Group Study Exchange from District 9830 Tasmania - Australia to District District 5910 Southern Texas, USA departing 2 March 2006........ returning 3 May 2006 Team Leader - PP Michael Perkins (RC West Tamar ) Reserve Team Leader - PP Chris Westlake (RC Youngtown ) Team Members Melissa Carlton: Programs Co-ordinator Kirsty Dumphey: Real Estate Robert King: Detective Sgt Clint Saarinen: SES. Regional Manager Reserve Team Member: Michael Noble: Project Manager, sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Launceston.     Michael Perkins Team Leader: 62yrs (Rotary Club of West Tamar)   Michael has been a Rotary member for 23 years. He has served as President of both the North Launceston & West Tamar Rotary Clubs. Michael has served District 9830 as District Chairman of the Reaching Overseas Medical Aid for Children program and Interplast Committee, Assistant Governor and District International Service Director. Michael lives at Sidmouth which is close to Launceston in the north of Tasmania on a small farm.He has married to Lesley for 41 years and they have three children and three grandchildren.Michael is semi-retired having worked for 34 years with TELSTRA Corporation (Australia's largest telecommunications company) as a technical officer and in the latter years as a manager in the Network Operations Division He is active within his local community and is currently Chairman of the Board of an aged and community care facility and a member of the local hospital advisory board. He works as volunteer in local schools cultivating young minds with science related projects, enjoys farming life, fishing, travelling (especially Australia's outback) and being with his grandchildren.     email - lmperkins@bigpond.com  Melissa Carlton 32 yrs, (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Salamanca ) Born in South Africa, Melissa (Mel) moved to Australia with her family at the age of 8.Her family spent several years in country Victoria before moving to Tasmania in 1990.Melissa is the eldest of four children, with two sisters and a brother.She has lived and studied in Melbourne and Sydney, and believes Tasmania is the best place to live in Australia. Melissa has represented Australia in the sport of swimming on numerous occasions including the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Following the Sydney 2000 Games, Melissa retired from swimming to concentrate on finishing her Primary Education degree at the University of Tasmania. After graduating in 2004, Melissa finally moved out of her parents home and now spends most weekends gardening, learning how to cook and renovating her own home in Lutana (an Aboriginal work for Moon). Spending time with family, friends, enjoying live music and her pet cat Eski are high priorities in Mel's busy life. Melissa works full-time for the Hobart City Council as the Programs Co-ordinator at the Tattersall's Hobart Aquatic Centre. Her role includes designing and implementing programs for children, teenagers, families, adults and older adults, a challenge she really enjoys.   Outside of work, Melissa is a member of many committees and boards including the Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the Royal Hobart Regatta Organising Committee and the Tasmanian Sport and Recreation Association for People with a disability (TASRAD).   email - carltonm@hobartcity.com.au Kirsty Dunphey 32 yrs, (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Launceston West) In 2002 Kirsty was named as the National Winner of Telstra's Young Business Woman of the Year Award. Winning this prestigious award and in fact being its youngest ever recipient shows the depth of her knowledge, experience and most importantly passion. At 21 years of age in 2001, Kirsty became an owner and managing director of M&M Real Estate ‚ a brand new agency, which is now a market leader in Launceston, Tasmania and has recently joined forces with Harcourts with Kirsty and partner Tony leading the move into the State in this joint venture. Since its inception M&M Harcourts has smashed many local records and now has the highest grossing sales team per person in this highly competitive area. Kirsty's business experience started as she set up her own first two small businesses at the tender age of 15 combining this with top high school grades and two part time jobs (one in real estate) and from this frenetic starting point the only way for Kirsty has been up. A highly active member of her local Launceston community and fast becoming a well known name in national real estate and business circles Kirsty has been featured on The Today television program, Today Tonight television program, Cosmopolitan, Ocean Drive and Marie Claire Magazines, the Herald Sun and Age newspapers to name but a few. Combining her passion for real estate, customer service, property investment, building wealth, Tasmania, youth potential, business practices and enhancing public perception and skills of real estate agents Kirsty now delivers around 30 keynote speeches a year and is available as a speaker on the above topics. Kirsty's first book Advance to Go, Collect $1Million was released in 2005 and is available, along with further details at www.kirstydunphey.com Hobbies / interests email - kirsty@mmre.com.au Robert King, 37yrs, (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bellerive)   Rob is 37 years old and is a police officer with 18 years of diverse policing experience.He is currently a Senior Sergeant in Hobart Forensic Services, where is directly responsible for the area of Electronic Evidence & Imaging (including computer forensics, photography, and digital/audio processing) to gather and preserve evidence for investigations.He also regularly performs duties as the senior forensics officer at major scenes, where he is responsible for co-ordinating forensic resources (Tasmania Police and external) to ensure a thorough investigation of the incident.Robs current duties are well supported by his previous experience as an investigator for over 10 years within the Criminal Investigation Branch, where he attained the rank of Detective Senior Sergeant. During that time, he investigated a wide range of crimes including robberies, burglaries, homicides and sexual crimes. Rob also has a secondary role within Tasmania Police as a Police Negotiator.He is trained at State and National Counter Terrorism level. He is separated but has a new partner, Viv.Between them, Rob and Viv have 3 children; April aged 9, Olivia aged 5 and Liam aged 4.Rob and Viv live with Olivia on acreage at Cremorne, just outside Hobart, where they are kept busy running horses and enjoying an active outdoor lifestyle by the sea.He enjoys spending quality time with Viv and the children whenever he can. Robs recreational interests include fishing, horse riding, going to the gym and rugby union football. Through the exchange, Rob hopes to experience the technological aspects of forensics and counter-terrorism operating within the USA, as well as training offered to police in these fields.Rob is also looking forward to experiencing the cultural and sporting activities available in Texas, and describes himself as 'a bit of an adrenaline junkie'   email - rjk1660tas@yahoo.com.au  Clint Saarinen, 36 yrs, (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Youngtown) Clint lives in Launceston in Northern Tasmania with his wife (Ellen) and two children (Laura 12 and Ben 10). He is currently the Northern Regional Manager for the State Emergency Service (SES), a section of the State Government Department of Police and Public Safety, a role he has performed for 6 years. The SES is a nationally recognised primary emergency management agency within Tasmania, involved in prevention and mitigation, planning and preparedness, operational response and community recovery activities. Clint hopes to meet with emergency management professionals in Houston and discuss emergency operations and recovery processes implemented through the period of severe hurricanes (Katrina, Rita) which passed through the region in 2005. Clint is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon (Army Officer Training) which is in Canberra, the nation‚Äôs capital, and served in the Army for several years as an Officer around Australia. He has tertiary qualifications in commerce, management, human resource management and telecommunication management. Clint has also worked as both a supermarket manager for Woolworths and as a Senior Management Consultant for KPMG Tasmania, conducting organisational reviews for improvement, quality management system implementation and auditing. Hobbies / interests In his spare time Clint enjoys playing (and watching) many sports, walking his dogs, singing and playing guitar, acting on a School Board of Management, entertaining his family and socialising with friends. email - rmsesn@bigpond.net.au | Home Page |