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If you were present at our meeting last night, and were not totally impressed with the quality of young people presenting their stories and music - then you are very hard to please!! If you did not attend - you missed a very special evening. What an inspiring group of young people - our Youth Exchange students and the Cleveland District State High School students, and a great video from Vanessa Feng in Toronto VID-20260225-WA0002.mp4.

Two CDSHS students entertained us before we sat down, and again during the evening; the other two gave us a wonderful wrap up of their European trip - an unforgettable trip for those 30 students and their teachers. (Grant's last school trip to Europe - I fear he will miss it, despite the hard work it involves!!) We also had a great insight into what is happening at school with NEXUS, and how our donation from the Bendigo Bank Raffle was spent. Many thanks Grant for bringing your students and staff - inspirational.

Our rebound YEP student Clancy Smith have us a wrap up of her year in Czech as an exchange student - she now has friends in many parts of the world and a lifetime of memories. Megan and Graham were there too - very pleased to have their girl home once more. Amanda Monteiro, our inbound student currently staying with Chris & Donna, showed us what she has been doing since arriving last July. Such a fully packed program - she has seen more of Australia than some of us I am sure!!

STOP PRESS - See next screen for the newest future Rotarian....

Last night saw three new members inducted by Pres. Bob, and welcomed by PDG Margaret Hayes. In the photo above Shona Sherman and Wendy Litherland from HFB Group (our Corporate member company), Margaret Hayes and Malcolm Hull. Welcome to the Rotary Club of Cleveland - we look forward to working with you all.

A very full night, with a very interesting Member's Corner by Treasurer Michael Carrigan, and then our Guest Speaker Colin Scobie from ESRAG, speaking about Rotary working with groups outside to achieve sustainable pratices. Redcliffe Sunrise Rotary Club certainly are leading the way in this field. Check them out Home Page | Rotary Club of Redcliffe Sunrise

Members and friends often wonder why some of us spend a lot of time sourcing, sorting, packing and sending goods to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomons, Fiji and other places of need. Mostly, it is because these areas, particularly in the educational and medical areas, have so little, we can help them with their education, health and some recreational and vocational requirememts.

School desks, books, teachers resources are the staples we send, however late last year Albert received a donation of a considerable amount of carpet. Here it's being put to very good use in Wewak, in the school and in the Physiotherapy Room at the local clinic. This is a luxurious finish to classrooms that also received the new desks, lots of reading books and text books. Thank you Albert Benfer and your donor - the joy on the faces of those children makes it all worth the effort!!

Caroline competed at the QTS Raby Bay Triathlon on Sunday and did very well as reported by Gavin. 55th Overall from 180 competitors; 7th Female; 2nd on 30-34 age category; and possibly the best Triathlete on the course. See Gavin's post on WhatsApp - videos cannot be uploaded here.

Saturday morning saw a number of members braving the awful humidity to empty out the Shed, including chasing rats, and cleaning it completely. A system was devised by Clive for storing the goods we need/want to keep, Jan & Lyn recorded all that was returned to the Shed for the sign to be placed on the wall soon. Goods no longer wanted were either taken to the tip by Robin in his trusty trailer, or are to be delivered to the Fun Farm, RARE or Substation 33. Boxes of archives to Shirley to be added to the website. Thanks to all for the hard work under very trying conditions - great to see our newest members stepping up and working hard. The trailer and van were similarly cleaned and sorted. Great Rotary spirit in action. Don't miss the meeting at the Shed on Jan 27th, where you can see what we have and where it is stored; also learn how to operate our BBQ trailer.

Guest Speaker PDG Paul Roger entertained us with his story of a trek to Mt Kilimanjaro in support of Shelterbox. Quite a feat to do the trek AND raise $10,300.00 for Shelterbox. Well done Paul! Our new member Vanessa Blackburn spoke in Member's Corner, telling us her story of who she is, how she came to spend the last 14 years of her life teaching at Cleveland District State High School. Quite the journey Vanessa. Below Albert Benfer is with both recent members David Lack and Vanessa. A very warm welcome to you both.

Saturday evening Lyn Packer and Shirley Mahon greeted Clancey at Brisbane International Airport following her 30 hours travel home from the Czech Republic. Clancey has spent the past year as a Youth Exchange student, and now is back home with her delighted family once more. We look forward to hearing more from Clancey at a club meeting in February.

