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President’s Report
13
June 2018
Last couple of weeks
Two weeks ago we experienced a very heartfelt presentation from DGN
Di North about the important work of Interplast, and her own
personal experiences with this wonderful organisation. Interplast
sends teams of volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons,
anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals to provide
life-changing surgery and medical training in 17 countries across
the Asia Pacific region. Some of the stories (and photos) that Di
showed us on the night serve as a reminder of 1) Just how lucky we
all are to be in a country with Australia’s health system, and 2)
Yet again what wonderful work Rotary does in communities where this
type of surgery could never happen. Many thanks to Di for sharing
her story with us.
As we were learning about how to properly address MPs, archbishops,
mayors and the like on the night (in a light-hearted segment), we
also learned about the ‘DG Train’, and its members. So, our current
DG is Stephen Britten (we all know that). DGE is Sue Hayward (she
starts on July 1). DGN is Di North. And, the term I didn’t know was
how to refer to Warwick Richardson, the guy who will succeed Di
North as DG. Well, he’s known as DGEN (District Governor Elect
Nominee). Now we know!
And finally, last week it was great just to have a casual dinner and
chat at the golf club, in a purely social gathering, ahead of State
of Origin 1 played that evening. We had a good number of members
come along; thanks to all who joined us.
Our latest new member – Thaya
Ponniah
It was my great pleasure to induct our latest new member last week –
Thaya Ponniah. Thaya, although new as a member to our club, is no
stranger to Rotary. He had a long and distinguished career in his
club in Sri Lanka, The Rotary Club of Colombo South, in District
3220. There he served as a Past President, Conference Chairman, was
district official, is a major donor and also a PHF recipient. We are
indeed fortunate to have someone of the pedigree and calibre of
Thaya joining our club. Please continue to make him feel very
welcome in all our club activities.
More new member inductions to
come!
Wait! There are more new members to induct this week and next.
Tonight we will welcome to our ranks, Jaya Challa. Again, please
make Jaya feel very welcome as we formally induct her to our club
tonight. I’m hoping to induct two more new members next week. Please
do come along to these evenings; they are special for our new
members.
Changeover – book it now!
We’re planning a truly gala affair with our Changeover this year.
Invitations are out – thanks to Secretary Rod for once again making
all this happen! We are using Humanitix as the booking system, as
described last week; please book online as soon as you’re able so we
can make all necessary logistics planning for the night. This will
be a great showcase of the work of Rotary and of our club, so it
will be a good opportunity to invite some friends and family along
too.
This week
This week we will be hearing from Peter Kerr on the topic of autism,
possibly one of the most misunderstood of the developmental
disorders by the general public. I’m sure we will all once again
learn a lot tonight.
Next couple of weeks
Next week sees our last ‘regular’ club meeting here in the golf club
for this Rotary year. The week after that we’re at Old Government
House in Parramatta for the Ghost Tour, and then we transfer to the
Changeover the week after that. Let’s all see if we can make it
along to these last few meetings to see out the year, thanks.
Rick
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