Past President, Craig Alford was taken by surprise at last weekend’s District 9456 Conference in Bunbury when he was presented with the Rotary International Service Above Self award by RI President’s Representative Garry Browne and District Governor, Melodie Kevan. There are only 100 such awards presented globally each year.
Craig was recognised for the huge contribution he has made to the Rotary Foundation and several charities through his fundraising efforts riding his Hustler Super Z lawnmower around Australia. Craig quickly acknowledged that he couldn’t have done it without the huge backing of his dedicated support team. Over $300, 000 has so far been raised through the Ride.
Craig, supported by several of his team members, rode the ride-on mower up onto the stage at Bunbury Recreation Centre, the Conference venue. He had just ridden the mower from Armadale to Bunbury in support of bushfire victims in the Waroona/Yarloop/Harvey area. He had planned the grand entry as a surprise for conference attendees but received a bigger surprise himself when presented with the Service Above Self Award.
en by surprise at last weekend’s District 9456 Conference in Bunbury when he was presented with the Rotary International Service Above Self award by RI President’s Representative Garry Browne and District Governor, Melodie Kevan. There are only 100 such awards presented globally each year.
President Craig Alford and his crew are getting ready to drive a ride-on lawnmower on the next leg across Australia.
This next section will cover 5300 kms through New South Wales to Darwin via Brisbane & Townsville, finishing up at the Beer Can Regatta. And it's all to raise much-needed funds for Charity. The ride, which commenced with the Armadale WA to Kalgoorlie leg in 2102, raises awareness and funds for Australian Rotary Health's mental health research and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In 2013 the team rode 2200 kms over 11 days from Kalgoorlie to Adelaide, then 2300 Kms from Adelaide to Sydney in 2014 over 22 days.
The ultimate goal is to raise $1 million for these charities over the entire journey around Australia.
Youth Crime Prevention Officers, Kaye Turner & Kim Bryce from Armadale Police, with Save the Children’s Karina Chicote and Steve Dyson (Photo: Community Newspaper Group)
Save the Children:
Building a Better Tomorrow for Armadale Youth
An international children’s charity and the WA Police are working together to reduce juvenile crime in the Armadale region, with a special emphasis on helping local aboriginal young people to turn their lives around. Our guest speaker this week gave a very articulate, informative and passionate talk about the “Strong Tomorrow” programme, which is making a real difference in our community.
Karina Chicote is the Youth Programme Coordinator (Perth Metropolitan) for Save The Children Australia and is a great advocate for the cause. She was accompanied at our meeting by Save the Children’s Business Development Consultant, Tony McManus.
“Strong Tomorrow” is a secondary intervention programme. Save the Children works in collaboration with local Youth Crime Prevention Officers (YCIOs) to support young offenders to reduce offending, through addressing the underlying social and environmental issues that lead to crime, marginalisation and victimisation, through mentoring and intensive support.
Juvenile crime is not only costly to the community but to young lives caught up in it. “Strong Tomorrow” helps the young people develop life skills and cultural values.
Sadly, there is a very strong over-representation of Aboriginal youth in Western Australia’s crime scene, with 75% of juvenile youth in detention being of Aboriginal background—and 20% of these are from the Armadale area. So programmes like “Strong Tomorrow” need to receive ongoing funding to turn the tide. The programme has a very impressive success rate. One example cited was that of a young boy who went from 22 offences prior to involvement in the programme to no offences following. Others had an 85% reduction in offences. 100% of participants say that the programme has helped them.
An initial Government grant of $25,000 has demonstratively saved the Government $140,000 that would have been incurred through crimes that are not being committed as a result of the intervention. Save the Children are digging into their own funds to maintain the programme. Members and friends of Rotary are encouraged to canvas politicians and people of influence with a view to a further grant being made to keep “Strong Tomorrow” up and running.
On the same day that news broke of the tragic untimely death of actor and comedian, Robin Williams, who suffered from depression, our guest speaker this week, Antonia Bordoni gave an inspiring and passionate presentation about the organisation that specializes in helping young people facing the pressures of life. Headspace is a community-based organisation providing a comprehensive range of help for young people facing mental health and other health issues, online, by phone and face-to-face. Headspace centres across Australia provide information, support and services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families.
