President's Desk 25-02-13

From the President's Desk

Good Afternoon Rotarians and Friends of the e-Club,

What an awesome week it has been. We started off with a fabulous Tuesday Night Forum with Jenni Heenan from Disaster Aid Australia listening to her, you can hear how committed she is to this now Rotary International Project. She prefers to use her garage for her Disaster Aid Office to save money so as much as possible goes to families in need. It is only $800 to deploy a Disaster Aid Box, so get your thinking caps on and let's raise that money.

Thursday Night came the Board Meeting and even with 50 pages of agenda, we were able to get through it with a minimum of ease. Minutes to the Meeting will be in the Dropbox for all members to read soon.

Friday Night we were at Sanctuary Cove to celebrate the Rotary Club of Hope Island's 10th Anniversary along with other Members of the e-Club. It is always fun to get together with the friends I started my Rotary journey with and I feel at home especially as I watch the gallery of photos on the big screen. Note to self: I really should have got my hair cut more often.

Saturday was another big day as Rotary International celebrated its 108 Anniversary. For all the achievements it has over those years, I suggest their fight to End Polio would be their biggest. Back in 1988 polio infected more than 350,000 children per year, in 2012 worldwide only 222 polio cases were reported.

This week's Forum our Guest Speaker is Deanna Howell Education Program Co-ordinator for The Amanda Foundation, if you wish to find out more please visit their website: http://www.amandayoungfoundation.org.au/. I am sure it will be very informative and the more we are aware of the disease and its symptoms the better prepared we are deal with them.

If you have not been to a Forum before, this would make a perfect first one. It is as simple as going to our website: http://www.rotaryeclubnextgen.org/ looking down the left hand side menu under the heading "Forum Meetings" click the "HERE" link. If you are away from your computer and wish to call in, the details are also there +61 2 8417 2352 Access Code: 371-009-749.

Also while I remember we are continually updating our Friends of the e-Club of NextGen Facebook Group page with little bits of information and it's a fabulous way of keeping in touch with other Members of the Club. So please ask to be a Member if you aren't already, if you are, please check it out regularly and put your thoughts forward. Don't be shy; we want to hear what you are passionate about.

Yours in Rotary,

Rick Jewson
President