Bulletin Issue 552 Volume 12  - No. 25 – 23rd March 2018

(if you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor
 
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Meeting Information

 ALL YEAR Dinner Out 1st Tuesday of each month 7pm at a restaurant

Meetings Friday 12.00 noon - 2pm @ Millennium Hotel in Jungceylon
Rat-U-Thit Road Patong Beach
 
Click for map
 
 
Visitors Welcome
registration mandatory
 
November – April 2nd 3rd & 4th Friday - May – October 2nd & 4th Friday only
 
Dress code - Smart-Casual
(long pants and shirts with collars for men, women: smart-casual)
 
Thought of the Week:
 
Life is unlimited
 
Your world expands with the generosity, compassion, inventiveness, and service that you contribute Money that is spent or given away returns multiplied The more love that is given, the more love returns The more a helping hand is given, the more hands are strengthened and empowered to help We can help each other to all be winners We can all have food, and jobs, and love, and happiness
Jonathan Lockwood Huie
 
 
Dear Fellow Members & Friends,
 
Another week has passed quickly on a still very busy Phuket island.
 
High season this year feels so much more crowded! You see & feel it! Good news for the many tourist business making it in just a few months!
 
During our last Board meeting we discussed a number of topics which we'll table & need to ratify during the next Club assembly March 30.
 
Please save the date! We'll distribute those amendments to the by-laws within the time limit for your review & voting. Please be reminded of our upcoming fundraiser on April 7 which needs your full support. For any of our Members on the island it's a must to be there.
 
We need your full support bringing along your family, friends, etc. helping to make the event a great success. Please circulate the event information within your networks, we need your help & assistance big time!
 
Also, please share the online auction with many amazing items up for offer! Please visit: http://www.biddingOwl.com/PatongRotary
 
In short, just follow the above 'Thought of the Week' which will make us all winners!
 
Wishing you a great week and make it a productive one.
 
YIR
 
Andy Becker
President 2017/18
 
 
Upcoming Events
Preparation Meeting for incoming Board 2018/19
Phuket Villa Patong Beach (คอนโดมีเนียม ภูเก็ตวิลล่า ป่าตองบีช)
Mar 21, 2018
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
 
Weekly Meeting -- RYLA participants
Millennium Resort Patong Beach Phuket
Mar 23, 2018
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
 
Planning Meeting for the Fundraiser
Dream Beach Club
Mar 26, 2018
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
 
 
Steve Bender Leads another Dental team @ Patong Beach Hospital April 17 – 20
____________________________________________________________
           
 
Each year, thousands of young people participate in this program. Young people ages 13–30 are sponsored by Rotary Clubs to attend the event run by the club's district committee.
Six RCoPB Scholarship students from Phuket whom attended RYLA last year will share what they learned during this programme.
The meeting was flipped today so our speaker, Dr Chantinee Boonchai from Prince of Songkla University, spoke immediately after Karen sounded the gong and all sang the national anthem (which was a little weak this week.)
 
Peter introduced Dr Boonchai, who has a doctorate in Environmental Management, as a person who has worked closely with our club over the past few years.
Dr Boonchai spoke quite quickly so some details may not be perfect.
Her department focuses on sustainable community development.
They have developed such innovative things as colorimetric test kits, & test kits for food safety -- various cost-effective kits to allow farmers and others test the water and soil.
Another project they are working on is the Pangee Island community garden. It is small for now but is designed to be sustainable. Other projects include disaster training. They are also working on the Phuket Beach Management Project: there are three types of beaches, Royal, Conservation and Managed. The group is surveying the beaches next week to give a star rating for each beach on the island. They will be rated on the basis of waste management, water quality, natural shade, how the beach is managed by the community. They have also started a Save the Beach Youth Group -- to get the youth more engaged with their beach environment and its importance to their future. The students are also working directly with their community to identify what their challenges are. Upcoming events include World Environment Day on the 5th of June and on the 6th of June Phuket Hotel Association Environment and sustainability training.
 
