Bob’s Blog

Hello everyone
Welcome to my last blog as President of Narooma Rotary. Although I will provide a full report to members at our combined changeover and 60th on 4 August, it is well worth reflecting on our achievements over the past 12 months, especially as we are a very small Club.
Have we made a difference? I think we have.

• We have provided much needed information to the local community about renewable energy.
• The Busking Competition has made a difference, it helped build community spirit and though the donations we have made from our profits many students at our local schools will be able learn a musical instrument.
• We have also helped to make a difference to the lives of meant through our donations to The Foundation (both the Annual Fund and Polio Plus), to RAWCS and Australian Rotary Health.
• We have also made a difference through our donations to local organisations such as Narooma Surf Club, RFS and Monty’s.

I think we have also made a difference at a club level:

• We have learnt about the work of our members through our ‘Rotarian Presents’ nights
• We have been kept informed through a range of thought provoking speakers at many of our meetings.

In conclusion I would like to thank all members for their guidance and support throughout the year I would also like to acknowledge the dedication and commitment of the Board; you have made my life easier. All the best to Rod and his crew for the 2018/19 Rotary year.
Regards
Bob

Out and About

Sunday’s Markets

Last Sunday’s markets was a little quiet, being our smallest market for the year but good atmosphere for those who came, enlivened by the great music from buskers LP. Great work on the gate with David and Rachel (standing in for Chris who was away enjoying ‘grandma time’) along with our regular team of eager helpers.

Needless to say, being relatively quiet, the barbecue team had plenty of time to enjoy the sun, as the photo shows.

Moruya Changeover

President Bob and Peter Bull represented our Club at Moruya’s Changeover last week at Moruya Golf Club. Outgoing President Mike Dent reported the Club had donated about $33,000 to the local and international communities over the past year. Both Mike Dent and incoming President Ward Hack spoke of the need to attract younger members. The average age of Moruya’s 50 members is 71 years and four months (will be interesting to work out ours). Much like our Club, when Moruya Club started 62 years ago, its members were drawn from the town’s main businesses and would have had an average age around 40. One suggestion new president Ward is putting to the Club to rejuvenate membership is to change their meetings from weekly to fortnightly.

Batemans Bay Changeover

John Rungen and I represented our Club at Batemans Bay’s changeover. Their changeover included an impressive line-up of all past presidents in the Club. Outgoing President Maureen Manning stepped down from her third (and she says final!) term as President, but still continues at the District level as RYPEN Chair. Interesting to note the Batemans Bay Board includes someone solely responsible for membership.

New President Alan Russell is also our new Assistant Governor (taking over from Bob Antill) for the year.

This Thursday

Please don’t forget that our ‘Thank the Sponsors and Volunteers Night’ this Thursday starts at 5.30pm  upstairs at the Golf Club. Please bring your partners with you.  Sandra describes it as ‘mainly a social gathering with a couple of little twists’.

Cheers Laurelle

 

 

Bob’s Blog

Hello everyone

We had a very busy combined Board meeting last Thursday, our last Board meeting for the 2017/18 Rotary year.

We agreed to fund the purchase of musical equipment for local schools from the proceeds of the Busking Competition. The high school will receive $1,000 and each of the five local primary schools will receive $500 each. The Board also donated:

• an additional $1,000 to the Foundation
• $2,000 to Australian Rotary Health to support mental health research
• $1,000 to the RAWCS Dental Project in Timor Leste. Members will recall that Charmaine will be heading there next month to work with this valuable project.

The Board also agreed to transfer $4,500 from the charity account to the scholarship account. This will allow us to make Second Semester payments without having to dip into our term deposit.
The Board also accepted, with regret, the resignations of Bob Antill and Michael O’Connor from the Club. We have written to Bob and Michael thanking them for their service. The Board has offered Bob honorary membership of the Club which I am pleased to advise he has accepted.
Members are reminders that even though the changeover will not take place until 4 August, Rod and the new Board will take up office from 1 July. Although the changeover is an important event it is really a celebration of our achievements and an opportunity to introduce the new Board to the community.
A reminder that if you are an apology for a meeting or if you have guests, please advise me by email by 4pm each Tuesday.

