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Grab life by the Balls - revisited

Being pro-active about mens mental health 

Excellent talk from Sam Parker, founder of the Sunshine Coast (and heading all over Australia) mens mental health group. Sam is clearly an accomplished and passionate speaker, and also a deep thinker about how to address the ongoing mental health problems of men in particular. And its all about connections, and particularly MATES. Scientifically men need 3 mates to lower their anxiety and mental health issues, particularly as it affects suicidal thoughts. 
 
Here's some slides from Sam's presentation, (Thanks Tony & Sam) the first outlines the problem, and makes you think about the current situation, and the second clearly identifies where the various mens mental health groups occupy in the support area. Makes a certain scribe think. 
 
 
 
Thank you Sam for your presentation and for all the great work you lead and have inspired in mens mental health. yes
 
Here's why you should join a club

Why join a club?

Most folks I know give to charity. Couple or more dollars often on an irregular basis. But if they are like me they struggle to know which ones to support. And if they are like me they can let the donations slide. 
 
So why am I telling you this? 
 
Because a club doesn't forget, and in Rotary we don't have to decide what charity to support.
 
Because we have folks in Rotary who run the Rotary Foundation, one of the top 5 most effective charities in the world. (Effective means that more of their dollars go directly to the folks in need).
 
So delighted to let you know that YOUR CLUB FUNDS have donated $1,000 to the Rotary foundation this week. 
 
That's a benefit of being in a club. 
 
Lesson ends.
 
Who is going to be our VIP Solstice swimmer this year?

Email to all swimmers

This email went out to all 400 past Solstice Swimmers, in case you missed some impressive news from Alexa
 
Hi Folks,
 
The Solstice swim is only one month away now, and we're drawing in swimmers from Victoria and NSW ......it's always nice to be able to show them the beautiful Sunny Coast and amazing Alex Beach on those crystal clear, glorious mid winter days. 
 
Also we'll be announcing our "personality" swimmer soon. As our regular swimmers know, we always have a VIP taking part in the swim and showing their support for the community. A certain local "pollie" and Surf Club supporter is also joining us this year. 
 
In the past we have had Olympians, Cross English Channel swimmers, Community leaders, and last year you might remember the "MoveforLex" campaign and the amazingly inspirational Alexa Leary. 
 
...and last month ....in case you missed it ........here is Alexa with her parents Russ and Belinda after being announced as a member of the Australian Dolphins team for the World Para Swimming Championships. 
 
Wow, great work Lex. What an amazing achievement. smiley
 
 
Ideal time to join Alex Rotary?
This email went out to all 500 contacts, past swimmers, kombi owners, supporters and helpers. We're a healthy club at the moment above average membership, but if you know of someone who is keen to "make a difference"...and we all know that its easier to make a difference with club support, then maybe let them know that the Rotary year is about to begin, and to think about membership?. 
 

Thinking of joining a community club?

The Rotary Year starts on 1st July. This would be an ideal time to join Alex Rotary club if you’re thinking of joining a busy community club. 

Why should I join Alex Rotary? Whats in it for me? 

Well you get this……. and all for the price of a of cup of coffee a week !

  1. Weekly club meetings at Alex Surf Club (Wed 7-8am) ...attend as many meetings as you like. 
  2. You'll be invited to our monthly club socials
  3. You'll hear from our breakfast guest speakers about community issues on the coast
  4. You'll be part of a wider Rotary community and be able to attend Rotary meetings and join specialist Rotary groups such as caravanners, motorcyclists, golfers etc.
  5. You'll help other community associations, such as the one here at Alex, and provide a smile on kids faces at their wonderful "Christmas at Alex" celebrations
  6. You can pass on your work experience to school students and help them transition to work, and you can join us in doing "mock interviews" with students to help get that all important first job.
  7. You can join in Rotary community events such as Solstice Swim and Kombi shows
  8. You'll collaborate with community service provider IFYS on small projects to "make a difference" to the folks doing it tough on the coast. 
  9. You'll help make kids better drivers by mentoring an amazing road safety safety program for local high schools. Google RYDA. 
  10. You'll have opportunities to help local sunshine coast amazing charities, such as SalTy Souls Legacy, Care Outreach and The Board Meeting surf charity
  11. You'll be invited to "Pride of Workmanship" awards night dinners where we recognise local sunshine coast exceptional employees
  12. You'll meet some of the top students at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where we sponsor bursaries
  13. You'll be invited to a huge trivia fundraising night to support medical aid to PNG and surrounding islands
  14. You'll hear from, and be able to question, local VIP's guest speakers from the Sunshine Coast Community at our breakfast meetings
  15. You'll be part of a group that sponsors local kids on International Youth Exchange.
  16. You'll learn new skills
  17. You'll Keep in touch with Sunshine Coast infrastructure developments 
  18. You'll receive regular Rotary "Down Under" magazine, and "GIST" Queensland Rotary community news
  19. If you bring your passion to help others ... we'll find a way to help you.
  20. You’ll be invited to help at Bunnings BBQ …Really? Sorry, wanted to get to 20!!

