Castello's Cucina, 123 Fisher Street, Fullarton SA
President John Peacham 0431 618 359
Next week we hear from our local MP - David Pisoni
Last Meeting
Venue: Castello's Cucina
Guest Speakers: Behind the Badge with Kate Porter and Mavis Martin
Our Guests: Alice Edge plus Rob's assistants Caitlin and Lucy,
Attendance: 26 members 3 guests
Welcome
President John invoked taking the chill out of winter by providing warmth for those in need. He welcomed Alice Edge, speakers Kate and Mavis and Rob's assistants.
Guest Speaker: Kate Porter - Behind the Badge
Kate spoke about her idyllic childhood in Unley as one of 4 children, firsly living in Fisher St and then Westall street with plenty of relatives close at hand, and attending Walford School. Holidays were spent on farms and an annual summer sea exursion to Port Lincoln on a 6 berth yacht, stopping off at islands. During some trips the weather became quite stormy, but survive they did......roped to prevent being washed overboard. Kate counts as her single most important achievement the establishment with her husband in 1989 of Porter and Company, wholesaling wine. This was a tough time for business with many bankruptcies, interest rates at 16% and rising unemployment. Also, Kate had 3 young children.
Despite these pressures they gradually built the business though delivering the service appreciated by wineries and restaurants, to the point where their portfolio comprised 25 well known quality wineries and 200 lables from SA and interstate. Kate ascribes the key to their success lay in paying well, serving well, get-togethers twice a year with suppliers and purchasers in fun events, utilising social media, winery visits and other intitiaves to develop rapport and feedback from clientele. Kate took over the running of the business in 2007 with her team of 6, and sold it 5 years ago. Two of her 4 children continue to work for the company at 71 Duthy St, Malvern.
After taking a well earned rest she decided to join our club, inspired by the Rotary motto 'Service Above Self'.
Guest Speaker: Mavis Martin - Behind the Badge
Mavis was born in the north of England (somewhere) before WW2. After secondary school she landed her first job in Stalybridge (near Manchester) and became a proficient short hand typist. Anxious to get away from home, she decided to take up nursing at Salford from 1957-1962. Her most vivid memory is delivering her first baby at the Pig and Whistle pub, 3 am in the morning, with an inebriated and enthusiastic crowd for support and advice. She has 2 daughters who remained there, but with whom she stays in touch. In 1967 it was off to Australia.
Mavis decided to augment her nursing skills with training to be an educator. Numerous appoimtments followed including the RAH, Hampstead Centre (which was special), Whyalla, SA Health Commission, TAFE lecturing, national accreditation programs, imcluding development of a range of learning packages. In 1993 while Director of Nursing at Clare Hospital, she was invited by a doctor to join the Rotary Club of Clare....which she did. In 1997 she decided to retire early and return to her home in Gawler, then several years later to Blackwood with Richard, joining Unley Rotary in 2004. In 1998 she volunteered to provide nursing assistance in West Bengal, India for 6 weeks......which stretched into a year....and time was then spent touring the country. Mavis was struck by the sight of seemingly frail Indian women weighing about 52 kilos balancing huge bales of tea leaves of equivalent weight from the plantations on their heads, working 6 days a week. She did her best to provide respite care, and thereby incurred the displeasure of the husbands. The grandest sight was the Himalayas!
Mavis filled many positions in the 3 clubs she belonged to, including President, Secretary for 6 years, directorships, and snag charcoaler in ours.....earning 3 Paul Harris Fellows. [One of her toughest tasks was as President of Gawler Club, informing her predominantly male club members to go out and action the Rotary theme for that year, "Sew the Seeds of Love"]. In 2020 she retired from our club for health reaons and is now living in Oaklands Park Retirement Village. Her best mate Richard has Parkinson's disease and is in a nursing home.
We just enjoy seeing and hearing Mavis in action....never takes a backward step, has a wicked wit and we miss her reminding the speakers to speak louder because her hearing aids are malfunctioning.
