The District Serviette - Rotary District 9710 · May 2015 Rotary District 9710 - District Serviette page no !1 Governor 2014-2015 Rowley Tompsett “Together we can achieve more”

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R o t a r y D i s t r i c t 9 7 1 0 - D i s t r i c t S e r v i e t t e p a g e n o !1

Governor 2014-2015 Rowley Tompsett

“Together we can achieve more”

The District Serviette

From the Governor’s Servie0e …

It’s not only about the money!

For the first 4me in a number of years, we have seen a change in the membership of Rotary in the District; we are moving ahead. At the end of March, we had increased our membership by 39, or 2.9%. This makes us the second biggest improver in Australia. We only need another nine new members to reach the District Goal of one new member per Club. Another eight will take us back to 1400 members; a number we last achieved some4me in 2013.

Why has this happened? What has changed?

From my travels around the District, visi4ng those clubs where large increases in membership have been achieved, a number of things stand out. Consider …

What makes a good Rotarian? I have a simple defini4on. Good Rotarians pay their fees and contribute as they are able. Growing Clubs accept that pressures on peoples’ lives mean their ability to contribute will change from 4me to 4me. Growing Clubs accept members for what they are able to contribute; not for how oRen they are able to aSend mee4ngs.

A0endance versus Service. At PETS last year, I spoke to the Presidents Elect and advised them that I would not collect informa4on on mee4ng aSendance. My reasoning was that we aSend mee4ng for our own benefit; we do service for our communi4es benefit. While our Rotary aSendance is important to us, we don’t need to measure it; what is important is the 4me we put into doing good in our communi4es. Growing Clubs understand this and are focussing outwardly, not inwardly. Growing Clubs have fun in service.

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Nothing wrong with a li-le silliness, Parrotheads!

Community involvement. I am oRen concerned when I hear comments in Clubs concerning the ‘economic value’ of doing certain projects. While raising funds is important for us to do much of our work, more important is the need for us to become part of the fabric of our community. Recently I was at Bungendore Rotary (doesn’t that sound beSer than the Rotary Club of Bungendore!), where their emphasis has been on assis4ng other organisa4ons in the area to raise funds for their community projects. As a result, the Club is becoming well-‐known as good community ci4zens and, this year, they’ve increased their membership from 16 to 25 … with more to come. I am also reminded of Jerrabomberra Rotary and their support for the MS Megaswim that raises no money for Rotary, but greatly supports MS sufferers, raising the profile of Jerrabomberra Rotary in Queanbeyan and the District. I also recall, some years ago, another Rotary Club turning this project down because it didn’t provide any benefit to the Club … an opportunity foregone! On the other hand, Berrima District Rotary harnessed the community for its GaolBreak project in January and neSed around $90,000 in three days … but you have to inform, involve and share.

Isn’t it amazing what we can achieve if no-‐one care who gets the credit!

Ac@ve membership program. There is no doubt the ‘Yass Model’, championed by District Membership Chair Judy Ford, is having a big impact on recrui4ng campaigns. Those Clubs that have adopted the model and applied it diligently are reaping great benefits. Cooma, Tumut and Yass provide any tes4mony that may be needed. I hope others will consider following. But whatever your program, any growing Club will tell you it’s something you need to work constantly towards … it doesn’t just happen.

Reten@on. I have said many 4mes, in Rotary we don’t have a recrui4ng problem; we have a reten4on problem. The very fact that ten years ago we were an organisa4on of 1.2 million Rotarians, and today we are s4ll an organisa4on of 1.2 million people speaks volumes, because during those ten years we have recruited over 600,000 Rotarians … and lost the same number. Growing Clubs realise that members, especially new members, must be involved and valued. Otherwise, they will quickly become disenchanted and vote with their feet. Growing Clubs regularly survey their membership to see what is required, and act on the results of the responses. Growing Clubs ensure that new members are mentored and involved in the fabric of the Club … not leR to fend for themselves.

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A final thought. When Denise and I were in Lisbon at the Rotary Conven4on a couple of years ago, we got to talking—as you do at Conven4ons—with a Rotarian from the United Kingdom. She told us of an innova4on in her Club designed to involve new members immediately they are inducted. The Club sets aside £1000 for each new member (budgeted on previous recrui4ng experience). On induc4on, the new Rotarian is offered the £1000 to support any cause about which they are passionate. It may be to simply provide a cash dona4on, but new Rotarians are encouraged to use the funds as seed money for a project in the field of their passion. They might form a small sub-‐commiSee within the Club to ini4ate and pursue a new project, or they might choose to join an established project and use the funds there. Whatever their choice, the new Rotarian is immediately involved and knows that Rotary will support them in following their passion; a win-‐win for both the Club and the Rotarian.