Contact RCAHsecretary@gmail.com if you want to know more. Or let us know if we’ll see you at Alex SLSC on Wednesday morning. 

Charmaine helps out 

Did you notice?

Eagle eyed readers would have noticed that Charmaine has stepped up to help out with RYDA. Pleased to say that after volunteering with Blazeaid, she has recently been working at Miles for over a month now and helped on 16 fire damaged farms and she says it's definitely time to head home now.
 
...
 
and on that subject here's an old photo with past members helping out at Murgon farms after the 2013 floods. 
 
Pride of Workmanship 

Pride of Workmanship 

What a GREAT evening at Alex SLSC for the initial Pride of Workmanship awards evening. I say initial because after such a successful night, we can confidently look forward to more in the future. Well done to everyone involved, and a BIG thank you to the Alex SLSC for looking after the full house so well. 

The award recipients with Fiona Simpson/From L to R President Skye Miller, Liana Gerbo, Helen Vincent, Colin Hope, Summer Woodland, Komang Infrawan, Bradley Brown, David and Cheryl Giles and local member Fiona Simpson MLA. 

..and a big thank you to our amazing club photographer Tony for the photo’s and this media release, where you can see more about our community and more photo’s of the event at My Weekly Preview. Thank you Caitlin. 

Recognition of pride in work!

Local employees recognised with Pride of Workmanship Awards by Alex Rotary.

Alexandra Headland Rotary has launched a programme in the Sunshine Coast business community to recognise staff who show outstanding work ethics and a wonderful pride in the work that is done.

The Rotary “Pride of Workmanship” Awards have been presented to about 30,000 Australians since their inception in 1976 in Sydney where awards recognise wonderful employees who contribute to the well-being of their employer.

On Wednesday 26th April, Alex Rotary conducted a Pride of Workmanship presentation evening at the Alex Headland Surf Club to recognise the efforts and contributions of 7 Sunshine Coast local recipients. The awardees represent a good cross-section of the business community and come from teaching, structural engineering, surfboard manufacturing, automotive spare parts, creation and sewing of school uniforms, grocery, and food service and hospitality.  Alex Rotary approached the business community to encourage the recognition for employees who are worthy of recognition.

The awards were presented to:

Summer Woodland, an undergraduate engineer with Structures Engineering Design in Kuluin; Summer juggles her university lectures and course requirements with her work commitments to fit in as a valuable team member.

Komang Indrawan is the Head Laminator and colourist at Surman Surfboards in Kunda Park; Komang worked in many areas of this family business and now leads a team who produce work that is described as “the best in the industry”!

Liana Gerbo Head of Department Life Technologies and Vocational Training at Maroochydore State High School. Liana demonstrates outstanding service in the areas of Vocation education for a wide range of students in a broad list of “non-traditional” and “hands-on” subjects that focus on career development for so many students

David and Cheryl Giles own the Grill’d restaurant in Sunshine Coast Plaza and have been nominated by a customer who saw their business grow through dedication and hard work and the skills they have imparted to the many young people employed and trained in food service, hospitality and safe working practices.

Colin Hope was Grocery Department Manager for the Whites IGA group. Colin shows great attention to detail, he is a great trainer and mentor to encourage the staff under his leadership understand customer service in a demanding role.

