Manfred opened the meeting.
International Toast:
Barb proposed the toast to the Rotary Club of Kotor in Montenegro. It was chartered in June 2017 and meets at 7.30 on Wednesdays. 55% of members are female. Their projects include collection books for the local school and clothes for the mental hospital. Their fund raisers include a masked ball and a Booker Bay cruise. https://www.facebook.com/rotarykotor/
President Peter:
Peter welcomed partners Kath, Hilde, May, Garry, Yvonne, Suzanne, Donna and exchange student Camilla. He noted that today was World Polio Day and that vaccination rates in Australia still have not yet reached the 95% of the population.
Announcements:
Barb reminded us that the Christmas breakup will be at the Golf Club on 20th December. There will be a competition for the best Christmas hat. She also needs volunteers to help set up.
Dave Smith advised that he has ridden 1050kms on his bike this month in support of the Children’s Cancer Appeal, He hopes to reach 1200 kms.
To break down the month so far:
13,256 riders are taking part from every state in the country and 79,652 individual rides have been logged.
58,384 individual donations have been received and an incredible $3,523,539 has been raised so far.
The website has been viewed a total of 57,329 times from 171 different countries across the world.
Together, we've ridden a total of 1,702,169km and pedalled for the equivalent of 3,189 days and 3 hours.
To donate go to the web site
Win spoke of his very pleasant time with Teresa (a former exchange student), Matais and their 3 delightful children. He and Sandy spent two days with them including time at the Octoberfest.
Exchange Student:
Camilla gave a short talk on her experiences so far. The highlights are-
She is very grateful to Peter & Yvonne.
Has visited a cheese factory, the Glasshouse Mountains.
She has been at school for 3 months studying some very difficult subjects. She got an A+ in English and finds Physics challenging.
Attended the Rotary orientation weekend where she met the other exchange students who are a great bunch.
A trip to Sydney where she climbed the Bridge (Prince Harry & Meghan passed underneath as she climbed).
Sergeant:
Manfred was awarded the no bell prize but still did a great job.
Guest Speaker:
Past President Dan spoke on how he got into accounting. He grew up at Caves 20 kms north of Rockhampton, went to primary school there and secondary school at Cathedral College in Rockhampton. After year 12 he went to James Cook Uni and studied Pharmacy (which he did not finish) and joined the army. After the army he managed various bars and resorts in Townsville. With young sons he moved back to Rockhampton to work in his fathers printing business which he increased fourfold.
He came to the coast and set up his own printing business and met the love of his life, Penny. He studied a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in accounting at the Sunshine Coast University.
A highlight was being president of Caloundra Pacific and going to the Solomon Islands of projects. He was also the foundation secretary of the Rotary Club of Rockhampton – Fitzroy. He is also a councillor for outbound exchange students. Dan strongly recommends hosting.
He married Penny in Tasmania on 23/12/2016.
His business on the coast was struggling mainly due to high overheads and he took the decision to close it. He has since setup a new business called Fatboys and uses premises of a mate in Brisbane.
He graduated from USC 3 weeks ago and has been invited to study for an honours degree.
He now works for Pilot Partners, an accounting firm in Brisbane as a graduate accountant business manager. One of his clients is the Chinchilla Solar Farm and he also handles family trusts, BAS etc. He will be studying to be a Chartered Accountant sponsored by Pilot Partners.
His goal is to set up his own business on the coast within 10 years.
