, i feel like a real teacher 😊.

Last week i went to Verona with all of the districts exchange students and it was amazing it is such a beautiful city and that night we went to Lake Garda for a district meeting where i met many more Rotarians and past Exchange students it was a lovely night. Us Australians sung our national anthem in front of everyone.

Next week i am going to Rome with everyone for 5 days and the day after i return i am going to Verona with my class, i am really excited for that.

Its starting to warm up here which has been great because i was starting to feel really restricted by my big puffy jacket ahaha You can only see just the smallest bit of snow on the tops of Mountains.

Easter was lovely, my host mum bought me a heap of chocolate which im still trying to finish ahah it is really great chocolate i take it to school with me and eat it on my breaks.😁

I hope everything is well Down Under, what have you been up to? I like sharing how you all are with my counselors they love hearing about you all as well

Look forward to hearing from you😊 Also feel free to ask questions

Ciao Ciao

-Lily

2017/18 New Look Hierarchy

In the coming Rotary year, the Stanthorpe Club will take on a slightly new look with its chain of command. The Board (blue box) will become significantly smaller being comprised of the President, Immediate Past President, President Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Satellite Chair. All the other Directorships (green boxes) remain as they have always been but in an effort to dovetail and cross-reference some of our many projects and events, they are loosely amalgamated into 3 main groups (red boxes). The purple boxes are a changeable list of roles, activities and events that our Club participates in so those listed here are simply examples which can expand and retract as need be. Stay tuned for the Rotarians who have generously offered to take on these roles in a couple of months time.

New Paul Harris Fellows

Congratulations to Marinna Klemm and Elaine Cabria on their well deserved PHF awards presented on Monday evening. Marinna generously donated a great deal of hospital and medical equipment and also her time and energy towards the Fiji project. Elaine also gave of herself and her time in Fiji but as we all know, is always a hard worker and helper at Rotary events and a generous and wonderful lady.

Time to register for District Conference

http://www.rotary9640conference.org.au

Purple Pinkies reach their Summit

The Summit State School hosted a Purple Pinkie day for polio on Wednesday. All 25 students and the staff had their pinkies painted, raising $65. This is an amazing result from a small country school due to very generous donations from many of the children who gave their own pocket money to support polio vaccines for children in the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Thanks to the Principal Greg Grant for supporting the Polio Eradication Program and to Stanthorpe Satellite Rotarian, Nicole Clark, for helping me to apply the nail polish.

Australian Rotary Health Muster

Purple Pinkies for Polio

There was a band of Polio warriors at Stanthorpe Primary School on Friday 24th February painting young pinkie nails in all manner of shades of purple. One curious young Prep student was heard asking "What's a Polio" to which Teacher Fran replied " It's a terrible disease that stops your legs from growing." It prompted me to think how I would describe Polio to a 5 year old and the truth is that I am one of the lucky generation who did not grow up with this this disease around me so I know very little about it. So if you are like me, here is a description in a nutshell:

And here is Rotary International's connection with this disease:

Malaria Vaccine Project

Rotary Satellite Club of Stanthorpe Flexitime

Welcome to our newest members Annette Turner, Janelle Bell, Leanne Wilkinson, Leeanne Gangemi, Glenn Turner, Santina Leonardi, Nicole Clark, Ann Richardson, Paul Campbell, Kylie Linton, Shane Linton and Jo Bell.

A couple of important facts...

For some time Rotarians with 'H' surnames have reigned supreme by sheer weight of numbers but we are suddenly being challenged by the 'B's. And weirdly, only 1 of 6 of the 'B' team does not have the first initial 'J'. What's with that?

Last week women made up 26.6% of the Stanthorpe Rotary Club, this week that figure has increased to 40%.

Now while I know that age is not important to Rotarians, the last week has seen the average age of Stanthorpe Rotarians drop by 6 years (65 down to 59)! And Morwenna is no longer the baby of the family!

Rotary: Making a Difference

2017-18 RI President Ian H.S. Riseley announces his presidential theme, Rotary: Making a Difference

Rotary International President-elect Ian H.S. Riseley made the case on Monday that protecting the environment and curbing climate change are essential to Rotary’s goal of sustainable service.

Riseley, a member of the Rotary Club of Sandringham, Victoria, Australia, unveiled the 2017-18 presidential theme, Rotary: Making a Difference, to incoming district governors at Rotary’s International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA.

Environmental degradation and global climate change are serious threats to everyone, Riseley said. “They are having a disproportionate impact on those who are most vulnerable, those to whom Rotary has the greatest responsibility. Yet environmental issues rarely register on the Rotary agenda,” he said.

Environmental degradation is one of the major threats listed by the UN’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change.

Riseley added, “The time is long past when environmental sustainability can be dismissed as not Rotary’s concern. It is, and must be, everyone’s concern.”

The president-elect challenged every Rotary club to make a difference by planting a tree for each of its members between the start of the Rotary year on 1 July and Earth Day on 22 April 2018. Trees remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air, which slows global warming.

“It is my hope that the result of that effort will be far greater than the environmental benefit that those 1.2 million new trees will bring,” Riseley said. “I believe the greater result will be a Rotary that recognizes our responsibility not only to the people on our planet, but to the planet itself.”

Securing Rotary’s future

In his address to the 2017-18 class of district governors, Riseley also urged clubs to improve their gender balance and lower the average age of their members.

Only 22 percent of Rotary’s members are women, up from 13 percent 10 years ago. At that rate, Riseley said, it will take another three decades for Rotary to achieve gender parity.

“Three decades is far too long to wait to achieve a Rotary that reflects the world in which we live. We need to make it a priority now,” he said.

Noting that 103 of the 539 incoming governors are women, Riseley said they are the type of women we need in Rotary, “leaders who will help Rotary connect with, and represent, and better serve, all of the members of all our communities.”

Riseley also believes it is imperative that clubs find ways to attract and engage younger members. Today only 5 percent of reported members are under 40, and a majority of members are over 60, Riseley told the audience.

“Consider what Rotary stands to look like 10 or 20 years from now if we don’t get very serious, very soon, about bringing in younger members,” Riseley said.

Clubs will make a difference this year through their own decisions, said Riseley, but it will take teamwork on a global scale to move Rotary forward and secure its future.

“We know that we can do more together than we could ever hope to do alone,” he told incoming governors. “I ask you to keep that spirit of teamwork and cooperation always in your minds and to take it back with you to your districts.”

Kevin Hilgers - Find Yourself

In 2006 Kevin D. Hilgers, an ordinary Rotarian from the Grande Prairie Club in Canada visited the Stanthorpe Rotary Club on a Friendship Exchange.

He was hosted by Stanthorpe Rotarians Peter and Heather Watters and was inspired by some of Peter’s words whilst walking in the Sirromet vineyard.

Kevin went on to become District Governor for D5370 in Western Canada in 2012-13 and is currently his District’s Rotary Foundation Chair.

