Wednesday's meeting and plans for the year (Jan 14, 2023)

Bonnie & Belinda making a difference to lives on the coast

Thank you Bonnie and Belinda

We had our first Wednesday morning meeting, and special guests from Caloundra Pacific members, Bonnie and Belinda. Bonnie is the driving force (force is the right word) behind "Share a meal" ...an initiative started several years ago by Judeth and Maureen, and taken up by the amazing Cal Pac club volunteers, to ensure that every Thursday the folks who would appreciate a chat and a meal have a place in Caloundra.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with folks who need a hand, mental health issues are all too common and it was personal tragedy that Bonnie related to the club that made Bonnie and her teams efforts all teh more meaningful.

Well done to everyone involved.

Wendy rounded up the fines and donations and we were able to match the funds from fines session from CalPac as a gesture of Alex Rotary's appreciation for the great work that these folks do every week.

In some ways the social side of helping the community is equally important, and Bonnie shared some heartwarming stories with us.

Love the graphics

What did Rotary International do in '22?

Collage - did you see?

Our club artist. has been busy

Always one to put his artistic flair to every project our mate Steve has been busy creating a collage for our new Club pop-ups showing off some of the activities Alex Rotary has been up to over the years. Some great memories here...Well done Stevo.

Club's Artists connections

Part of the club's artistic network include new member Naomi, amazing art coach from Ocean Art in Maroochydore and of course Owen Cavanagh from Solar and Studio 53 who is also a great supporter of Surf Show and Shine.

So for no reason at all, other than thanks to these great community supporters, here is a bit of a plug for Naomi and Owen, and some events that you might like to get involved in.

We can certainly recommend the art workshops which brought out the artistic talents of a certain scribe, and Owen's artwork has been displayed all over the world and his talent in an outdoor setting is just exceptional.

Note that the Vintage Car Charity show is near our mates Care Outreach. Maybe an opporchancity to catch up with Melissa and Bill when you're there.!!l

...and here's something you will enjoy, while supporting a great cause..

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Good onya Owen...

Get Involved

The Year to get involved?

On Friday Secretary Val invited new members to think about ways to get involved with club meetings and activities. We're always welcoming of new ideas and although a small club we like to think we can make a difference when we work together. Some of the activities we have on the agenda for this year are:

Pride of Workmanship - celebrating the best employees on the Sunshine Coast. If you know of a community minded business who would benefit by having one of their employees contributions recognised and celebrated, let Mike know.

Car Boot Sale - a new project. If you want to help Steve out with getting a community car boot sale going and helping out Maroochy State High School Students with some valuable experience, let Steve know.

Solstice Swim - Did you know that kids drowning is the biggest preventable cause of kids deaths in Australia. Whats more surprising to you? (i) That 25% o deaths are from migrant families? or (ii) 75% of deaths are from Ausiie born kids?

Clean Up Australia Day (TBC) - One of Rotary's key aims is improving the environment. What can we, as a club do?

Mock Interviews (TBC) - Rotary occupies a key position between Youth development, Business and Education. We're always happy to support improving the skills and relationships in this space.

and we know that certain new members have a history of community activities that they're looking to bring to the club. So if you have a new idea for a community project, don't keep it to yourself, let the club know.

Meanwhile, here is a short video with a powerful message describing what Rotary is all about. Its also available on the club website. www.alexandrarotary.com

News from Madagascar

Madagascar - who knew?

New member and world traveller Narelle dropped us a line to let us know that she was not able to make Wednesday's breakfast meeting as she was teaching English to the community in Madagascar. Fair enough we thought, and its a great opportunity to bring you an more detailed update from Narelle in future newsletters.

Meanwhile here is some Madagascar questions to test your general knowledge.

some more relevant than others...

What is the name of the dejected Zebra in Central Park in the original Madagascar ?

What is the name of the King of the Lemurs?

What is the capital of Madagascar?

What is the currency of Madagascar?

Get all 4 questions right to be in the draw to win $50 Bunnings voucher. Winner decided from readers responses tomorrow.

Charmaine and granddaughter helping after the floods in Tasmania

Blazeaid

Fire and Flood seem to be the new norm in Australia, what with fires in WA and Tasmania and floods in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. One of our members has taken to he road over Christmas to help out.