THE PROBLEM
· One in four people will experience a mental health issue within any one year
· 75% of mental health problems emerge before the age of 25
Up to 50% of substance abuse problems are preceded by mental health
· High suicide rates in early to mid adulthood are related to untreated mental health problems in the late teenage and early adulthood years
· Currently, one in four young people experiencing mental health problems actually receives professional help
Headspace Centres are scattered across Australia with 55 of them open to young people. Antonia represents the Fremantle branch of Headspace and is a wonderful advocate for this much-needed community service. She regularly gives talks in schools , sometimes five times a week, and loves sharing about Headspace at service clubs and community groups. She was a guest speaker at the Rotary District 9465 conference in Mandurah earlier this year and is happy to be guest speaker at any Rotary Club. Headspace are hoping to open a branch in Armadale in the near future, subject to funding and other criteria. There’s no doubt that our community would greatly benefit from such a service.
Issues faced by young people, for which they can receive counselling and referrals to appropriate professional help, include mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, sexual health issues, contraception advice, bullying, relationship problems, problems at school or tertiary education centres, physical & sexual abuse, financial or budgeting problems—and more.
What to expect at a Headspace Centre:
· Help for any type of health issue
· Free services
· A welcoming environment that is youth friendly
· A range of medical professionals: doctors, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, youth workers and drug & alcohol workers
eheadspace is a confidential free and secure service for young people 12-25 yrs of age and their families and friends. It offers online chat, email or phone services 9:00am to 1:00am, 7 days a week with qualified youth mental health professionals. Callback is available for those using a mobile phone.
If you know a young person who might need help:
Families, carers and friends can make an appointment for a young person with their consent. To do so phone (08) 9 335 6333 with them to arrange an appointment.
If you are working with a young person who might need help:
Workers from schools, health or community organisations can refer to headspace Fremantle can make an appointment for a young person with their consent.
To do so phone (08) 9 335 6333 with them to arrange an appointment. Young People under the age of 16 must have parental consent. The young person MUST consent to the referral.
(Photo: Past President Peter Warren presents Headspace's Antonia Bordoni with a Rotary mug as President Craig Alford photo-bombs!)
Past District Governor, Phil Cordery made a special visit to our club meeting on 12 August to to present the Annual District Australian Rotary Health Trophy , which President Craig Alford received on behalf of the club. The award is presented to the club that has made the highest donation per capita to Australian Rotary Health. Our Annual Golf Day and the Ride to the Other Side, have been major contributors to this effort, as well as the generosity of individual members.
Australian Rotary Health provides funding into four focus areas and promotes findings to the community. These are Mental Health Research, General Health Research, Indigenous Health Scholarships and Rural Medical & Nursing Scholarships.
PDG Phil has been a Director of Australian Rotary Health since 2011. He is Chairman of two district programmes and has a Paul Harris Fellow with three sapphires.
(Photo:President Craig proudly shows the trophy with PDG Phil Cordery)
“Greenlighting” was in, “critiquing” was out, as members were encouraged to make lots of suggestions about the way the club could operate in the future. Members were told “Place yourself FIVE years into the future. You are looking back and reporting on all the wonderful projects and achievements that your club has completed over the past five years”. The visioning meeting was facilitated by Past District Governors, John Kevan, Bob Cooper and John Simmons, as well as President Renae Poot of the Rotary Club of Millpoint (shown in photo 2 with President Graham Sampson).
Our facilitators encouraged members to condense each concept to a bullet point which was then written up on butchers paper, with two or three sheets being filled out for each of ten sections. Sections were entitled, The Vision we have pursued, the Great Attributes of our club, Public Image & Awareness, Rotary Foundation, Fundraising, Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, Youth and International Service.
The sheets of butchers paper were hung on the wall and members were then given a quantity of blue and red dots to place on the sheets alongside their favoured bullet-points. No ideas/concepts will be discounted but the results will be analysed and those with the most dots will be given highest priority when forming a vision statement for the club for the next five years. President Graham Sampson accepted the responsibility of referring the club back to the vision statement and the prioritized ideas/concepts, whilst Assistant Governor, Roy Philbin, who also participated in the visioning evening, will also assist our club in developing the vision.