He has shared his Rotary journey in a TEDx Talk that is posted online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhez_d9egeE&app=desktop

Traprock Group Christmas Party

Stanthorpe Rotary Club recently catered for the Traprock Group's Christmas Party. This is a group of farmers and graziers who have joined together to help each other in their business ventures, largely centring around fine wool production. Alec and his team were asked if they would provide dinner for the group's Christmas Party. On Thursday night a group of Rotarians and Partners gathered at Cherry Lane to prepare salads, wrap potatoes, butter bread and sample cheese and wine. Alec then spent all day cooking a venison and a lamb on a spit for the group. A handy profit of around $800 was made for Stanthorpe Rotary's many community projects.

A Field of Dreams - Australian Story

The small rural community of Mingoola, on the Queensland/NSW border, was facing a bleak future. The population was in decline and the local primary school was about to close. Meanwhile in Western Sydney, advocate Emmanuel Musoni saw problems in his community of refugees from Central Africa.

While most of us were attending our meeting on Monday night, ABC aired a story about Mingoola. Through Gino Cabria, the Stanthorpe Rotary Club has a connection with this story and many Rotarians donated blankets and winter clothes last winter to the people featured in this story. If you missed it, click here to have a look on ABC iview.

Meet Jo Bell

Last Monday night saw one of our most popular meetings of the year with a fabulous presentation by our recent local GSE representative, Josephine Bell.

For those who missed it, here's a little about Jo herself:

Jo is 39, and was born and raised into an Italian family in Stanthorpe. Jo is married to Andrew, who is employed as a Paramedic and an Auxiliary Fire-fighter, and they have two children, Jack, 10, and James, 6. Jo is employed by Queensland Health at the Stanthorpe Hospital as a Registered Nurse and a Registered Midwife. Nursing is her passion and her core value is providing the best care possible. Jo is also a qualified Lactation Consultant and her education includes tertiary studies and a Certificate in Rural and Remote nursing.

A friend of Rotary and member of Toastmasters, Jo enjoys reading, walking, picnics, cooking and spending time with her family.

Jo spoke to us about her experiences in Pennsylvania and New York earlier this year. Caitlin Reid, another team member from Tenterfield was also able to attend the evening.

For more information about 2016 GSE Team Pink and their adventures, go to http://www.teampinkgse2016.com

Stanthorpe State High School Awards

Stanthorpe State High School celebrated their annual awards night last week. Our Rotary Club sponsors several of these prestigious awards. Congratualtions to the following students:

Rotary Senior Award for Outstanding Service: Kaitlyn Sweet

Rotary Junior Service Award: Jaimee Beecham

Rotary Award for Excellence in Engineering: Zachariah Vichie

Rotary Award for Excellence in Furnishings: Victor Johnstone

Rotary Award for Excellence in Constuction: Simon White

Junior Craft Awards

Junior Craft Awards were held at St. Joseph’s School Manual Arts Department on Monday 31^st October. Being Halloween night this was our theme, with table decorations and an eyeballs punch served. Many thanks to James Way, students and parents for making this a memorable night.

Winners were 1^st Liam Hitchener who made a tool cupboard with lights that came on when the doors opened. 2^nd Spencer Jensen for his outdoor chairs, 3^rd Ali McLellan who made a very impressive coffee table. An encouragement award was presented to Lachlan Green for an outstanding ironbark outdoor table, which although unfinished, a lot of work had been put into it. The children did some absolutely fantastic work. Thanks also to our sponsors CRT and Mitre 10.

Container Ahoy

Gino C and David L report that the shipping container is now full and on its way to Fiji. Big thank goes out to the other clubs in our cluster who sent goods and burly boys to load them and also to all the Stanthorpe folk who have helped to make this possible. There are too many to name but special mention was given to Lorenzo and Chris Pascoe for the sweat they expended in the hot, dark end of the container last Saturday.

Fletcher Pascoe and Angie Ezzy loading computers donated by SSHS.

Lismore Invitation

Border Post Jottings for October

You may have see folk around town recently with one purple fingernail. September is Rotary World Polio Awareness month. In 1985, 350 000 new cases of polio were detected in more than 125 countries around the world. Rotary International has contributed over a billion dollars since then to eradicate this disease from the Earth. In 2016, only 19 cases of polio have been detected in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is Rotary’s hope that by next year, this number will be zero. The purple painting of pinkie fingernails is to bring awareness of this great battle against a crippling disease.

Rotary has also had a strong push for awareness of mental health issues throughout September. The club held a fundraising ‘Hat Day’ meeting earlier in the month where we all came along in a funky hat and with an interesting story for other members about said hat.

The international contingent of our club has been hard at work finalizing the packing of a shipping container with medical and educational goods to send to Fiji. A small group of volunteers will meet the container next month in Fiji to help the goods onto their final destinations.

Rotarians would like to congratulate the SSHS students who represented themselves and their town recently in a state wide culinary challenge. These students cooked their award-winning meals for us at a recent meeting. Rotarians always love to support the endeavors of our local youth.

A small working bee was held last weekend at Villa Carramar to tidy up and replant the front garden so that residents can be rejuvenated with a little spring growth and cheer.

All in all a very active month for the Stanthorpe Rotary Club!

Purple Pinkies

Haiti Appeal

Embrace

Furniture to Fiji

Last Tuesday afternoon 9 enthusiastic Rotarians assisted with the loading of school furniture from St. Joseph's School and Hal's shed on to a Granite Belt Fruit Freighters truck ready to be delivered to DIK in Brisbane the next morning.

On Wednesday 4 Rotarians - Gino Cabria, Dwain Macnamara, Kim Thorburn and David Lee travelled to DIK in Brisbane and packed the 40ft. container ready to be forwarded to Lakeba island, Fiji. While there were only 4 Rotarians to do the job it was obvious that their packing skills were efficient and of a very high standard as the job was completed in just 4 hrs. We were grateful for the assistance from PDG Ross Smith from the Rotary Club of Palm Beach who used his ipad to record every entry that went into the container.

Our Rotary Club is indebted to Granite Belt Fruit Freighters for generously transporting the goods to Brisbane free of charge and to Dudley Abraham who gave of his time to drive the truck and assist with the unloading and packing of the container

LOADING GRANITE BELT FRUIT FREIGHTERS TRUCK AT ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL

Dudley Abraham, Peter Klemn and David Hansen.

CONTAINER PACKED AT DIK - READY TO CLOSE THE DOORS

PDG Ross Smith, Rt. Kim Thorburn, DIK Caretaker Graham Saddier, Rt. Gino Cabria, Rt. Dwain Macnamara

(Missing - on the other side of the camera - PDG David Lee)

Meals on Wheels

More than just a meal - Meals on Wheels has had a place in the hearts and homes of Australians for more than 50 years. Helping the frail older people and younger people with disabilities and their carers stay in their homes where most are happiest is at the heart of the matter.

Every day a friendly smile, a chat about the weather, a nutritious meal and knowing someone will drop by to say hello, changes the lives of many Australians and it's not just the clients who value this contact. Ask any of the volunteers and they will tell you reaching out and making a difference in somebody else's day, makes their day.