Member Charmaine went off to join Blaze Aid help and help out the community in Tasmania. Her amazing story below.

Members might recall that the club has a history with Blaze Aid, that you can see on the club photo albums on the website. Not sure exactly where this farm was, perhaps one go our readers could advise?

So here's some more photo's to add of Charmaine and her granddaughter and helpers reinstating trees that were lost during the floods in Tasmania, and a report from Tassie, below.

Hello from TEAM GALS at the Blazeaid camp in Rappville. I have the wonderful opportunity to work with my 14 year old granddaughter.

We planted 150 trees for a macadamia farmer who had all his 1 year old trees washed away in the floods, repaired many broken fences and erected many new fences. The gratitude from the farmers has been overwhelming.

Attached photos of our amazing Blazeaid experiences.

Kindest regards from Rappville,

Charmaine

Alex Rotary Worklife book - going international ?

WorkLife Book ..do you have?

We've had a request for a printed copy of the WorkLife book that was created by the club with support from Sunshine Coast Council a few years ago. The club printed 50 copies of the book, as reference material and "door opener" for discussions with schools on how Alex Rotary could help bring the gap between leaving school and starting work. We included lots of advice and experiences from our members worklife and how they started their working lives and what was their advice to the younger generation.

The book content is available in module form on the club website CLICK where you can see some photo's of the initial contributors.

We've had a request for a printed copy and there's none left.

In fact we've not had any spare for years, as copies were taken up by Rotary clubs in Qld, NSW, Victoria, as well as the UK, USA and Alaska following an article in Rotary Down Under. So if you have a copy that you're happy to hand back, please let a certain scribe know as our old mate Bob Thompson would appreciate one for a family member who's doing great work in Argentina.

ate

Your Rotary Down Under

RCAH Board Meeting

Jan 31, 2023 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

ROMAC Trivia Night
Unity College Auditorium
Mar 02, 2023 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Pride of Workmanship Dinner
Alexandra Headland Surf Club
Mar 11, 2023 6:00 PM – 9:07 PM

RYDA
Nambour Show Grounds
Apr 26, 2023

RYDA
Nambour Show Grounds
Apr 27, 2023

View entire list

This week the theme is .....New Year resolutions

Last meeting a certain scribe suggested a 2 word New Year resolution that everyone could remember as a challenge for the Club as well as the individual. Easy to remember, worthwhile and meaningful.

Not to be outdone a certain senior citizen of the year decided to relate a 10 word 2 letter resolution, or was is 10 letters and two words, anyway once the old fellow has figured out what it is we'll be sure to let you know.

Here's the Dad type jokes for Conor and Hamish on the theme of New Year...

I was going to make a New Years resolution to take my socks off before going to bed, but I got cold feet.

My new years resolution is to get a Velcro wall and I plan on sticking to it.

I’ve just changed my screen size to 1366 x 766. It’s my New Year resolution

I will switch my username to ‘password’ and my password to ‘username’ to make each a lot harder for hackers to crack and figure out.

My New Year resolution is to stop procrastinating. I’ll start it tomorrow.

My resolution is to travel about and plant horse chestnut trees everywhere. It’s part of my plan to conker the nation.

..and here's a joke by special request from a certain bulletin subscriber....

An engineer died and went to Hell.

Dissatisfied with the level of comfort available, he started designing things and making improvements all over the place.

After a while, the engineer was a pretty popular bloke.

One day God rang and asked Satan, "How is it down there?"

Satan replies, "Excellent! We have air-conditioning, flushing toilets and escalators. I have no idea what this engineer is going to do next."

God was horrified. "What! You have an engineer? That is a mistake - he should not be down there under any circumstances! You know all engineers go straight to Heaven. Send him up here!"

Satan replied, "You must be joking! I like having an engineer on my staff. I am keeping him."

God thundered, "Send him back up here or I will sue you."

"Funny bugger," Satan laughed, "and where are you going to get a lawyer?"

Our Meeting Details

Fridays at 6:45 AM

Alex Surf Life Saving Club

Alex Beach
Alexandra Headland , QLD 4557
Australia

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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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