Helen Vincent a skilled machinist and dedicated employee of Seaborne Clothing Manufacturers based in the Sunshine Coast Airport industrial area, supplies school and sporting uniforms to all parts of Australia. Helen has been working in the industry since she was 16; she is a great believer in the concept of “get it right” the first time.  This is an attitude she shares with other machinists she trains.

Bradley Brown is Spare Parts manager for Cricks VW in Maroochydore, where he started in a junior role and during his 36 years with the business has worked his way through diligence, hard work and creating efficiencies which benefit the whole dealership. Having the right spare parts is important for delivery of new vehicles, the service department and customers outside the dealership who require the right parts from filters, brake pads through to replacement panels.

Alex Rotary is pleased to present these Pride of Workmanship awards that follow the theme, Do it Once, Do it Well and build a better Australia.

Alexandra Headland Rotary is one of 34,000 Rotary clubs around the world; the team at Alex Headland raise money through various projects to ensure those in need have a better future. 

In recent years Alex Rotary has runs two major annual events the Surf, Show and Shine Kombi and Surfboard show and the Solstice Swim.  The annual Swim, which will be held this year on the weekend of 24-25th June will also incorporate a major surf art show. The event will be held at Alex Surf Life Saving club.  The swim invites participants to swim 1, 3 or 5km under the watchful eyes and support from the Alex Surf Life Savers.

Alex Rotary has a mix of male and female members across a wide age group and they meet each Wednesday morning at 6.45 for a 7am start and they finish around 8 am to allow business people to get to work.  For fore information about Alex Rotary, contact John Malloy ( 0447 300 753 ) or Tony Freeman (0412 373 381)

 

RYDA by Alex Headland Rotary 

RYDA

Next RYDA session team: a reminder of the next RYDA day session at Nambour…here's the latest ..we'll review again in Wednesday, but please check you diaries as we will likely need more help. 

15th May 

Graeme Hight

John Malloy

Patrice Robinson

Angela Quigley

Val Saunders

Charmaine Wheatley

Here’s the most exciting presentation from last months program by the Road Safety Team. The car is travelling at speeds up to 80 km/hr. The yellow model called “Dolly” is demonstrating to the kids the importance of judging stopping distances, and suffice to say Dolly collected a few knocks during the day, much to the joy, and hopefully education, of the kids. 

 

The 90 students were chaperoned around the Nambour Showgrounds to the various modules of the Road Safety Education modules, from topics such as driver awareness, car design and ability, mental attitude, limitations on peripheral vision, and all the presenters were excellent. Some video presentations were also used, and you could see that their messages struck home.  

The signs show where some of the students guessed where the car would stop. The car is stopped where the professional driver was able to stop with full brakes and ABS.

Meghan, a crash survivor, with subsequent brain and body injuries from a car accident, gave a very powerful message to the kids on road safety, and the Queensland Police Officer spoke very candidly about the carnage sees every day on the roads, and through his career.

All in all, a brilliant day of volunteering to “make a difference”, there’s no doubt that RYDA will save lives and prevent the lives lost that still exists on the road.  A certain scribe wished that all drivers could attend this course. Brilliant course and well done everyone involved in delivering important messages to the students of Nambour State High School. 

 
Youth Exchange Program Back on 

Youth Exchange Program - The club tradition continues

 
The great news is that the YEP is back on, but unfortunately we only received the information last week from AG Bernie with cut off dates for applications being the end of April.
 
We are doubtful that we will get an applicant this time round given the rush and also that the age range has now changed with the emphasis being on year 10 students. 
 
But we really want to find suitable candidates and potentially sending and accepting a student in 2024 for YEP.
 
So great news, that things are returning to normal, and hopefully we can make a life changing influence on a local student. 
 
Caboolture Rotary Bush Bash 

Rotary supports Variety Bush Bash 

Caboolture Rotary Club are entering the Rotary Car in the Variety Bush Bash, promoting various Rotary clubs in the District. Its all following on from the R100 Australia Project. Readers will recall that Alex Rotary tried to get a recognition of Rotary's 100th birthday on the coast without success, so this is a good way of acknowledging the great work that Rotary has been doing on the Coast for the past 100 years. 
 
