Sunshine Coast Council are considering an application by the cluster of Rotary Clubs to have a monument put up to recognise the fantastic achievements by our past Rotarians in improving the Sunshine Coast Communities since the start of Rotary in Australia / New Zealand 100 years ago. No location or final design has been approved, but discussions are progressing and looking hopeful. As well as recognising each club in the cluster, we also want to recognise the exceptional Rotarians from the Sunshine Coast in the final design.

 

 

Steve is also busy making a scale model of the monument, which we hope to display at the Gala dinner, which will be opened by the Mayor, Mark Jamieson, a former Rotary Exchange Student. 

 

We are also holding a gala dinner to celebrate this anniversary, and you can find details on our website or phone Wendy on 0437 747 462 or Val on 0466 328 242 if you would like to attend. 

 

 

On Friday we met "the most enthusiastic and dedicated Rotarian I have ever met" said Steve, and who could dispute this after hearing teh amazing story, and work that Brice had put into saving young drivers lives by starting up the U-Turn the wheel program that has been taken up around the world and contributed to a significant decline in the deaths of young drivers. 

 

Bruce took us through the history of the project, how the various schools, health, police, government levels and car manufacturers got behind this amazing project to educate and change behaviours of young drivers. Almost 1,00,0000 young drivers have been resources were taken up by Rotary Young Drivers Australia and how those resources impacted on the death rate of 18 - 24 year olds.  

 

Sadly, many kids are still adopting risky behaviours behind the wheel, but we are fortunate on the Sunny Coast to have a local Caloundra Club who are great supporters of RYDA with help from other SunnyCoast Rotary Clubs. 

 

Thank you Brice for sharing your story with us, and we are in awe of the work and passion that you put into this project to drive it to what it is today over +20 years later. 

 

ROMAC Quiz Night 

 

Well done Caloundra on winning the ROMAC trophy. The pic below has a a few differences, not least the addition of 2 Alex Rotary victory medals on th right hand side column ......and something else..Can you spot it?

 

 

 

 

 

Friday mornings sergeant session turned very thoughtful on Friday when our Sergeant and resident IT Guru (Sean) reflected on the observation that it took nearly 40 years before women were admitted to Rotary. Sean noted that some of the folk he had met in Africa would say that was the women's fault. Phew!

 

But is it so unusual nowadays? I'd hope that most folk would perhaps reflect on that and say well, it took some time but at last the culture has changed for the better and eventually the men of Rotary did the right thing. 

 

So whose fault was it that it took 40 years from the first proposal to admit women? How about the argument that its the "women's fault"...they should have done more and obviously "didn't do enough". 

 

As Sean knows from his personal experience (and many of us have observed in our own lives) this victim blaming technique of those in power and practised on those being wronged by the system is getting all too common in many aspects of our lives, and unfortunately its happening here in Australia too....... once the land of the "fair go"

 

A reminder to let your children, grandchildren, school communities and friends living on the Sunshine Coast know about the competition.

 

Dr John Parker was our guest speaker at the Fridays breakfast meeting, and he didn't disappoint. For a humanitarian doctor who has spent his career fighting pandemics in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria with Red Cross and MSF.

 

For a self confessed adrenaline junkie he appears to be remarkably normal. But looks are deceiving. 

 

John spoke most entertainingly and movingly about the horrors and comedy of being a doctor on the front line dealing with deadly diseases at very close quarters. But his message was not disease but trauma. 

 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD has been the scourge of John's life. He battled with the things he saw overseas, and that led to a troubled life. John was remarkably frank about how his career and desire to fight pandemics had impacted on himself and his relationships. John has put his recollections in is book " From Choler to Ebola".

 

 

An amazing man with an amazing story. 

 

 

Big thanks to Mike for bringing Dr. John Parker to the meeting. Everyone enjoyed listening to this most inspiring humanitarian doctor, now living in Buderim. 

Latest advice from Mark:

 

 

Our mate Mark Skinner has been busy organising the project for a 5 year old Casey Harms and her grandparents. Mark got in touch with the club with this progress report, and a shout out to Alex Rotary to help out with the garden. This will be our 4th (?) garden blitz to make a difference and delighted to help Mark and the team he has organised. Here's a bit from his emails...

 

Casey is a beautiful little 5-year-old who has RTD [Riboflaven Transporter Deficiency Type 2]. For Casey, his condition includes paralysis of the cranial nerves and sensorineural deafness, the later being addressed with a cochlear implant in the hope that by hearing, he will eventually learn to talk. He also has severe damage to other nerves, particularly his limbs which are heavily distorted. Amazingly he moves around by shuffling his backside. There is hope that one day he may walk but that will be a fair way down the track. He also lacks the ability to regulate his body temperature.