Independence is something we all value and to have that taken away through not being able to go to the shops for groceries or to cook regular meals, should not be an obstacle to autonomy.

The Rotary Club of Stanthorpe is part of a roster system providing meals on wheels around our town. Thankyou to all Rotarians, partners and friends who help out with this service.

Australian Moto Trials

THE Australian Moto Trials descended on the Granite Belt's rough terrain at the weekend at a property on Nundubamere Rd.

Trials.com.au editor Matt Langtree said with about 137 competitors, the weekend was a great success for the 2016 Lucas oils Logan Glass Australian Trials Championships.

"It was really good,” Mr Langtree said.

He said the Granite Belt was a prime location for Moto Trials events.

"The property is just a special property for trials,” he said.

"It's up there with some of the best in Australia.”

While parts of the course were a bit damp, he said the rocky, rough terrain was perfect for their competition.

http://www.stanthorpeborderpost.com.au/news/moto-trials-take-on-granite-belt/3093745/

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club catered all meals for the event and it was a great weekend in terms of the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of competitors and spectators as well as earning a tidy profit for charity.

Welcome Dwain!

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club welcomes a new member this week. Dwain MacNamara is a teacher at St Josephs and is keen to become involved in our community. Dwain has been attending meetings for the past month so is a familiar face to most of us and he will be be helping out at his first catering experience as a Rotarian this weekend at the National Trial Bike Championships. We all look forward to getting to know Dwain in the coming weeks and months.

It's Easy Being Green!

A wonderful day was had in Sunday by the 15 Green-shirted Rotarians who braved the kangaroo gauntlet to Goondiwindi. The weather was spectacular after a couple of days of serious rain and the food, drinks and atmosphere was phenomenal... not to mention the company! Our green shirts were a hit and I believe that Stanthorpe Rotary Club has set the benchmark for District 9640 clubs to support each other's ventures in 2016. Gundy Club plans to reciprocate at our Opera.

Gail had to monitor Jim's intake with a "light" 9.5% beer...

Alec tried to camouflage himself against this incriminating wall...

But redeemed himself with some great inter-club fellowship...

It's amazing who you'll bump into... Sam C, I believe that is known as a photo BOMB!

And everyone was PUMPED on the ride home!!!

Flowers for thought

At Monday night's meeting, Alec raised the idea for comment that we use a little of the Rotary Foundation Grant money to add a little colour to the area surrounding the new Rotary shed. He proposed creating a round garden bed that could be planted out each season as an ongoing Rotary activity. The pictures here show the site and an example of what could be created. It should be noted that there is a plan to use the majority of the grant money to install a solar powered light in the shelter shed.

Not Where's Wally but Where's David?

Concerns have arisen over the safety of Australian traveller David Lee as he was seen disappearing into long grass at Niayala High School last week. Moments later, an anonymous source captured images of Mr Lee being followed by a local man wielding a cane knife. Further investigation revealed that the man was operating under the instructions of known international underbelly figure, Ross Smith. The exact relationship between Mr Smith and Mr Lee is unclear but they were seen together recently at a school principal's conference, despite Mr Lee not having ever worked in a school. It is suspected that he may have been working undercover on an investigation of Mr Smith and that this may be why he has now disappeared under suspicious circumstances. This latest development follows an incident last week, also involving Mr Smith, where Mr Lee was hospitalised after receiving significant head injuries.

Fortunately the pair emerged some time later, revealing the true story where Mr Lee was looking for an old waterhole. He discovered work from 2010 that sadly, had become contaminated with sewerage, causing the long and lush grass. The knife-weilding local man is the Niayala School Farm Manager and Mr Smith, apparently, the official photographer of the expedition.

Forum on Fiji

FINE DINING IN FIJI

PDGs Ross and David have been receiving the very best in

hospitality and reports are that the quality of cuisine has been top-notch and as fresh as humanly possible.

WARNING: DO NOT CONTINUE READING DURING DINNER

This is the extended family preparing the pig, Freebie, for the wedding for dinner on Saturday. That piece of corrugated iron is the equivalent of a new polished granite kitchen cooktop. It was then put in an old chook feed sac and placed dripping, after a hose down, into the freezer.

SAMU, son of our hosts cutting up dinner on the kitchen floor with a cane knife. It made lovely curry - very tasty!

AUSTRALIAN MAN INJURED IN FIJIAN CARBOOT ACCIDENT
Breaking news of PDGs Ross and David who are currently in Fiji on a top secret project-scouting mission. (I guess I just blew their cover!) David has sustained head injuries after being attacked by the rear appendage of a transportation vehicle. David is in a stable and not altogether serious condition after excellent service by Fijian hospital staff. We wish him all the best in his recovery.

The poise, the balance, the grace....

Tai Chi is a type of martial art very well known for its defense techniques and health benefits. The martial art has evolved over the years into an effective means of alleviating stress and anxiety. It has been considered to be a form of 'meditation in motion' which promotes serenity and inner peace and let's face it, we could all use a little more of that in our lives! Last Monday night the Stanthorpe Rotary Club hosted Karen Zanolini, a local well-known to many of us as a former Miss Rotary Apple and Grape Queen, who delivered a brief Tai Chi lesson and demonstration. It was something different from our usual Monday night meetings and I think it was a wonderful opportunity to try something different. After all, among other things, being a Rotarian should be about personal growth and development. Well done to all who accepted the challenge and came along to participate - We had close to 90% attendance!

2017 Friendship Exchange Opportunity to District 9790 Victoria

We previously invited applications for this Exchange earlier in 2016, which had to be subsequently postponed and now we are seeking nominations from Rotarians and from Clubs interested in undertaking, hosting and showcasing their areas to our Rotary friends from Victoria.

Members are invited to register their interest for a Rotary Friendship Exchange with a difference in 2017. This year we are embarking on an Exchange within Australia, with a planned Exchange to occur with District 9790, which is located to the north-east of Melbourne and also takes in clubs within south west New South Wales including Albury, Holbrook and Deniliquin.

The Exchange is currently programmed to occur with hosting by our District 9640 in the July/August 2017 with a visit to District 9790 in September/October. (Might even be able coincide with the AFL Grand Final.) The final planning for this Exchange will depend upon the makeup of the Team and the Host Clubs. The Exchange is anticipated to be of 14 day duration in both Districts.

We are looking at a team of up to 10/12 participants and if this Exchange is of interest, I would love to hear from you. If you are unable to make the trip to District 9790 but your Club is interested in Hosting and showcasing your part of our District, I would also appreciate hearing from you. These types of Rotary activities are a great way of forging new Friendships and building relationships with other Rotarians.

This promises to be a great Exchange as the members of the Clubs in District 9790 are looking forward to a northern sojourn to escape the vagaries of the Victorian weather. Members of District 9640 may wish to explore areas such as Euroa, Myrtleford and Shepparton on their visit to District 9790.

