THE NILES ROTARY PINION€¦ · We then flew to Melbourne where we had a city tour, plus a trip to the Dandenong Ranges for the Puffing Billy steam train ride, and on to the Yarra

Rotary Club of Niles (Fremont) – Founded 1937 – P.O. Box 7104, Fremont, CA 94537-7104 – www.nilesrotary.org. 1

THE NILES ROTARY PINION Special Rotary International Convention edition – June 2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 It’s What We Do – pg. 1-2

4 RI Convention – pg. 4-9

9 Post Convention trip – pg. 9-12

9 Polio Eradication update

It’s What We Do -

Sydney and Cairns and Melbourne, oh my!! We Got ‘er Done Down Under!! There is something very special about Niles Rotarians traveling together…to RI Conventions and beyond. This time, when all was said and done, 21 Niles Rotarians, family and friends were counted among the estimated 18,000 Rotarians from all over the world! Can you say “Facebook”?!

Sydney Olympic Park …what a great venue in an amazingly beautiful city! The plenary sessions featured RI President Ron Burton (yes, THAT Ron Burton…we know that guy!) leading the “Aussie Aussie Aussie…oy oy oy” cheer to open each session. Remember President elect Gary Huang…yes THAT Gary Huang…(we know him too!)… inspiring and energetic as he addressed the throng…you could feel the pride in his fellow Taiwanese Rotarians as the first from his country to lead Rotary International as President. Entertainment? How about four Aussie guys singing Motown, backed by an incredibly talented band…they’re playing the Venetian Room in Vegas too! And Australia’s Ten Tenors lighting it up at the closing plenary session…with the Sydney Symphony charging up a packed house at the iconic Sydney Opera House in between! Cairns featured rain…lots of it! Undeterred, we explored the Great Barrier Reef including the adventurous two-hour boat ride out and back with no seasickness! We jungle surfed (zip lined) in the rainforest. True to Niles Rotary form, the first night in Cairns featured Gary “the Grillmaster” Raver holding court around the cabana with many Australian and New Zealand wines meeting their demise…it’s what we do! (continued on next page)


IT’S WHAT WE DO (continued) Melbourne, our final stop before heading home, was an exciting and eclectic mix of riverfront, restaurants, green spaces, public art and the spectacular Shrine of Remembrance. Rumor has it the 2021 RI Convention will land there…I expect we’ll be back! Soooo…how about Saõ Paulo, Brazil in 2015 with soon-to-become President elect Lisa leading the way…hmmmmm? PC

OUR SPECIAL ROTARY FAMILY – AND FELLOWSHIP!!

The Group in Yarra Valley, Victoria: first row: Sue Parhiala, Lisa Lorenz, Audrey Kearns, Sharon de Sousa, Carol Smith, Terri Landon, José Braz; second row: Paul Parhiala, Dirk Lorenz, Steve Landon, Mike Kearns, John de Sousa, Chuck Canada, Mary Lynn Pelican, Jane Parhiala, Dick Pantages, Sandi Pantages, Pamela Philbert. (not pictured: Gary Raver; Ilda Braz; Gilda Cardoso).


C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S

• Sat. June 28 – SAVE THE DATE! Pres. Chuck’s Demotion**

• Fri. July 4 – Niles Rotary in the July 4 parade (contact: Terry Landon)

• Fri. July 4 – 3 p.m. on – July 4 social at the home of past president Chuck. Contact: Chuck Canada

• Sat. July 19 from 6 – 9 pm –FUN Sunset Rotary Club’s 10th Anniversary Luau at the Ruggieri Center, Union City – see info in weekly eBulletin and ad on pg. 13 of this Pinion *good Area or District activity for Red Badgers ** good Social or Community Service activity for Red Badgers

Check the club website for additional calendar items CLUB PROGRAMS For latest information on Club Programs, check the club website: www.nilesrotary.org

Some views of the beautiful city of Sydney: the VIVID light show lit up the buildings of the city in a spectacular fashion!


THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Sydney, Australia – June 1-4, 2014

The convention is always filled with spectacular opening and closing sessions, plus daily morning sessions with inspirational speakers. The spectacle of the flag ceremony is always special – this time a team of 4 men and women from SurfLife Saving New South Wales rowed and ran the Australian, United States, and Rotary flags from some distance away to the Olympic Park and into the arena. Inspirational speakers included Tommy Spaulding, New York Times best selling author, who told his story – from being a barely graduating from high school student to a RYLA participant, to an Up With People member, to a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, to President of Spaulding Companies – he spoke about Changing the World One Relationship at a Time. Maya Ajmera, Founder of the Global Fund for Children spoke of her work teaching women and girls in Afghanistan (where it was illegal, and one could get killed for teaching or learning) and helping children who live on boats in Bangladesh without schooling. Maya had been a Rotary Peace Scholar, and was awarded the 2013-2014 Global Alumni Service to Humanity from RI. Ade Adepitan, a polio survivor and paralympic medalist, now in a wheelchair, told his story. All inspiring and speaking to the power and effective work of Rotary!! The power of Rotary to change lives was further evidenced by the Polio Plus stories (see separate segment in this Pinion), talks by Rotaract and New Generations representatives. Nelson Mandela was quoted: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”


The Arena is quite lively!

Rick King is quite popular! One stands in line to have a chat with him and Cherie

In the House of Friendship, the Book Labyrinth collected books for low income children and Rotary’s Books in Homes project (Empowering Kids, Literally)


With Jamie Lam in Interact booth – House of Friendship Social Media Breakout Session – what our club meetings could look like, if we used social media to instantly inform the community on our exciting meetings

Great HOC (Host Organising Committee) event – concert by Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House


END POLIO NOW POLIO PLUS NEWS

What do a bottle of wine, a bridge climb, an early morning walk all have in common? They were benefits for End Polio Now, supported by Niles Rotarians. In addition Dr. Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization gave a stirring update at a plenery session. !!!Terri%and%Steve%(and%Mary%Lynn%too)%climb%the%Sydney%Bridge%to%benefit%Polio%Plus!!%!

!! !On!Friday,!May!30,!340!people!waving!278!flags!climbed!the!Sydney!Harbour!Bridge!to!break!2!world!records;!they!raised!enough!money!to!protect!240,000!kids!from!polio.!From!the!May!30!Bridge!Climb,!$40,000!was!donated!to!Polio!Plus.!Throughout!the!week,!donations!from!bridge!climbers!(e.g.!Terri,!Steve,!Mary!Lynn)!also!benefitted!Polio!Plus!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !Several!club!members,!including!the!Lorenzes!and!Mary!Lynn!participated!in!the!End!Polio!Now!walk!!In!other!funding!news!for!Polio!Plus,!the!Prime!Minister!of!Australia,!The!Honorable!Tony!Abbot!MP,!in!his!address!to!the!plenary!session,!announced!that!Australia!had!donated!$100,000,000!AUD!to!Polio!Plus!!!


!!!

END POLIO NOW POLIO PLUS NEWS (continued)

And, how can a bottle of 2010 Penfold’s St. Henri Shiraz raise $30,000 for Polio Plus? At the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship (RWAF) dinner on June 1, a raffle drawing was held ($20 for 3 tickets) for this bottle of wine, which had received a perfect score from the wine reviewers, the only Australian wine to have ever done so. The guy who won the bottle donated it back to RWAF to auction off, with RWAF committed to matching the auction amount. The bidding was hot and heavy, with the bottle being sold for $5,000!! That amount was matched by RWAF, to the total went to $10,000. The Gates Foundation has committed to a 2:1 match for donations to Polio Plus, so their $20,000 brought the total to $30,000 for Polio Plus!! The bottle is pictured below. Later in the week, at another RWAF dinner, another raffle drawing was held for another bottle of the same wine. Dick Pantages won the bottle! After careful consideration, and noting that the evening’s auction was not bringing in as much as the previous one, Dick decided to keep the bottle and share it with Niles Rotarians in our hotel. Very special wine and great fellowship!

!!

!!