There was certainly a consensus that all members wish to see the club continuing to be very active in the community, both locally and through it’s overseas humanitarian projects. And at the same time members want the Rotary Club of Armadale meetings to be well-run but fun times together that will attract new members.
The youth division of Rotary International known as Interact has good prospects of being started up at one our local high schools according to Rotarian Ron Mildenhall, who is District Chair of Interact. Ron was our guest speaker this week and he gave a very enthusiastic & informative talk about the aims and purposes of Interact clubs.
Ron was certainly a great speaker to have when the PA system decided not to work, as he has a great ability to project his voice and keep everyone’s attention. And he certainly did that. His talk was complimented by a PowerPoint presentation as he led us through what might be involved if we as a club decide to sponsor an Interact club.
We also were delighted to have two special guests who have a keen interest in getting a local Interact club up and running. They were Claudia Jacob, Head of English Department at Kelmscott Senior High School and Elizabeth Singe, an ESL* teacher and member of the Rotary Club of Willetton. (*ESL = English as a second language).
Ron’s presentation included some very interesting examples of Interact Clubs around the world and how they often take on amazing community projects. Clubs are encouraged to take on one local project and one international project each year.
Each Interact Club needs to be sponsored by a local Rotary Club and that takes a fair commitment from at least one but ideally two Rotarians to attend Interact meetings and act as mentors. Interact Clubs are encouraged to develop their own style within certain guidelines. There is certainly an emphasis on having fun whilst developing good communication and service skills.
Ideally, a new Interact Club needs a minimum of 12 students to make it viable and as it grows, a core group of 8 to 10 to get things done - much like a Rotary Club. A collaborative approach with more than one Rotary Club involved is worth considering to minimise set-up costs and maximise opportunities. As District Chair of Interact, Ron is available to assist at any time and answer questions.
Programme Chair for the evening was Rotarian Eileen Alford and the vote of thanks was given by Rotarian Gail Sampson.
Club members donned a variety of headgear at a recent meeting as part of "Wear a Hat Day", which brings awareness to mental health issues, one of the major projects supported by Australian Rotary Health.
Deciding to ride 15,000 kilometres around Australia on a ride-on-mower was a big idea with big challenges and bigger rewards.
In 2010 Rotarian and co-owner of Armadale Mower World Craig Alford had this outrageous idea to ride a Hustler Super Z mower around Australia to raise much needed awareness and funds for mental health research through Australian Rotary health and a second charity of choice each year.
When we say we're riding to get to the other side, we're not just talking about geography. We're riding this lawn mower to make a difference and help people get to where the grass is greener.
In March of 2012 after much planning, his dream came to life when he and his team set off on stage one, 661km from Armadale to Kalgoorlie.
With few changes - mainly bigger wheels and a roof - the Hustler Super Z performed well, averaging 23km/h a day in temperatures as high as 44.5C. That journey was a huge success finically but most of all raising awareness of two very worth charities.
In February this year he and his business partner Andrew Fox set off on stage two from Kalgoorlie to cross the Nullarbor in the hottest part of the year on route to Adelaide and the Clipsal 500, again raising awareness and funds for mental health research through Australian Rotary health and prostate cancer research with the EJ Whitten Foundation. This time they had temperatures high as 49.5C and covered more than 300km in one day.
The Hustler Super Z had a top speed of 36.3km/h and averaged about 25km/h for the 2190km trip.
For the almost 3000km covered so far they have raised about $130,000.00 and the mower has not missed a beat and apart from regular servicing they haven’t put a spanner on to it.
The most common remark heard this year was “Pimp My Ride” this may have something to do with the eighteen inch Ford Chromes, front chrome hubs and the front spoiler.
A big thanks goes to all the supporters big and small but in particular Powerup Lawn Care Products-PLP, importers of the Hustler Super Z, they are a major partner in Ride to the Other Side. It is without doubt that if not for this support Ride to the Other Side would not be the success it is.
