Guest Speaker - Angela Ellis                                     

Angela told us some of her sad experiences with DV. "I did not really prepare for that talk. I just spoke from my heart and why this is important to me."

 

I was inspired by growing up in Coober Pedy, especially by the level of participation my family had in volunteering in the local and Greek Communities, to continue their legacy by joining Rotary.  In my personal life I have been blessed with parents, husband and family that has shown great love and support to each other.  Sadly, many people in my life & community, and those I have cared for as a Nurse and a Podiatrist have been touched with Domestic and Family Violence.  The hardest thing I have ever done is care for a baby in Intensive Care as it died after being shaken.  My childhood friend Karen Williams was murdered by her boyfriend.  This is my "why" for championing Respectful Relationships through the Rotary Says No to Domestic Violence March and projects.  It is important for us to march annually, so that we stand up as a community.  As Rotarians we do many magnificent projects in the Domestic and Family Violence arena.  By working together on these projects we can better serve and support the families in our communities to beat DV.

                  When we stand together, we are all stronger.

     EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025 An Unforgettable Experience

I had the privilege to once again attend the world’s biggest aviation event, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, held from 21–27 July 2025. The week kicked off with a BBQ lunch hosted by the Rotary Club of Oshkosh Southwest, a fantastic opportunity to connect with local Rotarians as well as others from around the world. The International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians (IFFR) also had a strong presence at the event.

 

 

One of the highlights was hearing from guest speakers Peter Teahen and John Ockenfels, both IFFR members, who recently completed a global circumnavigation in a single engine Cessna. Their inspiring flight raised $2 million to help end polio, with every dollar going directly to the Rotary Foundation. Remarkably, Peter and John funded the entire trip themselves. Peter is now planning to circumnavigate the Atlantic, with Ed Galkin. Ed is aiming to set a record to be the oldest pilot at the age of 89 to fly a single engine aircraft across the Atlantic.

After their talk, I had a great conversation with Peter about the possibility of joining one of our club meetings via Zoom as a guest speaker. He was very receptive to the idea. I also shared that our Barossa club is closely tied to aviation and that we host an Airshow as a major fundraiser. Peter was intrigued and immediately said, “I would love to come to your Airshow. My wife and I would love to visit Australia.” I now have Peter’s contact details and will follow up to explore any opportunities that might come from this connection.

 

As always, the week was jam-packed with everything aviation, countless aircraft, exhibits, and performances, old friends to reconnect with and new ones to meet. As George so aptly put it, “Oshkosh is where all your friends are that you haven’t met yet.”

A personal highlight was meeting a couple of Porterfield owners from the USA and having a close look at Aaron and Blake’s Porterfield, which they flew into the event. We had 100% of Australian Porterfield owners represented at Oshkosh, both of us!

Another standout was seeing Paul Bennet’s incredible Wolf Pitts Pro in action. Shipped all the way from Australia, Paul performed two 15-minute displays that were very well received by the massive crowd.

This year’s numbers speak volumes:

704,000 attendees. Over 10,000 aircraft arrivals. 6,000 volunteers. An estimated $257 million in economic impact for the Oshkosh region.

 

 

                         Oshkosh at South West Rotary Club. 

 

       AirVenture never fails to inspire, and 2025 was no                                                exception.

This is a new Bruce Beresford movie starring Australia's Bryan Brown as                                           the lead.

It will only be released 4 days prior to the event and so we are looking forward to sharing the fun with a full house.

The District committee is also available at any time to assist your club with a Lift the Lid walk and we would be happy to do a presentation to your club to keep your members in touch with Australian Rotary Health.

ARH is one of the largest non-government research organisations in Australia raising funds for research into mental health for children aged 10-12 years.

 

Kind regards, Barbara

Barbara Wheatcroft

Mob: 0413 511 243

 

(Those who attended last year's film at the Regal Cinema enjoyed it even

 though it rained all the way home.)