Spots
President John reported that there will be no Mitre 10 BBQ next Saturday cause the BBQ is busted. Directors please note that District Grants of up to $1000 matched 1:1 are now avalaible, closing August.
There will be another Walk Against Domestic Violence down King William Street on Saturday 14 September and we need to provide stronger support.
There was an article in the District Newsletter about our club advocating marshall art lessons......this would be a great opportunity for the Prez to show us what he can do! Rhonda would like more entries from club members.
John Kikkert is organising an internal club debate on 13 August with teams of 3 women and 3 men going head to head. On a tight vote the topic 'Women are stronger and more capable than men' was chosen with teams supporting the opposite gender..... battle of the sexes in reverse. David, Ken and John K will be taking the positive side while Kate will be the leader of the negative.
Ross Burton attended the Adelaide Uni Music Camp Recital at Bonython Hall last Friday night - we had sponsored a student for the week of training. The performance by the 8-15 yo musicians was impressive.
Rhonda Hoare explained that the film "Inside Out 2" fundraiser for the Young Friends of Rotary next Saturday afternoon had to be cancelled due to insufficient ticket sales. Also this year's Youth Music Awards will not be proceeding due to lack of registrations. Support is to be provided to the SA Youth Orchestra which tours and trains across the State.
Finale
A needy Graham Beckett won the lucre, Marlene again featured by winning the chocolates, and Mavis a secret parcel.
The meeting closed nicely at 7.53 pm with a Gomer Pyle joke from Nathan in the guise of the Prez. .
Rotary International News
Developing our future generation of leaders
Posted on
By Ed Hallock, Rotary Club of Seminole Lake, President, S4TL Board of Directors
Delegates to the Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders organized by Rotary Districts 6890, 6950, and 6960. Yellow shirts are first-year students, red-shirts are attending a second year as group leaders.
In the summer of 2021, as we were all coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had just finished my third year as an assistant governor and one of my final acts was to chloroform my own Rotary club. The club was small, mighty in service, however it simply could not survive the pandemic as a small club.
I was at a low point personally in Rotary and seriously considered throwing in the towel myself after 28+ years. I had made a commitment and was serving on the board of directors for a joint Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) project called Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders (S4TL) between my district and two neighboring ones, and I wasn’t quite ready to give up on it.
After having canceled the 2020 seminar due to COVID, we had just held a hybrid (two days virtual and two days in person) seminar for about 80 students in July. I knew the long-term viability of the program was in jeopardy if we couldn’t resurrect it. Before the pandemic, we had gathered 165 high school students transitioning from junior (11th grade) to senior (12th grade) year for leadership development training at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
The phenomenal thing about S4TL is that it gets these young adults out of their comfort zones, gives them an opportunity to live campus life in college dormitories, eat meals in the college cafeteria, all while developing into leaders who are instilled with Rotary values. They go back and serve in their communities and schools.
People ask me why I give up 10 days of my life, sleep less than six hours each night in a dorm room bunk bed, and eat cafeteria food (it’s not good, but the students love it)? It’s to witness the development of these young people and know that our future generation is in good hands!
S4TL includes lectures, discussions, motivational talks, group activities, and interchanges of ideas and concepts to improve leadership abilities. World-renowned speakers are brought in to provide leadership development skills. Recreational and entertainment programs are also provided, and Rotary principles are injected into many aspects of the seminar.
Rotarians are invited to attend the program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week to have lunch with the students and participate in “rap session” discussion groups. These sessions are lively, opinionated, and enlightening, covering a variety of thought-provoking and sometimes emotional topics. Rap sessions allow the students to express and defend their thoughts and opinions in a safe environment with both their peers and Rotarians. This is a highlight of the week for many, both young students and older Rotarians who return year after year to participate.