Please register your interest by email to Neil Baldwin at nandcbaldwin@gmail.com by Friday 23 September 2016, for either or both Club Hosting and a participant on the Friendship Team.

Yours in Rotary Friendship

Neil Baldwin

Chair – District 9640 Rotary Friendship Exchange Committee

August in Review

August began with DonateLife Week and Rotarians got on board with a sausage sizzle to encourage more people to join the Australian Organ Donor Register. Currently only 1 in 3 Australians are on the register and registration has now been made easier by visiting www.donatelife.gov.au.

Last month this column spoke about a shipping container of hospital goods heading from Stanthorpe to Fiji. This container is now packed to the rafters and ready to set sail.

Recently our club was honoured with a visit by District Governor, Michael Irving, and his wife Roz who were treated to a tour of the district, in particular several important Rotary sites including Ballandean Estate where we hold our Opera in the Vineyard each year. The Opera is a charity event with the majority of profits going to the Wesley Hospital. Over the past 24 years, Rotary and Ballandean Estate have raised in excess of 1million dollars with a large portion of this going to the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane and other medically related organisations. Although now retired, DG Michael Irving was an academic in the medical and biochemistry fields, working largely in cancer research, and as such was very impressed with Stanthorpe Rotary Club’s support of medically related charities and organisations. Each year the District Governor’s partner chooses their own project to promote and this year, Roz Irving has selected the Fred Hollows Foundation who focuses on treating and preventing blindness. All around, it is clear that August has been a month where Rotary projects have revolved largely around health and well-being.

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club welcomed Peter Klemm and Melissa Pascoe into their ranks this month. If anyone is interested in more information about Rotary, please visit our website at www.stanthorperotary.org.

Meet the Mayor

Tracy Dobie was elected Mayor of the Southern Downs Regional Council on 19th March 2016. Her website is one of the best personal sites I have come across so rather than try to recreate it here just go to http://www.tracydobie.com.au and have a look for yourself! She has a fascinating back story.

About our District Governor

After completing his schooling in Brisbane, Michael was appointed as a cadet in the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock. After three years, he relocated to Sydney where he completed his science undergraduate education with First Class honours in Biochemistry. Roz and Michael were married in Sydney when he commenced his doctoral degree in the cancer research. On competition of his doctorate, he undertook cancer research at the Prince of Wales hospital in Sydney, before being awarded an Australian Cancer Society fellowship to the Australian National University. He was subsequently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of California Medical School in San Francisco.

Michael has held Professorial appointments in Universities in Canberra, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, New Zealand, Oman and the USA. He has been a University Vice-Chancellor in Wellington and Sohar, Oman. He continued his research into breast and Paediatric cancers until his retirement in 2008.

Michael joined Southport Rotary club in 1992 and is a second generation Rotarian. He was Club President in 2002-2003 and held most service Directorships in the club. From 2011 he has been an Assistant Governor for District 9640. He has particularly enjoyed the country Rotary experience in clubs in his cluster.

Michael and Roz have two daughters and one son. They both strongly endorse the humanitarian objectives of the Rotary Foundation, and look forward to assisting Rotary realize its goals in District 9640.

Introducing Peter Klemm and Melissa Pascoe

This week the Stanthorpe Rotary Club welcomed two new members.

PETER KLEMM

Peter was born & raised in Brisbane with 1 older brother and 2 older sisters, one of whom is Rotarian Denise Harslett. Peter has a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Computing from QIT (now QUT) and spent 35 years in Information Technology, the last 24 of which he was in charge of the development, maintenance and day to day operation of the banking system at Credit Union Australia in Brisbane. He met his beautiful wife Karen when both were working at the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in Canberra in the '80s. Peter has two sons and one recent grandson. Two and a half years ago Peter and Karen made a tree change and moved to Stanthorpe to work with Morwenna at Cherry Lane Nursery. Peter enjoys music, with some degree of competency on guitar and is keen about outdoor activities, particularly water related pastimes and gardening.

MELISSA PASCOE

Melissa grew up in Brisbane but moved to Stanthorpe with her husband Chris 25 years ago. She has had many careers including marketing the Southern Downs region, managing resorts and caravan parks, owner/operator of 2 small businesses and her current role is teacher of Hospitality/Information Technology and Co HOD of the Tourism, Hospitality and Business Department at Stanthorpe State High School. Her proudest achievements are her 3 children Fletcher, Tessa and Fitzroy, who love life and are involved in sporting, music and community groups in the district. She is a Scout leader with the Stanthorpe Scout Group and is secretary of the Broadwater State school P&C. In 2007 she was a member of a GSE team that went to Hawaii and has since taken a group of 16 SSHS students to California, USA to study Agriculture, Tourism and Hospitality.

Gourmet in Gundy

The Rotary Gourmet in Gundy is a food & wine festival held on the second Sunday in September each year in Goondiwindi QLD.

The Rotary Gourmet in Gundy festival is set among the beautiful gardens of the local Community Centre, located on the Macintyre River, and has been staged in the Goondiwindi region for the past 16 years. The festival focus is 'Food, Wine and Music’ showcasing fine regional food, award-winning wines, and live music. Gourmet in Gundy is the key food and wine festival of South East Queensland and all who visit comment on the wonderful ambience this event creates.

The weekend also features other regional activities and events such as the McIntyre Aeroclub Fly in breakfast, the Goondiwindi gun club clay pigeon shoot, and the Goondiwindi race club ‘Goondiwindi Cup’.

11th September 2016
Goondiwindi Community Cultural Centre
10am - 4pm

Cost:
Entry costs apply. Please see the event website provided on this page for a full list of programming and ticketing information.

Who should attend:
All welcome.

Border Post on Lorenzo

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe welcomed an Exchange student from Breno, Italy. Lorenzo Mazzoli will be living with host families in the Granite Belt for the next twelve months and during that time will be attending Stanthorpe State High School. He is keen to become involved in our community and has already joined the City Soccer Club. Lorenzo is currently being hosted by the Pascoe family and will have three other host families throughout his stay here.

Lorenzo is the first Rotary Exchange Student to come to the Granite Belt from Italy. He is 16 and has entered year 11. Hi hometown Breno is a small village in the Camonica Valley, in the north of Italy. In his free time he plays soccer but enjoys all sports including skiing, as well as listening to music and playing videogames. In Italy he studies ten subjects and school starts at 8am, finishing at 1pm from Monday to Saturday.

Lorenzo’s father is is an ophthalmologist and also owns a small vineyard. His mother is a chemistry teacher who works in the high school in Breno and she also owns a brand of cosmetics. Lorenzo has travelled a lot in Europe but this is his first time in Australia. He would like to become a doctor but knows that this will take a lot of hard work. With this exchange experience he hopes to enhance his English, meet new and interesting people and become a better person with a larger knowledge of culture.

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club is a strong supporter of the Youth Exchange program and has hosted many students over the years. The first of these was a Japanese girl, Etsuko “Joy” Yosikama in 1973. As well as hosting, the club sponsors students to go abroad for a year, usually after they finish secondary school. Next year the club is pleased to be sending Lily Banasiak to Italy.

