The new Rotary year has started and the members of our club are all enthused and ready to take on a new year under the logo CREATE HOPE IN THE WORLD.
President Brian welcomed everyone to our first meeting in the new Rotary year.
Our first meeting
Meeting of Rotary Club of Ashmore 5/07/2023
President Brian opened the meeting on the dot of 7 PM, after generous helpings all round of a masterful Lasagne and salad prepared in advance by one of our globetrotting members (Graham Allchurch) and the Red duty team. Fourteen members were present, along with one guest and our Guest Speaker, Operations Supervisor from Queensland Ambulance, Ben Sutherland.
President Brian thanked Michael for a fabulous three years editing Ashmore in Action, and wished Denise well in her upcoming tenure. Denise put out a call to all members for content in the coming months, and recommendations for Guest speakers. They really do make meetings interesting. Ben certainly did!
Last Friday’s sizzle was quite successful, despite the late start because of late availability of the BBQ. Your correspondent was flat tacker cooking for the first two hours, JUST managing to stay ahead of demand!
Denise explained her new organisational chart for the members’ approval, and explained that everyone has a role to play in the successful running of our club!
July is New Leadership month
July is designated New Leadership Month -
Each year Rotary Clubs and Districts across the globe induct new leaders.
Our leaders exemplify all of the qualities that make our members extraordinary; integrity, expertise, and commitment to service.
Ben Sutherland then took the floor to explain recent changes in the Ambulance Service. He told us that there are six different types of ambulance vehicle, and they are no longer based in Ambo stations! They are almost constantly manned and on the road. He told us about one particular shift he started at Surfers, and through dropping patients off at hospitals, then being the closest car to another patient, and then another, he knocked off his shift on the Sunshine Coast that afternoon!
We were told that there are 5 call centres in Qld, and his main job these days is to monitor incoming calls to ensure that the correct type of vehicle with crews of the right expertise and qualifications are dispatched to each job. They get between 300 and 450 calls in an average day, shared among 60 ambulances statewide. Their busiest times are between 2pm and midnight on most days.
In response to members questions, he told us that there are 12 stations on the Gold Coast, and at the recent marathon, there were 40 casualties attended to by Ambulance officers, and that the heart attack victim reported on in the news is still in hospital.
Denise enthusiastically thanked Ben for coming to share his anecdotes with us, and Brian closed the meeting at 7.50pm.
This is just a summary of the evening. Many humorous remarks and tidbits slipped by as this reporter was making notes. Y’had to be there!!
Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life.
When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families
Over the last 10 years our Rotary Club has supported hundreds of people through our KIVA donations.
Your Board has approved funding of a further $500 to enable us to help even more people through KIVA.
"More than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need. Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive.
We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care".
Our own Sue Plummer will teach us all how to use our new Defibrillator that was donated to us by the Rotary E Club Next Generation. This will be a valuable safety aid for us to have at the Ashmore Rotary Community Centre and will be available when needed to all community groups that utilise our Centre.
