Lindia
Gidlund (Victoria,
Australia)
In
1998, I was introduced to the current RYLA Committee and began
understanding the RYLA vision, as I would take on the role
of Vocational
Service District Chairman in 1999-2000. Another Rotarian was
appointed RYLA Chairman for that year.
In
June 1999, he and I were scheduled to attend a Region 8 RYLA
Workshop in Sydney to learn and network with other Rotarians
and RYLArians. Unfortunately, the appointed RYLA Chairman
was diagnosed with a life threatening illness and resigned
from Rotary so I attended the workshop alone.
I
met people from all over Australia that were passionate about
RYLA including three people from District 9800. These three
people: Lucy Mayes, Loryn and Richard Clark gave me the opportunity
to be a team member and presenter at the District 9800 1999
RYLA where I learned firsthand about the vision of one RYLA.
My RYLA involvement has been going on for 8 years.
In
a few months, I will celebrate my 10th anniversary as a Rotarian.
I
joined the Rotary Club of Heidelberg North, now known as RC
of Rosanna on 30 April 1996. Both towns are suburbs of Melbourne,
Victoria Australia. On 21 June 2001, I joined the Rotary Club
of Diamond Creek, my current club.
Experiencing
the evolution of the RYLA being directed by RYLArians on a
daily basis rather than Rotarians. Seeing the major outcome
of the Rotary International vision come to true that is youth
leading youth at the RYLA Conference. These are the best things
which ever happened to me in RYLA.
Learning there are people wanting to make a difference at
club, district and the international level, passionate about
making a difference, such as the Australian Bone Marrow Donor
Register, The Children First and PolioPlus. It is not about
ego. These are the special things to me about Rotary.
The best part of our RYLA is the results; seeing the results
directly after RYLA and following, including years after as
the results are lasting. The best part of RYLA is seeing RYLArians
leading in the three domains of life: personal goals, professional
goals and community goals.
From
an international point of view, I think the unique part of
RYLA in
District 9790 is having 18 to 30 year olds attending the 7
day, RYLA
conference and having previous RYLArians also direct the conference
on a
daily basis.
The
true fellowship formed by members working to support the local,
district and the international community including each other
when personal circumstances arise creates the most unique
part of our Rotary club.
Our
district has a unique balance of country and city. Have a
look at the website for a description and view of the clubs.
www.rotary9790.org.au/
For
the 2006-07 year, I am involved as Director, Club Service,
President
Elect, District Website Team, and District RYLA, Advisor.
I
am not involved in community service, I reserve Rotary for
this. Informally, I support individuals as a mentor and coach
and a referee.
I
am learning to sail, dingy sailing. I joined a yacht club
that is located
on a reservoir near my home. Not very far along, yet so I
will report later.
I am a kinaesthetic learn so getting a feel for sailing will
mean that I use
the how to right the dingy lesson a bit!
Learning
to draw, reading, exploring Australia in small chunks at a
time by
going away in the 4-wheel drive and my transferable hobby
of food, reading cookbooks, cooking and eating out!
If
I were on a deserted island, I would like to have all my friends,
gourmet food and range of books: novels, non-fiction and Œhow
to¹. I am currently reading A Separate Peace by John
Knowes and next in line is New Guinea 1942-44 by Timothy Hall.
This is the bedside reading. The professional reading is HOS
(the Human Operating System)) by Peter Burow.
.
Sonny
Coloma, Jr.(Manilla,
Philippines)
Past
District Governor Sonny Coloma, Member, International RYLA
Committee, RY 2007-2008. Sonny served as District Governor
in 1998-1999 when District 3810 (Metro Manila and Southern
Luzon, Philippines) was the largest Rotary District in the
world in terms of number of clubs and Rotarians. He received
a Presidential Citation Award from then RI President James
Lacy for outstanding achievement and leadership.
He served as Training Leader in the Rotary International Assembly,
the program that prepares 530 District Governors for their
year of service, for two consecutive years, 2002 and 2003.