So you see, it’s not only about the money … but some4mes it does help! ………………………………………………………………. Some other snippets …

Due to the generosity of both the Tumut RSL and Tumut Rotary, the meal costs for the District Training Assembly were lower than planned. Consequently, the District has decided to donate $2000 to ShelterBox in recogni4on of the support provided by both organisa4ons.

A number of dedicated Rotarians turned out on Anzac Day to work with the Australian War Memorial staff to present the Centenary of Anzac program. It was a cool, very early morning start (around 2.00 am), and most went through the morning un4l about 1.00 pm. Thank you all who par4cipated. I hope, like me, you headed home in the rain for a well-‐earned glass of red and put your feet up for the rest of the aRernoon! I have wriSen to AWM Director Dr Brendon Nelson congratula4ng him and his staff for a wonderful organisa4on, and thanking him for the privilege of being involved.

Nowra Rotary celebrated 80 years of service to the Shoalhaven community with a posh dance on 18 April. As I was with many of you in Tumut at the District Training Assembly, Denise and I weren’t able to aSend. But I have seen some of the photos and it appears a great 4me was had by all. The Club also opened its machinery display at the Kangaroo Valley Pioneer Museum (see separate ar4cle). It was further evidence of the support the Club has provided and also served as recogni4on of the important part played in Nowra Rotary by the Moorhouse family, especially PDG Frank and PP Arthur (pictured with DG Rowley).

The Nepal earthquake struck in the last week of the month and I thank all those Clubs who, once again, have dug deep to provide support to those affected. Contribu4ons have been flowing into both the RAWCS project and through ShelterBox. The District made a $10,000 contribu4on through the Asha Founda4on, managed by Moruya Rotarian Pauline Gleeson. I urge you to con4nue this very valuable humanitarian assistance. Your support makes me a very proud Rotarian … I hope you feel the same pride.

Cheers

Rowley

!

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!

District Governor Rowley TompseS Vice District Governor

Rob Woolley Immediate Past District

Governor Maureen Manning

District Governor Elect Monica GarreS

District Governor Nominee Steve Hill

District Secretary Anthony Jobson District Treasurer PDG Phil MeweS

Assistant Governors Vere Gray

Debbie Harris Julia Pedler Jan SouthcoS Graeme Kinraid Mark Wallace

Margaret Hedger Fiona Kibble

Robert MacCulloch Lynne Duckham Melissa Tooke Brian Goldstraw Hugh Boulter

‘Save the Date’ - District Changeover

Date: 28 June Time: 12.00 for 1230 pm

Place: The Abbey, Gold Creek, Nicholls further details on District Website soon

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Australian Rotary Health (formerly Australian Rotary Health Research Fund) was established by Rotary in Victoria in 1981 aRer a Rotary member, Ian ScoS, heard a plea on the radio for help to research Cot Death. It quickly became a project supported by all Rotary Districts throughout Australia with 90% of clubs throughout Australia making a contribu4on. By 1985 funds were made available for a number of research projects into Cot Death (also known as SIDS) and as a result of this research it was found that one of the contribu4ng factors was sleeping babies in the prone posi4on. ARer a great deal of publicity of the findings of this research mothers changed the sleeping posi4on of their babies and the number of Cot Deaths in Australia had reduced from 500 per year prior to the research to just over 100 in the late 90’s.

Since 1981 more than $33 million has been provided by Australian Rotary Health for funding of research, scholarships and Postdoctoral fellowships.

In regard to research the Board made decisions over the years to focus research in specific areas.

1986-‐1994 Cot Death 1989-‐1995 Environmental Health Problems of the Aged 1993-‐1996 Adolescent Health 1996-‐1999 Family health 1998-‐2000 Ross River Virus 1999-‐2001 First Aid, Pre Hospital Treatment 2000-‐2011 Mental Health 2012 -‐ Mental Health of Young Australians

In addi4on to this research, Rotary Clubs wanted to support some specific areas of health research and as a result ARH engages with funding partners to provide Research PhD Scholarships.

Australian Rotary Health - Did you know?

In addi4on to funding partners, there are two Scholarships which a club can support financially but also get involved with, and assist, the students.

