Next Meeting – 9 April 2019 - Pride of Workmanship Awards
Attendance desk:
John Turner & John Bolton
Set up & pack up:
Jon Gidney
Speakers & topic:
Premier Gladys Berejiklian
Rotary Club Meeting 2 April 2019
Welcome
President Ranald welcomed club members, guest speaker David Brill AM, ACS as well as Roger Lanser and David Lewis from the Australian Cinematographers Society, at whose premises this meeting was held.
Announcements
There is to be a visit to the Masons at the Masonic Hall at Northbridge next week. Please notify Malcolm Lye if you are interested in attending.
Peter Grinter reminded members of the Rostrum Voice of Youth to be held on 3 April.
Roseville Chase Rotary Club is hosting a wine and cheese night at Roseville Public School next Saturday, 6 April to help raise funds for an MRI coil at RNSH.
Guest Speaker - David Brill AM - Cinematographer
President Ranald introduced David Lewis, President of Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS). David welcomed us to their National HQ and told us that the ACS is a not-for-profit society recognised throughout the world. It has 1600 members with 40-50 continually working overseas, and with a branch in every state and territory. They have an accreditation process which is very highly regarded throughout the world. Their membership is not just cinematographers but includes photographers, journalists and cameramen amongst others. The ACS owns their premises in North Sydney and it is at times used for film classes and interviews.
David introduced our guest speaker, David Brill AM. David started his career in cinematography filming the Tasmanian bushfires in 1967, the dramatic footage of which was seen around the world. He spent 11 years in the US working with Geoff McMullen and Ray Martin, and has worked for both the ABC and SBS all his life. At 23 years of age he worked on 4 Corners with Mike Willesee for whom he had great respect. They remained friends until Mike’s recent death. He said working on 4 Corners was the best time of his life and Mike was the best journalist he had ever worked with. Together he and Mike did some long pieces on the Vietnam War and spoke about how important it is to show the real story. He said there are many Australian cinematographers working today in places like Iran, Syria, Iraq and Serbia.
During his 11 years in the US, David covered many events including the 1986 America’s Cup, the situation in Guatemala and San Salvador during the Reagan era, and Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. He said Carter was an incredible person, a very clever and decent man. He obviously made a great impression on David. David also filmed in Russia during the Gorbachev era and filmed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. David likes to film people who inspire him and to tell the stories of real people. He has seen many great moments in history, and what has kept him going over the years is to see the spirit of individuals such as aide workers and the likes of Australian Dr Rowan Gillies, who at aged 36 was the youngest ever president of Medecin Sans Frontieres. David said that whilst at times he felt guilty filming the victims of disasters, he realised that film seen around Australia and the world often brought much needed help and change.
David was inducted into the ACS Hall of Media Fame in 2008. He has tried to show compassion and dignity in his work and through his films has been able at times to bring attention to world situations and to change the course of history.
Bob Edwards thanked David for his very interesting talk which ranks as one of our most memorable. He enjoyed listening to his stories and we are indeed very fortunate to have heard from a very special person.
Saturday May 11 will celebrate the annual community fireworks event organised by the Rotary Club of Northbridge.
Over the past 32 years, community support and attendance at this event has grown to more than 4000 and funds raised will go toward helping local disadvantaged youth and people at risk.
Gates open at the Northbridge Oval, Sailors Bay Road, at 4pm with live music provided by Northbridge and Cammeray Public Schools and Willoughby Girls High School.
There will be rides and other entertainment for the children, including face-painting; hot food from the Rotary BBQ, ice creams, fairy floss, cold drinks and coffee will be available. The highlight of the evening will be a spectacular fireworks display at 7 pm.
MC for the occasion is voice over artiste Jake Downs whose father John Downs, a previous President of the Rotary Club, was the first MC 32 years ago!
We wish to extend an invitation to all families to come along; support a great cause, and enjoy a great night out! Bring a picnic basket and a rug and enjoy the fantastic community atmosphere.