Stage three in May 2014 will see some very different weather conditions as the ride heads off from Adelaide on route to Rotary International World Convention in Sydney through Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra some 2500km.
Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.
We are all excited to see how ClubRunner will revolutionize the way we manage our day to day club activities, as well as communicate more effectively. ClubRunner is an all-in-one membership and communication software package designed for Rotary. More than just an easy-to-use website, it is a complete online package comprised of several modules, all designed to maintain your members' data, facilitate interactive communication, organize events and volunteers, distribute email newsletters and broadcast communications, improve public relations, and help run a club more efficiently.Accessible by all club members through a password protected member area, it allows every member to access key information to communicate much more effectively, as well as share information and collaborate better, as well as automate administrative functions such as attendance tracking and billing. Membership changes to the database are automatically communicated to Rotary International, therefore also saving the Club Secretary from performing double data entry.Online registrations for events and volunteer activities, automatic email services, and an integrated e-Bulletin, among other features, makes it easy to promote your club's activities.
The website features easy to use content management tools, where you don't need to have a technical background to maintain the site, and with the new Website Designer 2.0 interface, you can customize your site to reflect your club's identity and style.
For more information on ClubRunner, visit ClubRunner's Website and discover how to take full advantage of the features of ClubRunner.
ClubRunner secures all your private information using the latest security technologies. Hosted in a world class data centre with redundant power, Internet backbones and 24/7 security and monitoring, you can rest assured that your club data is safe and protected. Your members' contact information is secured behind unique logins and passwords. Access to information is also restricted, for example, a member can only view the list of members, but can modify his or her own personal information.
Data on the server is protected by TCP/IP filtering, firewall and anti-virus software that protect against any unauthorized intrusion. Backups of data are made daily and stored off-site.
Your information is kept private and is not shared with any third parties. To review ClubRunner's Privacy Policy, visit www.clubrunner.ca, or look for the link on the footer of every page on ClubRunner's site.
Past President, Craig Alford was taken by surprise at last weekend’s District 9456 Conference in Bunbury when he was presented with the Rotary International Service Above Self award by RI President’s Representative Garry Browne and District Governor, Melodie Kevan. There are only 100 such awards presented globally each year.
Craig was recognised for the huge contribution he has made to the Rotary Foundation and several charities through his fundraising efforts riding his Hustler Super Z lawnmower around Australia. Craig quickly acknowledged that he couldn’t have done it without the huge backing of his dedicated support team. Over $300, 000 has so far been raised through the Ride.
Craig, supported by several of his team members, rode the ride-on mower up onto the stage at Bunbury Recreation Centre, the Conference venue. He had just ridden the mower from Armadale to Bunbury in support of bushfire victims in the Waroona/Yarloop/Harvey area. He had planned the grand entry as a surprise for conference attendees but received a bigger surprise himself when presented with the Service Above Self Award.
en by surprise at last weekend’s District 9456 Conference in Bunbury when he was presented with the Rotary International Service Above Self award by RI President’s Representative Garry Browne and District Governor, Melodie Kevan. There are only 100 such awards presented globally each year.
President Craig Alford and his crew are getting ready to drive a ride-on lawnmower on the next leg across Australia.
This next section will cover 5300 kms through New South Wales to Darwin via Brisbane & Townsville, finishing up at the Beer Can Regatta. And it's all to raise much-needed funds for Charity. The ride, which commenced with the Armadale WA to Kalgoorlie leg in 2102, raises awareness and funds for Australian Rotary Health's mental health research and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In 2013 the team rode 2200 kms over 11 days from Kalgoorlie to Adelaide, then 2300 Kms from Adelaide to Sydney in 2014 over 22 days.
The ultimate goal is to raise $1 million for these charities over the entire journey around Australia.
Youth Crime Prevention Officers, Kaye Turner & Kim Bryce from Armadale Police, with Save the Children’s Karina Chicote and Steve Dyson (Photo: Community Newspaper Group)
Save the Children:
Building a Better Tomorrow for Armadale Youth
An international children’s charity and the WA Police are working together to reduce juvenile crime in the Armadale region, with a special emphasis on helping local aboriginal young people to turn their lives around. Our guest speaker this week gave a very articulate, informative and passionate talk about the “Strong Tomorrow” programme, which is making a real difference in our community.
