Rotary District 9830
Tasmania
District Governor’s
Newsletter
October 2014
Rotary Clubs and Rotarians serving the community
Support for reading, cancer treatment, training and JP services
Tasmanian Training Awards 2014
Leave a Book - Take a Book
RC Kings Meadows has established a free
Community Book Swap Library in conjunction
with Meadows Mews Shopping Centre.
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State Growth Minister, Matthew Groom (right)
presenting the RC Deloraine Vocational Student
of the Year Award to Alison Rogers with RC
Deloraine representative Peter Griffin on the left.
As Tasmania's Vocational Student of the Year,
Alison received a $3,000 award from RC
Deloraine plus a $250 travel voucher from
Andrew Jones Travel.
(Photo and story courtesy of the Examiner)
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RC Ulverstone West President Don Fraser (left)
presents NW Regional Hospital General Manager,
Denise Parry, with a cheque for $6,000 towards
funding an oncology consultation room at the
new Regional Cancer Clinic. The Rotary Club is
working in conjunction with the Ulverstone
Rodeo Club to sponsor the room. President of
the Rodeo Club, Simon Skidmore, and
Phil Holden of RC Ulverstone West look on.
Bill Casimaty (left) recently received his 50 year
Certificate for Service as a Justice of the Peace.
PDG Peter Murfett has completed 40 years as a
JP. Both are members of RC Hobart.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
2
October 2014
2016 Council on Legislation
What are some of the changes made by the
Council on Legislation:
Engagement in this club’s service projects,
other events and activities can be counted in
attendance at club meetings [2013]
What is the Council on Legislation?
The Council on Legislation is the legislative body
(parliament) of Rotary International, which has the
authority to amend its constitutional documents, as
well as adopt resolutions. The governing documents
used by clubs – the Club Constitution and the Club
Bylaws – are changed through action of the Council.
Satellite clubs introduced prior to expiry of
the three year pilot [2013]
When does the Council on Legislation next meet?
The next Council on Legislation will convene in April
2016.
New Generations be changed to Youth
Service [2013]
Who can propose legislation?
Proposed
enactments and resolutions may be submitted by
clubs and districts, though club items must be
endorsed by the club’s district.
Retired people who had never been in
Rotary but would have been qualified
permitted to be admitted [1995]
Honorary Rotarians be entitled to wear the
emblem, badge, or other insignia of RI [2013]
Women may be admitted into Rotary [1989]
When is the deadline for proposing legislation:
Legislation must be received at RI headquarters by
31 December 2014. There are no exceptions to this
deadline.
What to do if I wish to propose legislation? Look
at the current (2013 version) of the Club Constitution
and Bylaws to determine if the documents are
deficient or whether there is already scope to achieve
your purpose without the need to propose legislation.
If you feel that change is needed then contact District
Council on Legislation Representative James Wilcox
on 0439 911 747 or email [email protected]
Moonah Women Rotarians
with DG Ken and Lois Moore (left)
PolioPlus goal of immunizing the world’s
children against polio and authorizes a
fundraising campaign [1986]
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
3
October 2014
From DG Ken
Despite evidence of some fatigue
Over 1 million new Rotarians inducted over the last
10-12 years and yet our organisation hasn’t grown as
it should, the reason? Simply because we have lost
a similar number of Rotarians over that same period.
The total membership in Australia has seen a 12%
decline in the past ten years, and while D9830 has
been holding its own in recent years, we are still
losing almost as many as we gain each year. That’s
a sobering thought and prompts me to write about
the other side of the membership coin this month i.e.
Retention.
We lose club members for all sorts of reasons, death,
relocation, health, business, financial, family
commitments, disenchantment, lack of engagement,
conflict etc etc. But when you look at this list, the first
of these is probably the only one that we can do
absolutely nothing about. With appropriate strategies
in place, we can at least do something to minimise
the loss to Rotary from all the other causes listed.
Let’s face it, whether we are going to be able to
retain any particular Rotarian really begins the
moment they are inducted. The obvious questions to
ask are:
• Have they been fully informed regarding Rotary
e.g. fireside chats or similar?
• Do you appoint a mentor for the new Rotarian?
• Are they engaged i.e. given an active role (but
without throwing them in too deep too early)?
In regard to engagement, when my fellow Aussie
DG’s and I were having a round table discussion
during one of our training events, I took particular
note of what a mainland club does for new members.