Equipment to Fiji

Following the substantial donation of items given by the Stanthorpe Nursing Home Board of Directors & Management and co-ordinated by Marinna Klemm, members of the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe have been active with plans to send the items to the Korovou Hospital in Fiji. Many Stanthorpe people have already contributed to the project and some additional funds are now being sought for shipping costs.

Through the generosity of Tim Harslett the Harslett Farm B-Double truck was packed with Nursing Home items and transported to Rotary's Warehouse at Durack in Brisbane. Stanthorpe Rotarians travelled to Brisbane and packed the goods into a 40ft. shipping container that had been generously donated through Mark Cabria to ship the medical items to the Fijian Hospital. The container is now ready to go!.

Dr. Lasaro Ilisapeci of the Korovou Hospital is very excited in anticipation of receiving such a large number of medical related items that will be used in the Hospital as well as in the surrounding 3 Health Centres and 5 Nursing Stations. The hospital serves a population of 23,000 people and can provide only the basic medical needs of patients. Patients often have to take bed linen, eating utensils and toilet paper with them to hospital.

After the container arrives patients and staff will have access to motorised beds, wheelchairs, walkers, lounge chairs, bed tables as well as extra mattresses and bed linen together with valuable medical equipment.

Once the container is on the ground at the hospital, a group of Rotarians, together with Marinna, will travel to Fiji to unload the container and assist with the setting up of the items in the hospital. Marinna will be offering training on the use of the equipment and maintenance on the medical equipment.

This Rotary project will make an enormous difference to many people in Fiji. Currently the Rotary Club is seeking financial assistance to bring the project to fruition. The overall cost including local wharf charges, sea freight, customs charges, duty, vat and land cartage to the hospital will be approximately $8,500.

The Fijian community is still recovering from the substantial damage as a result of cyclone Winston early this year. This Hospital project by the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe is a very worthy and practical humanitarian project in a country which the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe has a close association.

Any financial assistance with this project would be gratefully received by the Rotary Club. More details can be sought by contacting Rotarians Stephen Tancred (0407 762 888), Gino Cabria (0408 853 955) or Past District Governor David Lee (0407 123 006).

RDU's Burning Question for August

DonateLife

DonateLife Week

DonateLife Week 2016

Register, discuss and get involved to save lives! DonateLife Week (31 July - 7 August) 2016!

Did you know only one in three Australians have joined the Australian Organ Donor Register, even though 81% believe registration of donation decisions is important*?

In DonateLife Week (31 July – 7 August) we are asking all Australians, “What are you waiting for? Join the Australian Organ Donor Register online today!”

Help us encourage more Australians to decide and register their donation decision during DonateLife Week 2016:

Join our #endthewait campaign to spread the message - share your donation decision on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
Download our Supporter Kit and online resources including posters, online banners and more to promote the week in your community, workplace and home.

Registration is important – 91% of families agree to donation proceeding where the deceased was a registered organ donor. This drops to just 52% where the deceased was not registered and the family had no prior knowledge.

More than 1,500 Australians are today waiting for a life-saving or life-transforming transplant. If you are willing to one day save lives by becoming an organ and tissue donor, you need to register and discuss your decision with your family and friends.

Registration of your donation decision leaves your family in no doubt and, in doing so, provides comfort that they are upholding your decision.

This is a message we need to promote across the community during DonateLife Week and we welcome your support!

We invite you to get involved and promote the important message of registration and family discussion of donation decisions.

It’s easy to get your work place, your school, your community involved.

We have a range of materials available to support your involvement – check out our DonateLife Week Supporter Kit today!

DonateLife Week is Australia’s national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation.

*Woolcott Research 2015

http://www.donatelife.gov.au/home

Raising Spirits in Charleville

Farewell for Friendship Exchange

Kanesha and Anaiya

We were joined last Monday by two young guests all the way for South Carolina, USA. Kanesha Rhodes and Anaiya Moore have been in Stanthorpe for the last month completing a culinary course at the QCWT. They are the third pair of American students to visit our town in a program that was the brain child of a group of visiting Policemen from South Carolina some years ago. One of the members of that group recognised that the educational programs provided at QCWT were very similar to an institute in Columbia, SC. This man had connections to the local Rotary Club and through them and Chrissy Matiazzi here, an exchange was initiated. As yet no students from Stanthorpe have ventured to the USA but this is a future possibility.

The Making of Snowflakes

Back in June, Jim Baxter instigated of the creation of the aluminium snowflakes that adorned the main street of Stanthorpe for the first week of July. With the cooperation of Jono Bushby and Stanthorpe State High School, the flakes were drawn and cut by students in their Trade Training Centre. The Stanthorpe Rotary Club provided funds to purchase aluminium sheeting at the request of the Chamber of Commerce and these wonderful pieces of art were created. 42 flakes in different sizes were cut and to maximise the use of materials, all of the offcuts, or negatives, were also kept, giving the main street 84 pieces in total. The flakes were hung by Dare-devil Alec Harslett swinging from the top of a long ladder on some very windy days. Modifications will need to be made before next year's hanging of the flakes so that they cannot swing loose from their chains in high winds.

The snowflakes were the talk of the town and there have already been requests to hire them for a children's birthday party.

Snowflakes celebration night

District Governor Elect Darrell Brown

Darrell Brown was born and educated in Brisbane culminating in a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Urban Studies from the University of Queensland.

In 1970 Darrell moved to the Gold Coast and in 1972 established the architectural company Burling Brown & Partners Pty Ltd with Rotarian Ron Burling. In the 43 years of being a director of that company Darrell was responsible for multi high rise residential projects stretching from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, Darwin & Malaysia, commercial projects as far a field as Melbourne, Sydney & Cairns and educational buildings radiating from Gold Coast to Ballina, Toowoomba and up to Townsville. Darrell remains an architectural consultant to the company that he formed.

In 1972 Darrell was a recipient of a Group Study Exchange (GSE) award to South West Pennsylvania – a life changing experience. Immediately upon his return he became a charter member of the Rotary Club of Broadbeach and joined the District 963 GSE committee for several years. Rotary has featured prominently in his life holding many positions at club level and being President of Nerang 1977-78, President of Surfers Sunrise 2010-11 and 2013-14. At District level positions have been – Chair of GSE Committee from the formation of District 9640 to 1987, Assistance Governor 2012 to 2015 and chair of Gold Coast Rotary Youth Driver Awareness from its formation.

In 1977 whilst President of Nerang Darrell became engaged and married to Kerrie Campbell, an early childhood teacher and launched Kerrie into the world of Rotary where she took over the Rotaryannes at Nerang. Three children later living in Gold Coast, Brisbane and Darwin and three grandchildren to date, the family enjoy active holidays together snow skiing. Other interests include boating, gardening and tennis.