Karina Chicote is the Youth Programme Coordinator (Perth Metropolitan) for Save The Children Australia and is a great advocate for the cause. She was accompanied at our meeting by Save the Children’s Business Development Consultant, Tony McManus.
“Strong Tomorrow” is a secondary intervention programme. Save the Children works in collaboration with local Youth Crime Prevention Officers (YCIOs) to support young offenders to reduce offending, through addressing the underlying social and environmental issues that lead to crime, marginalisation and victimisation, through mentoring and intensive support.
Juvenile crime is not only costly to the community but to young lives caught up in it. “Strong Tomorrow” helps the young people develop life skills and cultural values.
Sadly, there is a very strong over-representation of Aboriginal youth in Western Australia’s crime scene, with 75% of juvenile youth in detention being of Aboriginal background—and 20% of these are from the Armadale area. So programmes like “Strong Tomorrow” need to receive ongoing funding to turn the tide. The programme has a very impressive success rate. One example cited was that of a young boy who went from 22 offences prior to involvement in the programme to no offences following. Others had an 85% reduction in offences. 100% of participants say that the programme has helped them.
An initial Government grant of $25,000 has demonstratively saved the Government $140,000 that would have been incurred through crimes that are not being committed as a result of the intervention. Save the Children are digging into their own funds to maintain the programme. Members and friends of Rotary are encouraged to canvas politicians and people of influence with a view to a further grant being made to keep “Strong Tomorrow” up and running.
On the same day that news broke of the tragic untimely death of actor and comedian, Robin Williams, who suffered from depression, our guest speaker this week, Antonia Bordoni gave an inspiring and passionate presentation about the organisation that specializes in helping young people facing the pressures of life. Headspace is a community-based organisation providing a comprehensive range of help for young people facing mental health and other health issues, online, by phone and face-to-face. Headspace centres across Australia provide information, support and services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families.
THE PROBLEM
· One in four people will experience a mental health issue within any one year
· 75% of mental health problems emerge before the age of 25
Up to 50% of substance abuse problems are preceded by mental health
· High suicide rates in early to mid adulthood are related to untreated mental health problems in the late teenage and early adulthood years
· Currently, one in four young people experiencing mental health problems actually receives professional help
Headspace Centres are scattered across Australia with 55 of them open to young people. Antonia represents the Fremantle branch of Headspace and is a wonderful advocate for this much-needed community service. She regularly gives talks in schools , sometimes five times a week, and loves sharing about Headspace at service clubs and community groups. She was a guest speaker at the Rotary District 9465 conference in Mandurah earlier this year and is happy to be guest speaker at any Rotary Club. Headspace are hoping to open a branch in Armadale in the near future, subject to funding and other criteria. There’s no doubt that our community would greatly benefit from such a service.
Issues faced by young people, for which they can receive counselling and referrals to appropriate professional help, include mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, sexual health issues, contraception advice, bullying, relationship problems, problems at school or tertiary education centres, physical & sexual abuse, financial or budgeting problems—and more.
What to expect at a Headspace Centre:
· Help for any type of health issue
· Free services
· A welcoming environment that is youth friendly
· A range of medical professionals: doctors, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, youth workers and drug & alcohol workers
eheadspace is a confidential free and secure service for young people 12-25 yrs of age and their families and friends. It offers online chat, email or phone services 9:00am to 1:00am, 7 days a week with qualified youth mental health professionals. Callback is available for those using a mobile phone.
If you know a young person who might need help:
Families, carers and friends can make an appointment for a young person with their consent. To do so phone (08) 9 335 6333 with them to arrange an appointment.
If you are working with a young person who might need help:
Workers from schools, health or community organisations can refer to headspace Fremantle can make an appointment for a young person with their consent.
To do so phone (08) 9 335 6333 with them to arrange an appointment. Young People under the age of 16 must have parental consent. The young person MUST consent to the referral.
