The RYLA programs are conducted to develop qualities of leadership, good citizenship, and personal development in young people by providing a training experience. RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) is a fun-filled, energetic, 7-day residential conference for young people with leadership potential or demonstrated leadership qualities between the ages of 18 – 30 years of age. http://www.rotary9790.org.au/4a/ryla/index.asp Contact: Vicki Gray 0416 436 966
President’s Message
Parent and Baby Unit Fundraising Dinner I CONFIRM that we will be holding our Fundraising Dinner for the new Parent and Baby Unit at Wodonga Hospital on Friday 25th October 2013 at La Maison from 6.45pm. The Committee have arranged a really sumptuous 4 course Dinner with matching wines supplied by our own Wendy Killeen. There will also be some music supplied by Murray Conservatorium, and two guest speakers , one of which is a local Consultant Pediatrician . This ‘fundraiser’ event will also be circulated to both Wodonga and Albury Base Hospitals, as well as all General Practices between Uranquinty and Mt. Beauty, including Violet Town. The price for the above evening is $75 per person and bookings are essential either to Vicki or myself and ASAP. So please support the Club in their major home project for this Rotary year
Club Meeting 2 October 2013
Guest Speaker Nathan Mackay … Albury Youth Council Mayor As a senior Albury High School student Nathan has attended a Summer Science School in Canberra, sponsored by Rotary and has been guest speaker at several Rotary 
clubs, so was at home addressing our meeting on the operation of the Youth Council in which he has been involved for three years and is currently Mayor, an annually elected position. Members of the council are aged between 14-18 years totalling nine councillors being selected following applications. Areas of consideration undertaken by the Youth Council in an atmosphere of dedication include leadership, anti-bullying, depression/suicide assistance, distribution of a Youth ‘Connect’ Card offering assistance to young people in the community, discos for the disabled, assistance with ‘Dreamfields’ and Anti Graffiti day, Youth forums and Clean-up-Australia Day. On completion of his HSC this year Nathan hopes to study for a Science Degree at ANU in Canberra, commencing next year.
President’s Message
Club Christmas Dinner The Club Christmas Luncheon celebrations will be held at SS & A Club on Wednesday 18th December 2013. So please mark this up within your diaries for a meeting of frivolity and fellowship. At this meeting we also welcome young offspring of both members and their families. You will be advised of notification of the numbers and pricing and when to advise etc at a slightly later date led by the Christmas Committee but you can now start canvassing who you will invite and who not from within your own families and guests.
Club Charity Dinner & Wine evening Another date to mark within your diaries is our Clubs ‘Home’ project of giving financial support to the development of the new Albury Wodonga Health, ‘Baby and Parent ‘unit. Before I forget, the date of the function is Friday 25th October 2013 at La Maison, Lincoln Causeway. Time to be confirmed but probably 6.30 for 7pm. Vicki Gray – the Clubs lead coordinator for this project – has been bursting forth with ideas and beside the excellent foods which Wassim will turn out we will also have the great assistance of our own Wendy Killeen who will be the supplier of the wines to match the respective food. Price etc will be advised very shortly but please keep the evening free for a wonderful night of food and fellowship, as well as assisting a very worthy local cause, which might be of benefit to your own offspring and their respective young families.
I convey thanks from the Strategic Committee with regard to your input at last Wednesday’s meeting at The Albion regarding the possible future direction of the Club. Also thanks to those who submitted suggestions because they were unable to be there. Whilst the Strategic Committee work is a total team effort personal thanks go to Gordon into the design and ‘facilitation’ of the actual meeting. Now another team member, Nicole, who did some great work as the ‘scribe’ for the meeting, is busily disseminating the information to present into some coherent format so the Committee can discuss all the suggestions, and formalise an approach to the full Board of the Directors at their November meeting and then onto yourselves at a Club Assembly meeting being arranged for middle / late November immediately following the Board presentation.
Another note of thanks goes to Dennis Hickey who arranged the Club members ‘social’ gathering at the Albury Golf Club last Friday evening. Approximately twenty- three of us went including a former Member, and some of our partners who came along whilst their loved ones were away on business. It was certainly an extremely ‘sociable’ evening, and at the end of the meeting, Roger Snell telephoned through to arrange an immediate Treasure Hunt for the remaining guests of ‘Find my Credit Card’. That was good fun looking under tables, chairs, gents toilet, giving staff the ‘third degree of questioning’ of where they hid it, whilst Paul Armstrong kept us all informed by running commentary of different locations to see if we were ‘hot or cold’. In the end we couldn’t find the card so no Treasure for us, and then Roger let us in on his secret that it was at his home all the time we were frantically searching for it. I’m just hoping the Sergeant of the Day is reading this for next week ‘fines’.
Club Meeting 11 September 2013
Guest Speaker … Michael Curtin (CSU) Michael is an occupational therapist. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 1983. After graduating he lived and worked in Toowoomba, Hobart, and Ballarat, primarily with 
children and young people for a few years. He moved to Botswana in 1997 to develop occupational therapy services at the two main referral hospitals. In 1991 he took up an occupational therapy research post at the National Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, England. This lead onto a position as an occupational therapy lecturer at the University of Southampton, England from 1995 to 2003. In 2004 Michael returned to Australia to take up a lecturing position at Charles Sturt University. In 2005 he became course coordinator of the occupational therapy course, a position he still currently holds. He became an Associate Professor in 2011. The School of Community Health has been running this well established paediatric and disability program for fourth year students since 2001. Originally students worked in interdisciplinary teams with children with disabilities and their carers at orphanages in Vietnam. This programme has now expanded to include similar work in Bangladesh and Nepal. In collaboration with Australian agencies, following an intensive training programme, students are supervised by experienced CSU staff and by therapy staff for a five week period of placement. Local volunteers are also involved in the various locations allowing a sharing of skills and opportunities for on-site learning. The programme has expanded to include students in speech therapy as well as occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Language and cultural classes are compulsory prior to placement. Students are involved with parent/carers as well as the children and appreciate the challenges and experiences as excellent grounding for future employment.