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Peter Asher opened the meeting, and welcomed guest speakers Malcolm Dean, Ken Grant and Tex Pipke from the Rotary Club of Eumundi. International Toast
Geoff Leddy toasted the Rotary Club of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, as he and Cheryl visited the Islands in 2022 with Probus but did not get a chance to make-up. The Rotary Club of Rarotonga is in District 9920, which is the largest maritime district in Rotary and encompasses 53 clubs in New Zealand, Fiji, the Cook Islands, etc. The Club was formed in 1969 about 8 years before CalPac.
They raise funds to support a men’s health clinic with a golf day. There are prizes based on nearest the pin and a hole in one for which you can win a motorbike - a prized mobility possession on the Island. They support a local Rotaract Club and a local health clinic, and donate a dictionary to every Year 9 student in the Cook Islands.
  Guest Speakers
Greig Lee-Archer introduced Malcolm Dean, Ken Grant and Tex Pipke.
They told us of the great work of Blaze Aid in Quilpie following the devastating Western Queensland floods. This is a Rotary cluster project.
Blaze Aid was formed in 2009 and provides support after fires, floods, cyclones and drought. Some 40,000 volunteers have ventured out to help.
Jobs include cooking, serving food, cleaning and fencing. Malcolm and Ken had a great time restoring and repairing fencing. If you’d like to take part and have a caravan or a swag, contact Tex on 0412 768 645 or hrtex800@gmail.com. After Quilpie, there will be activity in Isisford and then Longreach. Blaze Aid deals only through locals in order to bring money back into the community.
The floods out west took weeks to subside, and Lake Eyre is now a sea.
   Members’ Moments
Barb Bailey encouraged us to prepare Christmas boxes for children overseas. We sent 60 last year, and are aiming for 50 this year.
Barb also mentioned the upcoming TAFE dinner. Get in early as only the first 20 will be able to attend. Geoff Leddy gave a summary of our RYDA program for 2025. The four participating clubs (CalPac, Caloundra, Glasshouse and Maleny) cooperated to provide road safety education to 1348 students. There were 17 volunteers from CalPac, who put in 539 manhours on the 4 set-up days and the 10 program days. The total number of Rotary manhours was 849, so CalPac contributed 63%. Geoff suggested that a low crash rate on the Sunshine Coast may be a result of 16 years of RYDA work here.
Les Pontin said Meals on Wheels need volunteers - even for just a few hours. They need drivers and helpers in the kitchen.
After the sad news of the passing of Mark McArdle, Mike Healy let us know that Mark's funeral was being held at 3:00 pm Friday (22 August) at Gregson & Weight Caloundra.
Apparently it was very well attended.
Terka, our exchange student, met the other Rotary Youth Exchange students at the Orientation Camp at Bribie Island last weekend.
REMINDER - please register your attendance, if you haven't already done so. Next weeks meeting is the RUSSCF, the Rotary Club of Caloundra Pacific welcomes the Rotary clubs of the southern Sunshine Coast for the Rotary and University of the Sunshine Coast Community Fund Annual Dinner. The three scholarship recipients will talk about their research projects at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
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