 

Charles Coronation a sad time for club veteran

At a time of celebration of the nation, Saturday night was a bittersweet moment for our strongly royalist and alleged "amorous dance partner" of a certain blue blood at the Chinchilla B&S in the early 50's.
 
This was at an era when both our member and this blue blood beauty were foot loose and fancy free, so nothing improper is suggested, despite the likeness of a certain family member, just saying.
 
So on Saturday night our member was left to gaze lovingly at the stunning portrait picture from that night and reflect on what "might have been" had she not wed another. 
 
So if one of our more senior members is a bit down in the dumps this week, go over and cheer him up.
 
This may or may not be true. Official sources are refusing to comment. 
 

Whats happening in Tony's inbox?

Our guru in all things Rotary occasionally gets some funnies in his inbox, we'd like to share:
 
jealousy

Dad's jokes 

 
1. My wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo. I had to put my foot down.

2. I went to buy some camo pants but couldn’t find any.

3. I failed math so many times at school, I can’t even count.

4. I used to have a handle on life, but then it broke.

5. I was wondering why the frisbee kept getting bigger and bigger, but then it hit me.

6. I heard there were a bunch of break-ins over at the car park. That is wrong on so many levels.

7. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather… Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

8. When life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic.

9. Don’t you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.

10. It takes a lot of balls to golf the way I do.

Do you remember?

EATING IN THE FIFTIES and SIXTIES.

Curry was a surname.

A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.

Calamari was called squid and we used it as fish bait.

A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.

Brown bread was something only poor people ate.

Oil was for lubricating; fat was for cooking.

Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.

Fish didn't have fingers in those days.

Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi.

None of us had ever heard of yoghurt.

Healthy food consisted of anything edible.

Indian restaurants were only found in India.

"Kebab" was not even a word, never mind a food.

Water came out of the tap.

But the one thing that we never ever had on our table in the sixties ...Elbows or Phones.

 
 

"Sister Club in Texas - coincidence ?"

President Elect Peter is off to the States shortly. Members often visit other Rotary clubs when overseas, and since Peter started visiting the Arlington Sunrise Rotary club we've been receiving their newsletter. 
 
So a certain scribe thought members would like to know what Rotarians get up to at that club. 
 
Surprise, what a coincidence, these extracts from this weeks newsletter out gof their club. 
 
Not only Pride of Workmanship, but recognition of teachers, now there's an idea, and later in their newsletter, recognition of supporters of their projects. 
 
Well done Arlington. 
 
 
Club Information

Our Meeting Details

Wednesdays at 6:45 AM
Alex Surf Life Saving Club
Alex Beach
Alexandra Headland , QLD 4557
Australia
Enter from the beach side, next to Coffee kiosk. Magnificent morning views of sun rising over the pacific* (Technically it's the earth falling...but that took us a while to figure out. Ed)
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Upcoming Events
RUSCCF combined Meeting
USC
May 10, 2023
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
 
RYDA
May 15, 2023
 
Centenary Tour:- Guest Speaker DG Tim Keeler
Alexandra Headlands Surf Club
May 17, 2023
6:45 AM – 8:00 AM
 
Jazz in the Hanger - Caloundra Pacific
Queensland Air Museum
May 20, 2023
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
Bunnings BBQ
May 21, 2023
6:00 AM – 5:00 PM
 
working bee at the Young Parents Maroochydore
Jun 03, 2023
7:20 AM – 11:30 AM
 
State Reception to celebrate Rotary’s 100 years
Jun 14, 2023
6:00 PM – 11:00 PM
 
Ocean is Art show at Alex SLSC
Jun 24, 2023
10:45 AM – 4:00 PM
 
Soltice Swim
Jun 25, 2023
 
Dateclaimer - Friday night BBQ at IFYS Hub Kawana
Jun 30, 2023
 
Club BBQ for IFYS at the Hub in Kawana
Jun 30, 2023 6:18 PM
 
9620 District Change Over
Ipswich Civic Centre
Jul 02, 2023
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
 
Club Change Over Dinner 2023-2024
Alexandra Headlands Surf Club
Jul 05, 2023
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
 
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