Have a great week

Bob

Out and About

Great to hear from PDG and PP Jack Ings

President Bob received a lovely note from Jack Ings, a past president of this club and a past District Governor (the only one from our Club) in response to the invitation to our 60th celebrations. Unfortunately he will be unable to join us.

Thank you for thinking of me. I still keep an eye on the club through the weekly bulletins you send me and enjoy reading about what is going on there. Some of the best years of our lives were when we were in Narooma and I shall never forget the great years I had in Narooma Rotary Club. I am still in Rotary through the E club of Melbourne and still on the Board and doing the bulletin and organising the speakers…. I am now in a Nursing home but it is more like a resort and I still take part not only in Rotary but U3A and am still giving some lectures. Please give my best regards to all my friends there and wish everyone a happy 60th anniversary. Jack

Jack wrote the history of Narooma Club for our 40^th anniversary which resulted in the Club receiving a PR recognition. He was regarded affectionately by many Narooma members as the supreme Rotary statesman. For many years during the annual Cinders Challenge with Moruya if there was a series of questions on who’s who in Rotary, ‘Jack Ings’ was often our default answer.  It is obvious from Jack’s continued involvement, he still deserves that status.

Changeovers this week

At Moruya… President Bob and Peter Bull will represent our Club at Moruya Changeover.

Moruya President Mike Dent in this week’s Changeover Bulletin says one of the highlights was the outstandingly successful Drugs Meeting in April which attracted over 200 people to discuss drug and alcohol problems in the Eurobodalla. He still hopes they can secure funding for a Local Drug Action Team to initiate programs to address the prevention of AOD problems.  Another highlight was Moruya Club funding seven ShelterBoxes, thanks largely to the efforts of Alan Shephard and team at Moruya Markets throughout the year. Mike concluded: ‘So where to from here … we have a great club but we cannot rest on our laurels and we must confront the future to ensure our continued success. We need to attract new members and vary our programs to meet changing trends in our society.’ Moruya’s incoming President is Ward Hack.

Meanwhile at Batemans Bay…

John Rungen and Laurelle will represent the Club at Batemans Bay’s Changeover on Thursday. Maureen Manning is the outgoing President.

Batemans Bay Rotarians are currently working through the ‘visioning process’ towards their Strategic Plan for 2018-2019. President Elect Alan Russell is pleased everyone has been so open and willing to contribute ideas. The first part was a Club Audit. The second part was discussing ‘what if’ scenarios which offered members the chance to discuss things that had not been discussed for some time and ways forward for the Club. The next part involves each new Director developing their Objectives for the year and presenting them to the Board. The final stage is their Strategic Plan.

This week

Our guest speaker this week is Allan Rees from the 350 Eurobodalla climate action group, accompanied by Paula Howe another member of the team. The goal of the worldwide 350.org movement is to restore the planet to health through a rapid transition to 100% renewables in our area and across Australia and no new fossil fuel projects.

Don’t forget to let President Bob know by email by Tuesday 4pm if you are an apology or if you are bringing any guests.

Cheers Laurelle

 

Bob’s Blog

Hello Everyone
Well this week was a little quieter on the Rotary front, it was nice to spend the weekend at home catching up on a few chores.

Last Thursday Lynda gave a great presentation on the life of a Celebrant. Two take out messages for me, one don’t let the dog or cat deliver the rings at the wedding ceremony and secondly, and much more importantly, take the time to prepare for what happens when you die. Make sure your family know your wishes for your funeral service and your worldly goods.

This Thursday we will have our last Club Assembly for the Rotary year. The main topic will be membership. Please bring along your ideas and suggestions. Board members (both the old and new) are reminded we have a Board meeting this Thursday at 5pm.
Don’t forget on 28 June we will host a thank you event for sponsors and volunteers at the recent Busking Competition. Instead of our normal dinner meeting we will have drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Have a great week.

