Rotary Club of Parramatta City newsletter provides information on: - Upcoming events including guest speakers and meetings - The president's message about the district conference and urging members to attend next year's conference - Details on the CHALLENGE/HANDICAMPS program for youth with disabilities - Announcement of a club assembly for members to discuss challenges facing the club - "David's Pearls" section with quotes on imagination - Article about a young Rotarian in Australia serving as club president to promote leadership - Story about an eco-focused Rotary club in California focusing on environmental projects - The president's "want list" outlining goals for succession planning and members

1. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
COMMUNITY NETWORKER
ROTARY CLUB OF PARRAMATTA CITY
CHALLENGE/
PRESIDENT MESSAGE HANDICAMPS
The District Conference was held last weekend and it was jam packed
with excellent speakers starting on the Friday night, the welcome to country
was the best I have seen in all my years. We then had some great
presentations all with relevance to Rotary. The two Group Study Exchange
The purpose of this activity is to promote
teams gave great presentations- for the girls from Finland they certainly personal development of youth who
have picked up the culture of Australia with enthusiasm. The outbound share similar physical or intellectual
challenging disabilities, aided through the
team with our Andrew Coss on board will be setting a high standard and support of mentors resourced
from the International Youth Exchange
will be great ambassadors for our District. If I had to pick out three of the students. The skills gained
are experience and confidence from
keynote speakers I would say: Ramesh Ferris, a Canadian polio survivor opportunities for interaction between
originally from India where he contracted Polio, Jenny Horton a Polio fighter young people with disabilites and
overseas students.
who is implanted into the countries of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Participants may have sensory
impairments, mild to moderate physical
Lastly, it would Michael McQueen who spoke on the generation X & Y and impairments, or mild intellectual
social media. There were many more but in my opinion these were the best impairments.
Half of the young people have physical
three. disabilities (campers) and the other half
are Rotary Youth Exchange students
We now know that next year’s conference will be at Campbelltown (buddies) from all around the world. The
campers are 16 to 24 years
and I urge everyone to make sure we start to build up our numbers to of age, and students are 17 to 19 years
attend. As this will be the last Conference for this District and there will be of age. The objective is to provide
campers and buddies with an
some reflection on what we have achieved, I would like to see some of our environment which will physically,
mentally and emotionally challenge these
former members asked to attend with us, as it was with their membership young people.
that we have achieved what we have. So start to build up a list of former Over the five days, Campers and
Buddies joint activities may include
members and then we can begin to track them down if not known. sailing, abseiling, swimming, kayaking,
rock climbing, archery, power boating
We have some challenges facing our Club over the next three years and other interesting activities.
In addition to the physical challenges
and I am calling a Club Assembly on April 16th. I WANT EVERYONE THERE.
there will be valuable social challenges
We had international speaker Michael Crosslands speak at our club on that campers and buddies participate in
during this exciting learning period. For
March 19th, and as I have been busy I was not able to advise members that many it is the personal growth through
friendship that endures.
Michael has said that if and when he is in Sydney he would make himself The camp is hosted by Districts 9910 and
available to speak at any major event we or your business’s may have on 9920 which alternate each year and
organised by one club within the hosting
that date, (so keep this in mind). Michael certainly is a generous young district for that year. It is the organising
club’s responsibility todetermine the
man and his presentation is world class. program, obtain sponsorship and
encourage participation of other clubs by
sponsoring a buddy who would be their
IYE student or a disabled camper.
A similar project is conducted in Western
Barry Antees Australia.

2. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April
2 John Watters
9 Easter Monday (Public Holiday)
13 ARH- Golf Day at Riverside
16 Club Assembly
23 Club Meeting-Lunch
29 District Assembly
30 Pride of Workmanship-night time meeting
May
7 Club Meeting-Lunch
6-9 International Convention-Bangkok
14 Australian Rotary Health- PHD Scholars night
21 Club Meeting-Lunch
28 Club Meeting-Lunch
July
6 Club Changeover
GUEST SPEAKER –JOHN WATTERS
John Watters from Parrasip:
ParraSIP (Parramatta Schools Industry Partnership) is a non-profit Local Community
Partnership (LCP) that links young people with local business.
Funded by both the Australian Government and the NSW Government, ParraSIP
identifies, fosters and supports a range of quality Structured Workplace Learning, Careers
and Transition and Adopt a School Programs that engages the local community in the
successful transition of all our young people aged 13-19 years to a productive adult life.

3. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
DAVID’S PEARLS
Imagination
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than
knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
- Albert Einstein
It doesn't matter what is happening to the economy, government or your industry; it matters what is
going on in your imagination. If you've got a rich imagination you're going to have a rich experience.
- Mark Victor Hansen
Bring me men to match my mountains: Bring me men to match my plains: Men with empires in their
purpose and new eras in their brains.
- Thomas Paine
There are enough genuine difficulties in life to encounter, don't allow your imagination to increase
the number.
- Neil Eskelin
YOUNG ROTARIAN MODELS LEADERSHIP IN AUSTRALIA
Holly Ransom, 22, is president-elect of the Rotary Club of Crawley,
Australia. Photo by Frances Andrijich
During her first year at college, Holly Ransom, a member of the Rotary
Club of Crawley, Australia, noticed that a lack of role models was
demoralizing her female friends.
“Unfortunately, if you’re looking to the media, you’re struggling for
female role models other than celebrities going in and out of rehab,” she
says.
In 2009, she founded Women Who Lead, a nonprofit that aims to
provide positive examples and foster leadership skills.
A year ago, she joined the Crawley club and learned that only 2 percent
of Rotarians are under age 30, and 16 percent are women.
“I couldn’t get those statistics out of my head,” the 22-year-old says. She told David Goldstone, one of the
club’s charter members, that she wanted to get more involved; soon after, Ransom became president-elect.
She’ll take office in 2012-13, shortly after graduating from the University of Western Australia with a degree in
law and economics.
“Our club members are so different in composition and mindset,” she says. “It’s invigorating to be a part of the
energy in the room every time we’re together.”

4. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
CLUB IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, USA, FOCUSES ON THE
ENVIRONMENT
By Arnold R. Grahl
A member of the Rotary Club of Morro Bay Eco in California, USA, sets up
a bin used to create compost tea for three public golf courses in San Luis
Obispo. The composted food waste, landscape byproducts, and grass
clipping are used instead of chemical fertilizers. Photo courtesy of the Rotary
Club of Morro Bay Eco
Though it’s less than a year old, the Rotary Club of Morro Bay Eco,
California, USA, is already making a big impact on its community
through projects that are reducing waste and increasing recycling.
The club has partnered with an environmental nonprofit agency and the
County of San Luis Obispo to compost grass clippings, landscape
byproducts, and concession food waste at three public golf courses,
turning them into organic fertilizer for the courses.
Club members have also taken the "zero-waste" strategy to community events, where they recycle and compost
virtually all the trash generated while educating the public about waste reduction. On another project, club
members volunteered to plant native species and improve erosion control around a major creek bed.
John Weiss, president of the club, said its focus on the environment has helped with recruitment, attracting
members who would not have been interested in a more traditional format.
"We're appealing to people who are excited about what we are doing," Weiss says. "They are great eco-
Rotarians, but they are not people who would join any club. They want to do things, work on projects."
The Morro Bay Eco club received its charter on 16 June.
Other eco-clubs
Weiss, a Rotarian for eight years, was tapped last year by Deepa Willingham, 2010-11 governor of District
5240, to serve as the district's club extension chair, with the mission of chartering at least one new club focused
on the environment.
In his research, Weiss read about two other eco-clubs on the RI website and called Kay Biga, cofounder of the
Rotary Club of Duluth Superior Eco, Minnesota, for advice.
Biga's club, chartered in November 2008, has 45 members. It attracts many young professionals, including
women, with a focus on environmental service projects, flexible late-afternoon meetings, popular social events,
and an affordable dues structure.
"We schedule at least one, and sometimes two or three, service projects a month," says Biga. "We also have a
monthly Fun Foods Night, where one of the club members hosts a dinner at home. This has been a terrific
monthly fellowship opportunity."

5. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
Weiss's club adopted similar ideas, forgoing meals at meetings to keep costs down, emphasizing service
projects, and holding only two official meetings a month, limited to one hour. But his club takes a slightly
different approach because of its different demographic makeup.
"We have members in their 50s and 60s, and some who are retired. It's not just a youth thing," he says. "The
common bond is a desire to get in there and actually do hands-on service."
Weiss's advice to other clubs includes being sensitive to the desires of prospective members.
"The underlying current for all Rotary clubs is Service Above Self," he says. "But how you define service is
going to vary for different people. You have to listen and adapt."
Rotarians in other districts also have been expanding Rotary by chartering new clubs:
 The Rotary Club of Juba, South Sudan, chartered in March 2010, recently partnered with the Rotary Club of
Bideford Bridge, Devon, England, on a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant project to donate US$15,000 in
anesthesia equipment to a teaching hospital in Juba. The club also supports a local orphanage.
 The Rotary E-Club of District 3170, Goa, India, became one of the newest additions to the e-club fold in April,
with 25 charter members. With members from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Malaysia, Norway,
South Africa, and the United States, the club meets both online and in person. A recent tree-planting project
encouraged members to plant a tree in their neighborhood during the first two weeks of July.
 The Rotary Club of Berlin International, chartered in 2009, is the first club in Germany to target the large
international community in the nation’s capital. The club, with 31 members from 14 countries, conducts its
meetings in English. Among its fundraisers, it organized a campaign in Germany encouraging people to
donate in support of polio eradication by texting "POLIO."
 The Rotary Club of Ramallah, the first club chartered in territory under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian
Authority, was admitted by the RI Board in May 2010. The 34 members have initiated projects including a
winter clothing bank, and are working with the district to develop community parks. Read about the club's
charter celebration.
PRESIDENT’S WANT LIST
WANT No 1.
We are a vocational based service organization. Our members all have a business background and one of the
major survival technics in businesses is succession planning. If we want our business to survive we need to know that if
anything happens to me, who understands my business and can step up to the plate. Therefore my No 1 “want” is all
members put into practice what they already do in business, but this time it is a session plan for their membership of
our club. That is, who will replace me when I leave the Rotary Club of Parramatta City. We need to have in place a
club survival practice of succession membership I want every member to identify a successor for themselves by
October 2012 being our vocational month. By this date you will advise the membership Director who your successor
is.
WANT No 2.
Knowledge is a wonderful gift and my second want is I would like all members to adopt a program or project as their
Rotary knowledge base as to be able to speak on the subject when-ever called upon to do so. This may be at a
meeting, at one of our projects or just when doing business. If you need resources read your Rotary Down Under
magazine or use the online version of the programs of Rotary at http://www.rotarydownunder.com.au/rotary-
programs.asp or go to the Rotary International website http://www.rotary.org

6. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
FACEBOOK
We have now available for the club a new facebook page the shortcut is
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Parramatta-City/108769975845097
Please visit, make comments, open discussions and for your initial visit please hit the “like button”. The reason is the
more members who like the page, we receive additional features. The Facebook page is not a substitute for our
website, but more of an additional way to reach our audience.