In Gear R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S W E E K L Y B U L L E T I N Number 28 27 January 2019

Next Meetings

THURSDAY 30 JANUARY SPEAKER: RICHARD POTTER

NEW MEMBER TALK CHAIR: FRED HOFMANN

AV SUPPORT: BRIDGET HAGE CASH DESK: KERRIE GEARD, JAMES GLENWRIGHT

HOST: MARY SEALY

THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY JOINT MEETING WITH NORTH BRIGHTON ROTARY SPEAKERS: PROFESSOR VICKY KARALIS AND BEN

FRANCISCELLI A, PALAENTOLOGIST AT MUSEUMS VICTORIA

TOPIC: BAYSIDE FOSSILS

NOTE: 6.00 FOR 6.30 ROYAL BRIGHTON YACHT CLUB

253 ESPLANADE, BRIGHTON VIC 3186

THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY SPEAKER: DEBBY CHAVES

TOPIC: SCHOOL DROP OUT LAUNCH CHAIR: BRIDGET HAGE

AV SUPPORT: JOHN MANKS CASH DESK: CHARMAINE JANSZ, MEGAN GLENWRIGHT

HOST: JOHN SIME

2018—2019

Serving the Community since 1985

President’s Report

This week I will be brief as I sent a special email on our re-sponse to the bush fire crisis and wrote a long report last

week.

We officially opened Rotary 2020 at VGC with a big turn up of 52, of whom 5 were guests finding out more about Rotary. We inducted Jeanette Limbach into the club taking our member-ship to what I believe is an historic high of 50. Our guest speakers were Konrad and Mimi Ermert who have founded Aphasia Victoria as a result of Mimi's own experience with Aphasia. They gave a very professional presentation which has created a move within the club to do something substantial to help this cause. We will consider this at the next board

meeting, so please let Board members know your thoughts!

The second Black Rock farmers market at Royal Parade was held on a beautiful day but it was not without its watery chal-lenges, as early on, a rusty Fire hydrant was accidently knocked by a car and a geyser of water erupted. The stalls nearest the Council Offices were quickly inundated with water. Soon the whole market was surrounded by inches of water. The marketeers went into action quickly and within an hour the

Contents

1 Presidents Report 2 Notices 3 / 5 This Week’s Speakers 6 / 7 Club Sponsors 8 Club Structure / Photo of Week

Unless stated otherwise venue is Victoria Golf Club 6.30 for 7.00

Generally you can find out more about our upcoming speakers, including Bios, in the Club Calendar

on our website.

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water was turned off and South Eastern Water had men working to replace the Hydrant. Luckily this occurred early as the crowds were starting to arrive when I finished my shift at 10.30. While the surrounding waters were reced-

ing fast allowing people to enter normally.

It is salutary to note that this event was not one we had in our risk assessment. I know the marketeers work on the

motto of be prepared!

This week we meet again at VGC with Richard Potter be-

ing our guest speaker giving a new member’s talk.

David Hone

Black Rock Farmers Market Report

There were 32 stalls at Black Rock Farmers Market on Saturday, with some RFM stallholders again electing to attend farmers markets in holiday destinations such as

Phillip Island and Inverloch.

Despite the fine weather conditions for our second bush fire appeal farmers market, visitor numbers were moderate and our proceeds from the gate were only slightly higher consequently less than the December market. The holiday long weekend, the fast approaching end of the summer school holidays, and wallets that may have been over-exercised during the festive season, might all have been contributing factors to the outcome. The the market atmos-

phere was very convivial as always.

I expect that once normal household routines recom-mence, that visitor and stall holder numbers will increase,

and we can exploit the full potential of this excellent site.

Many thanks to those Beaumaris Rotarians who took the

time to contribute on the day.

Mark Perelaer

Exchange Student Update

Below is an e-mail received by PP David Greenall, from Louise Pierres who spent 12 months in with us in 2010 hosted by the Sawles and previous members the McAlan-eys, also Sandringham Club members. PP.Heather Chisholm ran the programme, which including sending an

exchange student, Catie Kavanagh to Japan.

Hi David.

