Missed Meetings

Remember you can make up a meeting by attending another Club in the thirteen days prior and subsequent to the day of your own Club's meeting. You can make up in Cairns in these Clubs:

President's Message

Another busy Rotary week with the last Board Meeting for the year being held on Wednesday, it was a combined one as the hand over process from 'old' to 'new' takes place.

A nice touch was the delicious cake organised by Community Service Director Herman before his departure to places unknown!! The caption in chocolate read "Thanks to Chris & Board, Good Luck Shirvo & Team". Were there truly calories in that dessert!!

There were many topics discussed at the Combined Board meeting including the need for more relaxed meetings similar to the last two, we all agreed that it is not always necessary to have a 'full' program, President Elect Garry will take on board additional 'fellowship' meetings. A fresh year is great for 'new' ideas, don't forget to give feed back to your incoming board of any changes you would like to see during their term. Make a note in your diary that 5 July is the first meeting at our new venue, The HILTON.

The DG's Changeover Dinner is a very special one for all of us and it was agreed that it would be a MAJOR Club event. The tickets go on sale at this weeks meeting, let's work toward at least two Cairns Mulgrave tables. See Garry for tickets. Date is 6 July at the Hilton and you can be sure the Food will be fabulous, there is also a very generous accommodation package available. Cost of the ticket is a reasonable $45 per head.

Our own "Night of the Outback" Changeover Event is 12 July at the Oasis Hotel, time to dust off your Rhinestones & get ready for a night of fun & fellowship. The cost of the evening is $ 40 per head including the entertainment. It promises to be a special night, so if you haven't had the opportunity to attend many functions this year, this one not to be missed!

This week's guest speaker is Nina Hughes from the Red Cross Blood Bank and you've guessed it, she is out for our B-L-O-O-D! We will be making a commitment to venture to the Blood Bank en masse; did I hear Gina mention Pizza afterwards?? I am not very brave when it comes to needles but I am game if you are!

Benvenuto to Robyn, she will tell us all (well, maybe not all) in the coming weeks when she presents her Italian trip at a club meeting. Denise will be home next week and by all accounts she is enjoying Berlin this week. We eagerly await both GSE leaders' reports; it will be a meeting where we could invite prospective members to join us and hear all about one of the many 'arms' of Rotary International.

As I prepare my report & reflect on the year passed, it is evident how very active many of our members have been during the year. Although we haven't inducted as many new members as planned we are blessed with a great bunch of Rotarians who certainly have made a difference!!

See you Friday!

Yours in Rotary

President Chris

After walking out the 2km Busselton jetty, Gina takes a rest on a Rotary project - not quite the park bench.

Gran puts Rotary's grumpy old men in a spin

From The Australian, Front Page,

Friday June 7 2002

She's a loving, caring grandmother who runs a soup kitchen for the homeless, but that's just not enough for some of the old-fashioned blowhards pf the Gold Coast business establishment.

Her name is Leslie O'Conner and her crime, unbelievably enough, is becoming the first female member of the elite Surfers's Paradise Rotary Club. The club, whose 67 members include former premier Rob Borbidge and Gold Coast Mayor Gary Baildon, was a men-only bastion for more than 50 years until Mrs O'Connor was inducted amid extraordinary scenes this week.

Now three of the club's grumpy old men have resigned in protest - among them former long-serving president Max Newton and former Gold Coast town clerk Noel Hodges - and more than a dozen others are expected to follow.

The uproar has also seen pampered rotary wives accuse Mrs O'Connor, 67, of being on the hunt for a rich husband. "I call it a disgrace to the Rotary name, and I am totally embarrassed by it, "said computer store manager Terry Lawrence who nominated Mrs O'Connor for membership. "We have to become a dual-gender club and we need ,more community-minded people like Leslie."

But veteran Gold Coast real estate identity Allan McGillivray said Mrs O'Connor was "destroying" the Surfers Paradise division. "The Club has been going fine without women, "Mr McGillivray said. "We would like to stay a men-only club - there are plenty of other (Rotary) clubs she can join."

Mr McGillivray, who is likely to resign from the club, said many Rotary wives couldn't understand why Mrs O'Connor would want to join a men-only club. "There have been a few comments," he said.

Mrs O'Connor, who has seven grandchildren and qualified for Rotary membership through her directorship of a Melbourne based steel company, was helping a friend move house on the Sunshine Coast yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

But this week she told The Gold Coast Bulletin newspaper: "I didn't realise how much strife this would cause." She had no intention of resigning even though a vote to prevent her membership going ahead was carried 26-19 on the night of her induction. The induction proceeded because Rotary rules require a two-thirds majority to overrule a membership application approved by a club executive. But some members were so incensed they walked out.

Mr Lawrence said this was "highly embarrassing" for Mrs O'Connor who had asked some of her grandchildren to be present. Mr Borbidge attended the meeting but yesterday refused to comment when asked if he backed Mrs O'Connor. "This is private Rotary business," he said.

But club president and Gold Coast solicitor Eric Muir said Mrs O'Connor was a "very strong lady who will made a great Rotarian." Mrs O'Connor is volunteer manager of a drop-in center for homeless people. Last year she invited 20 destitute men to her home for Christmas dinner.

YOUTH SCIENCE PROGRAMS

1. National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) Clubs are asked to submit appropriate nominations for NYSF candidates to the District by 15 June. Each club can submit up to two nominations - one from a girl, the other from a boy. Applications from students should already be with clubs as the deadline given to schools was 15 May.

Nominations are to be submitted on the formal A4-sized application form, with all details completed. Costs for NYSF in January 2003 will be $1450, not $1550 as indicated on some of the material distributed by Canberra. Sponsoring clubs of selected candidates will determine individually how much they wish to contribute to the $1450, but should let families know that amount before nominations are submitted to District. Clubs are asked to interview applicants for suitability before forwarding their paperwork to District.

Students who cannot communicate effectively with local Rotarians are highly unlikely to be selected as District representatives. Nominations from NT clubs can be forwarded to S. Prathapan, 8 Pelican Cres, Wulagi NT 0810. Queensland nominations are to be sent to L. Gallagher, 29 Maori Close, Clifton Beach, Q. 4879. District selection processes are to be completed by mid-July. 2.

Siemens Science Experience (SSE)

Club secretaries may have recently received application forms for the Siemens Science Experience. These forms indicate that applications close in August. While this is true for most national universities, it does not apply to James Cook University in Cairns or, to some extent, Townsville. SSE occurs in Cairns towards the end of June and applicants are currently being finalised from Year 9 or Year 10 students.

Any clubs who have students who might wish to attend at the last minute can contact Sue Kelly at the Cairns campus on (07) 40421456 or fax nominations to her on (07) 40421284. Townsville SSE occurs in the September school vacation. Applications for that program should, wherever possible, be to the campus before August. Any further questions can be directed to Larry Gallagher (07) 40553384