Presidents Notes

President Usha's Notes

4 November 2020

Dear fellows,

A Thought

"I do it because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said I couldn't."
Rugby Nation.
I am not a rugby tragic or even a rugby fan by a long stretch, but this is the rugby time and nothing turns our nation more at this time of the year.

The Donation Dollar

This week I was lucky to find in my hand the gold coin with a green centre. It reminded me that Australia has launched the "Donation Dollar", a coin for charity. Three million of these coins have already been released and more are to come. With our spirit of generosity, a monthly donation of a Donation Dollar by every Australian has the potential to raise $300 million annually for those who need it the most. Very timely with COVID19 pushing many to the brink.

District and RI updates:

The second Webinar in the ‘Climate & Peace Forum’ series will be held on 10 November. There is an impressive line-up of speakers and if you are interested, please register (click)
The district conference on 19-21 March is open for bookings and is expected to be face to face although there are contingency plans in place for the virtual format. The location is the Sydney Masonic Centre, an iconic venue within the Sydney CBD. Details (click)
Due to the uncertainties of COVID19, RYLA 2021 has been cancelled. The next RYPEN camp will be on 13-15 August 2021.
The GREAT ROTARY DEBATE 2020 between the Rotary Melbourne and Rotary Club of Sydney is on the evening of 5th November. The topic is "Reversing Climate Change is Mission Possible". Please see the flyer for more details (click)
Recent correspondence from RI draws our attention toward Rotary Action Groups (click) and also to celebrate World Interact Week 2-8 November by sharing our Interact service projects on Facebook.
PDG Gina Growden’s letter in October RDU (click) reminds us of the importance of using the correct Rotary signature block and RI compliant Logos to ensure a consistently good public image. The public image team can be contacted for help.

Back to our club:

Our next three meetings on 4th, 11th and 18th November are on the same evenings as the State of Origin matches. We will have shorter meetings and conclude by 8pm to allow rugby fans time to settle down to enjoy the match. There are interesting speakers on these evenings with the expectation that we will attend as usual.
We will be inducting our newest member Ying Ho on the 11th November at our in-person meeting. Our guest speaker for the evening is Rafaele Jourdy, and the subject of the talk is "Sound Therapy for the ear & brain vitality”. There is the option of gathering in front of the big screen after the meeting to watch the second and perhaps the most exciting of the three matches.
The Pride of Workmanship Award Committee is working energetically to put up a great show on 25th November. On this occasion, we will induct our new honorary member, Dr Fiona Martin, Federal Member for Reid.
The AGM is coming up on 2nd December and it is time to start thinking about what contribution you would like to make in the coming year.
And finally some real fun and frivolity at our Christmas party on Friday, 11th December at Nonna & Co.

A summary of 'Whats on' can be seen from Program Chair Janelle Watson's webpage (click)

Last week and this week

Last Wednesday’s meeting was well attended as we continued with the theme of mental health. We heard Dr. Neil Jeyasingam dissect the mental aspects of Batman and the screen characters associated with him. (Dr Jeyasingam is a psychiatrist in private and public practice and has published widely on issues of mental health). The mesmerizing talk took us inside Batman’s world where we see his difficulties forming relationships due to the traumatic loss of his parents at a young age. In more recent projections though (e.g. Lego Batman), the pre-1960s image is relieved showing him as learning from friendships and respecting the values other people have for himself. The discussion of these characters highlighted how the attitudes and actions of adult life were impacted by one’s early life. The Making and keeping of connections is seen as important for good mental health.
Continuing on the same yet different path, this week we hear from Shannon Chin on "Cognitive health and wellbeing". Shannon is the author of the book "Demystifying Dementia" and the founder of "Fit Minds Australia". Shannon specialises in helping people build healthy brain function using Cognitive Stimulation Therapy to protect against cognitive decline.

Usha Garg
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