 
 
It was a quick speech. Of course, there were a lot of questions.
Dr Boonchai noted she is trying to help people better understand their environment, she isn't responsible for the community to implement the recommendations. She did note that if you see something, say something, to your local municipality in writing.
Peter thanked her for the great speech.

Roy presented what is happening with respect to social media and the
Caribbean Sun Splash. Roy specifically noted that sharing the post on Facebook is our most effective way of building organic word of mouth. Just liking it, doesn't have the same impact as sharing it. He'll be monitoring so please be sure to share this event now! He also noted that the Phuket News has translated the event in Thai and Russian giving us a lot more visibility.

Also please remember to send out the invite to all your friends.
 
Peter noted what is happening with CSP
 
  • We received a donation from Peter Sunley for 192 scholarships of 2000THB each for the Banya School;
  • The water safety project starts in June;
  • the helmet and road safety project are moving ahead with the standee to be set up soon near the Kamala Police Station.
 
 
There was a discussion about volunteers needed for the Caribbean Fundraiser on April 7th -- A volunteer list will be sent out soon

Please make sure you sign up!

OB also talked about the online auction -- you can bid on tickets to Wimbledon! Really! Take a look - there are some really cool items!
All the money from the auction will go to funding the projects!.
Planning meetings will be on Monday evening 5pm at Dream Beach Club.
The toast was made to Peter Sunley for his donation! Chai Yo!
 
 
Reporter: Karen Photographer: Gary
Thank you, ed Denis
 
President-elect Barry Rassin on where Rotary has been, where he hopes to lead it – and how the organization profoundly changed his life
2018-19: Be the Inspiration
 
 
                                                    
 
 
RI President-elect Barry Rassin’s asks Rotarians to inspire change in the world and in each other. “I ask all of you to Be the Inspiration to help Rotary move from reaction to action — to take a hard look at the environmental issues that affect health and welfare around the world and do what we can to help.”
 
President-elect Barry Rassin wants to explore ways of starting new Rotary clubs.
 
When Barry Rassin arrived at Rotary headquarters in Evanston at 4 a.m. for his first full day as president-elect, his security card wouldn’t work in the elevator. Just the day before, in a whirlwind process, he’d been nominated to fill the vacancy of Sam F. Owori, who had died unexpectedly in July. Now Rassin, a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, Bahamas, didn’t have the right credentials for all-hours access to the building. “I had to explain the situation to the security guard, who of course didn’t have a clue who I was,” he says.
 
Not much can stop Rassin when he wants to get something done. After making it up to the 18th floor of One Rotary Center, he set about compressing five days of orientation into a day and a half, planning the International Assembly, and coming up with his presidential theme: Be the Inspiration. “My personality is such that I want to hear all the options, make a decision, and go on to the next thing,” he says. “So we moved through the process fairly rapidly.”
 
Before becoming president-elect, Rassin was best known for leading Rotary’s relief and recovery efforts after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which included 105 separate projects funded by Rotarians. “I had a spreadsheet with 132 pages and every detail of every project,” he says. “People look at it and say, ‘How do you do this?’ But I enjoyed that.”
 
Rassin’s leadership abilities served him well in his professional life as a hospital administrator. The first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas, he recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he still serves as an adviser.
 
Rassin has been a Rotarian since 1980 and received Rotary’s highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, for his work. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
 
President-elect Barry Rassin and his wife, Esther, attend a celebration in their honor hosted by the Rotary clubs of the Bahamas. Nassau, Bahamas.
 
Editor in chief John Rezek and senior staff writer Diana Schoberg spoke with Rassin at his office
Q: Rotary is not a disaster relief organization. As someone who has had a front seat to some of the worst disasters of recent times, do you think we should make any shifts?
A: Yes, Rotary International is not a relief organization, but I would like it to be a much better communicator and catalyst between disaster areas and potential donors. Rotarians around the world hear of a disaster and they want to help. We need a better way to communicate to them how to help appropriately. It’s not appropriate to go in your closet and send whatever clothes you have, because that’s not necessarily what’s needed. First we have to hear from people in the disaster area. Their needs can change on a daily basis, so that communication is really important. I hope we will have more up-to-date information on our website about every disaster as it occurs.
 