District Changeover

Approximately 120 people attended the District 9640 Change-over on Sunday 3rd July at the Southport Golf Club. DG Anne Egan spoke enthusiastically in her report for the Rotary year just passed and the wonderful opportunity and privilege afforded her to serve as District Governor.

District Governor Elect Michael Irving from the Rotary Club of Southport was then installed as D9640 Governor for 2016-17 and he spoke about his goals in the District for his year. Darrell Brown from the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise was introduced as DG for 2017-18 and Terry Brown from the Rotary Club of Lismore was introduced as D9640 Governor for 2018-19.

Tragedy at Mingoola

Last Friday night one of the farm houses that the African families at Mingoola are staying in burnt down. All the occupants were safe, but now need to re-establish. Rotarian Gino Cabria, who,with Fran Hodgson, has been organising goods and house maintenance and improvements was quick to act. On Saturday he collected blankets, clothes and shoes from Stanthorpe Saint Vincent de Paul, Lifeline and Salvation Army stores. Jenny Kay from Gleesons Mercery and Maria Cameron from Lifestyle Footwear made donations of new clothes and shoes and some cash. God bless our generous business houses.

On Sunday Gino and Elaine travelled to Mingoola and met with the family. They are staying in the shearing shed of one of the farmers who is employing the Africans (Julia and Phillip Happham) and more suitable accommodation is being organised by them very soon. In his truly hospitable style Gino also took down sausages for a sizzle with the parents and 5 children. After lunch Gino took the kids down to the creek on a crayfish catching expedition.

The whole Club congratulates Gino and Elaine for the kindness and quick actions.

The African families have moved from Sydney to Mingoola and the local school has opened up again with about a dozen children. Two more families are due to arrive soon. The men love the rural work and the families love the rural lifestyle as they can keep goats for eating.

Benvenuto a Lorenzo

Saturday saw the arrival of Lorenzo Mazzoli, our newest Youth Exchange Student, from Italy. Lorenzo was met at the Brisbane International airport on Saturday 3^rd July at 7pm. His plane was delayed on the tarmac by 90 minutes in Abu Dhabi, so a long flight became epic. Thanks to Youth Director David Lee and Judy, Counsellor Gino Cabria, president Stephen Tancred and District Youth Exchange Program chair Chris Thurtell from the Surfers Sunrise Club for forming the airport collection party.

Lorenzo was good company on the way home, lapsing from English to Italian conversation with Gino. He commented as we drove up Cunningham’s Gap “So this is the nature”, which we corrected to “the bush”. He was ecstatic to see big kangaroos grazing on the side Eukey Road and when he alighted at Bill Bonners he immediately remarked in the “clean sky”.

Hi I'm Lorenzo Mazzoli, I'm 16 turning 17 and I live in Breno, which is a small village in Camonica Valley, in the north of italy. In my free time I play soccer/football but I like playing all sports, I also like to listen to music and play video games. At school I study ten subjects which are math, italian, english, philosophy, latin, history, science, art, P.E. and phisics.
I have five lessons per day which go for one hour each.

Everyday (except sunday) I go to school for 5 hours. School starts at 8 o'clock so I must wake up at 7 o'clock and get ready. For example on monday I have 2 hours of math, one hour of latin, one hour of philosophy and one hour of english. If I could choose the subjects in my school they would be the same that I do now but without latin and with more P.E.
My favourite subject is P.E. because I really like playing sports and doing P.E. in general.

I have had some experience of being a leader as I am the captain of my soccer team. I like my house, I think it is big, I have my own room, which is where I study in the afternoon, since my house is close to school I walk, which takes me five minutes. My father is a ophthalmologist (doctor) and he works at the nearest hospital and my mother is a chemistry teacher who works in a school in Breno. She also has a cosmetic brand in a village which is 15 minutes drive from my house. I have just said I lived in a very small village through the Alps and so there aren't a lot of economical activities. I'm interested in all sports but as an exchange student I would like to improve my english and I am entusiastic to learn a new culture. I went with my grandparents to Estony when I was 8 and it was my first trip abroad. I also went to Spain with my grandparents, Ireland and England to improve my english and also once to Austria. I have no problem with food and will eat almost anything. One of my biggest pro, which is also a con is that I'm very self-confident. When I'll be older I would like to become a doctor but it will be so difficult. With this trip I would like to enhance my english abilty, meet new and interesting people and my wish for when I return to Italy is to be a better person with a larger knowledge of culture.

Containers Set to Sail

A team of able-bodied Rotarians led by Gino Cabria and David Lee used their might for the greater good last Tuesday as to fill Tim Harslett's semi-trailer with hospital furniture and goods donated by Marina Klemm from the Stanthorpe Nursing Home which closed its doors last year. The goods were then loaded into containers arranged by Mark Cabria and Ross Smith ready to sail to Korovou Hospital in Fiji. Thanks to all the Rotarians and friends who helped to move this equipment a little closer to its destination.

Rotary for Snowflakes

Over the last couple of weeks many Rotarians, led by the new Community Service Director, Alec Harslett, have been busy preparing things for Snowflakes in Stanthorpe. Marquees were erected, and blown down, and re-erected.

Aluminium snowflakes were created by SSHS students thanks to Rotary funding and were polished, and hung, and blown about in the gales, and modified, and re-hung and removed.

Ice was made, and turned into snow and more ice was made and turned into more snow.

To say thank you, volunteers were treated to a practise Hangi for lunch. The main event can be experienced at the Show-Snowgrounds on 2nd July.

It's going to be SNOW much fun!!!

Paul Harris Fellows

Congratulations to our two newest Paul Harris Fellows, John Boucher and Greg Thouard.

Opera in the Vineyard 2016

Tickets are now on sale. For more information go to http://www.ballandeanestate.com/operainthevineyard.aspx.

Avenues of Service Award

Congratulations to Gino Cabria who was presented with the Avenues of Service Award from Immediate Past President, Fran Hodgson.

Visit from Naiyala School in Fiji

Teachers and Students Visit from Naiyala School in Fiji where this club has done major renovations.

Are You Interested in Rotary Leadership Institute?

The Rotary Leadership Institute is a series of 3 one-day courses designed to enhance Rotarians’ leadership skills and increase their knowledge of Rotary. Courses are fun, topical, interactive, and geared towards all Rotarians’ interests, including busy business and professional people who want to be more effective leaders in their vocation and Club. Clubs in our district are encouraged to select and sponsor at least 2 candidates for RLI annually. We will guarantee that graduates will return to their clubs with enthusiasm, new contacts, fresh ideas, and an enhanced idea of their own potential as Rotarian leaders. A course comprises 3 x 1 day mini-courses. Our next course will start on Sun. August 2 (Part 1) and continue on Sun September 6 (Part 2) and finish on Sunday Oct 11 (Part 3) starting at 10 am. We have an excellent team of facilitators led by Graham Jones and Graham Howie.

2014-15 Changeover Dinner

Congratulations to President Neil (Casey) O'Connor and his Board. Best wishes for a great year in Rotary as you "Be a Gift to the World". For photographs of the evening click on this link http://stanthorperotary.org/PhotoAlbums/2015-2016-changeover-dinner-qcwt or work through the Photo Gallery Menu.

