Author: RCOB

The Rotary Club of Buderim has a proud history of supporting clean water projects in Fiji, & today we were privileged to have Mark Stitt of FIT College speak to our club about the water contamination problems and how our contributions are making a difference. Mark has been supporting the Fijian clean water initiative for many years & our club is proud to have been able to work hand-in-hand with him in addressing these issues since 2012.

More than 200,000 people living in Fiji’s rural & remote areas rely on creeks & rivers to supply fresh water. Unfortunately, this water is often contaminated resulting in water-born disease & illness. Many villages, even in the more populated areas of the country, rely on clean water being delivered by trucks, & when the trucks are unable to deliver, businesses must close – including the schools.

Buderim Rotary member, Paul Tanner, recently spent time in Fiji with Mark distributing 22 Lifestraw units to schools – our most successful distribution to date. Paul says the gratitude shown by the local people was not only humbling, but made him very proud to be a Rotarian.

Members of the Rotary Club of Buderim celebrated their ‘Changeover’ with dinner at Piccalilli’s in Buderim on Friday night. Our gratitude to Anthony & Fiona for, yet again, providing a great meal, excellent service in a wonderful venue.

The Changeover function is an opportunity to reflect on the past year, recognize the achievements of the club & individual members, & charter a course forward for the coming year.

Outgoing President, Lynne Phillips, can be congratulated for steering the club through a very successful year. We reflected on our work in the local Buderim community with our contribution to events which are enjoyed by our locals & help foster & maintain the strong sense of community that exists here in Buderim, as well as our work to help those in need both locally, nationally & internationally.

Accolades to Ken Grant for being awarded the Les Day Award for that Rotarian who exemplifies our ethos of Service Above Self. Ken works quietly in the background ensuring things are running to plan & is always the first to throw his hand up when help is needed. Not to mention that his ever-chirpy, positive, friendly attitude is forever appreciated by all members. Well done Ken.

Cathy McKenzie was humbled to be presented with a Paul Harris Fellow award. Whilst the satisfaction from the undeniable sense of purpose Rotary membership fosters, receiving such recognition is indeed an honour.

The Rotary Club of Buderim is indeed in good hands with Clive Shepherd stepping in as President. There’s little doubt that with Clive’s management experience, his knowledge of Rotary, & his emphasis on membership being fulfilling, productive & fun, it’s going to be a great year.

Buderim Rotary welcomed Greg Rogerson, who is at the helm of an ambitious plan to build and operate a passenger tram in Nambour.

The Nambour Tramway would run on heritage-listed tramway lines, which were in use for more than 100 years before the Moreton Sugar Mill closed in 2003. With the infrastructure in place, and a terminus and a railway line through town, the project is well on the way to reality.

The three-bay tramway depot was opened in 2021 and homes an ex-cane diesel locomotive, gifted by Bundaberg Sugar.

Mr Rogerson believes a functioning tram in Nambour will help to invigorate the town’s future, drawing on the region’s past.

“Back in the day’ us Mums would volunteer to assist with those students who were having reading difficulties. The kids would be called out of the class one after another & slink out feeling ashamed at their perceived inadequacies. Story Dogs is changing that with those students participating in the program being the envy of their classmates.

At today’s meeting Suzie & Julie-Anne from Story Dogs gave us a wonderful presentation about the work that the organization is doing, Australia wide. Story Dogs is all about volunteers & their dogs going in to schools & encouraging those students who are struggling with their reading to read to the dogs. And if the dogs the ladies brought with them today are in indication of the ones used in the program, it’s no wonder the kids are loving it. No longer dreading the whole experience of having to read aloud, the children are excited at the prospect.

The program is very successful with both parents & teachers lauding the results. With the literacy rates in Australia being deplorably low for a developed country, this is a great way to incite a passion for reading at a young age.

#Storydogs#rotaryclubofbuderim#buderimmountainstateschool

The Rotary Club of Buderim has a proud history of helping our local students to participate in programs designed to set them on the path to their chosen careers. We are proud to say that we have approved the applications for sponsorship from 10 of our local students to participate in The Science Experience.
Each program is designed to provide students who have an interest in science with an opportunity to engage in a wide range of fascinating science activities under the guidance of scientists who love their work.
The program takes place in universities and tertiary institutions, within many different laboratories and lecture theatres. Participants perform experiments in the laboratories, meet and hear senior lecturers in the lecture theatres, attend site visits and walk around and experience what it is like to be on the campus of a university or tertiary institution.
More than 84,000 students have taken this rare opportunity, up to date.

The program also provides information about further studies in science, technology and engineering. It highlights the wide range of careers that allow students to pursue their interest and abilities in the sciences.

One aspect of the program often commented on by participants is the opportunity to meet and share ideas with students from different schools.

Just another example of Buderim Rotary proudly working to the benefit of our local community.

