Happy Birthday, Rotary Club of Brisbane! 95 years-young marks a great achievement and we, all members, should be proud being part of it.
We celebrated with due diligence, although a day earlier, at the Brisbane Queen Street Mall Stage. Mark is giving a nice overview in the article below which leaves for me to say:
Thank you, Michael Stephens, for kick-starting the process quite a while ago by digging out valuable contacts at Brisbane Marketing!
Thank you, Jacqui Page, for preparing the event until one of our new members took over!
Thank you, Jaqui De Lacy, for stepping into the event management and being our MC for the day!
Thank you, Phil Gresham, for carrying through the Salvation Army trailer project and for repairing club banners!
Thank you, Keith Watts and Chris Muir, for carrying back and forth club banners and information materials!
Thank you, Salvation Army and more specifically Adam Cole and his volunteers, for delivering the trailer for the event and for the tasty food you prepared!
Thank you, QUT Centre for Accident Research and Safety - Queensland, for the virtual reality driving simulator!
Thank you, District 9600 Governor John Lane for honouring us with your presence and delivering the Rotary International President Ian Riseley personal message of congratulation!
Thank you, District 9600 representatives Helene Bo Morse and District Governor Elect Wendy Protheroe, for taking time off your busy schedules to celebrate with us!
Thank you, Masaki Sawada of the Rotary Club of Kobe East, for coming all the way from Japan to join us!
Thank you, representatives of the Mid-City and Albany Creek Rotary Clubs for joining us for the event!
Thank you, Andrew Hopkins from Brisbane Marketing, for all the support and assistance in making our special celebration event possible!
... And last but not least...
Thank you, Rotary Club of Brisbane members, for celebrating together this important milestone and being part of the Club!
A special guest of our celebration was Jayani Amarasinghe. With her completing her work on the Club Strategic Plan we have a topic for discussion for the forthcoming weeks. She has confirmed availability and will speak to the Club on 18th of June. She will have 20 minutes for presenting the Plan and 10 minutes for Q&A so get your questions ready!
From next week on we resume regular meetings at the Brisbane Club with two exciting speakers being scheduled:
On the 4th of June - CEO of Legacy Queensland, Brendan Cox.
On the 11th of June - Phillippa Lazenby, Scientist, Donation & Recovery/Qld Tissue Banks, PA Hospital.
Our 2018 Golf Day is also fast approaching and I hope everyone is polishing their clubs for the 15th of June.
If you would like to build on the contacts made during our 95th anniversary celebratory event with Rotarians outside the Club then the District changeover on the 17th of June is a must-attend opportunity. It will take place at the Old Petrie Town and The Heritage Hotel and Function Centre, Dayboro Rd, Whiteside. The cost is $60 per person with a cash bar.
As a reminder our own changeover will take place on the 25th of June and we will also use the opportunity to present the second part of our financial support to the Red Frogs CEO, Andy Gourley.
The Rotary Club of Brisbane was chartered on the 29th of May, 1923, becoming the third club in Australia after Melbourne and Sydney. We celebrated our 95th anniversary one day early in the Queen St. Mall on 28th May. Since it was not a major anniversary, the celebrations were low-key, but nevertheless it was an important event for the club both in terms of the visitors who came to celebrate with us and the culmination of a significant service project.
(From Left) Visiting Rotarian from Kobe East Masaki Sawada, Pres. Daniel Vankov, DG John Lane, Pres. Elect Chris Muir and Past President Keith Watts at the 95th Anniversary Celebrations.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of blog posts from the 2018 Youth Leadership All-Stars, participants in Rotary’s programs for young leaders, in celebration of Youth Service Month.
By Shannon Chow, Rotaract Club of Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I first joined Rotaract when I was studying at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, and have now been in my club for close to eight years. Rotaract is a great platform to learn, practice, and exhibit leadership skills, and to be mentored by Rotarians and other Rotaractors. In addition to the professional development I have experienced, I have built so many friendships, including my best friend (now boyfriend) of seven years.
Members of the Rotaract Club of Pudu participate in a service project.
Rotaract has opened up many doors in my life. Before I joined, I was very shy and speaking to strangers was always a challenge for me. But during my years in Rotaract, I had many opportunities to talk with Rotarians at conferences, speak with top-level management about sponsoring club projects, and recently delivered a speech at our installation dinner.