He was appointed by RI President-elect William “Bill”
Boyd as member of the RYLA Committee overseeing preparations
for the International RYLA conference to be held prior to
the Rotary Convention in June 2007 in Salt Lake City. He was
also appointed to the same committee by then RI president
Glenn Estess. He served as Chairman of the Training the Trainers
Committee for the Manila Zone Institute held in October 2005.
He was designated by RI President William ‘Bill’
Boyd as his Representative to the District Conference of RI
District 3480 held in Taiwan in April 2007.
Most recently, he received an appointment from RI President-elect
Wilfrid Wilkinson to serve as Zone Coordinator for Youth Activities
in RY 2007-2008.
He was also a Training Leader in the Singapore Zone Institute
(2003), Manila Zone Institute (2002) and Melbourne Zone Institute
(2001) at which he also served as a trainer in the Governors-Elect
Training Seminar (GETS). He was a member of the Presidential
Task Force on Population Development formed by RI President
Frank Devlyn in 2000. In 2004, he was RI President Jonathan
Majiyagbe’s Representative to the District Conference
of RI District 3800.
He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Alabang and
District Trainer of RI District 3830. His Rotary classification
is Management Education.
He is the Don Jose Cojuangco Professor of Business Management
at the Asian Institute of Management. Until recently he was
Dean of AIM’s Executive Education and Lifelong Learning
Center. He also served as Associate Dean of the Master in
Business Management program.
He is also currently Division President of the Air and Travel
Division and Group Chief Learning Officer at the Transnational
Diversified Group, an Asian conglomerate involved in shipping
and logistics, ship management, air travel and tourism, information
and communications technology and investments.
He served in the Philippine government during the administration
of President Corazon Aquino in the following positions:
o Head, Presidential Management Staff and Deputy Executive
Secretary in the Office of the President
o Undersecretary, Department of Transportation and Communications
o Undersecretary, Department of Agrarian Reform
He served anew as Transportation Undersecretary in the administration
of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada. He headed the Philippine
delegation to the biennial meetings of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialized organization
on the regulation and development of the global maritime industry.
He was also previously President of the Personnel Management
Association of the Philippines (PMAP); and Chairman of the
Federation of AIM Alumni Associations.
He writes a weekly column, Vector, for BusinessWorld, the
Philippines’ largest-circulation business daily. He
holds a Master in Business Management (MBM) degree, with distinction,
from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). In 2004, he
was conferred the Triple A (AIM Alumni Achievement) Award,
the highest honor accorded by the alumni of the AIM to its
outstanding graduates.
He is married to the former Nennette Parreno of Manila with
whom he has a daughter, Anna Francesca. .
Allen
Davies (Gauten,
South Africa)
Bio
coming soon.
Don
Schiller (Prescott,
AZ, USA)
Rotary
member for 38 years! RYLA is my passion! Served as District
Governor 2003-04. Involvement in RYLA started in 1993, 14
years ago which was the second year of RYLA in Arizona. The
best thing which ever happened in RYLA was having the opportunity
to be a part of positively changing the lives of high school
students. Member of the Prescott Sunup Rotary Club. Honorary
member of the new Rotary Club of Chino Valley, Arizona.
After
one RYLA, I received a call from a delegate's mom. Her comment
was "What did you do to my daughter? I had no idea where
she was going with that thought". She continued, "my
daughter came home a different person. She has been a leader
in her quiet way, now she has become outgoing, a true self
starter and is taking the real lead in projects at her school".
That was a strange but wonderful call and proves the point
that RYLA changes lives no matter whether it is a four day
or two weeks long!
The
best part of RYLA is seeing it all come together. Our next
year's RYLA starts as the current one ends. Rotarians, RYLArians,
friends and more all work as one to make each RYLA better
than the previous one. RYLA 5490 is on Martin Luther King
weekend and runs from Friday night and ends Monday at noon.
The venue is Camp Pinerock, a church camp just 1/2 mile from
my home.
