The Rotary Club of
West Perth

 
Weekly message from President Stephen Lee 
 
Be thankful for small mercies was always my grandmothers catch cry whenever we were confronted with something that didn’t go our way, a challenge, a failure, an injury – seemingly it didn’t matter what happened, Nanna’s go to words of comfort were always there.  I can be honest now some 40 years later and say, at the time, I didn’t have a clue what she meant, but my sense was there wasn’t any point in complaining and I should just “get on with it”.
 
What I have come to understand is Nanna’s words do actually make sense.  Being grateful when faced with adversity is a wonderful way to reset your perspective.  Moving from a perspective of loss to a prospective of gain.  I suppose there is a thought that it would be nice to live in the fairy land where love and positivity abounds, where never an unkind word is uttered and everyone is always smiling, but in such a place, would not the value of our gratitude, the reset of our perspective be greatly diminished?
 
In the last 2 weeks, our club has lost 2 amazing contributors, people who together have given more than 100 years of service to The Rotary Club of West Perth and here again Nanna’s words haunt me – I am sad for all that has been lost by our club, our community and their families as a result of their passing however, with their passing I am gifted with a new and richer perspective.  I imagine where we may otherwise be, but not for their contribution and with renewed clarity, I am thankful for all that has been done on account of their choice to take up membership with the Rotary Club of West Perth.
 
So I end our conversation where we started. There are many challenges ahead as we seek to honour the legacy of all the amazing people who have come and gone before us.  And as we take each step along the path, may we always - be thankful for the small mercies.
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
Stephen Lee
President 2020-21
John Hollingshead achieved many things and lived a full and interesting life. There is so much to share of John's life history and in particular his significant contributions to Rotary locally. 
 
We know much of the information included in Johns' CV will interest most members and as such it is definitely something we will look to share with all in due course, however including his CV in this bulletin, would not do him justice.
 
We feel John deserves hours of thoughtful reflection, and the dedication of our time to quietly ponder his enormous contributions to his family, the military, Rotary, our Club and the numerous not for profits and individuals he ultimately served and supported during his many years of service above self. 
 
So today, we share a very brief overview of John's life.  
 
John was born at Llfracombe, North Devon UK on the 7th June 1928. In 1946 John was enlisted as a National Serviceman and entered the Sandhurt Royal Military College in 1947 where he served in the British Army until 1967. During those years he served in Malta, Libya and was responsible for counter intelligence and security for the Mediterranean Command.
 
In  June 1963 John married Helen Lancaster and over the next few years they had 4 children.  In 1967 John migrated to Australia with his family and was the hotel manager in the family business from 1968 to 1971. In 1972 he became the State Organiser of the Muscular Dystrophy Research Association of WA and progressed to Administrator of the Neuromuscular Foundation and Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute. It was in 1972 that John joined the Rotary Club of West Perth were he held numerous positions and went on to be District Governor of District 9450 in 1989/90. 
 
John retired from employment in 1996 and maintained his interests in golf, gardening, travelling, walking, bowls, reading and volunteering. IN 2000 John was made a member of the Order of Australia, was nominated for WA Citizen of the Year award and the Premiers Australia Day Awards in 2007 and in 2008 was awarded the Rotary International Service Above Self Award. 
 
More to come in future editions. 

Breakfast meeting 2nd September 2020 - Update

Attendees present: 21 attendees 
Zoom Attendees: Geoff Simpson, John van Vliet and Tina Arthur
Guests: none 
Apologies:
Pat Emery, John Tick, Sandy Gray, Jill Smith, Tony Pepper, Steve Wilton 
Make Ups:
Neville Clare, Sandy Gray, Hayley Lethlean, John van Vliet 
 
Announcements: 
  • Stephen Lee shared the information for Vic Halls' funeral. 
  • Stephen noted that he is currently investigating alternate venues for the function on October 2nd. 
  • Arthur Blaquiere put his hand up to take o the Entertainment Books Stephen noted that we have a box of sanitiser from Western Endeavour Club and we can possibly look to sell this at SwapMeet with part proceeds coming to our Club. 
  • Tony gave a quick update on SwapMeet, requesting that everyone please ensure all the tables are fully stacked and that as much stock as possible is out on display. When its quiet please be sure to check the excess stock on the shelves, price them up[ and put them out. 
  • Peter Blockley noted that the interviews took place for the NYSF applicants and he remains quietly confident. 
  • Stephen noted that there had been brief discussion about the ongoing legacy of Vic Hall and the potential for a scholarship and that the Board would investigate this further and bring it back to the membership.
  • Nigel noted that the garden project continues with reticulation being finalised. If anyone is interested in offering prizes for the competition, please see Nigel directly. 
  • Wine fundraiser - Nigel is taking this on and will get information out to everyone in the next couple of weeks. 
Fines: 
  • No fines as the meeting ran over time! Get ready for double fines for our next meeting. 
Breakfast Meeting Thursday 2 September 2020 - Mally Rall - REMEBER to take the survey. 
 
