RDU magazine online

CENTENNIAL COUNTDOWN

by John Feary
Rotary Club of Booragoon, W.A.
Western Australia’s three Rotary Districts of 9450, 9460 and 9470 have united to make Rotary's Centennial in 2005 a true celebration of the people and of Rotary.

The legacy will be thousands of happy memories and a health facility that will benefit all future generations of Western Australians.

ROTARY
will be shining bright from west Perth,

W.A., will be shining with Rotary events in 2005 when Rotary International celebrates 100 years of service.

The official celebrations in February and March, 2005, will be the culmination of thousands of hours of detailed and co-ordinated planning by Rotarians.Active planning began in 2002 when a special Centennial Celebration Committee appointed by the three District governors began its schedule of fortnightly meetings, calling on the talents of other Rotarians and non-Rotarians as necessary.

500 Rotarians likely at Paris Marathon

The Paris Marathon during Rotary’s Centennial year will take place on April 2005. More than 30,000 competitors meet every year at this event and many Rotarians already are marathon runners.

A French project aims at gathering at least 500 Rotarians from France and other countries, who will take part in this event under Rotary's colours by wearing the Centennial t-shirt. The race in teams will give a young, dynamic and friendly image of Rotary, and will thus contribute in the Centennial’s communication campaign. Names and details of Rotarians interested are being listed now.
Please give required information to :
Jean-Claude Brocart
Rotary Club of Toulouse-Ovalie, France
2004-2005 governor-elect of district 1700
Mobile : 06 09 18 36 19
email : jc.brocart@free.fr

The members of the committee presented their initial conclusions at a special meeting called by the current three governors in Western Australia where they and R.I. Director Doctor John Thorne, of the Rotary Club of North Hobart, Tas., addressed the Colleges of Governors in Western Australia, District officers, club presidents, presidents-elect and Rotaract, Probus and Inner Wheel representatives.

They outlined a celebration program built on a framework of three prime state-wide events in a Centennial Project, Centennial Conference and a Centennial Showcase.

Centennial Project: In 1955, for Rotary’s 50th anniversary, the then 12 Rotary clubs in Western Australia combined to raise funds to establish the first medical school in the state. For the centennial, Rotary has chosen a project that will have an equally profound impact on the health of all Western Australians . . . raising funds to establish a Rotary Cord Blood Facility.

By enabling the safe and secure storage of a small amount of blood from the umbilical cord of new babies at birth, the facility will enable Western Australia to join the forefront of medical science. Many people have been touched by the tragedy associated with leukaemia, cancer and malignant disease.

Cord blood provides the means of saving current and future generations from diseases such as leukaemia that emerge. Between one-third and half of patients requiring a bone marrow transplant have no donor either within their family or through the worldwide bone marrow donor registries.

Cord blood banked provides the potential of immediate benefit for a matched patient in need of treatment and offers another chance of survival for patients who have no other treatment option.