Download the Club Bulletin for meeting 935 here.
From President Mina Ward:
It was great to see so many members and partners from the club at the Combined Service Club Dinner Tuesday night, held at the Campbelltown Function Centre. As always the event was well attended by all the local service clubs including, Lions, Kiwanis, Innerwheel and of course other Rotary Clubs.
Some of the cover charge and raffle money (about $1,000) was kindly donated to the local Meals on Wheels (one of the charities the guest speaker supports). We were lucky enough to hear from His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO, Governor of South Australia. Le is the 35th Governor of South Australia and has previously been the Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia. During his introduction we heard of his experiences as a refugee and how he fled Saigon on a boat with his wife Lan and about 40 other people, destined for Darwin. After arriving in Australia, Le attended the University of Adelaide, receiving an MBA and an Economics degree. He was a senior investigator and manager with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission from the early 1990s until his retirement in 2009.
Honorary Doctorates were awarded to Le by the University of Adelaide in 2008 for services to Society and Flinders University in 2011. His achievements continue as he was awarded an Australian Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to the advancement of multiculturalism in Australia, and appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010.
Listening to this prestige figure speaking, in a down to earth manor, was both heart warming and inspiring. Through adversity he was able to build such a prosperous life from an unfortunate beginning, proves to anyone it is possible. Le talked of the generosity of spirit he experienced when he first arrived in Australia and how this has been apparent throughout his life here. He urged all service clubs to use this spirit as a foundation to continue to make the world a better place, and expand the good work we do.
Fostering multiculturalism in South Australia is what Le continually strives for. During his speech he highlighted the fact that Aboriginals are the oldest living indigenous culture of the world. We should be proactively adopting a multicultural inclusion attitude by encouraging them, along with other cultures, to join our service clubs. In turn a more diverse membership equals an ever evolving club, with different dynamics and ideas.
As well as the Governor’ inspiring address, we heard from each of the service clubs present about their current club activities. It is uplifting to hear about the fantastic projects happening locally and internationally thanks to the volunteers in the Campbelltown area. I am proud to say I am a part of this fantastic network. Keep up the great work Sunrisers!!
Continuing with the good news, it has been officially announced that member, Kirsty Stark’s, first feature length film: A Month of Sundays, will be showcased at the Toronto Film Festival. This is a prestigious achievement in the Film World and we congratulate Kirsty on this achievement and wish her safe travels to Canada.
You’ll all be happy to know that Greg, is alive and well in America and sent this lovely picture of himself in one of the stadiums he’s working on at the University of Missouri.
Next weeks meeting we will be hearing from Andrea and Jackie- teachers at Norwood Morialta High School and their school programs. There will also be a couple of important presentations, so please make an effort to attend.
This will be my last meeting for six weeks, so if I don’t see you on Tuesday….see you in October. There will be some updates coming from not-so-sunny England so watch this space!!