We have a Rotarian Action Group focused on disaster assistance. That group has a great opportunity working with the staff at Rotary International. We can respond more quickly than we do today. The first thing we have to do in a disaster is reach out and say, “Are you OK? We’re here, we care, what can we do to help you?” Just those words make people in that area feel less alone. Then we can advise them about how to get the immediate relief we can’t provide, through those agencies that we already work with.
 
Q: Is Rotary dependent on clubs for this information?
A: The clubs and districts are on the ground. They know what’s going on. They’ve got to know who and how and when to contact somebody at Rotary International for assistance. We have to provide that link. That’s Rotary International’s job.
If you live in that disaster area, you’re going to give immediate relief because your friends are hurting. That’s natural. Rotary’s bigger role is the next step, the long-term recovery efforts.
 
It’s been eight years since the earthquake in Haiti, and Rotary International is still there. A lot of other agencies provide immediate relief, and then they’re gone. We’re there for the long term. The Rotarians live there; they’re going to want to get their community back to where it was. Our role is to help them do that. Not necessarily with funds, but with advice, with guidance, and with empathy.

Q: You want Rotary to have a transformational impact.
How should we allocate our resources to do that?
A: It’s OK to do small projects – don’t get me wrong. We’re always going to be doing them. But I’d like every club to think of at least one high-impact service project they can do to change people’s lives. They don’t have to cost a lot of money. I always use the jeep we provided in Haiti as an example. For $60,000 or $70,000, we provided a pink jeep to a group of midwives who go out into the community and give prenatal care to mothers who wouldn’t get it any other way. The mortality rate has gone down dramatically. That’s transformational.
 
The Rotary Foundation has talked about sustainability for a long time. To be sustainable – to make the good we do last – you should be transformational, so that fits well into what the Foundation’s trustees and global grants are doing. The districts could look at district grants and do the same kind of thing. We have the resources. We just have to think a little differently.

Q: Did the act of rebuilding in Haiti have a positive effect on Rotary?
A: If you go into certain parts of Haiti with the Rotary wheel, they’re going to say thank you, because they know what Rotarians have done. Rotary has provided them with food, with water, with a school for their children. When we talk transformational, one project we’ve been working on is to bring potable water to the entire country of Haiti. The prime minister is a Rotarian and past president of his club. He is working with us, and he’s got a government agency that’s going to work directly with us. That’s way above any global grant, but we can plan for that and figure out how to do it in chunks. I’m sure districts and clubs around the world would love to be a part of it. That’s transformational. That’s the kind of thing that could change a region for the better, forever.

Q: What other goals do you wish to accomplish during your year?
A: There’s a disconnect between what we do at Rotary International – and do really well – and what Rotary clubs are doing. I’d like to bridge that gap. One of our strategic priorities is strengthening clubs, which involves things like membership and Foundation giving. We’re not reaching the clubs to get them to understand why we need to do some of these things, and therefore some don’t do them.
 
I want to explore ways of starting new Rotary clubs. There are a lot of clubs out there. We keep telling them, “You’ve got to get new members.” But their club culture may not be attractive to other people. Fine – they should enjoy their club, and then start another club next door. We’re working on making sure everybody knows that Rotaract clubs can start Rotary clubs. We need to tell Rotaractors they can start a Rotary club they’re comfortable with when they move on after 30. Rotaract is our secret weapon, and we need to spend time developing the transition from Rotaract to Rotary in a different way.
 
We’ve got to get better at social media. When you look at our numbers versus a celebrity’s, we’re nothing. We need Rotarians and Rotaractors to access social media and use it to improve our public image. And that’s the other part of it: I don’t believe our communities understand what Rotary is. I want to hold Rotary days so clubs and districts can get into their communities and talk about Rotary – what do we do and why do we do it.
 