POLIO ERADICATION – MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE ENDGAME

PLAN Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General, World Health Organization

• Endgame Strategic Plan is 2013-2018 • India had 50% of the polio cases just 5 years

ago – now, India is polio free • 12 months ago, 50% of the world’s children

lived in polio free countries –now, 80% of the world’s children live in polio free countries

• As of 12 months ago, Type 2 polio was eradicated, and Type 3 polio virus may be eradicated – it has not been seen

• Nigeria (northern) had 24 cases 12 months ago, and has had 3 cases this year to date.

• New outbreaks in new areas are waning, due to quick action.

• Africa could be polio free by the end of 2014 • Three current challenges include:

o The spread of the virus in Africa and the Mideast – e.g. Syria, Somalia. In 2014 the cases were spreading in war torn countries – on May 5, 2014, a public health emergency was declared, an alarm set, with travel restrictions and rules pout into place – this has helped. Hundreds of sites were set up to vaccinate anyone entering or leaving the country – 6 months after establishing these sites, not 1 child has been reported polio stricken.

o In Borneo, Nigeria, south Somalia, Pakistan, there are security issues. In 6 months, due to quick action, the cases were reduced, with no cases in south Somalia.

o In Pakistan, the cases have increased! There have been 70 cases in 2014 – more than all other countries combined – solutions are being found.

• All other countries on track to stop polio in 2014 – Pakistan is the exception.

• Gates Foundation is doing a 2:1 match for donations to Polio Plus

• During the plenary session, Sir Emeka Offor, RC of Akwa, GRA announced his $1 million donation to Polio Plus.

TOUR AFTER THE CONVENTION

We were joined by Paul & Sue Parhiala and Paul’s sister Jane, and flew up to Cairns for trips to the Great Barrier Reef and snorkeling, a jungle surfing (zip lining) experience, and beautiful driving through the Daintree River rainforest (wildlife habitat and crocodile viewing on the river) and national park. We then flew to Melbourne where we had a city tour, plus a trip to the Dandenong Ranges for the Puffing Billy steam train ride, and on to the Yarra Valley for wine tasting – again a beautiful city and countryside. Again, splendid Niles Rotary Fellowship!

Gary barbequed our dinner for us one evening in Cairns.

a group of us in our “sting suits” before snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef – cute!


POST CONVENTION TOUR (continued) Jungle surfing – zip lining

Gary & Chuck get ready

Dirk is upside down

END POLIO NOW – check this website for the most up to date information on the drive to eradicate polio: www.polioeradication.org Polio Eradication Update – Polio Case Countdown – Year to Date 13 May 2014 Here are some comparisons to last year: Polio Endemic Countries

Year to date 2014

Year to date 2013

Total cases 2013

Afghanistan 4 2 14 Pakistan 61 8 93 Nigeria 3 22 53 Total: 68 32 160* *In endemic countries (there were 243 cases in 2013 in non-endemic countries – e.g. Somalia)


POST CONVENTION TOURING – CAIRNS & MELBOURNE (continued)

President-elect Steve upside down – ask him about his “move” Sandi & Dick in tandem WE HAD LOTS OF FUN ON THE “PUFFING BILLY STEAM TRAIN” – including sitting on the window rail, hanging our feet outside

Dirk and Lisa in the Puffing Billy train cutout


POST CONVENTION TOURING – CAIRNS & MELBOURNE (continued)

Steve and Terri in train cutout Dick & Sandi in train cutout

more cutouts- Steve and Terri – Steve a bit distracted


ROTARY WEB LINKS

Niles Rotary: www.nilesrotary.org District 5170: www.rotarydistrict5170.org Rotary International: www.rotary.org

RI THEME 2014 – 2015

RI CONVENTION SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

June 7-10, 2015

FUN SUNSET ROTARY CLUB 10th Anniversary Luau

Saturday, July 19 This just in from our friends at the FUN Sunset Rotary Club: Come celebrate the FUN Club's 10th Anniversary at an authentic Hawaiian Luau Buffet on Saturday, July 19 from 6pm to 9pm at the Ruggieri Senior Center, 33997 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City. Tickets are $60 a head for adults and $35 for kids 12 and under. Tickets can be bought online at www.FUNRotary.com Questions? Call Linda Stewart at 510-535-1344. Don't forget to enter the hot legs contest! Bruce, you know you're tempted.


