We had a really well-attended meeting, with a great vibe in the room. Deb and her helpers provided a delicious (and huge) spag bol, always a crowd favourite, and this was followed by birthday cake in honour of PP Ian Yarker’s 80th. Heather’s description of how the family and friends recognised the occasion sounds as if they got it “just right”, and last night was our turn to join in. They are off on a river boat up the Rhine in May, with Heather declaring she wants to spend their hard-earned savings now rather than let some other Mrs Yarker get her hands on it.
Ian traced his long illustrious Rotary journey, and told how he greatly valued his involvement with RC Ashmore. We are very lucky to have these two outstanding people in our midst.
Others in our midst were guest speaker Andrew Peters, from Broadbeach Police, Robyn’s friend Pat, and Owen Caterer, who has indicated he would like to join our club. If so, Owen will be a second generation Rotarian. He has done some research online, and was attracted by our involvement with hosting Elise and our community service. He is articulate, personable, and smart, and having someone like him come out of the woodwork and ask to join the club is like winning the lottery. After our meeting, he was all ready to sign on the dotted line and become a member, so I shall put the relevant wheels in motion.
Andy Peters spent 30 years in the Federal Police. He is a qualified fitter and an accomplished locksmith, and in the latter half of his working life was often under cover or doing surveillance work. He now volunteers with Qld Police, and often talks to groups like ours about personal safety, home safety, and internet security for seniors. I spent the best part of an hour scribbling down his words of wisdom, but could have just sat back and enjoyed his talk, because all the info is in a couple of excellent booklets he distributed. “ Safer Living for Queenslanders” and “The Little Black Book of Scam”s are well worth revisiting, and we also got pamphlets on Property Identification, Home Security, Identity Safety, Vehicle Security, Personal Safety and Seniors Safety, with a fair bit of duplication. If you didn’t get your package, you should do… there were a couple left over at the end of the meeting. Personally, I see I am going to have to fit a lock on the door from my garage to the house. We also got a little Emergency Card to slip in our wallet/purse.
I recall a similar talk at our meeting a few years ago. We were told that if the hairs on the back of our neck were standing up, we should be listening to our body and be hyper-vigilant. Andy’s advice was the same: be aware of your surroundings and alert to what is going on around you. Trust your instincts. Other advice: look confident, always carry your phone, don’t let your purse/wallet out of your hands, never leave car keys lying around, choose parking spots sensibly, be sensible about where/when you walk, walk with a companion if possible, lock your letterbox (who ever gets a letter these days?), consider using prepaid debit cards for online purchases, be REALLY alert to the dangers of the internet. In spite of all we hear, as seniors we are less likely than others to be victims of personal violence, and we should not let fear of crime take over our lives.
Read the booklets. It’s all good stuff!
President Brian reminded us about the District Assembly on 5th May and the District Conference on 18th May. He also mentioned the Bunnings BBQ on 26th April.
Brian mentioned the recent Satisfaction Survey, which Sue has analysed thoroughly, and which she and Brian and I have discussed. One thing that we feel needs immediate action is an explanation of our club fee structure, because several members felt our fees are too high, and that the meals are not always good value at $25.
For every member of the club, we are obliged to pay RI dues (US$78.50, which is about A$119), District Dues ($73), District Conference levy ($20), Insurance (currently $44, but may be more), and RDU subscription ($44 ). That is $300 each, and we have no control over that amount. We also have costs associated with our Clubrunner subscription (about $1200, depending on the number of members. During his year as President, Bard researched the best options for our website, and consulted extensively with the members. Our choice was Clubrunner. We also need to cover the costs of guests’ dinners, our Changeover and Christmas party, club training, flowers,etc.
We do not put any money earned from projects towards the running of the club.
Clearly, charging $260 or thereabouts as club dues leaves us well short of the amount needed, and this discrepancy is made up by charging $5 each for attending meetings. We are not licensed to sell liquor, so we include $5 in the overall charge for drinks. Consequently, the meal charge is $15, not $25.
If the $5 per meeting doesn’t cover our costs, we need to have a frank discussion about how to meet the shortfall.
Our meeting went a bit longer than usual, but it was time well spent. Brian closed proceedings at 8.15.
Scribe: Rob.