RYLA
D-5490 has synergy with our other youth programs. Youth Exchange
is an integral part of our RYLA as each delegate group has
at least one youth exchange student as part of the group.
The group is named after the YE student. The program inspires
and creates most of our outbound youth exchange students.
Many local Interact Clubs have been formed in the district
as a result of the emphasis of Interact at RYLA. After several
years of discussion and long term planning we will be starting
a "young RYLA" for ages 11-14. This will start as
an area program and then hopefully grow to be a district wide
event.
Currently
I serve as the district as youth chair, photographer, member
finance & conference committees, and advise in several
other areas. My participation in Rotary also includes, the
International RYLA Committee, Zone 25 RYLA Chair, International
Travel & Hosting VP and Railroading Fellowship VP. Group
Study Exchange has created many friendships because of involvement
as a team leader and also local area coordinator/team liasion.
I enjoy traveling, railroading, playing the native American
flute.
My
wife Annette enjoys teaching children about nature, hiking,
reading and traveling. My son Brad is a lighting designer
and programmer and lives in Austin, TX with our grandson,
Matthew who is in 4th grade.
If
I were on a desert island it would be outstanding to have
Paul Harris there too. Plus Dennis the Menace, Sherriff Andy
Taylor and Groucho Marx. They would be excellent participants
for RYLA too!
Bob
Usry (Purcell,
OK, USA )
Bob
Usry is the owner of Bob Usry and Sons, Inc., and has been
since 1973. He is a life long resident of Norman, Oklahoma,
with the exception of the two years he spent in the Navy.
He served in the United States Navy from 1968-1970 and he
served his time during the Vietnam Crisis on the Air Craft
Carrier, U.S.S. Bon Homme Richard. He earned two Vietnam medals;
one National Defense medal, and one Expeditionary medal during
his time in the Navy. He has been married to his wife, Ellen,
for 38 years, simply because he cannot get rid of her. He
has two sons, Bobby and Jaime. He also considers his grandsons,
Jake and Sam, and his new granddaughter, Anna Lee, a big part
of his family and tries to spend as much time as he can with
them. He has realized that he likes his grandchildren a lot
more than his kids.
Bob's hobbies are music, bicycling, and motorcycles. In the
past, he played in many country and rock and roll bands and
now sings for community and church events. He worked during
this time because although he thought he was Elvis, it did
not pay the bills. He realized he was not a star when no one
ever offered to carry his equipment and he had to load it
into his station wagon. He earned a Second Degree Black Belt
in May, 2006. In other words, dont mess with him. He owns
a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and enjoys traveling to different
states with his wife. Yes, he is going through his second
childhood. He has gone to West Africa on two mission trips
and looks forward to the upcoming mission trip in February.
Bob's volunteer activities show how he has never learned how
to say no and that he has a sign on his back that says Sucker.
He is a member of the Cross Pointe Church in Norman and serves
as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Bob has served
as a board member of the Norman Chamber of Commerce and is
past president of the United Way of Norman. He serves on the
Department of Human Services Citizens Advisory Board and
has always been a big part of the Secret Santa Program. He
served on the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative Operation Round-up
Board since its beginning and is now a Board of Director for
the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative. He is past president of
the Norman Sooner Rotary Club.
He has been District Chair and Camp Director of the Rotary
Youth Leadership Awards Camp since its inception (14 years
ago). He currently serves on the Rotary International RYLA
Committee and enjoys meeting with RYLA Board members from
all over the world. He chaired the United Way Campaign in
1998. He was a recipient of the 1997 Volunteer of the Year
award. He received the Norman Community Foundation Community
Works of Philanthropy Award in 2001. Throughout the years
he has been instrumental in many projects to serve the Norman
Community. He is an active supporter of Norman and Purcell
Public Schools and the Boot Strap Program, a program for Independent
Living Students. He is also a member of the Purcell, Chickasha,
Blanchard, Oklahoma City, and Shawnee Chambers of Commerce
.
