President's Desk 04-03-13

From the President's Desk

Good Afternoon Fellow Rotarians and Friends of the e-Club,

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Men of League Dinner on Friday Night. It was a fundraising event to assist rugby league players, coaches, referees, officials and administrators, from ALL levels of the Game and members of their families who have fallen on hard times.  I got to meet some amazing and great people, we had lots of laughs and I enjoyed hearing stories from past champions of Rugby.

To put this into context, you must know a few things first:

1. I know nothing about rugby most sports actually.

2. Most people wouldn't think to invite me because of that.

So logically, why should I go? It took me all of three seconds to say yes. Why you ask? We all need to step outside our comfort zones and do something totally out-of-the-box every now and then. I did make one little faux pas but it got lots of laughs and I think I covered it well. J So I encourage all of you to do the same, say yes to an unexpected offer. I had a fantastic night and got to meet and share a table with Nate and Birdy, the co-captains from the Gold Coast Titans.

I would like to officially thank Deanna from The Amanda Young Foundation for her presentation at last week's Forum; I think it surprised a lot of people at the speed and ease in which meningococcal bacteria can spread. I was also excited to hear they have a Young Leaders Summit which has been running for ten years and is open to Year 11 students in WA.

Onto this week's Forum which is very exciting as we get to induct two new Members Kaye Titmarsh and Ray Pifer, I won't go into too much detail as you have probably all seen the special email from Secretary Chris and the Facebook talk. Rhys Wachter is our Guest Speaker and he will be doing a Presentation on his adventures at Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) that he attended in January this year. It will be an awesome night and I hope you can attend the Forum either in person at, "The Shed" or with the 'GoToMeeting' software. Please remember that even if you aren't close to a computer you can call in and still listen to all special guests. By using your telephone on call in on 02 8417 2352 Access Code: 371-009-749.

March is Rotary Literacy Month, let's as a Club think about what we can do and please put your thoughts on the Facebook page for discussion.

We also find ourselves as an e-Club in the Rotary Down Under Magazine not once but twice this month. I think we have a special publicity fairy out there. J Thank you. I would also like to re-iterate what an awesome job the women do in our Club and the Celebrating Women in Rotary on International Women's Day in RDU is a fabulous read.

Yours in Rotary,

Rick Jewson

President