Apple and Grape Young Ambassador

The club is very pleased to announce that Samantha Blaxland is our Apple and Grape Young Ambassador entrant.

YEP Student Chantelle Bongers Reports Back

Congratulations to Chantelle Bongers for her polished presentation “My Year in Denmark’. It took Chantelle 6 months to understand the language and 8 months before she could speak fluent Danish. It was only when she got home that she remembers dreaming in Danish!!

Chantelle persevered with her studies despite the language difficulties. She was in the International Class and studied 5 languages. With her school she travelled to New York and Washington DC in the USA and had 10 days in Turkey. She went shopping for groceries in Germany, and had an amazing YEP safari through 7 countries in Europe. Disney Castle in Paris and the Palace in Copenhagen were favourite haunts. She said she found it strange that alcohol could be purchased at school and was available at school functions—the Legal age is 16.Chantelle is highly skilled in Taekwondo and established a Taekwondo club while she was in Denmark. We hope you make it on to the Australian Olympic team, Chantelle.

Chantelle is to be commended for attending every meeting at her Rotary club while she was in Denmark.

We all enjoyed Chantelle’s presentation and were impressed with her mature response to the member’s many questions. As Dianne said in her vote of thanks, "Chantelle has been a wonderful ambassador for the YEP Program and has reminded us what wonderful opportunities YEP can provide for young people".

Good News from Fiji

PDG David Lee announced that a grant of $10,344 had been received from the Aust. High Commission in Fiji for the Malolo School project. The Prime Minister, who is very appreciative of the Stanthorpe Rotary Club projects in Fiji, has signed off on all the expenses associated with getting the container of goods over to Malolo Island. Further containers from our club will be exempt from duty taxes.

David was pleased to report that Shirley Zanatta and her extended family recently visited Malolo Island and were very surprised and excited to see the students wearing St. Joseph’s Stanthorpe uniforms.

Gino Cabria announced that the Australian High Commission has also provided a grant of $10,124 for the Water Project for Naiyala School. Gino has received a quote from a private contractor to find a water source. If no water found, there will be no cost.

Energetic Rotarians having a rest after collecting three truckloads of furniture from St. Joseph’s school and storing it all in Hal’s shed before the rain came on Tuesday afternoon. This furniture will eventually go to Fiji

National Blood Donation Drive - Visit by AG Harry Bolton

AG Harry Bolton, visited the club for the last time in his role as Assistant Governor. Hardly recognisable in his vampire gear, AG Harry reminded the club about the Blood Drive It is a shame that we have to go to Toowoomba these days to give blood . Harry thanked the club for our support during his three years as Assistant Governor. We too showed our appreciation for all his work and encouragement to our Club Presidents and members during his term. As on all his visits AG Harry ’Lit up Rotary’.

Welcome to the GSE Team from D1461 Denmark

We have had the pleasure of hosting this amazing group of young professionals from Denmark. Whilst their stay in our town was short, they had some wonderful experiences. Please check out the Photo Gallery or use this shortcut to follow their journey whilst in Stanthorpe - http://stanthorperotary.org/PhotoAlbums/gse-team-from-d1461-denmark.

Movie Night

A wonderful night was held at the old Arcadia Theatre in Stanthorpe The theme was French/Italian and the proceeds from the night went to Australian Rotary Health. For more photos, check out our photo album http://stanthorperotary.org/PhotoAlbums/movie-night.

Pride of Workmanship Awards

Congratulations to the 11 very worthy employees who received an award at a special dinner at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism.

Back Row (l to r): Mick Grew (St Joseph’s School Stanthorpe), Peter Orr (Queensland College of Wine Tourism), Jacob Munson (Wilshire & Co), Benjamin Moxham (Stanthorpe Print n Copy), Alan Jones (Stanthorpe Training Centre Inc.), Kevin Flett (Sponsor, Toowoomba Branch Golden West Apprenticeships), Kim Grace (Health & Daily Living Solutions), Fran Hodgson (President, Rotary Club of Stanthorpe)

Front Row (l to r): Heath Tomkins (Southern Downs Regional Council), Morena Howard (Power Tynan), Danielle Muir (The Summit State School), Susanne Caldwell (Stanthorpe State High School)

Absent: Rosemary Allen (Stanthorpe Nursing Home)

Our Newest Friend of Rotary

It was a special treat to have our youngest Rotarian, Kaylah, cut the cake whilst juggling our very
special youngest family member. Noah now has his own Badge.

110? It's a Piece of Cake

We did have FUN handing out pieces of our Rotary Birthday cake to passers-by, shop owners and shoppers on Friday 20 February. We met many back-packers from all over the world… some knew about Rotary, but most will now recognise the Rotary symbol when they return home.
Thank you to the Little Cake and Coffee Shop for making the cake and to all the members who handed out balloons, jelly beans and walked the street giving out cake.

Despite the stormy weathers the slab of cake has all been handed out—but there is still plenty of the Rotary symbol section left—a delight for another day!

Opera in the Vineyard 2015 - A New Experience

The Rotary Club of Stanthorpe and Ballandean Estate are proud to announce some changes to Opera that are sure to raise the profile of this already successful event.

Food, wine and Opera! A heady mix for some and with the changes being implemented this year, the tickets for Opera are already selling fast.

The biggest news is that the award winning Barrelroom restaurant has taken on the task of catering for the event and guests are assured of an amazing menu. “we are delighted to have the Barrelroom on board with Opera” says Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi, “The menu that Matt and Bobbi have put together is delicious and features many of their signature dishes, so guests will certainly be in for a treat”

The lunch event has become a very popular way to start the day and guests will be treated to a buffet style meal, as in past years but this year featuring the Barrelroom’s succulent meat dishes, salads and their specialty in house dessert selections.

Opera begins at 2.30 sharp and will feature the ever amazing artists from Opera Queensland with a production specifically created for Opera in the Vineyard at Ballandean. The artists for 2015 will be announced shortly. A new feature this year is the option to book reserved seating in the first 5 rows. So it is now possible to have a very intimate experience at Opera – up close and personal!

The gala dinner has been limited to only 400 guests and the meal will be presented as a 3 course, table service event with a selection of the Barrelroom’s signature meals. Wine waiters will be allocated to tables and the largest selection of Ballandean Estate wines ever will be available to enjoy. Also included this year is the Everly Bros Tribute band who will entertain the crowd with dance music and a show.

“We hope that these changes will give our guests the best experience they have ever had at Opera” says Leeanne, “the changes have been a work in progress for a few years, but 2015 is the year they will all culminate and we will once again, have a truly magical day.”

Book now at http://www.ballandeanestate.com/operainthevineyard.aspx.

Christmas Puddings and Cakes

Thank you very much to Rotary Foundation Director Nev. Winter and the
members who sold cakes, puddings and Hamper tickets in the main street
over the last four Friday afternoons. The hamper will be drawn at the Christmas
Party on Saturday night, 20 December at Lyra Views Cafe (6.30 for 7.00 pm).

