Archive for August 6th, 2008

Ringwood Rotary - becoming a member

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 6th of August, 2008

This evening I had the pleasure of being inducted as a member of Ringwood Rotary after being sponsored as a member by Assistant Governor Andrew Brownlie. After being confirmed as a member I was appointed on the Community sub-committee, which exists to assist the wider community and recommend suitable projects to the club board of management.

It is amazing to see the depth of commitment that members of Ringwood Rotary have towards the wider community. These are people who are devoted to assisting the community on a local, national and international level, without the politicking and egos that appear far too often within council. Rotary’s core philosophy stems from the ‘Four Way Test’, a series of principles that were established by Herbert J. Taylor, a Rotarian member and former director of Rotary International.

The Four Way Test is the foundation of Rotary and consists of the following four principles:

Of the things we say, think or do

1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The origin of the Four Way Test stems from 1932 during the midst of the Great Depression with his company, Club Aluminium facing bankruptcy. Taylor believed that by encouraging a strong sense of ethics that the company would do what was right for its customers, employees and business partners. Amazingly, within just five years Club Aluminium was free from bankruptcy and exists to this day as part of Standex International.

I am looking forward to my time within the Rotary Club of Ringwood with its adherence to principles such as the Four Way Test.

Media Release: Maroondah’s immunisation team working with Royal Children’s Hospital

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 6th of August, 2008

Maroondah City Council’s Immunisation team is working with the Royal Children’s Hospital to establish HealthNuts, a research study on food allergy and children.

Councillor Alex Makin said HealthNuts is being run by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“The HealthNuts project team are working with Maroondah’s immunisation team to recruit participants for the study via selected immunisation sessions over the coming weeks,” said Cr Makin.

“With the incidence of food allergy rising, the project aims to measure how many people are affected by food allergies, why the number is increasing and which children are at greatest risk,” said Cr Makin.

“The HealthNuts team will be at a number of Maroondah immunisation sessions where they will provide information on the research project and invite parents of children under one year of age to participate, initially with an assessment of their allergy status,” said Cr Makin.

Participation is voluntary and will take approximately 20 minutes during the post-immunisation waiting period. Parents will be asked to complete a questionnaire relating to their own and their child’s diet and lifestyle, and their child will be required to have a skin prick test.

A positive skin prick test does not automatically mean your child has an allergy, however all children with a positive skin prick test will be invited to attend The Royal Children’s Hospital allergy clinic for further testing.

Participation in the study is voluntary and parents can withdraw at any stage of the study without any reduction in care from the participating organisations.

For more information on Council’s immunisation service contact Maroondah City Council on 1300 882 233.