Tag Archive for community

| March 11, 2012
No comments

It’s Just a Conference

In 2010, I attended the Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference in Sydney. It was the first time APRRC had been held in Australia. Evidently, Australians had been conspicuous by their absence from conferences elsewhere. The Sydney conference was a good first attempt, given many of the organisers had never been to one before. Nonetheless, there were some things that could have been improved.

I came away from that conference interested in the potential of the conferences, convinced of Rotaract’s ability to melt borders, and inspired by many of the people I had met. I also wondered whether my district, which centres on Canberra, would be able to host APRRC at some time in the future. 2014 seemed like the ideal time, given the Rotary International Convention will be in Sydney that year, and APRRC could serve as an ideal warm up act for Rotaractors from our region. We would have made the bid this year in Thailand. For various reasons, including the relatively small population of Rotaractors in our district (we only have two clubs at present), we decided to do away with that idea. Instead, it was generally agreed by senior Rotaractors that a bid for the Australian Rotaract Conference might be more appropriate. ARC is only in its third year in 2012, but few (or no) other districts were forthcoming in making a bid.

These conferences provide a number of advantages, including the opportunity for personal development of host members and a chance to boost interest in Rotaract in the region. They also offer good fundraising opportunities. For attendees, the conferences should give them a chance to meet and network with other Rotaractors, be inspired, and hear from great Rotaract and non-Rotaract speakers.

I’m very pleased that we won that bid. By happy circumstance, the conference director will be my girlfriend Meghan, who is the 2012-13 District Rotaract Representative.

This morning, we had the first meeting of our district Rotaract committee since we received official word on the bid. We have a lot to do, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Category: Community | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| January 1, 2012
No comments

(365 + 1) x 2 Challenge

As 2012 dawns, I’m embarking on one of those 365 day challenges encompassing both of the things that The Fat Tulip is all about – communication and community. But, I’m are supercharging it. 2012 is a leap year, so the challenge is actually for 366 days. And I’m doing it twice, once for each of our key focus areas.

The duel challenges are:

  • Communication: one post each day throughout 2012 highlighting one Twitter account you must follow.
  • Community: one post each day throughout 2012 showing things to do in the NSW South East.

With that set, it is time to get underway. The posts will all appear over at The Fat Tulip‘s website, but I might share or reflect on them here occasionally. Happy New Year!

(PS: If you’ve any suggestions for either list, please let me know)

Category: Business, Community, Social Media | Tags: , , , , , ,
| December 29, 2011
2 comments

Decisions to be Made

I’ve been putting it off, but time moves inexorably, and it won’t stop (nor even slow) for me. I have to really make some careful decisions about where I want my life to go – not just for the next six months or year, but for decades.

If you follow this blog, you may know I’ve already lodged an application to complete an honours year following my recent graduation. I’m also working hard on my new social media business. I have a pro bono client who I’m very happy to be working with, and I’m confident of the future. In my main job, I work three days a week in a political office, which is where I really have been heading for a few years now. The work is challenging, enjoyable and rewarding. Amongst all of that, I spend plenty of time doing volunteer community work.

Here’s the problem: Which of the three (academia, business or politics) do I focus on?

  • I could easily pursue an academic career. I could go on from honours to a PhD and teach. I enjoy working with young people and helping people learn. I’ve done a fair bit of that with Rotary/Rotaract, SHYAC and other community organisations.
  • Similarly, I could continue working on my business, which I also enjoy. I could pursue that business, or others. I could seek employment in the private sector and work my way through to the top, hopping from company to company seeking jobs that offer more than the last.
  • Or, finally, I could stick with politics. Who knows where that would lead?

My problem is I’ve always been interested in too many things. In addition to the stuff listed above, I also enjoy participating in the arts – theatre and photography mostly. And, I’d love to do some serious traveling. And, whatever my choice, it also needs to work for Meghan.

All suggestions and comments welcome!

Category: Business, Politics, Uni | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| November 6, 2011
No comments

I’d Be Honoured

As I near the end of my undergraduate degree, I have started to consider whether to add honours to my qualification. I have been encouraged by a number of my lecturers to consider honours. I have good marks and I’m interested in further, research-based qualifications in the future.

Nonetheless, at the moment, I wonder whether pursuing another year of study is the best option. I just turned 25, and I have a good job. I have business interests I want to pursue and I have a range of community service activities underway as well. A year of honours in my degree consists of a 15-18,000 word thesis and a couple of coursework based classes. The coursework could jeopardise my job, while the broader time commitment means I would have to cut back on other commitments. Also, my brother is getting married toward the end of next year, just about the time my thesis would be due. As best man, I’m wondering how much time I will need to keep aside for him.

This year, I have spent a lot of time working on Grease and Rotaract while finishing off my undergrad degree and working. So, I know that I can juggle things. However, these commitments have cost me time in other areas. I would have liked more time for Rotaract and my role with the Southern Highlands Foundation requires more time than I am giving it.

If I was to do honours, my research would focus on the use of digital media by charities and non-profits. Its a topic I’m really interested in, and I think there is a lot of work still to be done in the area. I also have some significant experience in both fields, so that is a useful start.

It looks like I have some thinking to do!

Category: Community, Uni, Web | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| September 26, 2011
No comments

A Busy Rotaract Week

On the way home from the 2011 Australian Rotaract Conference, I got thinking about the week ahead. I hadn’t quite realised just how busy it was shaping up to be.

Amongst rehearsals for Grease, work and uni work, I have a lot of stuff to do for Rotaract:

  • Tonight (Monday), our club is hosting the District Governor;
  • Tomorrow (Tuesday), I will be having lunch with the DG, three other Rotary Club Presidents and the local Assistant DG;
  • Wednesday I will be presenting to the Rotary Club of Berrima District at their lunch time meeting and attending the Rotary Club of Moss Vale for their dinner time meeting;
  • Thursday I will be on the gates at Bowral’s Tulip Time festival.
This is my mid session from uni, so I had to ask myself just what I was doing by filling it up with all these other things. That lead to the question of just what does Rotaract mean for me? It was a question posed by the Chair of Rotaract Australia at the conference.
For me, Rotaract is about the chance to give back to my community, to meet new friends, have new experiences, gain skills and have a stack of fun. It can definitely be hard work, but members are free to commit as much or as little time as they like. The upside of it is that the more you put in, the more value you get from being part of it.
Category: Community | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  

Switch to our mobile site