For the update, I have finish my studies in the university of Toulouse (in the south west of France), I'm specialize on

prehistoric art.#

I'm now running a small museum in the Lot (I can give you the website, https://www.maisondupiage.fr/

welcome/ ).

My family have very grown seens ten years, I'm now a happy aunt of three nephew from my brothers, Léonard

(4years old), Raphaël (2 years old) and Zélie (8 months)

I am living in a beautifull region and I'm involve in devel-oping the culture in my town, working for developing ani-

mations and festivals.

I'm working also on some archeological publications and

maybe a small scientific book.

I send you a few photos if you want.

# Masters in Archaeology

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Speakers Konrad & Mimi Ermert Aphasia Victoria

After graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1962 Konrad studied electronic engineering at RMIT. He had operational service in Vietnam. After further studies in UK he

was MSc in Guided Weapons Systems.

In1990 he retired from the Australian Army in the rank of Briga-dier. With his wife, Mimi, he set up an engineering consultancy and advised government departments on hospital energy ser-vices. Konrad was subsequently appointed a non-executive

director and chairman of an engineering consulting group.

He served as a committee member and then Chairman of the Victorian Division of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. In 1991 Konrad was appointed as a part-time member of the Com-monwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal and served as a

presiding member until 2017.

Konrad and Mimi have been happily married since 1965 and have two children and four grandchildren. They are keen trav-

ellers, in Australia and overseas.

After Mimi’s stroke in 2013 they helped establish Aphasia Vic-

toria, a group dedicated to supporting the needs of those whose

lives are affected by aphasia.

Mimi is a trained nurse. She completed her Post Grad qualifi-cations in Theatre Operating techniques. After 30 years prac-tising as a Senior Nurse and Charge Sister throughout the country, she had a Sea Change. Mimi attended courses to become a Director and Company Secretary of their company

for another 10 years; concurrently playing golf.

She finally retired from their company to the golf course, stud-ied the Rules of Golf, becoming a Club Referee. As an A grade golfer, Mimi was involved with Pennant, and 4 years on the

Women’s Committee as Secretary.

In 2013 Mimi had her stroke. Although Mimi regained her physi-cal abilities, she was left with a condition called Aphasia, which

is the subject of tonight’s talk.

WHAT IS APHASIA?

Aphasia [ a-fay-shuh ] is a communication difficulty caused by brain injury. It can also be called ‘dysphasia’.

Aphasia is a language difficulty caused by injury to the brain (usually stroke). Aphasia can also be caused by other neurolog-ical disorders affecting the part of the brain that is important for language eg. tumours, aneurysms, head injuries. There are

also progressive forms of aphasia.

Imagine waking one day to find you could not speak or under-stand what was being said to you, read the paper or even write your name, but you are thinking normally! How frustrating would

it be to have your communication suddenly taken away?

This is the experience of people with APHASIA.

There are over 120,000 Australians who are affected by apha-

sia.

People with aphasia may have difficulty with:

Talking

Understanding what others say

Social situations

Reading

Writing

Aphasia can vary in type and severity.

How aphasia affects people’s lives

Language forms the basis of most things we do. Many practical

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tasks can be difficult for someone with aphasia, such as:

Talking to friends and family

Ordering food in a cafe

Watching a movie

Talking to the doctor

Understanding explanations or instructions

Making a phone call

Checking and pay bills

Filling in forms

Using cash or using an ATM

Making appointments

Following recipes

Following maps and signs

Buying tickets and using public transport

Reading a book for pleasure

Ongoing difficulties

Sadly, aphasia often masks a person’s intelligence and ability to

communicate their thoughts and feelings.

You can liken aphasia to when you are in a foreign country and you cannot understand their language, and cannot express yourself in their language . . . this is what it is like for people with aphasia – they are still competent people who may be una-

ble to show that competency.

Using gesture and facial expression and other non-verbal ways

to communicate become important, but can be very frustrating.

Aphasia can affect relationships and self-identity. It can take a long time to adjust to the changes, deal with grief, loss of lan-guage, changing roles and possibly changing careers. Previ-ously outgoing people can become withdrawn and de-pressed. People with aphasia require ongoing support and

friendship to deal with these changes.