Past President Nev Jones is the hero—he was there every Friday .

Fiji Cultural and Education Experience

Alyssa Murphy had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 2014 ‘Fiji Cultural and Educational Experience’ from 16 September to 8 October organised by PDG David and Judy Lee. The Lees travelled with Alyssa to Nadi and then to Naviti where they stayed with long time friends, Mr and Mrs Naciriyawa for 4 days. The Lees then took Alyssa up to Niayala High School—a 3 hour drive from Naviti.
For the next two weeks Alyssa stayed with her host family, the Tawakes, and attended school with the students; sitting in on Maths, English, History, Chemistry, Agriculture and Home Economics classes. Each night she attended study with boarding students from 7 till 9 pm helping them with their Maths home-work. Each morning Alyssa was awoken to the sound of the Lai Li drum, at 5.30am!! .
Alyssa provided insightful examples of her stay such as: "I met the Third Secretary of the Australian High Commission in Fiji, as well as a past Fijian Prime Minister, Mr Sitiveni Rabuka. I have been swimming in a waterfall, ridden in a bus with no windows (this caused a great deal of frustration when it came to brushing my hair), visited a Hindu temple, visited small villages which do not have electricity, walked through limestone caves, eaten cassava and taro, attended an Indian function called ‘Pooja’ where I was dressed in traditional clothing, witnessed the swearing in of a new government, and showered in cold water for the duration of my trip".

"Seeing how some of the poorer people live in a developing country has made me thankful for the little things many of us take for granted: such as hot water, our opportunities in education, sport, and life, technology, and transport. I have always been taught, by Mum, that you don’t need to have the best of everything. In today’s world we are all obsessed with having the latest iPhone or the most expensive clothes, but these things shouldn’t matter. What matters is family and being with those you care about. Experiencing the Fijian culture definitely reinforced this for me and I am extremely grateful for this lesson.
I am very thankful to the Principal and staff at Naiyala High School, my host family, and all the wonderful people that made my experience so enjoyable and memorable in Fiji. I would also like to thank my own family for supporting me . I wish to acknowledge the Rotary Club of Stanthorpe for sponsoring the Fijian students and for the opportunity to participate in this “Reciprocal Cultural and Educational Guided Experience.” A large thank you goes to Mr and Mrs Lee for chaperoning me and guiding me through this life changing experience. Congratulations, Alyssa.

Congratulations PP Geoff Marsden

Congratulations to Past President Geoff Marsden on receiving a Paul Harris Fellow. Geoff is pictured with his mother, Millie Marsden and his wife Gloria.

Junior Craft Awards

Approximately 60 members and guests attended the Annual Junior Craft Awards at the QCWA rooms in extremely hot weather. Congratulations to Vocational Director Geoff Marsden on his organisation of the awards. Very special thanks to Morwenna A. and Morwenna H. who coordinated the catering and also to their kitchen helpers Gail, Perditta, Gloria, Kerry and Denise. They did a wonderful and efficient job. The teachers provided a power point display of the students' work and the images of the students craftsmanship and the size of some of the items impressed us all.

Overall Craftsman: Josh Crestani—Stanthorpe State High

Stanthorpe State High School Winners:
Timber

1 Josh Crestani
2 Ashley Jones

Metal

1 Elijah Walker
2 Zach Vichie

St Joseph’s Winners:
Timber/Metal

1 Daniel Sims
2 Nigel Aldridge
Highly Commended Steve Testa
Encouragement Award Regan Sullivan

Congratulations to the students and teachers of Stanthorpe State High School and St Josephs for the fantastic effort.

Youngcare

Lyn Rankin, General Manager of Marketing and Fund-raising for Youngcare was a recent guest speaker at our club.
Youngcare was established in 2005 following an inspirational story of one woman’s battle to find relevant and dignified care. Currently over 7,000 young Australians (under the age of 65) with full-time care needs are living in aged care simply because there are few alternatives. There are also 700,000 more young Australians being cared for at home by family and friends, often with limited support. Youngcare is committed to raising awareness of the issue across Australia so that they can drive change and create real choices for young Australians and their families.

Mary and Angelo Puglisi have chosen Youngcare as one of the recipients of funds raised at Opera in the Vineyard, and a cheque was presented at the meeting.

An Evening at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism

On 20 October, we enjoyed great food, good wine and enjoyable company at the QCWT Varias Restaurant. Our chefs were two talented 15 year old students: Michelle Gatuteo and Brianna Woods. The girls presented their signature dish which gained them First Place in the Queensland Junior Secondary School Culinary Challenge at the Brisbane Ekka. Michelle and Brianna also displayed their medals and winning trophy and spoke confidently to their guests. They are a credit to their family and their school.
Before the dinner the Yr. 12 Hospitality students under the guidance of their teacher, Melissa Pascoe, provided members and guests with information and tastings of Californian wines along with Banca Ridge wines. Everyone was impressed with the students knowledge and presentation skills.
Guests for the evening included Assistant Governor Harry and Shauna Bolton, Principal of Stanthorpe State High Peter and Pauline Grant, Peter O’Reilly, CEO of the Qld College of Wine Tourism, Heather Thorne, SSHS Work Education Coordinator and Brianna’s parents, Rosalee and John.

Presentation of Paul Harris Fellows

The Stanthorpe Rotary Club has donated US$2,000 to The Rotary Foundation to enable it to present two Paul Harris Fellows. Robyn Henderson from Ballandean Estate Winery was recognised for her untiring contribution to the annual Opera in the Vineyard and Past President Mario Marino was recognised for his dedication to service as a member of the club. District Governor Wendy Scarlett made the presentations on behalf of the club at her recent official visit.

What a small world it is when you are a Rotarian!

Tony and Dianne Heading attended the Rotary Club of Newport, Oregon, whilst on their holiday in the USA and were delighted to find a banner from the Stanthorpe Rotary Club hanging on the wall beside them. The design indicated that it was presented to the club many years ago. On their return, they have confirmed that the banner was presented to the club by Mal Pidgeon when he was a member of a Group Study Exchange team to Oregon.

Welcome Christian Svendsen from Denmark

The Club is delighted to be hosting Christian Svendsen, a Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Aarhus, Denmark. Christian is attending the Stanthorpe State High School and gave a very interesting presentation to the club including information about his family, his school, his city and his interests. Welcome to Stanthorpe Christian. Christian is pictured with Club President, Fran Hodgson.

Rotarians Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge to EndPolioNow

Rotarians from around the world climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the recent Rotary International Convention. Sufficient money was raised to vaccinate 240,000 children against polio. Two of our members, Past District Governor Tony and Dianne Heading proudly fly the flag to End Polio Now. See them in this video http://vimeo.com/97097017.

Rotarians - Doing Good in the World

All (150) debate (1) drought relief (1) farmers (1) fundraising (1) lions (1)