Author: RCOB

What a great event for Buderim Rotary’s Handover Dinner last night. Outgoing President, Ken Grant, recapped on another successful year serving our local #BuderimCommunity & providing support for worthwhile causes both nationally & internationally. It has been a great year & our Club is very appreciative of Ken’s hard work & leadership.

Incoming President, Joan Jackson, has big shoes to fill, but our Club has no doubt that fill them she will. She has excelled at the previous Board positions she has held, & there’s no doubt her Presidency will reflect this same professional work ethic. We’re all looking forward to a year under her leadership.

Each year the Les Day award is presented to an outstanding Rotarian within our Club. Les was a past member who exemplified dedicated, selfless, Rotarian ethics & to receive this award is an honor indeed. Last night the award was presented to Malcolm Dean, & all agreed it would be hard to find a more worthy recipient. Malcolm has been a member for only a short time, but his tireless, dedicated, organized work ethic has contributed immeasurably to the Club’s ability to work for our community. He has stepped into roles seamlessly & epitomizes the Rotary ethos of #ServiceAboveSelf. Congratulations Malcolm!

Rotary Club of Buderim is well known for ‘Working For Our Community’, however, what is often not as widely recognized is the contributions the Club has made over the years to support communities overseas, whether it be for disaster recovery, or ongoing humanitarian aid. One such project we have been involved in for many years is the supply of water filtration devices to communities where the prevalence of waterborne disease is devastating. Local man, Mark Stitt, was at the helm of this project in Fiji, organizing for the water filtration devices, as well as other much-needed goods, to get to those areas where they are needed, often not an easy feat.

In honour of Mark’s dedication to this cause, our Club was proud to present him with a very well-deserved Paul Harris Fellow Award.

During his travels in Fiji in 2012, Mark became aware of the shocking effects of water contamination in regional Fiji. At the time, a child a week was dying from waterborne disease in the South Pacific region, prompting him to start a project where hundreds of water filtration devices were supplied to schools and communities, along with much-needed educational supplies.

Through Mark’s efforts, schools have been able to remain open, children who treasure education have been able to thrive, & hundreds of lives have been saved by ensuring access to clean, disease-free drinking water.

Truly a worthy recipient of an award recognizing devotion to humanitarian causes. Congratulations Mark Stitt!

Rotarians appreciate the significance of the awarding of a Paul Harris Fellow award. The recipients are people who have given selflessly of themselves for the betterment of their communities, their country and the world. These people are often working quietly in the background of their communities with little fanfare or accolades. Rotary Club of Buderim proudly bestowed this award on a very worthy Buderim local at our last meeting.

Judith Bidstrop has been driving cancer patients from Bloomhill to their medical appointments for 18 years. Those of us that tackle the local traffic, & traffic between here & Brisbane know that this can be no mean feat.
On Sundays Judith helps at the Cotton Tree Markets, & she has been organizing the Brisbane Lions Sunshine Coast Supporters Group bus to The Gabba for over 10 years.
Additionally, Judith organizes the Buderim Heart Foundation walking group, & for many years has been involved with the Rotary Bowel Screening Program.

Congratulations Judith, well deserved!

It would be easy to presume that President Ken Grant must be in training for the upcoming Olympics (his 3 mornings a week at the Buderim Men’s Shed gym would stand him in good stead), but he’s actually just thanking Friday’s Guest Speaker for a wonderfully, entertaining presentation.

#rotaryclubofbuderim members were privileged to welcome A/Prof. (Adj), Craig Allingham EMBA, APAM, MACP, FSMA as our Guest Speaker at Friday’s meeting. We asked Craig to tell us about his experience as a 4-time Australian Olympic Team Physiotherapist from the Seoul Games in 1988 to Sydney 2000.

Craig worked variously with our Baseball, Rowing, Women’s Basketball, Track Cycling, Wrestling, Kayaking & more, & presented behind-the-scenes insights into the ‘engine room’ of the Olympic Games, from the preparations, to the trackside, lakeside, courtside, matside work to the celebrations & aftermath.

The hidden support personnel are there to ensure the athletes have their best shot at achieving their dream on the particular day. No medals for support crew, but lots of satisfaction.

A big thankyou to Craig for a wonderful presentation.

Thanks to the generosity of our Locals, we have been able to not only make a substantial donation to the Rotary Flood Support appeal and the Pay 4 a Panel – Gidgee Smith Flood Support – flood appeal, but also to send labour to help repair the fences & feed the workers.

Ken Grant, Liz Begg, Malcolm James Dean & Sarah have done us proud. Far from a holiday, they have worked tirelessly along side the amazing BlazeAid volunteers clearing debris from fences, cooking & serving, cleaning the kitchen & toilets, & battling the flies etc. All necessary jobs that need to be done to help get our Farmers back on their feet.

They have worked hard & done us proud. Thankyou guys!

Buderim Scouts are the first local group to avail themselves of our new Bunnings BBQ Community Support program. Having to provide just 2 helpers per shift while Buderim Rotary supplied the experienced members & supplies, made this viable for their club.

It was a busy day & no doubt Buderim Scouts will be extremely pleased when the profits from the day hits their bank account.

The Rotary Club of Buderim is proud to be able to support this great club.

Local clubs can apply for assistance through our Bunnings BBQ Community Support program by completing the online application form.

Another Buderim Rotary Club Christmas party done & dusted. Once again utilizing the great talents of Anthony & Fiona at Piccalilly’s, we all indulged in a delicious Christmas repast.

Lynne challenged us with a particularly difficult Christmas Trivia quest (well, difficult for some).

A great night, surrounded by wonderful friends. Love being a Rotarian!

Buderim Rotary is very proud to have been able to donate 5 cartons of Lions Christmas cakes to Maroochy Neighbourhood Centre today. The cakes will be included in hampers for people who are really struggling, or homeless, this Christmas.

The donation ticks a couple of boxes as it not only helps out those in need, but it also supports Buderim Lions in the work they do in our local community.

Win/Win!

Another fantastic Buderim Carols event. A HUGE thankyou to BWMCA, Andrew & team for bringing such joy to our community.

Thankyou to all who indulged in a Buderim Rotary Burger. Your support allows us to do things like contribute to the Giving Tree, organized by 4556 Chamber of Commerce, for those families in our community with children who will be struggling to make ends meet this Christmas.

Santa’s Helpers, Ken Grant & Malcolm Dean, thoroughly enjoyed delivering the goods!

In 2010 one of our original members, Graeme Ensoll, built Buderim Rotary’s BBQ Trailer, & the old girl has served our community well. However, to maintain her dignity, an overhaul was sadly in need.

So, the boys donned hammer & drill, & reminiscent of a Snow White scenario, they “Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho”-ed their way off to work. The result is a BBQ Trailer which will no doubt draw admiration (& possibly a touch of jealousy) from every NFP, BBQ-endowed club on The Coast. She is truly magnificent!

So, when you see our spiffy new BBQ Trailer on the road (& you will certainly see her), know that we are heading off to work for our community.

A big “Thankyou” to the Buderim Foundation as their support enabled us to have our cover made.

Thankyou, Graeme Ensoll, for building our very sturdy trailer.