Out and about

Last week

Lynda Ord never fails to be a fascinating speaker and last week was no exception. She spoke about her life (since 2005) as a celebrant, the last in our series ‘A Rotarian presents’ which President Bob introduced in his year as a vocational programme. It has been highly successful.

Lynda works as a celebrant over the whole south coast although she has cut back and is talking about retiring ‘in a wee while’, likening her retirement to Dame Nellie Melba’s. She said the drawback of being a marriage celebrant was having her weekends booked up two years ahead, and spoke about ‘strange things can happen the night before the wedding’. She is delighted same sex marriage is now legal. Her ‘big passion’ is funerals when she gets to meet the most remarkable people with the most extraordinary stories. She added she is ‘blown away’ by the resilience of some people. Lynda spoke of the reluctance of some people to explore just what their loved ones wanted wrt a funeral etc., cremated or buried, and where they wanted their body or ashes deposited. She emphasised to us all the importance of ensuring your family knows about your life. She referred to the value of The Rest Easy Journal, produced by Shanna Provost, a copy of which she donated to the Wheel.

Local Rotarians receive OAMs

Two Rotarians in our area will receive the Order of Australia(OAM), announced this week.

Incoming President of Pambula Rotary Lynne Koerbin will receive an OAM for her service to people with a disability and to community health. Lynne has worked for 35 years with people with disabilities and said it was very humbling to be recognised for her work and how it has made a difference to people. She is well known in the Bega Valley Shire community being president of the Carers Accommodation South East project and working over the past five years to build accommodation at the South East Regional Hospital. Lynne is an occupational therapist by training and has previously managed community health services in the Bega Valley before moving across to disability support services; she is currently a senior planner for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.Bay Rotarian Peter Wood  with wife Lyn.

Current Batemans Bay Director Peter Woods has also been awarded an OAM for his services to the community of Batemans Bay and to youth. He has been Batemans Bay Youth Foundation Chairman, since 2005. The Foundation gives Grants to students to attend University or a course at TAFE or an Apprenticeship. The criteria for giving a Grant include academic achievement, personal aptitude for further study and a need for financial help. Since its inception in 1994, the Foundation had given Grants valued at over half a million dollars to 182 students.

Moruya Rotary and ShelterBox

Each Saturday at Moruya Markets, Moruya Rotary has a team that focuses on raising funds for ShelterBoxes. Last Saturday they raised an impressive $1,630 which included a cheque for $1,000. Their bulletin does not say from whence the cheque came.

Timor Leste embraces RYLA

An interesting note in last week’s Batemans Bay newsletter mentioned that Bay Rotarian Peter Kable had presented a fascinating insight into the history of Timor Leste (East Timor) and the great success of RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) in helping to develop the impoverished country.  This prompted me to find out more. You may have seen the article in Rotary Down Under Dec 2017-Jan 2018. Timor Leste with a population of 1.4 million is still one of the poorest countries in the world.  Its main exports are coffee along with some oil and gas.

The Rotary Clubs of Crows Nest and Pennant Hills have worked closely with the Rotary Club of Dili to get this programme happening. The RYLA program has been adapted to suit the Timorese situation and local leaders act as presenters. Almost 680 young people in Timor Leste have gone through the RYLA programme since it was introduced in 2009 and e gone on to achieve great results. All alumni cite the training they received through RYLA has helped them get jobs, scholarships and training ahead of their peers. Four RYLA alumni stood for parliament at the recent elections.  RYPEN has also been expanded in Timor Leste schools

Next week: Our guest speaker will be Allan Rees from the 350 Eurobodalla climate action group, accompanied by Paula Howe another member of the team. The goal of the worldwide 350.org movement is to restore the planet to health. The 350 Eurobodalla has been active since the 2015 Paris climate talks and aims to educate people about how the planet’s health can be restored. The group supports a rapid transition to 100% renewables in our area and across Australia and no new fossil fuel projects.

