August 2013 Issue 553 - Rotary Down Under

Ellissa Nolan
Humanitarians
Online
DIGITAL DIRECTIONS
How is your relationship
with technology
MEET OUR
NEW DISTRICT
GOVERNORS
Phil Ashton, D9910
Phil’s Rotary service
began 15 years ago
when he joined
the Rotary Club of
Takapuna North,
NZ, where he served
as President in
2006-07. Since then he has served four
years as the club’s Foundation Director,
with particular responsibility for District
Simplified Grants. Phil is an accountant
and has been a member of the NZ
Institute of Chartered Accountants
since 1975. He has specialised as a
Personal Financial Planner since 1994.
He is an Authorised Financial Planner,
and qualified as a Bachelor of Business
Studies endorsed in Financial Planning in
1998. Phil and partner Janice Blomgren
have four children between them.
How are you feeling about your
relationship with technology and
the digital revolution Are you on
Facebook or Twitter, and do you even
care about it
An interesting moment occurred
during the Lisbon Convention when
helping out in the Beginners Social
Media workshop. I became familiar
with how some Rotarians are really
struggling to understand and set
up a Facebook account, create their
profiles and get started. Ten minutes
into the facilitator’s presentation,
one gentleman stood up and said,
“You are speaking at level 1.01, could
we go back to level 1.00 please”.
At the end of the presentation,
another gentleman came up to me
and said, “I’m really glad I came to
this workshop, I now know why I
don’t use Facebook. It’s useless to
me”. He surprised me and I agreed
with him. “Yes, Facebook is a very
personal thing, so there is no point
doing it if it’s not relevant for you.”
To contrast, an inspiring moment
came to me after presenting ‘Good
Visuals Are Not a Happy Accident’
at the Advanced Social Media
Workshop. A young university
media student and Rotaractor from
San Diego came up to me excitedly
and asked how I had evolved in
my career, as this is the path and
direction she would like to take with
hers. After coffee and a chat I invited
her to intern at RDU for a month, if
she could find a sponsor to get here.
Sometimes it seems we are all
flying down a path caught up in
the tornado of a digital revolution.
It’s also great to reflect on why we
are engaging online, how it will
help us connect and what we are
actually trying to achieve. As much
as I am for the digital revolution,
personal engagements and brief
exchanges like this can often be
more meaningful than trying to
interpret data from client surveys and
online analytics. •
Willard Martin, D9920
Willard has been
a member of the
Rotary Club of
Ellerslie Sunrise, NZ,
since 1988 and was
President in 2005-
06. He has been a
member of the District 9920 Finance
Committee and an Assistant Governor
with a keen interest in the District
Foundation Committee and the PolioPlus
Sub-Committee. Willard is a Clerk of the
Course of Rally NZ, the NZ Round of the
Federation International de l’Automobile
(FIA) World Rally Championship. In 2010
he was inscribed on the Motorsport NZ
Honours Roll. Willard and wife Rotarian
Gabrielle Gimblett-Martin have three
sons, one daughter, three grandsons and
two granddaughters between them.
Russell Turner, D9930
Russell has been a
Rotarian since 1986.
He was President
of the Rotary Club
of Rotorua North,
NZ, 2006-07, and
then President of
the Rotary Club of Tauranga 2011-12
where he is also a Trustee. Russell was
born in Mosgiel, Otago, NZ and comes
from a family of ten children. A keen
sportsman and rugby player, Russell also
played cricket and tennis at a senior level.
Russell enjoyed 21 years in a successful
Real Estate career in partnership with
his wife Liz. Prior to that Russell worked
for Telecom NZ. Russell “retired” in 2011
to become (as Liz puts it) a full-time
Rotarian. Russell and Liz have five children
and a granddaughter between them.
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