Rotarians are also involved in sponsoring and selecting students to attend the seminar. A Rotarian from the sponsoring club must provide transportation to and from the seminar for each student. What a difference Rotarians get to see from the shy, quiet, sometimes nervous student they deliver to the seminar to the outgoing, talkative, and engaged young adult they return home!
I used to be one of those Rotarians who transported students and attended rap sessions until I had the time and opportunity to have this deeper involvement … and I love it!
Now I get to witness “leadership in action” by participation in the actual operation of the S4TL program by students who attended the seminar in prior years. Young adults continue developing their leadership skills as they progress through the program from Yellow Shirt in their first year, to Red Shirt group leaders the second year, to White Shirt program leaders the third year, to Baby Blue Shirt special assistants to the seminar director in their fifth year, following a gap year off in year 4.
In 2022, we returned to the Florida Southern College campus after a two-year hiatus, with 115 students for their first seminar year. That class produced the Red Shirt group leaders for last year, and the White Shirt program leaders this year. I was brought to tears when I realized the growth of those 10 individuals, and how cohesive of a group they were working together, to run a seminar for 151 delegates this past 16-22 June. S4TL was back!
But it doesn’t end there. Many alumni return after a few years to serve as part of senior staff working behind the scenes to ensure the success of the seminar. These young adults continue attending S4TL because the program means so much to them, and in many cases is a life-changing experience. Their involvement ensures the long-term support and viability of the program. It is truly a win-win situation for all involved!
I am honored and proud to be part of this great program and witness the development of our young adults into Rotarians and leaders in their communities.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre
10.30 am on the first Friday of the month is good for a chat with Rotary friends and a caffeine fix - Next one is Friday 2 August 2024
Upcoming Meetings
Welcoming team: Virginia Cossid and Chris Davis
Tuesday 23 July 2024 6 for 6.30pm Castello's Cucina
Guest Speaker: David Pisoni MP My Life in Politics
Welcoming team: Virginia Cossid and Chris Davis
Tuesday 30 July 2024 6 for 6.30pm Castello's Cucina
Guest Speaker: Will Chapman The dynamics of money managemnet and security
Welcoming team: Paul Duke and Ken Haines
Apologies and Meeting Enquiries to: Secretary Greg McLeod on 0417 811 838 or email to secretary@unleyrotary.org.au
Venue Set-up Enquiries to: Bulletin Editor Stephen Baker on 0403 687 015
Saturday Thrift Shop Roster
Early Shift: 10.00am to 1.00pm Late Shift: 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Vera Holt & Rhonda Hoare
Week 4: 27 July 2024
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Vera-Ann Stacy
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Virginia Cossid & Paul Duke
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Vivienne Wood 0408 819 630; e-mail: vwood@ozemail.com.au
Mitre 10 and Bunnings Barbeques
The Mitre 10 BBQs are the first and third Saturdays of each month. Morning shift 8.30am - 12 noon; afternoon shift 12.00 - 3.30pm, then clean-up.....next due Saturday 20 July 2024 but now will be 3 August
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm
Kate spoke about her idyllic childhood in Unley as one of 4 children, firsly living in Fisher St and then Westall street with plenty of relatives close at hand, and attending Walford School. Holidays were spent on farms and an annual summer sea exursion to Port Lincoln on a 6 berth yacht, stopping off at islands. During some trips the weather became quite stormy, but survive they did......roped to prevent being washed overboard. Kate counts as her single most important achievement the establishment 
Mavis was born in the north of England (somewhere) before WW2. After secondary school she landed her first job in Stalybridge (near Manchester) and became a proficient short hand typist. Anxious to get away from home, she decided to take up nursing at Salford from 1957-1962. Her most vivid memory is delivering her first baby at the Pig and Whistle pub, 3 am in the morning, with an inebriated and enthusiastic crowd for support and advice. She has 2 daughters who remained there, but with whom she stays in touch. In 1967 it was off to Australia.