The presentation of Vocational Excellence Awards by the Rotary Club of Buderim gives us the opportunity to highlight those members of our local community, whether it be individuals or businesses, who provide us all with great service.

At Friday’s presentation we were proud to present awards to the following:

Caltex Service Station Kunda Park – Team Award – accepted by Don Alchin – for “Cheery, efficient & timely service to the community.”

BWMCA Volunteer Award – Steven Cottingham, for “Helpful & pleasant & a great front-door presence to Buderim Visitors.”

Hearcheck Audiologist – Courtney Ayres, for “Gentle, considerate & consultative approach in determining client’s needs are met.”

Fusion Op-Shop Buderim Team – accepted by Michelle Valori – for “A well presented op-shop run by dedicated, friendly & helpful volunteers.”

Rue Bourbon Team – “Friendly staff, fantastic service & great coffee.”

Somewhere on Buderim – Hana & Minh Pham – “Hard-working, welcoming & the best Vietnamese food tasted.”

TM Estate Agents – Karen Nichols, Sammee-Jo Cantrell, Ebony McCulloch – nominated by Tanya Montgomery for Karen’s compassionate, kind & considerate approach to her clients. Sammee-Jo’s exceptional office manager with unique people & organizational skills. Ebony’s ability to balance the needs & concerns of landlords & tenants with patience & professionalism.”

Buderim Eyecare Plus – Karan Riley – “Friendly & efficient service in a knowledgeable & patient manner.”

Coffee Club Staff Member – Angie Dand – “Always happy, cheerful & competent in her various roles.”

Emily Agius – Fitness & Exercise Coach – “A qualified fitness & exercise coach who is popular with staff & clientele with her professionalism & helpfulness.”

North Coffee House Team – accepted by Gary Burness – Excellent food & service delivered by a cheerful & exceptional team.”

Congratulations to you all, your community is grateful for your service.

As the driving force behind the instigation of the Buderim Men’s Shed, our Club has a long history of supporting men’s mental health. For this reason we were particularly interested in finding out more about one of the newer support initiatives for men, Grab Life By The Balls.
Sam & Larry gave us a great presentation introducing us to the work they are doing to provide targeted support, how the initiative started, & its expanding reach.
Based on a very simple concept of blokes getting together in a casual, fun setting, to simply ‘shoot the breeze’, & providing a supportive environment where men can feel comfortable to open up, share experiences & concerns, confident that they’re not alone in dealing with issues. Or…just simply enjoy time with mates. All very therapeutic.
Thankyou, Sam & Larry, for the great work you are doing in our community for an issue which is in desperate need of addressing.

We enjoy being able to help the MNC continue their great work with those in need on The Coast. They put out a call for baking goods, so we raided the supermarket shelves!

That’s the easy part. The real hard work is done by the marvellous caterers at MNC who turn these goods into the delicious meals they serve twice a week to those facing extreme hardship in the area.

Today’s Guest Speaker was both informative & entertaining.

Steve Baines is a native freshwater fish expert, and author of children’s books, who has been a fixture at the Brisbane Exhibition for nearly four decades, presiding over one of the lesser known attractions of ‘Fish Aquariums’.
Born in England he came to Australia as a small boy with his family and immediately took to the creeks and waterways in the Pine Rivers area north of Brisbane. A boyhood hobby turned into a glorious obsession which turned into a lucrative career, as well as earning him a sort of sub cultural celebrity.
Steve has lost count of the number of times he has won the highly coveted red, white and blue rosette annually bestowed on the Ekka Pisciculture Competition “Grand Champion,’’ but he knows it’s more than 10.
Steve’s book, ‘I Believe in Rainbows’, aims to educate young children on the need to take care of our local waterways and wildlife, whilst bringing a fun loving bundle of new characters to life.

Our guest speaker at yesterday’s meeting was Mal Cayley from Homes for Everyone.

An expert in his field, Mal has decades of experience when it comes to property and real estate. He uses defined skills acquired through his extensive military background as an Army Intelligence Officer to deeply analyze data and information to form strategic research on what is happening in the current and future property markets.

His ability to correctly predict what others can’t by drilling into data and observing trends has cemented Mal as a market intelligence specialist across all mediums of media. Mal is passionate about using his research and knowledge to drive positive change for the community, by educating both residents and all levels of government on how we can best plan for the future to ensure our way of life is preserved while accommodating the masses predicted to move to the Sunshine Coast. 

Mal is the Director, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Research at the Direct Collective and Founder and Lead Advocate for the Homes for Everyone initiative.

We’re all aware of the housing crisis, but to hear it quantified, & short-term predictions based on the statistics, is quite alarming.

When asked what we could do to help, Mal encouraged us all to take 15 seconds to go on to the Homes for Everyone website and register our concern over the housing crisis existing here on the Sunshine Coast. With enough concern shown, Mal believes that the local, state & federal authorities will start considering real, practical solutions rather than simple, ineffective, political Band-Aids.