What an awesome presentation we had from Dr Judith Slocombe last Tuesday!  And, what a great turn out.  We were anticipating 55 attendees, but in fact had over 60.  I would like to thank all who helped achieve such a terrific outcome. 

I’ve been privileged to hear Judith speak on previous occasions, and her talk on Tuesday was no less inspirational.  From the comments made by our guests and visiting Rotarians, they too left the evening highly motivated.  One message from Judith’s talk that resonated with me was the different types of people she has come across in her career.  In particular, she spoke of “blockers” and “enablers,” and how important it is to identify them early.  Aligning with “enablers” (those who simply get on and “do”) paves the way for great achievement and at Southbank we are fortunate to have so many “enablers.”  I’m very proud of the work being done at many levels and the camaraderie being shared behind the scenes.  

A further outcome from Judith’s presentation was that Susie O’Neill, Founder of the KIDS Foundation, was also present and was roused by what Judith had to say.  This has since led to Susie and Judith catching up to look at ways in which they can collaborate with the help of the Rotary Club of Southbank.  There is considerable synergy between The Alannah and Madeline Foundation and the KIDS Foundation and indeed Susie and Judith.  What a fantastic opportunity it would be for these two exceptional individuals to work together and what an exciting opportunity for us to be involved.

We have certainly had a busy few weeks and the next few will be equally so.  We have the joint project with the Rotary Club of Canterbury at the Royal Melbourne Show; interviews for RYLA; a business breakfast next week; and, our ongoing work with the KIDS Foundation just to mention a few.  Volunteering within Rotary is about giving as much as we are comfortably able without causing any detrimental effect on our lives.  At the same time, those who do get actively involved in volunteering appear to blossom – they develop great skills, build confidence, make new friends and should they have any troubles, these seem to diminish when there is a shift away from self and onto others through worthy and exciting projects.

This week we have District Governor Colin Muir and his wife Pauline attending our meeting, along with Assistant Governor Bob Batrouney and his wife Judy.  It is our 500^th meeting and a great night of celebration has been organised by Club Service Director Gordon and Narina.  I’m sure everyone is looking forward to a wonderful evening.   Adding to our celebration, we have the induction of a new member, Ivory Roberts.  Ivory will be bringing her parents, grandparents, sister and brother-in-law, which will be very special.

Have a sensational week.

Philip Archer
Club President 2009-2010

Last Week's Meeting

(Thank you to Judy for these amazing notes)

Meeting 499 Scribe Notes

The meeting opened in the Drawing room at 6:30pm with the Sergeant-at-arms, Chris, proposing a toast to Australia and Rotary International.  He then introduced President Philip.  President Philip warmly welcomed all present to the meeting and introduced our visitors, including:

DGE Iven Mackay;
District Foundation Chair Chris Don;
Rotarians from the following Rotary clubs:
Rotary Club of Boroondara;
Rotary Club of Brighton North;
Rotary Club of Chadstone/East Malvern;
Rotary Club of Toorak;
Rotary Club of Mitchell River;
Susie O'Neill, Founder, Kids Foundation;
and many other special guests.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tracey Browne reported on the success of Camp Getaway and the raising of $25,000.

PP Gordon announced that the club's currently sponsored Young Achievement Australia company could possibly achieve the target of 100% dividends. He distributed the Eco-booklets that had been previously purchased.

PP Gabe reported on a recent visit to a meeting at the Rotary Club of Tokyo Ueno and presented their banner to President Philip.

Charles Dimmick reminded the club of the Rotary Show Stand at the Royal Melbourne Show which the club is running in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Canterbury.  He encouraged Rotarians to volunteer for time slots not yet filled in the roster lists.

Charles Stuart advised that the Business Breakfast meeting is to be held on Thursday 17th September and that the speaker, Peter Court, will present on corporate social responsibility.  Charles then gave a briefing of the Kinglake Bush Recovery Meeting advising the club of the district's partnership with Global Care, which have been on the ground at Kinglake for the last 6 months.  The D9800 Bushfire Recovery Fund have purchased machinery at or below cost and we are looking for Rotarians, friends and family to volunteer for a wide range of opportunities to assist the residents of Kinglake and surrounding areas.

Chris Trueman reported on the success of the Xanana Vocational Education Trust in achieving the co-operation of United States Aid (US Aid) which generously donated the sum of $830,000 towards the target of 1 million dollars required to set up and develop a buffalo dairy industry in East Timor. This industry would provide employment for up to 1,000 Timorese.

SERGEANT

Sergeant-at -arms, Chris, in good humour conducted the fines session.

MEMBERS MOMENT

Clinton gave a very moving and inspiring report on the Trivia Night he attended at Camp Phoenix in Anglesea for the Kids Foundation.  The Kids Foundation supports and aids burn victims and their families.  Photos of the children and their families in fancy dress, having fun and enthusiastically competing in the trivia questioning, warmed our hearts.  To quote Clinton, "the experience proved how strong was the human spirit."

CHAIR

Gordon Hastie was our chairperson for the evening and introduced the Guest speaker, Dr. Judith Slocombe.

Dr. Judith Slocombe graduated as a Veterinarian from the University of Melbourne.  She went on to create a business model which re-defined Veterinary Pathology in Australia selling her business to Gribbles Group.  She is now Group General of Pathology heading up a major human pathology division of the Gribbles Group with a budget of over $200 million and 2,500 employees.

Judith is the CEO of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

Judith was awarded the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year, Australia's most highly regarded award for women in business.

Dr. Judith Slocombe spoke of her astounding professional history and growth in business.  We also learnt some secrets to a balanced lifestyle - lessons from Judith, mother of 9 children (including 2 sets of twins) and also a most successful business woman. 

Who will forget the story of the wrist restrainers or the visualization of sock pairing and the "show and tell" presentation of the "Buddy Bag"?  The ownership of this bag, with its simple contents, has made such a difference to the well being of children who have experienced violence in their lives.

The Buddy Bear programme, also pioneered by Judith, is practised in primary schools today.  This program enhances the values of caring, friendliness, respect, responsibility and the appreciating of value and difference.

There were many questions and praise from the group of Judith and he achievements.
 
At the conclusion, Judith was, as is the clubs tradition, presented with a "Penny for Polio".
 
EXCHANGING OF BANNERS

Representatives of the visiting Rotary clubs introduced themselves and formally exchanged their club banners with President Philip.

President Philip then presented Steven McInnes with his dinner badge.

CLOSING

President Philip closed the meeting with his inspirational thought of the week inspired by our guest, Dr. Judith Slocombe; "A goal is a dream with a deadline."