Megan, Clancey, Isobel & Graeme Smith

Friday 12th December and Saturday 13th December we hosted students in the Rotary Youth Exchange cohort, as part of their mini safari around our District. Bob was presented with a certificate of thanks from the students who were billeted at various homes. On Saturday the students visited RARE, carried out a few tasks such as folding stretchers and learnt about the work done by RARE. That was followed by a lunch and a certificate presented by our student Amanda to RARE Manager Phil Saxby.

Heart of Europe was the venue, and a great choice from all reports. About 40 members and partners enjoyed the celebrations as we farewelled 2025 and look forward to 2026 - after next week's AGM. Thanks to Mona for organising and Gavin for photos.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL

A very successful Lighting of the Christmas Tree at Raby Bay 28-29 November 2025 with a very special visit from Michael Carrigan's  grandaughter. Thanks to Cleveland Rotary members for their efforts in providing Hamburgers and sausage sandwiches for the Friday and Saturday evenings. Great crowd and very supportive customers many asking us to keep the change. 

Last night we attended the draw of the Bendigo Bank Community Raffle. No, we did not win any major prizes, but thanks to the efforts of all we sold the most tickets out of 78 local community groups participating!! Thanks to all who supported this effort and bought tickets - your money will be shared with the Redlands Coast Museum and Cleveland District State High School for the First Nations Education Centre and the NEXUS Program.

On Friday night we combined with Variety Queensland to serve a sausage sizzle at the opening of the renovated Grand View Hotel. Of course the huge thunderstorm affected our results - but a good night was had with Darryl Braithwaite the lead entertainment, followed by fireworks.

Many thanks to Albert & Alison Benfer, who once again opened their mountain top garden and home so we could celebrate 50+ years of Rotary service by Mario Piva and James Pollock. James was also recognised for his 20 years of work with the Bowelscan program - invaluable in the countless lives that this program has saved. Tributes by DG representative PDG Annette Richards to both Mario & James, and a tribute by Tony Wills on behalf of Bowelscan covered the formalities, but overall the camarderie between the number of past members who attended, right down to the newest member, made the afternoon a delight. Thanks once again to Alison, Albert & their family members whho assisted.

Tropic Thunder - the Best Dressed Team once more!! The 24th Annual Charity Golf Day on October 17th was another fantastic day of fun and fellowship in our beautiful Redlands community. The generosity of the teams and individuals playing, the hard work by all the volunteers, made the day another great success. Local charities will benefit from this generosity of spirit and funds - THANKS TO ALL.

Many hats of different styles were on show last night as we had a fun night to raise funds for Mental Health, to be donated to Australian Rotary Health. Ian Crane donned his Auctioneers hat to sell off some wine and a snazzy set of Rotary braces! Grant Mitchell was the winner of that auction - will be interestting to see what happens in the future with those Grant!!! Check out the Photo Gallery for lots of pictures.

A more sober side to the evening was our guest speaker, Cindel Richardson, from QPS, speaking about domestic violence in all its forms. Truly very informative, interesting  speech, completely without notes except for quoting unsettling statistics. Would be lovely to have Cindel back again - I am sure she has much more to say on this topic.

Thank you to Albert Benfer who arranged for 10 of us to attend the Malaria Symposium at Sanctuary Cove Golf Club on Saturday evening and hear Emeritus Professor Michael Good speak about the progress of the fight against malaria and the work being done at Griffith University. The Black Tie event hosted by the Rotary Club of Hope Island was an excellent evening, with most of us coming away with raffle and silent auction items, but more importantly the opportunity to contribute to this valuable scientific work. 14th November we received the latest Malaria Vaccine Project newsletter - a total of $86,443.28 was raised on the night! Malaria_Vaccine_Project_Newsletter_Edition_3_2025.pdf

So pleasing to see the fantastic turnout by members of our club, and their families and friends, for our rostered packing day at RARE. A total of 16 people signed in as Cleveland based, out of a total of 60 volunteers from variouis clubs. Books were sorted and packed, linen folded, school unforms sorted and packed, crutches paired, containers packed (including a vehicle destined for Uganda to be used as an ambulance), rubbish removed into skips...and delicious morning tea devoured. Lovely to see our Exchange student Amanda there and our newest member Greco with friends to help. Thank you one and all!! See the photo Gallery for more snaps.

Announced at our changeover in June, PP Robert Wesener was voted as Clubman of the year by members. However, he was overseas at the International Convention, and President Clive was ill, so on Tuesday night the shield was presented - for the last time in this format. As it is now full, Clive will seek assistance from his Men's Shed to mount it on another shield, so we can continue into the future to award the person the members feel have embodied the Rotary spirit during the year.