Rehabilitation and recovery

There are no existing medications or therapies that can cure aphasia. People with aphasia often get help from a Speech Pathologist. They can help a person relearn communication

skills and find other ways to communicate.

No-one can tell how long recovery will take after a brain injury. Recovery can depend on: the location and size of brain injury,

age, therapy and motivation.

Recovery is usually quickest in the first 6 months but can con-tinue for many years. Everyone is different – it is important to

stay optimistic and never give up, while also being realistic

about recovery.

Tips for communicating with someone who has aphasia

To help understanding:

Reduce background noise (turn off radio/TV)

Gain the person’s attention

Maintain eye contact

Talk in short, simple sentences

Use gesture

Use a normal adult tone of voice

Write down key words

Don’t jump from topic to topic

Be specific

To help them get their message across:

Ask questions that can be answered with a yes or no re-

sponse.

Be patient and allow them time to communicate!

Encourage the person to point to the item they want, use

gesture, use drawing, write it down, use their communication

aid, picture board or photos to show what they want to say.

Ask what the first letter of the word is, or if they can spell

the word, or if they can visualise it.

Repeat back what you’ve understood.

Acknowledge that they are a competent person and they know what they want to say but can’t say it! To find out more about Aphasia go to:

https://www.aphasiavic.org.au/

A leaflet has been circulated with this copy of In Gear.

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Mimi spoke about the great benefits that she found in using the

Apple VoiceOver app on a tablet.

While intended primarily for the vision impaired the apps capa-

bilities have also proven beneficial for people with aphasia.

More details of the app may be found at:

https://www.apple.com/au/accessibility/iphone/vision/

VoiceOver is a standard feature of all Apple phones and tablets

and is accessed via

Settings>General>Accessibility>VoiceOver

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RCOB Board Membership, Marketing & Media - Chair James Glenwright President David Hone Peter Flude Megan Glenwright Secretary Trish Smyth Greg Every Mark Perelaer Treasurer Lynda Doutch Mary Sealy Malcolm Sawle Club Service & President Elect Adrian Culshaw Martin Fothergill Adrian Culshaw Max Darby Past President Heather Chisholm Club Service & Administration Community Roy Downes Almoner Mary Sealy International Fred Hofmann Archivist Roy Seager, David Lea Youth Vivienne Zoppolato Attendance, dining & duties roster Adrian Culshaw Indigenous Chris Mara Reviewer—Financial Statements Tony Phillips Club Photographers Max Darby, Chris Mara Community- Chair Roy Downes Club Protection Officer Ken Mirams John Beaty Max Darby Newsletter, Web site, Facebook David Lea Mary Cunnington Martin Fothergill Fellowship & Vocational Richard Jones Kerrie Geard Chris Mara Foundation John Beaty Robert McArthur Mary Sealy On to Conference Heather Chisholm Tony Phillips Chris D'Arcy Social Media Officer Mark Perelaer Chris Werner John Turner Speaker Program Administrator Gail Anderson Bridget Hage Jude Kavanagh Speaker Program Assistants Kerrie Geard, Richard Potter International - Chair Fred Hofmann John Manks Geoff Stockdale District Officers Ken Mirams John Sime Assistant Governor for Monash A Cluster Chris D'Arcy Ross Phillips Clem Quick District Compliance Officer Ken Mirams Richard Potter Simon Kavanagh District Community Chair Trish Smyth District Indigenous Support Committee David Hone (Chair) Chris Mara Youth – Chair Vivienne Zoppolato Jan Cooper Tony Phillips Club Fundraising Tony McKenna David Rushworth Antony Nixon Lois Lindsay Bayside Charity Golf Day - Chair James Glenwright Malcolm Sawle Chris Martin Peter Flude Richard Jones Jim O’Brien Lynda Doutch Tony Phillips Indigenous - Chair Chris Mara David Hone Fred Hofmann Farmers Market – Co-ordinator Mark Perelaer Robert McArthur Chris Werner Peter Flude Chris Mara Charmaine Jansz Geoff Stringer Ken Mirams Vivienne Zoppolato Bridget Hage Heather Chisholm

Black Rock Farmers Market