They allocate a small budget of say $500 to the new
Rotarian and ask them to come up with a project in
an area that they have a passion for. They then
present it to the club and as long as it fits with
Rotary’s purview, they are given the go ahead and
fully supported in actioning the project. What a great
way to engage people, create ownership and show
faith in their ability!
How well does your club look after its members? Do
you notice when someone is missing from club
meetings for a period of time? Would you know if
they were ill, in hospital, bereaved? Does anyone
visit them? One of the fantastic things that I noted
when we visited RC Huon Valley was that they
appoint a membership carer every year.
The carer's specific role is to keep tabs on how club
members are travelling so that the forgoing questions
can readily be answered and appropriate attention
given. There doesn’t seem to be many clubs that do
something like this, but all clubs could do well to look
into it. It is also valuable to carry out a survey of
member satisfaction every so often and such a
questionnaire (and others) can be found here
https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/document/618.
When a member leaves your club do you know why?
An exit survey could be a very useful tool to improve
retention rates. If a Rotarian is relocating do you give
them a referral so they can readily approach another
club near their new address? That way they may be
lost to your club but they are not lost to Rotary.
Regards
DG Ken
DG Ken Moore, PDG Barry Dadson and PDG
Bruce Buxton at the Memorial Service for
PDG Harold Ogilvie AM.
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The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
4
October 2014
"We get a kick out of it- we're still in contact with
them all from time to time." Gerard said.
"She (Laura) has been willing to have a crack. Fiona
is very proud of her, because she came home one
day and Laura had done the ironing!"
With her mother and father working as doctors, Laura
hopes also to enter the profession. The grade 11
student is studying mostly at Smithton High School,
while taking a biology class offered at Circular Head
Christian School.
(Story and photo reprinted here courtesy of the Circular
Head Chronicle. Picture: Bobby Dittloff)
Exchange.
A new country, a new family, and a new way of life
has not overwhelmed Brazilian Exchange student,
Laura Zampoli.
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Instead, the recently turned 17 year-old is embracing
her introduction to Australia through Rotary Youth
Exchange, and she has her priorities set since
settling in Smithton last month.
And with modern technology, home is just a Skype
call away to make sure she regularly keeps in touch
with her family and cat, Luna.
"Every time I talk with mum, Luna jumps on the
computer and tries to touch the screen."
Laura's itinerary includes six months in Smithton,
before heading to Burnie for a further six months with
a tour to other parts of Australia also on the cards.
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"The food is really nice. I love everything" she said.
"(But) the most difficult thing is the accent. I don't
understand everything."
Laura originates from Limeria, a city an hour and a
half from Sao Paulo, a city of over 280,000,
enormous in comparison to Circular Head's 8,000strong community.
The contrasts continue:
Limeria's temperature
currently hovers above a toasty 30 degrees with a
high humidity; the staple diet is rice and beans; and
according to Laura, people in Smithton are more
approachable. It's cold, but it's beautiful; it's a
wonderful place." she said.
"The people here are more friendly. Here, if you
cross the street, you can say hello to someone."
The inspiration to cross continents came after her
sister's successful exchange experience in America
in 2012/2013, and from her father who had been
involved in Rotary for the past 24 years.
Smithton Rotarians, Gerard and Fiona Blizzard,
decided to host Laura - their sixth exchange student
in 15 years - for the first half of her exchange,
describing the strong relationship built up with past
students.
Laura getting into the Australian way of life,
selling raffle tickets on the main street of
Smithton. Beside Laura is her second host
couple, Gary and Chris Hingston.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
5
October 2014
Free
Free
Free
Health and Wellbeing
Raising Awareness of Depression
and Anxiety
Ulverstone Civic Centre
Friday 24th October 2014
10am - 3pm
Mayor Jan Bonde
Ambassador Expo 2014
Free Entry - Free Brochures -Free Advice
A Rotary/Australian Rotary Health Project
Guest Speaker: Brad McEwan
Inspirational - Informative - Influential
Mental Health Speaker
Ambassador for beyondblue
Network Ten Sports Commentator
Saturday 25th October, 6pm
River Arms Hotel
Tickets $65 per head
Experience the Royal Flying Doctor Interactive
Aero-medical Simulator
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RC Somerset raised $400 towards the purchase
of a community defibrillator at the screening of
the AFL Grand Final at Metro Cinemas in Burnie.
Photo shows RC Somerset members Roy (left)
and Mary Duniam and the cinema's general
manager, John Spilsbury, promoting the event.
Photo courtesy of the Advocate.