Cheers Laurelle

Bob’s Blog

Hello everyone.

Well it was a little less hectic this week after the very successful Busking Competition followed by the Markets.

Last Thursday we hosted Moruya Rotary for our annual Cinders Trophy Trivia Challenge. It was a great night with 60 Rotarians and friends in attendance. The fellowship was great and the competition fierce. In the end I declared a draw with a Moruya team along with a Narooma team coming out on top with a score of 56. Although this caused some controversy, I think the result reflected the spirt of the evening.

On Saturday, Therese and I represented the Club at Quota’s 31st Installation Ceremony. It was a great night with over 60 people attending. Quota has had a busy year donating over $26,000 to local, national and international charities. Chris Ryder is the new president of Quota.

This week, our own Lynda Ord is our guest speaker. I am sure Lynda will entertain us with some great stories about the life of a celebrant.

Don’t forget our 60th is not too far away. We celebrate this great event on Saturday 4th August – please keep the date free. This will also be our formal changeover ceremony.

Cheers
Bob

Out and About

The Cinders Challenge

What a great night with Moruya Rotarians last week at Narooma Golf Club for the annual Cinders Challenge. For the first time ever in its long history, it ended in a draw with both clubs sharing the trophy for the year. President Bob organised for Narooma and Moruya Rotarians to share tables over dinner to encourage fellowship and that seemed to have been welcomed by everyone

The scoring system for Cinders seems ‘variable’ depending on the referee, but it is always taken in good spirit. Top table score (as last week with Moruya’s Brainiac matching our Cirrus), total score per Club, or the highest score per Club participant (total Narooma tables or Moruya tables score divided by the number of participants from that Club); perhaps a subject for some future discussion.

Whatever, it was a fun night enjoyed by everyone. Top questions by our absentee quiz master extraordinaire Peter Bull, and ably put by President Bob assisted by Frank with the recording.

End of the Rotary year

It’s somewhat sobering to think that President Bob’s year is almost at an end and PE Rod’s is about to start. It also sees the end of Noel Trevaskis’ two years as RI Director. Many have appreciated having an RI Director from our District particularly one who has worked as hard for Rotarians in both Australia and New Zealand as Noel has. Noel’s visit to address our Club was postponed because so many were away on the date scheduled but hopefully we will see Noel some time soon.

Meanwhile, we’re invited to join Moruya Rotarians at their Changeover Dinner at Moruya Golf Club on Wednesday 20 June (6.30 for 7). If you would like to go, please book with John Spencer before midday on 11 June.

We’re also invited to Batemans Bay’s Changeover on Thursday 21 June (6.30 for 7) at the Soldiers Club. Cost $35. Partners invited and dress is Lounge suit.

ShelterBox and Guatemala volcano

ShelterBox’s Operations Team in their UK HQ is in touch with colleagues in the Central American country of Guatemala following the eruption of the Fuego volcano and is monitoring what aid is needed in surrounding communities.

ShelterBox Operations Coordinator Anna Dixie said on Monday the disaster was still in the emergency phase, and they were still waiting on an accurate assessment by authorities of the number of people affected. ‘Only then will we will know whether ShelterBox aid can be helpful. If so, we have it stored a short flight away in Panama but, with Guatemala’s main airport closed, access will be one of the initial challenges.’

MUNA

Unfortunately no one has put up their hand yet to be involved with MUNA this year. Narooma Rotary has sponsored a MUNA team for the past few years. For MUNA to be successful we need a member of the Club to take over responsibility for MUNA. Responsibilities will include liaison with Narooma High, the teacher involved and the team as well as attending the MUNA weekend in Canberra towards the end of August.

A belated Volunteer Week tribute to all Volunteers

National Volunteer Week may have been and gone, but volunteering keeps on keeping on, as demonstrated at our last Markets …  ( apologies for not including this last week).