It was wonderful to hear from Mally about the plans for our future Community Wellness Program at the Club. Of particular importance when selecting a future community wellness project, we want to ensure that everyone in the Club has an opportunity to be involved and engaged. We also want to make sure the project is sustainable and long term relationships are built.  
 
Mally gave an overview of the three organisations that we could be come involved with. They are allin our area and have significant positive impacts on youth and their mental health. Below is a brief overview of the opportunities of the projects with each organisation so click on the link at each to learn more. 
 
These organisations are:
Perth Inner City Youth Service - promoting and supporting positive interactions with young people. Located on Blencowe Street West Leederville. MORE HERE
 
The Foyer Oxford - Supporting young people by providing affordable accommodation and life skills. Located at 196 Oxford Street Leederville. MORE HERE
 
Extraordinary Lives Prison Fellowship - Supporting Children's mental health and wellness. MORE HERE 
 
And if you want to know a bit more about each organisation, click on the images below and read their websites. 
 
Once you are ready to make your choice about what organisation and projects we should support, click on the blue survey button below to take the survey. Results will be shared with the Club over the next few weeks.  
Perth Inner City Youth Services
Prison Fellowship Australia 
The Foyer Oxford 
Two minutes with David Arrowsmith 
 
David spent his two minutes giving us an overview of his life. What resounded clearly was his time in Malaysia and his love for the time he spent there. David was born in the UK and after moving to Malaysia at a young age e was sent back to boarding school in the UK. He fondly remembers being called the  "brown person in white skin" by the children of Malaysia. David studied university in the UK and then moved back to Asia for the next 34 years.  In 1983 he joined a local Indonesian Rotary Club where he held various roles. After his stint in Asia, David moved to Perth where he has been settled since. David joined our Club in 2010 and was nominated as a member by Tina Arthur. 
Guest Speaker Thursday 10th September  - Professor Bill Louw
Prof Bill Louw has lectured English Language at the University of Zimbabwe far more than 30 years. His research interests involve the application of corpus linguistics to stylistics and literacy.
 
He has published on semantic prosodies and data assisted approaches to literary criticism.
 
Prof Louw directed the video-led Zimbabwe LITRAID Distance Education course for teachers in partnership with the Open University in the UK.
 
Prof Louw will be joined and introduced by Mr John Travlos, Past President and member of Harare City Rotary Club. 
Duties Roster 
Duties for the following two breakfast meetings: 
 
Thursday 10th September
Host:             Tim Dawe
Welcome:       Tony Delich
Toast:            Ian Hutton
Thanks:         Garry Leighton
Newsletter:    Geoff Woods
Duty:            Guy Mattioli 
 
Thursday 17th September
Host:            Elizabeth Gorey
Welcome:      Tim Dawe
Toast:           Garry Leighton
Thanks:        Hayley Lethlean
Newsletter:   Guy Mattioli 
Duty:            Mally Rall
September Birthday Celebrations 
Wishing our members a very happy birthday for the following dates: 
 
Name:                    Birthday: 
Neville Clare            5th September 1939
 
September Club Anniversaries 
Thanks for your continued support and congratulations on your Club anniversary for the month of September.
 
Name:               Date Joined West Perth:
Nigel Blacklock    28 September 2017    3-year anniversary 

John Fawcett Foundation - sight program back!

Great to hear from the John Fawcett Foundation today that their sight restoration program is finally back after all the COVID lockdowns. We know how valuable their work is and it is great to know they are back operating at their headquarters. 
 
As we are all fondly remember, John Hollingshead was one of the co-founders of the Bali Mobile Eye Clinic which later became the John Fawcett Foundation.
 
Follow the link below to read all the latest news from the Foundation! 
 

Hayley is back on her bike and defeating Dwelly for MDWA

It's that time of year again and Hayley is back on her bike, riding at the Dwellnigup100 and raising funds for MDWA.  As with previous years, Hayley is riding for Reuben, and young man living with congenital MD.  It's only 10 days till she tackles the trails and is excited to get out into the bush.

Feel free to support the cause by clicking on the image above!  

Can you spot Mr and Mrs Delich in this great snap? 
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