Greg and Bella, Graeme and Val Saddington, Jan and Rob Gillett and Lesley all headed west to beautiful Mt Gambier last weekend. Theme of the Conference – Rotary: Making a Difference.
Of most importance to some – the catering. It was fantastic with delicious savoury and sweet morning tea and rolls and fruit for lunches. The Conference Dinner at the Barn Palais was a special evening. Again the catering was excellent but the highlight was entertainment by James Morrison and a group of his students from the James Morrison Academy. It is rare that we have the opportunity to hear world renowned musicians in regional centres.
All of the keynote speakers were entertaining, educational, interesting and inspirational.
Firstly, Gary Newton – a polio survivor and director of Polio Australia (Also the ambassador for Ride the Bellarine)
Then Prof. Toby Coates who is a world leader in research into kidney and pancreas islet transplantation.
Prof Greg Barton gave us ‘the world according to Greg” - facts, figures and predictions about violent extremism.
Scott De Bruin told us about the development of his Waygu Beef station – he buys Cadbury’s chocolate by the B-double to feed his cattle! And Frank Digiorgio explained how he has grown his wine business.
We had Barbara Allen - an Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Scholar and Stephanie Woollard – a Rotary Peace Scholar talk about their lives. Both women ( of unlimited energy and enthusiasm) are making a huge difference in their chosen fields: Barbara in indigenous nursing and Stephanie working with disabled and marginalised women in Nepal.
They kept the best to last – Gill Hicks received a standing ovation for her speech about her ‘second life’. Gill lost both legs in the London train bombings and is now an advocate for sustainable peace and works to counter violent extremism. She has established the MAD Foundation.
Firstly, Gary Newton – a polio survivor and director of Polio Australia (Also the ambassador for Ride the Bellarine)
Then Prof. Toby Coates who is a world leader in research into kidney and pancreas islet transplantation.
Prof Greg Barton gave us ‘the world according to Greg” - facts, figures and predictions about violent extremism.
Scott De Bruin told us about the development of his Waygu Beef station – he buys Cadbury’s chocolate by the B-double to feed his cattle! And Frank Digiorgio explained how he has grown his wine business.
We had Barbara Allen - an Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Scholar and Stephanie Woollard – a Rotary Peace Scholar talk about their lives. Both women ( of unlimited energy and enthusiasm) are making a huge difference in their chosen fields: Barbara in indigenous nursing and Stephanie working with disabled and marginalised women in Nepal.
They kept the best to last – Gill Hicks received a standing ovation for her speech about her ‘second life’. Gill lost both legs in the London train bombings and is now an advocate for sustainable peace and works to counter violent extremism. She has established the MAD Foundation.
In between these wonderful speakers, we had the usual Rotary formalities and heard from Rotarians about the projects making a difference in their local communities especially on the Limestone Coast.
It was a great conference – and we do encourage you all to attend such gatherings , to recharge your Rotary batteries and enjoy the fun and fellowship.
It was a great conference – and we do encourage you all to attend such gatherings , to recharge your Rotary batteries and enjoy the fun and fellowship.