(Photo: Past President Peter Warren presents Headspace's Antonia Bordoni with a Rotary mug as President Craig Alford photo-bombs!)
Past District Governor, Phil Cordery made a special visit to our club meeting on 12 August to to present the Annual District Australian Rotary Health Trophy , which President Craig Alford received on behalf of the club. The award is presented to the club that has made the highest donation per capita to Australian Rotary Health. Our Annual Golf Day and the Ride to the Other Side, have been major contributors to this effort, as well as the generosity of individual members.
Australian Rotary Health provides funding into four focus areas and promotes findings to the community. These are Mental Health Research, General Health Research, Indigenous Health Scholarships and Rural Medical & Nursing Scholarships.
PDG Phil has been a Director of Australian Rotary Health since 2011. He is Chairman of two district programmes and has a Paul Harris Fellow with three sapphires.
(Photo:President Craig proudly shows the trophy with PDG Phil Cordery)
“Greenlighting” was in, “critiquing” was out, as members were encouraged to make lots of suggestions about the way the club could operate in the future. Members were told “Place yourself FIVE years into the future. You are looking back and reporting on all the wonderful projects and achievements that your club has completed over the past five years”. The visioning meeting was facilitated by Past District Governors, John Kevan, Bob Cooper and John Simmons, as well as President Renae Poot of the Rotary Club of Millpoint (shown in photo 2 with President Graham Sampson).
Our facilitators encouraged members to condense each concept to a bullet point which was then written up on butchers paper, with two or three sheets being filled out for each of ten sections. Sections were entitled, The Vision we have pursued, the Great Attributes of our club, Public Image & Awareness, Rotary Foundation, Fundraising, Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, Youth and International Service.
The sheets of butchers paper were hung on the wall and members were then given a quantity of blue and red dots to place on the sheets alongside their favoured bullet-points. No ideas/concepts will be discounted but the results will be analysed and those with the most dots will be given highest priority when forming a vision statement for the club for the next five years. President Graham Sampson accepted the responsibility of referring the club back to the vision statement and the prioritized ideas/concepts, whilst Assistant Governor, Roy Philbin, who also participated in the visioning evening, will also assist our club in developing the vision.
There was certainly a consensus that all members wish to see the club continuing to be very active in the community, both locally and through it’s overseas humanitarian projects. And at the same time members want the Rotary Club of Armadale meetings to be well-run but fun times together that will attract new members.
The youth division of Rotary International known as Interact has good prospects of being started up at one our local high schools according to Rotarian Ron Mildenhall, who is District Chair of Interact. Ron was our guest speaker this week and he gave a very enthusiastic & informative talk about the aims and purposes of Interact clubs.
Ron was certainly a great speaker to have when the PA system decided not to work, as he has a great ability to project his voice and keep everyone’s attention. And he certainly did that. His talk was complimented by a PowerPoint presentation as he led us through what might be involved if we as a club decide to sponsor an Interact club.
We also were delighted to have two special guests who have a keen interest in getting a local Interact club up and running. They were Claudia Jacob, Head of English Department at Kelmscott Senior High School and Elizabeth Singe, an ESL* teacher and member of the Rotary Club of Willetton. (*ESL = English as a second language).
Ron’s presentation included some very interesting examples of Interact Clubs around the world and how they often take on amazing community projects. Clubs are encouraged to take on one local project and one international project each year.
Each Interact Club needs to be sponsored by a local Rotary Club and that takes a fair commitment from at least one but ideally two Rotarians to attend Interact meetings and act as mentors. Interact Clubs are encouraged to develop their own style within certain guidelines. There is certainly an emphasis on having fun whilst developing good communication and service skills.
Ideally, a new Interact Club needs a minimum of 12 students to make it viable and as it grows, a core group of 8 to 10 to get things done - much like a Rotary Club. A collaborative approach with more than one Rotary Club involved is worth considering to minimise set-up costs and maximise opportunities. As District Chair of Interact, Ron is available to assist at any time and answer questions.
Programme Chair for the evening was Rotarian Eileen Alford and the vote of thanks was given by Rotarian Gail Sampson.