The first is the Indigenous Health Scholarship Program. In summary this scholarship is designed to assist students from a range of health areas including medicine, nursing, social work, physiotherapy and den4stry who have successfully completed their first year of study. The scholarship can make all the difference to a struggling student especially since Indigenous Australian students are oRen mature age and maybe with a family to support.

The second is the Australian Rotary Health Rural Medical Scholarship. This has many benefits for country clubs and their community. The aim of the scholarship is to encourage medical students to complete one year working in a rural area with the club involving the student in their community. The club provides the Scholarship and ARH finds a suitable candidate.

For many years, clubs in our district were regular supporters of Australian Rotary Health but in recent years support has been leR to just a few clubs. Now that you know a liSle more please consider how you can assist. Rotary is proud of Australian Rotary Health. It is not only an excellent public rela4ons vehicle for Rotary in Australia but is the largest independent funder of mental health research in Australia.

How can you help?

Has your club made a contribu4on this year? Please make a contribu4on before 15th June. Would your club like to fund an Indigenous Scholar ? Scholarship is $5000 – club cost is $2500. Please host a Hat Day on Friday 9th October 2015. See www.hatday.com.au. Would you like to make a personal tax deduc4ble dona4on? See hSp://www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au/Support.aspx

http://www.hatday.com.au

http://www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au/Support.aspx

http://www.hatday.com.au

http://www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au/Support.aspx

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In a quest to help young people experiencing mental ill-‐health, Australian Rotary Health is funding a growing number of research projects to test web and phone based mental health interven4ons. Of the $3 million they invested in research this year, 60% was directed towards improving the mental health of young Australians.

At the Black Dog Ins4tute, NSW, Dr Janine Clarke and Professor Judy Proudfoot are providing the first Australian data on a web and mobile phone-‐based interven4on for young people living with diabetes. myCompass aims to improve the mental well-‐being and reduce psychological and diabetes-‐related distress for 16 to 25 year olds with Type 1 diabetes.

“The Internet and mobile phones are popular tools in the everyday lives of young people,” Dr Clarke said.

“We think that a self-‐help program combining these technologies provides an aSrac4ve alterna4ve for young people who may not feel comfortable talking to doctors about their mental health.”

Funding Partner PhD Scholar, Emma Gliddon, from Deakin University, Victoria, tests the success of an online self-‐help forum for people living with Bipolar Disorder. MoodSwings provides online tools to assist in the day-‐to-‐day management of Bipolar.

“Something as simple as having someone to talk to can make a substan4al impact on a person’s well-‐being,” Emma said.

At Monash University, Victoria, Dr Marie Yap is leading a study which developed Paren4ng Guidelines based on evidence that parental factors can increase or decrease an adolescents' risk for depression and anxiety.

This tailored online interven4on Paren:ng Strategies provides an immediate feedback report highligh4ng the parent’s individual paren4ng strengths and weaknesses; and recommends specific modules of the web-‐based interven4on which support parents in making changes to the iden4fied areas of weakness in their paren4ng.

“The greatest innova4on of this project is the sophis4cated programming that automa4cally tailors the paren4ng program,” Dr Yap said.

Fighting Mental Illness in a Digital Age

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Three years ago the Rotary Club of Nowra adopted a sugges4on from PP Arthur Moorhouse to puxng together a display of vintage farm machinery. As the Rotary Club of Nowra was celebra4ng its 80th year of service to the Shoalhaven community in April 2015, Community Service Director Arthur Moorhouse and the commiSee worked hard to develop a vintage farm machinery display to recognise the local farming community’s importance to the district. At the same 4me, the Club was able to recognise the memory of its Charter Member Past District Governor Frank Moorhouse (Arthur’s Dad). Frank gave a life4me of service to the rural community and was a Rotarian for over 60 years (with a 100% aSendance record). The project was three years in the making and would not have been possible without the assistance of work crews from the South Coast Correc4onal Centre, dona4ons of implements and a TEA20 Ferguson tractor from local farmers and supporters, as well as the provision for housing the display at the Kangaroo Valley Pioneer Farm Museum. The resul4ng display is a fixng tribute and memorial to 80 years of Rotary service, as well as recogni4on of the outstanding Rotary and community service of the Moorhouse family, especially PDG Frank. The display was duly opened on Sunday 12th April by DG Rowley TompseS, Pioneer Farm Museum President Garth Chixck and RC Nowra President Penny Pickup. About 45 representa4ves from Rotary and the project supporters aSended the event and joined in a post-‐opening lunch on the Museum site.

