Ken Hinkly opened the meeting, and welcomed guest speaker Amy Agius and partners Robyn Hills, Wendy Hoskins and Lynette Wallis. We spared a thought for Les Pontin about to sleep on a piece of cardboard on the beach in support of the homeless and believe he raised nearly $12,000, only beaten by one other person - well done Les Pontin..

 

 

Peter Hovey toasted the Rotary Club of Kittyhawk …. where the Wright brothers achieved the first successful manned flight on 17 December 1903.

 

David Wallis encouraged members to sign up for the upcoming RYDA program.

 

 

Members’ Moments       

Win Fowles reminded us of the forthcoming 75th anniversary of the Korean War (the Forgotten War) on 25 June. More than 18,000 Australians took part, 340 died, 1,200 were wounded, and 30 were taken prisoner. Of those who lost their lives, 42 have no known grave.

 

 

 

Guest Speaker       

Win introduced guest speaker Amy Agius who works as a fundraiser for LifeFlight in the Sunshine Cast and South Burnett region. LifeFlight of course is one of our major charities.

 Amy thanked us for our support noting that in the last 10 years we have donated $75,000 for LifeFlight. This level of money is needed. For example, night-vision goggles are essential for night flights but cost $20,000 a pair. They are now developing a mobile intensive care unit.

The scope of their work includes plane crashes, ocean rescues, cliff rescues, and the transfer of young paediatric patients. The top four types of mission are cardiac emergencies, motor vehicle accidents, search and rescue, and animal-related incidents. An average of 157 patients per week are are treated by the Sunshine Coast team. Since 1979 they have helped over 90,000 people.

As an example, the Markwell family’s boat was overturned by a freak wave, and they were all in the water 55 km offshore. One of them retrieved the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) from the upturned boat and activated it, and LifeFlight quickly came to the rescue - just like Superman! The chopper dropped a rescue raft and a walkie-talkie for communication with the pilot, and eventually they were all safely back home. They were very grateful, and their EPIRB now occupies pride of place in the centre of their meal table.

LifeFlight shares staff with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The Jocelyn Walker Visitor Experience Centre serves as a tool to let the community know what LifeFlight and aviation in general are able to do. We were invited to visit - and should go.

 

 

The usual fines and raffles ended the meeting.

 

If you haven't yet booked your seats for Broadway in the Hangar - do it now please - www.trybooking.com/DAFIC

Next week is Calpac Changeover Meeting -  "A Touch of Gold" is the theme for the evening. 

Help is needed for the Nambour Garden Expo Parking over 11-13 Jul 25 - refer to the email from David Wallis if you are able to help.

Help is also needed for the Kawana Surf Club Life Saving Event - contact Jacqui Castorina for details or refer to the email she sent out on 14th June with a roster.

 

  Thanks Win!