Club members donned a variety of headgear at a recent meeting as part of "Wear a Hat Day", which brings awareness to mental health issues, one of the major projects supported by Australian Rotary Health.
Deciding to ride 15,000 kilometres around Australia on a ride-on-mower was a big idea with big challenges and bigger rewards.
In 2010 Rotarian and co-owner of Armadale Mower World Craig Alford had this outrageous idea to ride a Hustler Super Z mower around Australia to raise much needed awareness and funds for mental health research through Australian Rotary health and a second charity of choice each year.
When we say we're riding to get to the other side, we're not just talking about geography. We're riding this lawn mower to make a difference and help people get to where the grass is greener.
In March of 2012 after much planning, his dream came to life when he and his team set off on stage one, 661km from Armadale to Kalgoorlie.
With few changes - mainly bigger wheels and a roof - the Hustler Super Z performed well, averaging 23km/h a day in temperatures as high as 44.5C. That journey was a huge success finically but most of all raising awareness of two very worth charities.
In February this year he and his business partner Andrew Fox set off on stage two from Kalgoorlie to cross the Nullarbor in the hottest part of the year on route to Adelaide and the Clipsal 500, again raising awareness and funds for mental health research through Australian Rotary health and prostate cancer research with the EJ Whitten Foundation. This time they had temperatures high as 49.5C and covered more than 300km in one day.
The Hustler Super Z had a top speed of 36.3km/h and averaged about 25km/h for the 2190km trip.
For the almost 3000km covered so far they have raised about $130,000.00 and the mower has not missed a beat and apart from regular servicing they haven’t put a spanner on to it.
The most common remark heard this year was “Pimp My Ride” this may have something to do with the eighteen inch Ford Chromes, front chrome hubs and the front spoiler.
A big thanks goes to all the supporters big and small but in particular Powerup Lawn Care Products-PLP, importers of the Hustler Super Z, they are a major partner in Ride to the Other Side. It is without doubt that if not for this support Ride to the Other Side would not be the success it is.
Stage three in May 2014 will see some very different weather conditions as the ride heads off from Adelaide on route to Rotary International World Convention in Sydney through Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra some 2500km.
Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.
We are all excited to see how ClubRunner will revolutionize the way we manage our day to day club activities, as well as communicate more effectively. ClubRunner is an all-in-one membership and communication software package designed for Rotary. More than just an easy-to-use website, it is a complete online package comprised of several modules, all designed to maintain your members' data, facilitate interactive communication, organize events and volunteers, distribute email newsletters and broadcast communications, improve public relations, and help run a club more efficiently.Accessible by all club members through a password protected member area, it allows every member to access key information to communicate much more effectively, as well as share information and collaborate better, as well as automate administrative functions such as attendance tracking and billing. Membership changes to the database are automatically communicated to Rotary International, therefore also saving the Club Secretary from performing double data entry.Online registrations for events and volunteer activities, automatic email services, and an integrated e-Bulletin, among other features, makes it easy to promote your club's activities.
The website features easy to use content management tools, where you don't need to have a technical background to maintain the site, and with the new Website Designer 2.0 interface, you can customize your site to reflect your club's identity and style.
For more information on ClubRunner, visit ClubRunner's Website and discover how to take full advantage of the features of ClubRunner.
ClubRunner secures all your private information using the latest security technologies. Hosted in a world class data centre with redundant power, Internet backbones and 24/7 security and monitoring, you can rest assured that your club data is safe and protected. Your members' contact information is secured behind unique logins and passwords. Access to information is also restricted, for example, a member can only view the list of members, but can modify his or her own personal information.
Data on the server is protected by TCP/IP filtering, firewall and anti-virus software that protect against any unauthorized intrusion. Backups of data are made daily and stored off-site.
Your information is kept private and is not shared with any third parties. To review ClubRunner's Privacy Policy, visit www.clubrunner.ca, or look for the link on the footer of every page on ClubRunner's site.
eheadspace is a confidential free and secure service for young people 12-25 yrs of age and their families and friends. It offers online chat, email or phone services 9:00am to 1:00am, 7 days a week with qualified youth mental health professionals. Callback is available for those using a mobile phone.