Our guest speaker on the night was End of Life Transition Doula,  Dr Jaqui Williams. Jaqui spoke about those essential processes we need to perform, to ensure that when the end of our lives is approaching, we have all in place to ensure our loved ones and carers know our wishes - while we are in the mental and emotional space to clearly explain them. Thanks Jaqui - a very informative evening. End of Life Services For You | Brisbane and Redlands

Our speaker last night was Dr Thao Doan, who has recently moved her dental practice to Paradise Gardens Shopping Centre in Thornlands. A Vietnamese refugee, arriving in Australia in 1979, Dr Thao has achieved so much in her life, and given so much to others with heart and compassion. She has gone on missions to Peru and Vietnam, providing dental service to the underprivileged, both children and adults. Her enthusiasm for this area of work is amazing, and there is such a need in countries where dental clinics are virtually non-existent. A truly inspiring evening, thanks Barry for hosting her.

The creative arts - art, dance and music are in excellent form at Cleveland District State High School, and Bob and Shirley have been privileged to experience the end of year showcase of all three over this past week.

Bob went to the Art Show on Monday evening - was amazed at the level of skill displayed by students at all levels. On Wednesday evening we both attended Dance Fusion - what an amazing night! About 300 students performing over various forms of dance. These kids are seriously talented! Then last night I attended the Music Showcase - again some of the same very talented students, together with about 200 students with instrumental and vocal performances.

No photos of students due to student privacy online, but all I can say is huge congratulations to Creative Arts Director Simon Watson, and of course to Grant Mitchell with his dedication to this area of education in Cleveland. Next year, when the invitation comes - go to at least one of the shows - you will be blown away.

DG Mark Williams came for his official visit last night - little did he know just how busy he would be! He did give us a great overview of what the DG does, once he had assisted with 1 induction and 2 presentations.

Greco Porto became an official member of the club, and we had the pleasure of welcoming his wife Aline as well.

A big surprise for Grant Mitchell, on being presented with a Paul Harris Fellow for his 40 odd years educating young people - mostly at Cleveland District State High School. The quality of the students graduating is testament to the years Grant has put in, particulalrly in the Creative Arts area. Congratulations Grant - so well deserved, and we look forward to your term as President in 2027-2028.

What an inspirational meeting we had - with three speakers, a PHF presentation and new audio equipment which meant that we actually heard each speaker very clearly!! The audio equipment was on loan by Grant - watch this space, we may get our own soon.

Congraulations to PP Robert Wesener, who received a Ruby pin for his 6th PHF - a worthy recipient of this award - a quietachiever who works tirelessly for Rotary. As Chair for the night, he also managed to keep us on time, despite the extras in the program.

Amanda Monteiro, our exchange student, currently hosted by Megan and Graham Smith, delighted us with a chat about her first month in Australia - what a busy and fun time she has had, and has settled in very well.

It was a privilege to attend the 23rd Annual Mayoral Chaplaincy Prayer Breakfast at Alexandra Hills Hotel this morning, along with sponsor Albert Benfer (Darwalla & Golden Cockerel), Pres. Bob Neich, Helen Dundon and Esther Heidenreich. Thank you Albert for arranging for Cleveland District State High School Chappy Neal Collier, Deputy Principal Grant Mitchell, 2 school captains Chelsea & Lemmy,  and another student from Yr 11 to attend this important event. Thanks once more to the amazing Events Team at Redland City Council for the organisation of yet another excellent commuity event. Congratulations also to Artie Shepherd, Queensland Police Chaplain for a very inciteful, entertaining speech.

Did you know there was a half size croquet court at the Heritage Gardens? The only one in the Redlands. Well,  following a very successful term for one class from Cleveland High, after working at the gardens on a weekly basis,  we held a match on the last day of term.

Competing were students and their teacher Sarah Eastburn, staff from the gardens, President Bob and Ross from the club.  We had a lot of fun and it isn’t as easy as it looks!

Tim and his colleagues from the gardens had spent some time on You Tube learning and understanding the game and then guiding us through the various manoeuvres.  It was a new experience for the students and Rotarians who quickly learnt that it was nothing like golf!

Over some 8 games, our youth won on the day.   Sarah presented the club with a small gift and thank you note in appreciation of the opportunity which the gardens had given to the students in learning team work, community involvement and engagement. Thank_you_note_from_Sarah.pdf

Rest in Peace PDG Tony Hayes, who passed away on Sunday. Tony was in the sugar industry in Northern New South Wales, and served as District Governor for D9640 during the 2008/2009 Rotary Year. Tony and Margaret moved to Cleveland and joined our club in July 2016. Our thoughts and prayers are with Margaret at this difficult time.

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