7 November 2014 From District Secretary Annette Mackay email:

7 November 2014
From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: annette.mackay@bridges.com.au
Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible.
The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au
Important Dates
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Rotary Foundation month – November
YEP Outbounders Briefing 21st -23rd November 2014
Closing date for Inspirational Woman Awards 1st December 2014
Honeywell Engineering 1st–6th December 2014
Rotary Institute in NZ 2nd–7th December 2014
District Conference – Inverell 13-15th March 2015
RYLA 21st-28th March2015
RYAG Sheep 25th- 29th March 2015
Rotary International Convention Sao Paulo Brazil 6th-9th June 2015
DG Jottings
As we move closer to Christmas, we leave October as our Vocation month and slide into November
which is Rotary Foundation Month.
Vocation we must remember is not an Avenue of Service which we must limit to just one month of
the year. Rather it is to remind us that Vocational Service goes to the very heart of Rotary. In fact it is
the aspect which distinguishes Rotary from every other international humanitarian service
organisation.
Rotary’s vocational classification system seeks to ensure the membership of each Club consists of a
broad spectrum of vocations drawn from the local community. It is not intended to be restrictive but
to be applied and encourage Clubs to engage a wide diversity of vocations within their ranks.
Rotary’s Vocational Service also provides an opportunity to promote high ethical standards within
the business community. In recognising Vocational Service as an Avenue of Service, Rotary also seeks
to acknowledge the worthiness of all useful occupations, together with a call to apply vocational
skills to service society. These attributes are embodied in the second of the
four Objects of Rotary.
“High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful
occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society”
There are numerous ways in which you may embrace the concept of Vocational Service.......
• Apply the Four Way Test in your business and private lives
• Talk about your vocation in your Club
• Learn of other Member’s vocations
• Use your vocational skills to serve the community
• Involve yourself in a project which helps young people with their career aspirations.
• Participate in Club vocational visits
7 November 2014
From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: annette.mackay@bridges.com.au
Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible.
The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au
• Promote Pride of Workmanship awards or similar recognition of vocational excellence within the
community
• Hold “Bring a Business Person “meeting, where each member brings a non Rotarian business
person as their guest.
• Instigate and/or support a Vocational Training Team (VTT) through a Rotary Foundation Grant
As always, the effectiveness and success of any activity is dependent on the involvement of the
individual. I encourage you to apply Rotary’s ideal of service into the arena of Vocational Service.
October was a great month for Rotary and involved many clubs and individuals in raising awareness
and funds for the eradication of Polio
across the world. I know there were
quite a number of clubs that did a
terrific job letting their communities
know that Rotary was there in the race
to eliminate Polio.
Also Hat Day fell in October and it was
great to see so many clubs getting
behind this event, becoming involved
with all members wearing interesting
hats and raising an amount of funds for
mental health through their
communities. Quirindi Rotary Club had
their Hat Day when we visited their club
in late October, a good night was had
and a robust fine session saw the hat day taking go to Australian Rotary Health.
DG Greg
l
World Polio Day – newspaper feature
The combined Rotary Clubs of the Manning Valley arranged for a 2 page feature in the local
newspaper highlighting Rotary's involvement in polio eradication. The feature appeared on World
Polio Day, October 24. The article was written with pictures from several Rotary resources.
This article may be of interest to other Clubs. Next year will be 30 years since Polio Plus was
launched, so others may be keen to get Rotary's message out there.
The clubs involved were the Rotary Clubs of Taree, Wingham, Taree North, Taree on Manning, and
Forster Old Bar Beach.
What a great idea! The newspaper feature is being sent as two separate attachments .
7 November 2014
From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: annette.mackay@bridges.com.au
Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible.
The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au
Rotary pull-up banners for sale!
The Rotary Club of Armidale AM had a pull-up Polio banner designed and produced locally this year,
and they thought that other clubs might also like to order one. The banners are $160 plus postage if
required. Contact Lorraine Coffey. Phone 6772 7833 M: 0427 778 916 or l.coffey@bigpond.net.au
7 November 2014
From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: annette.mackay@bridges.com.au
Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible.
The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au
Typhoon Haiyan ShelterBox update
On 8th November 2013, the strongest storm to ever make landfall, Typhoon Haiyan, hit the islands of
the Philippines.
14 million people faced its fury, 6,000 of them lost their lives. In the aftermath, over 1 million homes
lay destroyed or severely damaged and 3.4 million people were left displaced and homeless.
ShelterBox Australia is the national affiliate of ShelterBox, an international disaster relief organisation
that specialises in the provision of emergency shelter and other essential items. Volunteer ShelterBox
response teams (SRTs) were mobilised before the typhoon struck and were soon on the ground
helping those left with nothing.
Australian SRT members deployed to Philippines 5 times over the coming months as part of an
international effort to get aid to remote islands, cut off by the Typhoon's rage. ShelterBox collaborated
with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force to reach those isolated outlying
islands.
The response from the Australian public was fantastic, donating over $1,000,000 in just 6 weeks. So
far, over 7,000 families in the Philippines have received ShelterBox aid and the organisation
continues to work in the country to help those affected whilst dealing with other disasters, further
afield.
People can find out more about ShelterBox and donate via the
website http://www.shelterboxaustralia.org.au , the donation hotline: 1300 996 038 or by sending a
cheque to:
ShelterBox Australia
PO Box 254
Parramatta
NSW 2124
ShelterBox is a Project Partner of Rotary International. Since it's inception in 2000, it has responded
to over 220 disasters in 95+ countries, distributing over 140,000 boxes. Each ShelterBox contains a
sturdy relief tent, blankets and groundsheets, water purification and storage equipment, cooking and
eating utensils, mosquito nets, a tool kit and a children's activity pack. ShelterBox also supplies aid
items in bulk, plus Shelter Kits to repair damaged homes and SchoolBoxes to enable children's
education to continue following a disaster. The charity relies solely on public donations.
Typhoon Haiyan Update attached. For more information, images and video footage please contact
Mike Greenslade on 4059 959 501 mike.greenslade@shelterbox.org.au
7 November 2014
From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: annette.mackay@bridges.com.au
Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible.
The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au