Rotary Club of RI President Gary C K Huang │ District 9830 Governor: Ken Moore Huon Valley Inc. P O Box 19 Huonville Tasmania 7109 2014-2015 The Rotary Line Board of Directors 29 July 2014 Meeting # 1056 Volume 25, Issue 4 President: Meeting Chair Person: PP Tricia Reardon Trudy Griffiths Registration Officer: PP Ray Clements Club Captain Jul-Oct Bill Newham Club Captain Nov-Feb Welcome to our Youth Exchange Student: PP Peter Clark Club Captain Mar-Jun Carole Bouverat from Switzerland Trevor Weller Secretary: We extend a very warm welcome to Carole on her first trip to our Rotary Club and to the Huon PP Tricia Reardon Valley. Carole, commenced at Hobart College yesterday and is currently staying with PP Peter Treasurer: Clark’s family before moving to her first host family. PP John Walduck Avenues of Service Directors A Letter from International PolioPlus Committee Club Service: PP Ray Clements I am happy to announce that we ing. This is a chance for Rotarians, eradication, will take place on World Community Service: successfully met our fundraising goal clubs, and districts across the world Polio Day- 24 October 2014—at Bill Newham for Rotary Year 2013-14. While it is to come together to fight polio. There 18:30pm CDT and will be streamed Vocational Service: important to celebrate our success, are many ways you could mark the live at Neil Purdom we recognize that we still need to day. Dedicate your club meeting to endpolionow.org. I encourage your raise funds and awareness for polio Youth Service: focus on Rotary’s work to end polio club/district to have a viewing party Kareen Brandt eradication. that week. Community fundraisers of the event, or incorporate it into International: on/around World Polio Day are a your existing World Polio Day plans. World Polio Day: 24 October 2014 Peter Collins great way to raise awareness of our The archived video will be available World Polio Day is quickly approach- cause in the general Public Officer: following the live program. PP Ray Clements public. You could take Resources available Sergeant-At-Arms: the opportunity to PP Ray Clements remind government To help you with your planning for Member Care: officials to support the World Polio Day events, a toolkit is being developed and will be posted on Barry Parker global commitment to a polio free world- endpolionow.org by 25 August. A PP denotes Past President Rotary’s top priority. message will be sent to all of you On World Polio Day, letting you know when it is available. 2014-2015 wear your End Polio I encourage you to spread the word Rotary International Theme Now pin and encourage about your World Polio Day activities. your friends and family We promised the children of the to do the same. world that we would eradicate polio, This year, an End Polio and Rotarians keep their word. We Now: Make History are this close, and getting closer Today Livestream every day. Thanks to you, we will End event, including a Polio Now. global update on the John F. Germ current status of polio Chair, International PolioPlus Rotary Offer of Gratitude: For good food, good fellowship and the Page 2 The Rotary Line Living and Working in Israel Part 1 Last week the Club was treated to relative experience that I could coping with the fact that 60% of an extremely interesting talk on draw upon, so I had to start from my staff had been called up as Israel by Bob Frost. minus scratch. My staff came from army reservists. Seemingly the Rotary encourages all walks of life and many countries. next minute desperately searching a wide range of A number were survivors of the the Sinai Desert and the West Bank guest speakers so death camps in Europe, my secre- for the remains of several of my that members are tary amongst them. wrecked cars driven too close to kept informed on Answering the phone with a the action by journalists who them- local, national and “Shalom laha, bogatov” (Hebrew selves hadn’t made it either. One international for Peace be upon you and good surviving American journalist from affairs. This not morning) was a step up from the Time magazine told the story of only builds our previous “Ma ish ma?”