I am blessed to have a group of extremely nice Rotarians and Rotaractors who guide me, teach me how to lead, deal with conflicts, and serve my community. What I learn from them, I apply in my daily life. The experience led me to become a dual member of both Rotaract and Rotary, where I am seeking even greater opportunities in networking and international exposure in the Rotary Family.
Finding a purpose in life
Many young leaders are seeking to find their passion and define their purpose in life. To me, Rotary’s young leader programs recognize the importance of empowering young people through professional development opportunities in Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), and Rotary Youth Exchange. These programs are a platform in my local community for developing skills and giving back to our community. Young leaders who unite together can do great and impactful projects. Together we can inspire others to take action.
I have a vision for seeing more young leaders helping peers develop their skills. In Malaysia, we are currently facing a shortage of skills in the workforce. I hope through Rotary and Rotaract we can enable youth to develop these skills through mentorship. Toward this goal, I aim to run a professional development workshop this year as the incoming President of my Rotaract Club.
On a smaller scale, in my daily life, I’m on a mission to “Pay It Forward” and practice random acts of kindness. Even one small action could brighten many lives. Just a week ago, I used my credit card to buy a drink for a security guard on duty outside a building. His smile was priceless. You see, it doesn’t take a lot to make someone’s day a little bit better.
In Rotaract, we practice “fellowship through service.” I’ve gained so many friendships both locally and international while doing good in my community. If you’d like the same, get in touch with a Rotaract Club near you!
I am a 19-year-old law student at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Through the Rotary Club of Bad Bederkesa, Germany, I had the chance to take part in a Dutch-German Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) seminar in Nordhorn this year. It was an amazing experience. When I arrived on that Friday for the “Proud to be European” seminar, I didn’t know what to expect. But luckily, I wasn’t the only one.
Right: Participants in the RYLA from the Netherlands and Germany collaborate to develop a strategy.
None of the other 23 participants (ages 18-28), knew each other either. They came from different regions of the Netherlands and northwest regions of Germany. From the first get together, though, there was a great spirit of openness and friendliness.
The first part of the program was designed to stimulate discussions about the European Union. We had the chance to exchange our thoughts about personal and general benefits of the European Union. What I remembered the most was that we all felt proud to represent European values such as democracy, equality, and peace. In addition, we got an idea of how important cooperation between European countries is to solve common problems.
For example, Professor Stefan Kuks, Chairman of the Dutch Waterboard Vechtromen, told us about the collaboration between Dutch and German offices necessary to control overflowing waters in the area of the river Vecht and prepare the nearby area for any possible consequences.
The second part of the seminar was dedicated to teaching us to work together. The challenge was to quickly assemble a team and build trust. Groups of four to five people had to develop strategies for a business game, which involved coming up with ways to make the people living in a fictitious country in Europe the happiest on the continent, and then present those ideas. We were given no limits to our creativity.
Especially in this second part, we faced the challenges of making decisions under pressure while sharing responsibility. But we figured it out quite quickly, and soon gained each other’s trust, which I guess was the case for all the teams. We developed an incredible team spirit and were able to use our different strengths for optimal results. To help our collaboration, one or two coaches observed each team’s interactions and offered constructive feedback.
Right: Participants use different props to work out their strategies.
An added attraction was entertainer Richard de Hoop, who used music to visualize Belbin Team Roles to help us support each other and build on each of our strengths as a team. But most importantly, what will last are the friendships that we built in such a short time through our collaboration and through relaxed conversations during social time at the bar in the evenings.
It is an amazing feeling to get to know so many interesting personalities and to spend some unique moments with them. I hope to stay in contact with them, despite the geographical distance between us. So far, we keep in touch through social media groups and exchange news daily.
President Daniel Vankov
Secretary Michael Stephens
Treasurer Warren Walker
President Elect Chris Muir
Imm. Past President Graeme Whitmore
Sergeant-at-arms Luke Marshall
The Rotary Club of Brisbane Inc.
ABN 75 152 438 499
GPO BOX 2909 Brisbane Qld 4001
District 9600
Club Number 17787
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For example, Professor Stefan Kuks, Chairman of the Dutch Waterboard Vechtromen, told us about the collaboration between Dutch and German offices necessary to control overflowing waters in the area of the river Vecht and prepare the nearby area for any possible consequences.