NOWRA ROTARY GOES AGRICULTURAL

DG Rowley with President Penny and PP Arthur

PP Arthur(brother Owen on his leC) and supporters

Please note that your District NewsleSer Editor for 2015 -‐ 2016 will be Ian Foster. Ian will accept ar4cles for the July District News and all club bulle4ns from 1

July at

[email protected]

In Memorium Past Governor Keith Draper

OAM

Rotary Club of Huskisson Rotary District 9710

1993 – 1994

Passed away peacefully in Perth, Western Australia

8 May 2015 Rest in Peace

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Pambula Beach resident and Rotarian, Libby Weir, is about to embark on her eleventh trip to South Africa in as many years. Libby volunteers her services for several months each year in Kwa Zulu, Natal.

Over ten years Libby’s achievements include sexng up a school library, establishing 23 vegetable gardens, establishing welding, carpentry and sewing courses, purchasing school uniforms and shoes, providing pencils and paper, paying school fees, paying for some teachers’ assistants, purchasing a school computer, providing sports uniforms and equipment, and also an outdoor jungle gym.

Libby returns to South Africa to disturbing news. The water tanks for the 23 vegetable gardens are empty, the soil has been overworked, and the economy is struggling, which means buying vegetables for these needy people will be almost impossible. The viability of sinking a bore may be very costly and difficult, due to the steep contours of the land.

However, the welding and carpentry classes are thriving, and Libby has an exci4ng new project for the sewing ladies. She is also focussing on involving women and girls more in sport.

Recently Libby was nominated by Pambula Rotary as a NSW Rotary Inspira4onal Woman of the Year. This award highlights the work done by quiet achievers whose efforts make a significant difference.

Pambula Rotary remains focussed on raising funds for Libby to con4nue her wonderful work.

…………………………..Rosie Young, Pambula Rotary, Publicity Officer

Inspirational Libby

President David Wriedt presents Libby with a cheque for the funds raised this year for her to continue with her good work.

Denise's Raffle Thank you to everyone who has supported my project by selling raffle 4ckets. I would appreciate if the 4ckets (sold and unsold) and funds are returned to me by 15 June for the draw at District Changeover on Sunday 28 June. In the mean4me, there is s4ll a month to go, so please don't give up! The first prize is a highly desired new model Thermomix and if you don't know what one is -‐ very many of your email and Facebook friends around Australia will. So please feel free to share this link and they may purchase 4ckets online:

www.rotaryd9710.org.au/4mor-‐leste-‐raffle

This is such a wonderful cause and while we are lucky enough to live in this country and have access to great food and cooking equipment; the people of Timor Leste have not been so fortunate.

Thank you for your help.

Denise

http://www.rotaryd9710.org.au/timor-leste-raffle

http://www.rotaryd9710.org.au/timor-leste-raffle

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RAWCS -‐ An Eyewitness Account from an Australian Rotary

From Banepa, Kavre District, Nepal 6th May 2015

It is now 12 days aRer the earthquake and 9 days since we came up from Sindhuli to help with the distribu4on of food parcels to the remote regions of Kavre District. We have been staying with Rotarian Ashok and Kamala Shrestha in Banepa, where we have been helping with the relief effort run by with the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel and CEDRA an Ngo run by Ashok. Because of our age we are finding it a bit tough when the car or bus can’t make the hill and we have to walk but our spirits are s4ll high as there is so much work to be done.

It is now 7:30 pm and we have just returned from the village of Hokse aRer delivering 300 food parcels. This now makes a total of 2800 food parcels and

Tarps delivers to remote loca4ons since the earthquake; This equates to providing appox 210,000 meals delivered to date. Most of the supplies have been obtained on Credit awai4ng finance from Australia and America .Some have been financed by a Mercy Relief Team from Singapore who have accompanied us to the villages.

We have a team of dedicated volunteers who weigh and pack rice, dhal, peas, turmeric, spice, salt and other items into plas4c bags and then pack them into a plas4c bucket with spoons and 3 SS Plates. We are packing about 300 every day. Supplies are running low or the prices are rising locally so Ashok has now resorted to buying by the truck load from India or the Terai which is the part of Nepal next to India which was not affected by the earthquake. We received 6000 plas4c buckets from India only this morning.

Prior to delivery, we have a team that talks to people to determine which areas are in need of assistance. Someone then visits the loca4on with sheets to be filled in by people who have lost their house completely or the house is

damaged to the extent that they cannot live in it. We also assess the number of people in the household to determine how we can fulfil their needs. These sheets are used to determine the runs for the next few days. These sheets are then used to distribute the parcels on site however there is always some that are not registered and miss out even though they are in the same dire situa4on. The system is not perfect.