—“what?” having broken down in one of our knowledge, but also This was progress in real terms as cars while following the action in Above: Guest Speaker Bob enables us to assess projects rele- no one bothered to be polite to the Sinai, only to be promptly at- Frost and Club Captain Bill vant to our communities in our anyone in those days. However, tended to by my Natanya branch Newham constant quest for better under- they took to it like ducks to water. manager while in command of his standing and friendlier relations centurion tank as he happened to with the peoples of the world. Israel was still a very small coun- pass by on his way to war. try in the mid 60’s—in every sense. For those who missed Bob’s talk, Everyone knew everyone else. Then came the fact that the Jorda- 2014-2015 the following is part one. Generals Dayan and Sharon often nian licensee based in Jordanian Outstanding “Some background: After ten years shared the next table to us for a Jerusalem (who I would wave to in the British Merchant Navy coffee in the morning in our local across the Mandlebaum Gate when Achievers (during which I first visited Hobart greasy spoon, while it was nothing exchanging customers across the Speaker Series in 1957 to collect apples on the to see the finance minister or the border), found himself in Israel— Orient Line vessel Orion), I joined prime minister for that matter, and not by choice. A delicate inter- Hertz, an American service com- using a corner of a hotel lobby to national legal conundrum—a real Meet acclaimed pany involved in transportation and carry out their business. The very challenge for a 27 year old to cope photographer, the development of tourism, as a first member of Mossad posted to with if ever there was one, espe- Richard Bennett trainee in the UK and was then the USA after WW2 became the cially with my direct superior being in far off New York. One had a telex later posted to the Bahamas as tourism ministry director general general manager. Obviously this and our very good friend, while the but the business culture of the time was too cushy a number to last mayor of Jerusalem at the time— virtually forbade ever using the very long in some people’s eyes, as Teddy Kollek previously headed up phone for international calls. I was then sent by Hertz to start the PM’s office. All were constantly The business doubled in six months their business in Israel. My asso- ‘available’. It was how things got and our son Simon was born in Tel ciation with the country thus began done—little ceremony, lots of talk- Hashamer Hospital in Tel Aviv. I in 1965, nearly 50 years ago when ing, and endless negotiations. was then moved to take charge of the country was less than 20 years We were just finding our feet and the UK operation in 1968. My 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm old. This was a time of considerable had opened offices in Tel Aviv, departure meant that everyone Tuesday political uncertainty when all Haifa, Jerusalem, Eilat and Natanya stepped up one, and all we needed 30th September Israel’s neighbours were commit- when war broke out in June 1967. to do was employ a new car Huon Manor ted to destroying the country. This changed everything. Managing washer. By then Hertz was well Short Street, Huonville We lived in the narrowest part of a business under those conditions established as Number One in the country—just 12 kms wide— stretches you a little. Israel.” $45.00 two course meal about 15 minutes drive—the dis- One minute I was Telephone Bookings: 6264 1311 tance between the sea and Jor- digging a very big Trudy Griffiths dan—put another way, between hole in my garden to Geeveston and Huonville. hide in (my wife and Israel had never been known for its young family had attention to high levels of customer been evacuated to service, so setting up a service Athens the week business based on that premise before with just one proved a challenge. No one had any suitcase between them); the next I was Page 3 Volume 25, Issue 2 Captain’s Corner college have been. A very big August is Membership & Extension thank you to PP Peter Clark for all Month, and again I urge all our the organization that has gone into members to consider anyone they Carole being with us and for look- know who would like to be part of Famous Rotarians ing after her. the wonderful world that is Rotary. Tonight is a Club Forum. An We also have guest speaker Sally agenda will be forwarded to you, Doyle with us next week, along with Mike Whitehouse who will re- Last week’s guest speaker, Bob address us on RABS (Rotary Frost, gave us an incredibly fasci- nating insight to living and working Australia Benevolent Society). in Israel and the tenuous situation Happy birthday PP Ray Clements! Firstly, we extend a very warm that exists in that part of the Have a good week everyone! welcome to Carole Bouveret, our world. This week’s edition of the Youth Exchange Student from bulletin will give you a bit of an Adlai E.