Guest Speaker: Ross Young : Sapphire Solar Sapphire Solar is a Melbourne family owned and operated company, founded in 2013 which supplies solar and battery packages to customers in northern Melbourne and regional Victoria. 
Ross explained that he leads the team of 18 electricians at Solar Sapphire and particularly enjoys promoting his business in country areas 
— Sapphire Solar has already completed 50 solar and battery installations in the local area. Before delving into the facts and figures around solar installation and battery use, Ross mentioned that Solar Sapphire supports the next generation, by sponsoring a junior golf program in Australia which ultimately supports youngsters competing in the world championships in the US. With the aid of a PowerPoint (and assisted by Angela the technical whiz) Ross provided explanations and visual prompts covering many areas of the industry, including the current battery market, the incredible uptake of solar, Govt rebates, Data centres, future of energy storage and different types of batteries. Ross concluded with ‘We should treat future technology as a bonus, not a reason to wait indefinitely.’ There were many questions put to Ross which he handled very knowledgeably. Will de Castella moved a vote of thanks to Ross and Angela, thanking them for a most informative presentation.
Ross explained that he leads the team of 18 electricians at Solar Sapphire and particularly enjoys promoting his business in country areas — Sapphire Solar has already completed 50 solar and battery installations in the local area. Before delving into the facts and figures around solar installation and battery use, Ross mentioned that Solar Sapphire supports the next generation, by sponsoring a junior golf program in Australia which ultimately supports youngsters competing in the world championships in the US. With the aid of a PowerPoint (and assisted by Angela the technical whiz) Ross provided explanations and visual prompts covering many areas of the industry, including the current battery market, the incredible uptake of solar, Govt rebates, Data centres, future of energy storage and different types of batteries. Ross concluded with ‘We should treat future technology as a bonus, not a reason to wait indefinitely.’ There were many questions put to Ross which he handled very knowledgeably. Will de Castella moved a vote of thanks to Ross and Angela, thanking them for a most informative presentation. 3 minuter Tony Jacobs Tony read a ‘fable’ titled “The Family Farm’ about a successful family farm worked by several generations. It had good land, good people and a proud history, but as the farmers grew older, fewer young people came to take their place. A neighbour posed a question to the old farmer ‘What if young people came here and said ‘We like what this farm stands for but some of the routines don’t really suit our lives. Could we do things a little differently? The farmer’s replied; That’s not how we do things here’ The neighbour responded; ‘Keep what matters, keep the friendships, keep the pride in doing something worthwhile, but don’t confuse the things that made the farm worth belonging to, with the routines that simply grew around it. Tony likened the moral of the story to the traditional Rotary model which has served our club extremely well, but people’s lives have changed! Our challenge is not to discard the Rotary we have built, but to be prepared to change things that no longer work for the people we hope will join us.
President Ann welcomed the Guest Speaker Ross Young and partner Angela from Sapphire Solar and all members Ann thanked Les for stepping in to tow the BBQ up to the Tallarook Ranges for the Victorian Rogaining Championships. Ann commented that it was a bit like following in the footsteps of Burke and Wills! She thanked team members, Darryl and Jill who also assisted her to feed 300+ athletes. Ann (and her dog Remi) represented the club at a media event with the Yea & District Hospital about the ‘Health on the Move’ partnership, particularly focusing on the Mouth Mapping initiative.
What's the "Plus" in PolioPlus?
The "plus" in PolioPlus refers to all the other diseases that Rotary is fighting as it is doing its polio eradication work. All children who receive the oral vaccine also receive a dose of Vitamin A. The "cold chain" of refrigerators purchased to hold the polio vaccine also hold other critical vaccines, including tetanus (which significantly cuts deaths during childbirth). And when the Ebola virus first broke out in Africa ten years ago, the infrastructure developed by the Polio- Plus committee in Nigeria was instrumental in keeping the Ebola virus from spreading there.
Our caterers, Deb and Di were thanked for the delicious meal
they prepared. (roast pork with crackling!)
they prepared. (roast pork with crackling!)