The finished buckets, together with a plas4c water jug filled with a Lt of packaged cooking oil, are loaded onto the local School Bus and a couple of 4 wheel drives. We then set of to deliver them to the next allocated area. (As I write this we have just had another tremor, not big, but as we are on the 4th floor we consider whether we should go down to street level.) . I must now sing the praises of our bus crew. They drive an ordinary school bus fully loaded over roads i certainly would not take my Ford Territory, we have forded running creeks, had to literally dig the bus out on some of the many hairpin bends that are very common in the mountain roads of Nepal but they do it with a smile with the local tap-‐tap on the rear of the bus to tell the driver that he can s4ll get closer to the 100 m drop before stopping.

NEPAL UPDATES

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R o t a r y D i s t r i c t 9 7 1 0 - D i s t r i c t S e r v i e t t e p a g e n o !1 0

SHELTERBOX RESPONDS IN NEPAL

As news of the deadly Nepal earthquake spread, ShelterBox immediately sprang into ac4on. Response Team volunteers were mobilised and the first team was on the ground within 48 hours. Pre-‐posi4oned aid was distributed to hospitals in and around Kathmandu as they struggled to deal with the rising number of casual4es. The relief effort was soon ramped up and right now we have five Response Teams in Nepal, working with other aid agencies within the 'cluster system' to rapidly assess needs and get emergency aid to those desperate for

emergency shelter. As always, the response from the public and Rotary has been swiR and generous but we must not underes4mate the task ahead. About 4.2 million people are in need of emergency shelter, food and water and in less than two months the monsoon season will make already difficult logis4cs even more challenging. The interna4onal community need to act fast to make sure a further tragedy is avoided. You can help by con4nuing your support for ShelterBox, not only with dona4ons but by forwarding this newsleSer to your friends and sharing our posts on social media.

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The villages we have visited in the last two days have been totally destroyed with 70 to 80% of the houses total collapsed with the rest having major structural cracks and will need to be pulled down. The inhabitants have u4lised roofing where available or tarps to set up temporary? shelter for their families. We watched one man yesterday slowly staring to place stones back into walls in the slow rebuild process. In one village which had had 21 people killed during the earthquake we consoled a grandmother who had lost her son and the daughter took me on a tour of the house that was in complete ruins. They were living in makeshiR shelter with their 4 teenage children. As they are so dependent on their farm animals the shelter provided for them is

some4mes as good as or some4mes beSer than they provide for themselves. Although there was no verbal communica4on we were able sit with here for a long 4me expressing the feelings of her loss with sign language and cuddles. At this point we nearly missed the bus.

A village in Nepal usually sits on the saddle of the range with houses spread up to 100 to 200 metres apart and up to 100 metres up or down the hill so it is very hard to pin point the centre of the village. In the larger ones there is usually a school that we u4lise to distribute the goods but a lot of these have been damaged and will have to be repaired before school can resume. In some cases we just stop on the road on the side of the mountain and distribute from there. Some4mes like the other day we were accompanied by a team of doctors from Bangladesh who joined in the convoy and set up their table to treat the locals as we were distribu4ng the food parcels

That’s all for now will try and report again later, Please think of the Nepalese people at this 4me and give them your support. We have already had great support from Rotary Clubs and individuals in all states. I would like to thank all for your support.

Cheers for now Yours in Rotary

David & Dianne Waterhouse Rotary Club of The Entrance, Rotary District 9685.

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News from Shelter Box Australia

DEPLOYMENTS ……………….. from ShelterBox eNews -‐ May 2015

Nepal - Earthquake An earthquake measuring 7.8 in magnitude occurred between the cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal on Saturday 25th April. Since then, several aftershocks have taken place, ranging from 5 to 6.7 in magnitude. ShelterBox has 5 Response Teams on the ground. Over the weekend a series of partnerships were agreed for 500 (UN specification) tents each to be deployed with ACTED, IOM and Handicap International alongside an additional 2,736 Shelter Kits and 1,754 ShelterBoxes for use by our own teams. Vanuatu - Cyclone ShelterBox continues to work with CARE International to help people in the north east of the island of Tanna, near the Yasur Volcano. 1,000 Shelter Kits have been sent

to Tanna. The team has finished distributions in the area of Middle Bush and has now moved to the area of White Sands. A further consignment of aid, comprising 7,500 blankets, 1,500 solar lamps, 2,250 mosquito nets and 500 tarpaulins, has arrived in Vanuatu and the majority of this has now arrived on Tanna. The additional tarpaulins being sent will be used to repair schools. SRT members worked with DFAT and the ADF to distribute aid to remote islands.