WHERE AREA 3 CLUBS MEET TUESDAY at 12 noon. Newark Rotary • Sinodinos Restaurant, Newark WEDNESDAY at 7:15 a.m. Rotary Club of Fremont Warm Springs Sunrise (FWSS) • Fremont Senior Center, 40086 Paseo Padre Parkway – note new meeting location WEDNESDAY at 12 noon. Fremont Rotary • Spin a Yarn Restaurant, Fremont THURSDAY at 7:00 p.m. F.U.N. Sunset Rotary • Crowne Plaza Hotel, Union City FRIDAY at 12 noon. Mission San Jose Rotary •. Papillon Restaurant, Fremont Rotaract Club meets Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at the Color Me Mine building in downtown Centerville. Contact: Past President Mitty Chang ([email protected]) Check www.rotarydistrict5170.org for information on where every club in the District meets. What kinds of meetings and events constitute a make-up for a missed Niles Rotary club meeting? You can make up a missed club meeting either 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the meeting of Niles Rotary that you missed. In addition to attending a meeting of another Rotary club anywhere in the world (go to the R.I. or District 5170 websites to find out where clubs meet), you can attend a club social, community service project event (e.g. Feed the Hungry), committee meeting (e.g. Chili Cook Off Comm., Membership Comm., etc.), Niles Rotary Board of Directors meeting, District or R.I. event, or a special event. Or check the www.rotary.org website for an e-club make-up. ��

BIRTHDAYS See July Pinion ANNIVERSARIES See July Pinion NILES ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES See July Pinion AREA 3 and NEARBY EVENTS TBA See information on page 13 for the 10th anniversary party of the FUN Sunset Rotary Club


NILES ROTARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS & COMMITTEE CHAIRS 2013-2014 President: Chuck Canada Past President: Sandy Young President-Elect: Steve Landon Club Administration: Dan Smith Service Projects/Community Service: Bob Hagg International Service: Manuel Franco Youth Service: Angus Cochran Vocational Service: Adam Moura Secretary: Terri Landon Treasurer: Don Cole Parliamentarian: Bruce Prescott Membership Development: Jim Brunelli & Rick Hood Club Foundation Treasurer: Sandy Young Social Chair: Sandy Young Public Relations: Sandy Stabile Program Chair: Kimberly Hartz Foster Pinion Editor: Sandi Pantages Website: Audrey Kearns Club Runner Updates: Sandy Young Transition & Leadership Development: Jack Rogers Youth Protection Officer: Sandi Pantages Weekly e-blasts: Angus Cochran Rotary International President: Ron D. Burton District Governor: Angie Hassler Assistant Governor Area 3: Lila Bringhurst

THE FOUR-WAY TEST Of the things we think, say, or do

I. Is it the TRUTH?

II. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

III. Will it build GOOD WILL

and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

IV. Will it be BENEFICIAL to

all concerned?

Niles Rotary Board Meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:30 a.m. – at Washington Hospital, San Jose Conference Room 240A Pinion Editor: Sandi Pantages – send information & articles to: ([email protected]) Photographer: Mary Lynn Pelican Niles Rotary meets Thursdays at 12 noon at Washington West, 2500 Mowry Ave., Fremont Pinion Editor: Sandi Pantages ([email protected]) Photos courtesy of Mary Lynn Pelican

CENTERVILLE FREE DINING ROOM – 2014

2014 Niles Rotary at the Centerville Free Dining Room Dates – mark your calendars now for this Community Service project that we perform at the Centerville Pres. Church’s Free Dining Room whenever there is a 5th Thursday of the month. Our 2014 dates are: July 31; Oct. 30. Shifts are from 2-4 or 3:45 to 6 p.m. Contact: Rose Evernden-Andrade.♦♦

Documents

THE NILES ROTARY PINION€¦ · We then flew to Melbourne where we had a city tour, plus a trip to the Dandenong Ranges for the Puffing Billy steam train ride, and on to the Yarra