Funds raised by Northbridge Rotary via a bucket appeal at Northbridge Plaza have been put to good use as reported below.
During Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017, the Sarina Range in Queensland experienced a massive landslide that effectively cut off 16 families (30 students) from the school campus. Education Queensland quickly established accommodation for the isolated students. However, suddenly and rather traumatically, the 30 students and their families had to adjust to changed life circumstances, grief and loss, separation from their previous school community and increased cost of living to travel extended distances to access shops, doctors, workplaces and other social supports such as scouts, sporting activities and dance.
This project, funded by the Northbridge Rotary Club totalling $3255, provided support for children’s skill development (swimming classes) and social interaction with peers at Inter school athletic activities. These monies paid for bus services to transport children between schools, then on to the swim classes and their athletics carnival. Without this grant the school, P&C and students would have been financially disadvantaged and unable to provide the access and learning opportunities that were offered to the students at the temporary accommodation.
Outcome measure evaluation: The project success was measured through the implementation of the project plan within the time frame below.
May 2018: 24 children and 8 parents affected attended that inter-school athletics event at Sarina State School. The children participated in all events and several children were successful in securing places in the district events.
December 2018: 30 students from the Range campus attended all school swim classes held at the Sarina Swimming Pool over a seven- week period. These children were transported by bus and participated in classes with other students as well as attending their swim classes through the day. All students passed the required water safety standard requirement for their age.
Full acquittal of funds occurred in January 2019 for the bus services that took students between their accommodation, school and swimming.
The Rotary Club of Sarina and the Swayneville State School students, parents, teachers and community are thankful to the Northbridge Rotary Club and Townsville District 9550 Disaster Management grants that facilitated the social, and emotional well-being of these school children, alleviated a potentially onerous financial burden on the P&C and parents who were already financially disadvantaged. Your financial and club support has provided joy, growth, opportunities, personal development, pride, skill and water safety in all the children of the Swayneville State School Campus. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge is building on their long-standing support of youth with expanding support across 6 different youth specific, leadership and experience focus programs. The outcomes of these programs continue to motivate the club to build on these programs with increased support.
Among these programs are high school leadership, science, engineering and experience programs. One of these programs is RYPEN (Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment) aimed at year 9 & 10 who want to build their confidence and self-esteem. RYPEN provides young people the opportunity to build leadership potential, encourages them to explore their ideas in problem solving, team activities, and experiences that will assist them in forming their own values. RYPEN is about building confidence and developing skills to cope in a range of situations. The Rotary club of Northbridge has doubled it’s support of this amazing program from sponsoring 4 awardees each of the last 2 years to 8 awardees this 18/19 year. Follow this link https://rotarydistrict9685.org.au/page/rypen for more information about RYPEN.
Another program worthy of mention is the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA is a transformational leadership program designed for young adults aged 18-27. This intensive program over 7 days, enabling leadership to grow and develop to its full potential. RYLA combines amazing Australian speakers with activities and challenges in a supportive environment. Unlike other programs, RYLA has a focus on practical hands-on opportunities testing leadership in a controlled environment. The RYLA program is unique in linking outcomes to self-improvement with considered reflection; building a better leader with the necessary skills for improving their leadership as they move forward in life. RYLA is run annually, with close to 90 candidates in Elanora Heights, on Sydney's Northern beaches; the Rotary Club of Northbridge has sponsored 9 RYLA awardees over the last 3 years. Follow this link http://d9685ryla.org.au/ for more information about RYPEN.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge is also supporting the initiation of the North Sydney Rotaract Club; a new Rotaract Club which is a driven community of young professionals aged 20-30 who are committed to creating social change in their community whilst developing as leaders. The inaugural meeting is scheduled for February 20th and the following links are available for further information.
The life changing effects of these sponsored Youth programs continues to motivate our club and members support; the Rotary Club of Northbridge will continue a focus on our local Youth and our leaders of tomorrow as one of the most rewarding areas where we support our community.