Malawi - Floods Successive ShelterBox Response teams have been working in Malawi, following severe flooding. 3 Australian SRT volunteers were involved in a

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Australian SRT Member On Deployment Greg Moran has now returned from Vanuatu, where he worked extensively with the Australian Defense Force, particularly the crew of HMAS Tobruk. Member of Gosford North Rotary, Peter Pearce has deployed to Nepal to lead a Response team following the devastating earthquake. This is Peter's 3rd deployment this year. Peter's team is working the badly-affected region of Sindhupalchowk. What is a Shelter Repair Kit? ShelterBox aid is continually evolving to better meet the needs of beneficiaries. It is with that criteria in mind that we developed the Shelter Repair Kit. Designed to conform with IFRC standards the kit comprises an extensive tool kit, including shovel and

ShelterBox continues to work in: Cameroon, DPRK, Nepal, Niger, Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines, Syria The Operations Team is motoring events in: Brazil, Chile and Yemen

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The talent around the table: Mitty Chang When it comes to Rotary, MiSy Chang is prac4cally a lifer – and he's only 26. Chang joined Interact 10 years ago in Fremont, Calif., where almost a quarter of the 2,000

students at his high school were Interactors. He went on to organize two Rotaract clubs. Now an entrepreneur who works with small businesses and nonprofits to build their online iden4ty and brand, he plans to become a Rotarian within the next few years. "I expect to have a long life in Rotary," he says. We caught up with Chang at the 2014 Rotary conven4on in Sydney, Australia, to find out what being a member of the Rotary family means to him.

THE ROTARIAN: What has kept you involved in Rotary?

CHANG: I joined my Interact club with my friends. But I ended up staying because I enjoyed the warm fuzzies you get from volunteering. Rotaract has been my passion over the past few years. I owe so much to the Rotary family. Most of my good friends come from Rotary, and I met my girlfriend through Rotaract. I run a Web design business, and 90 percent of my clients are connec4ons I've made somewhere through the Rotary family. It's crazy how much Rotary is integrated into my life.

TR: Rotary was founded in part for business networking. Do you think that's s4ll an emphasis?

CHANG: I've traveled around the United States and talked to a lot of Rotary clubs. At many of them, it's almost taboo to talk about your own business during a club mee4ng. But I find that with Rotaractors and young Rotarians, they're looking to connect and grow professionally. That's one of the things I look for too.

TR: Why do you think a young professional might join Rotaract rather than Rotary?

CHANG: Look at how your club meets. Mee4ng any 4me other than aRer 5 p.m. is almost impossible for younger professionals, who may not own their own business or be managers yet. And when you're in your 20s, your life can change in an instant. It could be that you're moving, you've received a promo4on, a raise, a transfer, or you graduate from college. That's one of the reasons Rotaract is so important. We're Rotarians in training. Rotaract is a good segue into Rotary.

TR: How have the leadership skills that you've developed in Rotaract clubs translated to your career?

CHANG: I would aSribute 90 percent of my public speaking skills to my Rotaract experience. I was president of two clubs, which has given me a lot of opportuni4es to speak in front of a crowd, perfect that, and get over it. And I've been fortunate to have been invited to Rotary ins4tutes for my zone and some of the district conferences on the West Coast as a speaker.

TR: You've been to seven conven4ons. Why do you keep coming back?

CHANG: If I had a turning point in my Rotary life, it would be my first conven4on, in 2007 in Salt Lake City. I will never forget the opening plenary session. It was cool to see how everyone is a part of this whole family. The reason I keep going back to these conven4ons is that every year I make new friends, and I get the chance to see my old friends. That's something I would travel around the world to do anyway, but to do it with Rotary is 10 4mes beSer. I can go into downtown Sydney, walk into a restaurant and see someone with a Rotary emblem, and strike up a conversa4on.

Adapted from a story in the March 2015 issue of The Rotarian

http://therotarianmagazine.com/

http://therotarianmagazine.com/

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The District Serviette - Rotary District 9710 · May 2015 Rotary District 9710 - District Serviette page no !1 Governor 2014-2015 Rowley Tompsett “Together we can achieve more”