I want clubs to have leadership development programs for their members. Rotary’s new vision statement says: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” It is a great opportunity to remind everybody that as members of Rotary clubs, we’re also there for personal development. Young people are looking for ways to grow and develop, and that gives them another reason to join Rotary. Those are the key things I want to go with.

Q: You mentioned Rotary’s new vision statement. We already have a motto, Service Above Self. We have presidential themes every year. Why do we need a vision statement too?
A: A vision statement allows us to tell the world what our ultimate value is for the long term. It helps Rotarians and non-Rotarians understand what our goal is when it comes to changing our world. This vision statement came from Rotarians, who recommended each phrase. The end result shows our vision for the future and the path to get there.

Q: Rotaract and Rotary clubs in the Caribbean have a good relationship. What’s the key?
A: My club is an example. When a Rotaractor comes to our club, they’re not our guest for the day. They sign in as a member. So right away they’re feeling like they’re a part of us. That’s important. We also make sure that a Rotarian from our club always goes to Rotaract meetings so there’s always a connection. In the last two years, I believe we’ve got 100 percent transition from Rotaract to Rotary. They come and join our club because they know us. We’ve got to keep that connection going.

Q: What have you learned from Rotaractors?
A: Rotaractors are energetic. They’re passionate. They want to do good, and they really like working with each other. The frustration is that they then find it difficult to transition to a different club that has a totally different culture, doesn’t have the energy, doesn’t even know how to use social media. Rotaractors are the Rotary of the future, and we need to help them get there. What are they going to want in a club when they’re 40? We have to come up with that answer and then create Rotary clubs, or help them create Rotary clubs, that can get them there.
 
Q: Imagine your life without Rotary.
A: Wow! That’s hard to do, to be quite honest. I have put my heart and soul into Rotary for 37 years, and without it I wouldn’t have the friends I have or the ability to do some of the things I can do. I always give the example of my first speech. I was holding on to the lectern reading the speech I wrote, and when I got to the bottom of the first page, I was so nervous that I couldn’t turn the page. But my club kept asking me to speak, so I kept doing it, and now I speak publicly with confidence. I couldn’t do that without Rotary.

Q: How do you begin a speech?
A: It’s important to recognize and acknowledge who’s in your audience. You want to connect with them in one fashion or another, either by saying thank you or it’s nice to be here, or by recognizing a particular individual. Whenever I make a speech, I want to make it as personal as I can.

Q: If there’s one thing you could change about Rotary, what would that be?
A: One of our challenges in Rotary is our Council on Legislation. We meet every three years to consider changing Rotary’s governing policies, but it takes more like four and a half or five years to accomplish this because of the deadlines to propose legislation. The world is changing far too fast for that. We need a way to make major decisions that affect the organization on a quicker basis. Our Council on Legislation needs to understand that maybe it’s time to make that change. I’d love to see our Council restructured. One way would be to conduct those meetings electronically every year. It would be a challenge because it’s hard to have a dynamic debate online, but I think Rotary is smart enough to figure out how to do that.

Q: Is there a Rotary tradition you would never get rid of?
A: I would never get rid of our Four-Way Test. I would never get rid of vocational service. Some of the traditions from weekly club meetings could go. I don’t think there’s a need to be that formal in a club meeting anymore. But when you look at core values or ethics or classifications, those are things that have to stay with us. That’s who we are and what makes us different, and we need to appreciate that and keep developing those principles.
I have put my heart and soul into Rotary for 37 years, and without it I wouldn’t have the friends I have or the ability to do some of the things I can do.

Barry Rassin
Rotary International president-elect
 
                                          
 
 
You find out interesting things when you have sons, like...
 
 
 
1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2,000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42-pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words ‘uh oh', it's already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36- year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odour is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin Texas has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
Birthdays
Member Birthdays
Jaspal Khanijou
March 5
 
Al Carthew
March 7
 
 
 
Rotary District 3330
District Governor - Dr. Peera Farmpiboon (RC Krabi)