November is Rotary Foundation Month
Date: 19/11/2017
Dear Members,
Even though we had a few apologies at last week’s meeting our room was full with members, visitors and guests and was an
absolute buzz. We were delighted to receive membership papers from Ian Thomlinson and it is intended to induct Ian at the
DG”s visit on the 28th of this month and we look forward to having Micki join with the other partners on this, and any other
occasion she would like to attend.
We welcomed James Cunningham and Bruce Evens from the Rotary Club of Templestowe. Bruce brought our incoming
exchange student Neele Huebner and our outgoing exchange student Jamie Bastian. At sixteen years of age Jamie gave us a
very confident talk about her background and what she hopes to achieve from her upcoming stay in Switzerland. Jamie will
leave Australia about mid -January and we wish her well and look forward to hearing about her experiences when she returns
home.
What a delight to have Jackie Laird as our guest speaker and to have that “Happy Chappy” Scottie accompany her. Jackie’s
presentation about Scot’s condition was heartfelt and informative and gave us a thorough understanding of the issues of
Cockayne Syndrome and supporting a person like Scott.
The prognosis for Scott’s future is not particularly bright but it was gratifying to know that he is a survivor and is out living the
statistics for people suffering CS. Scott distributed to all present a small gift for our Christmas tree and it will always remind
us of our little mate who visited us for a sausage at the Tunstall Square market each month with a very cheery “Hello Hello”.
Our financial support to families like this really is – “Rotary at Work”.
Our next meeting is the 28th Nov. when we welcome our DG Malcolm Chiverton and his wife Karen, together with Russell
Gurney the DG Elect and Assistant DG Lyndon Smith. It is a partners night and it would be great to fill our room at Natalie’s
and extend a very warm Warrandyte Donvale welcome to our Guests. There will be a meeting with our guests and our
President, President Elect, Secretary and Treasurer at 4.30 on the day for an overview and reporting of our Club’s activities,
prior to our regular meeting for members and guests at 6.30 for 7.00.
We have our November Tunstall Square market on Sunday 26th and if we have good weather combined with an over booked
market it will be a cracker of a day.
Look forward to seeing the” sickies” back with us as soon as they are able – get well soon.
Finally, congratulations to PP George Guiver for his appointment as President Nominee for the year following Pippa. We wish
him well and extend our support to him as he leads our Club into the future, making it stronger and more effective and
showing that Rotary makes a difference.
President David
Members: To see our Program and Roster go to:
http://www.warrandytedonvalerotary.org.au/bulletin.html
November is Rotary Foundation Month
Above – Neele presented our club with a banner of
the Rotary Club of Bremen-Weser in Germany.
Above right: Outgoing exchange student Jamie
Bastian is going to Switzerland in 2018, which she
is thrilled about because she loves snowboarding.
She is also a keen baseball player, representing
the state in competitions in Japan and elsewhere.
Right: Marg George did a sterling job chairing her
first meeting. With our guest speakers Scott and
Jackie Laird who thanked the club for our donation
which assisted them to attend a conference in the
UK. Jackie and Scott distributed Christmas tree
decorations they had made for everyone.
November is Rotary Foundation Month
Left – James Cunningham and
Bruce Evans from the RC
Templestowe, with whom we
are sharing the Exchange
Students.
Below: Youth Services Chair
Rob Edwards with Jamie
Bastian and Neele Hubner.
November is Rotary Foundation Month
Jackie talked to the club about Scott’s condition – he has
Cockayne Syndrome and is one of only 9 in Australia so it is
very rare and information in the past has been sketchy and
difficult to access. Every two years the Amy and Friends
organization holds a conference in the UK which medical
personnel, scientists, researchers and families attend to
exchange information. This is the second the Lairds have
attended and Jackie says it is incredibly important to hear
the latest medical information.
Scott is now 23 and is a bit different from most Cockayne
sufferers in that he is well and has surpassed the usual life
span for CS kids (around 8 yo).
Cockayne syndrome is a degenerative genetic condition.
With the increase in research and knowledge of genetics it
is now being diagnosed at a much earlier age, but there
are families with multiple children with the disease
because they were not diagnosed until after further
pregnancies. A Melbourne based geneticist is currently
working on a study of Cockayne Syndrome.
There is good communication between the members of
Amy and Friends through social media on Facebook and
private Forums where they can exchange information
about managing the disease.
Jackie and her family last year relocated to Tamworth from
East Doncaster so they could more efficiently run their
business which was based there. Their business is
manufacturing shoes for people with disabilities such as
club foot. They return to Melbourne regularly for Scott to
attend his medical clinics at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Jackie and Scott were regular attendees at the Tunstall
Market where Scott with his cheeky smile and friendly
“Helloooos” managed to wrangle free sausages and coke
from us and befriend all stall holders.
http://www.amyandfriends.org/
November is Rotary Foundation Month
OP SHOP ROSTER Please let Bob or Marg George know if you are available for any shifts
Date AM shift 10 – 12pm
Sun. 26th (Tuns.Mkt)
Sun. 3 December (Tuns. Xmas Mkt)
Sun 10 Bev Sun 17
Grants chair Liz Guiver
presented President David
with a certificate from the
Warrandyte Community Bank
to mark their sponsorship
donation for our Art Show.
November is Rotary Foundation Month
November is Rotary Foundation Month
November is Rotary Foundation Month