Bookings: Ulverstone Shoe Centre
No door sales
Enquiries: Lindsay Morgan: 6425 2580
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AG Rocky Findlater purchased these large End
Polio Now banners at a clearance sale at the
Rotary International Convention. Rocky has
offered to make the banners available to Rotary
clubs for promoting the End Polio Now
activities. See the District Directory for
Rocky's contact details.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
6
October 2014
Welcome to New Rotary Club members
Member
Club
Pam Neid
Marcus Badcock
Toni Binns
Ricky Charles
Susan Nolan
Les Baxter
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
Hobart
South Launceston
Somerset
Tamar Sunrise
South Launceston
(from Belconnen, ACT)
Gnomebrook
Every year on Australia Day, a crowd of 8,000 to
10,000 gather in Glenbrook, NSW for the Australian
Gnome Convention, organised by RC Lower Blue
Mountains. The convention has now been captured on
film by Murray Fahey, boutique film maker. The film
th
will premier at Glenbrook on November 6 . RC Lower
Blue Mountains is offering the film as a fundraiser for
Rotary Clubs at no charge except postage. For more
information, go to www.rotary9830.org.au under
fundraising opportunities.
Pam Neid (centre), newly-inducted member of RC
D'Entrecasteaux Channel with President Ray Dac
and PDG Muriel Heron who inducted Pam.
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PP Cliff Southorn of RC Spring Bay receives a
Presidential Citation from PDG Bruce Buxton
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The RC Launceston West's BBQ crew supporting
the Kidney Foundation's Red Kidney Walk.
From left: Steve Stokes, Lorraine Lydon, Lex Van
Dongen and Roy Mason
RC Kings Meadows members repairing three
bench seats on Hobart Road at Kings Meadows.
From left: David Young, Wayne Stevens, Mark
Snooks, Geoff O'Halloran and Graeme Snooks.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
7
October 2014
fter a year of immense change.≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
TH,
A good turnout for the RC Westbury Fun Run with
237 participants including a group of 15 from
Westbury Primary School. Gross takings were over
$3,000.
RC Youngtown and Launceston Aquatic
Swimming Club got together for a Merino
Marbles drive. Together, members filled 400
bags of sheep pooh - a nice fundraiser for both
clubs. For the swimmers, a big help to offset
the cost of travelling to swim meets.
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The Pitfalls of DG's Visits
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RC Claremont President Craig Stringer (right)
presents Geoff Goss with a badge from Rotary
International for sponsoring a new member to the
club, his daughter, Rebecca.
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Her Royal Highness looks ruefully at her main
course during the DG's official visit to RC
Launceston. The club was forewarned that
Lois dreaded the thought of sausages being
served at every visit to a Rotary Club. The Kit
Kat was an emergency ration for the drive
home.
Operation Christmas Child
RC City Central Hobart wrapping boxes of Christmas
gifts which were sent off to Samaritan's Purse to be
given to recipients in the South East Asia and Asia
Pacific regions.
RC Smithton got it right the following week with
a main course of poached salmon
and a Kit Kat for afters.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015
8
October 2014
The RC Youngtown Rotary Youth Exchange
"family" - (from left) George Manifold, inbound
French Exchange student, Louis Rustenholz,
District Youth Exchange coordinator, Gill
Whitehouse, outbound Exchange student, Gabby
Woollett, and George Lockwood. Gabby departs
for Spain in January.
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Rotary Exchange sisters: Lisa Chretien (centre)
who returned to France about 7 weeks ago, and her
Tasmanian Exchange sister, Charlotte Stennard
(left). Charlotte is sponsored by RC Sullivans
Cove.
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Four founding members of Rotex Rebound Ashley Cashburn, Rose Findlater, Gen Van Den
Bosch and Ashleigh MacCullough.
Four Tasmanian Rotary Exchange students meet
up in Paris - (from left): Bronte Hume, Claire
Wilson, Charlotte Stennard and Maddy Deane
This organisation for Rotary Exchange students
returning to Tasmania has been reformed. It died for
a few years, but is now up and running. The group
exists to support Tasmanian Exchange students and
families once the student returns home after a year of
immense change. Rotex members also provide
valuable advice at camps to students preparing to go
overseas. They also befriend inbound students and
occasionally give them "fun times" like a "bush camp"
at Oatlands, run in conjunction with RC Oatlands.
The District Conference with No Limits
Burnie Arts and Function Centre
20 - 22 March 2015