Andrew’s Thoughts

Another successful week! Our Business Breakfast was well attended to hear Nat Spencer, MEGT Apprenticeships Field Consultant, talk about the thousands of dollars in government assistance available to employers and apprentices. Unsurprisingly, there was much Q&A with a few one-on-ones after her talk. It was also good to see attendees from Bermagui as our message spreads. 

Fortunately the weather just held off on Sunday for the October Markets and we grossed $1,247 which is a fine result considering the weather. Thanks, as ever, to Chris and all those who helped.

This week is our Hat Night for mental health with guest speaker Dr David Arthur of Bermagui. So dress up, have fun, and raise money for a very worthy cause.

It is with regret that this will be my last ‘Andrew’s Thoughts’ for a few weeks. As most of you know, I’m off tomorrow to marry off my daughter in Queensland. Then, 48 hours after I return, I fly to London and will not be back until 16th November. Hopefully I will make the Business Breakfast the following day, jetlag permitting! My thoughts will be with you all, and it’s onwards and upwards mes amis!

This Thursday 27 October

Grab your most eye-catching or zaniest hat and bring your partner and friends to ‘Lift the Lid on Mental Illness’ this Thursday 6 for 6.30pm. Our guest speaker Dr David Arthur of Bermagui will talk about ‘Integrative Mental Health Care in Rural Communities’ drawing on his extensive experience here and overseas.

‘Lift the Lid on Mental Illness’ is Australian Rotary Health’s national annual fundraiser for mental health research. Please invite partners and friends and encourage them to wear a hat, anything from flamboyant or zany to just plain practical. Prizes given. Hats are encouraged but not essential. Please let Gero know if you are coming and numbers by Tuesday morning. Cost $27 (includes dinner).
Rachel and David will run the raffle. We have a few prizes but more would be good please.

The Week that Was

Sunday’s Market Report

It was a good market on Sunday despite the anticipated weather keeping many away. Trying to anticipate whether the market was off or on was a difficult call by our Market Manager Chris O’Brien, especially with a few initial light showers Sunday morning. Then it cleared with even some sunshine which lifted everyone’s spirits.

We still had 41 sites (many from further afield cancelled because of the forecast) including four new stallholders. Our regular market team pressed on brilliantly as usual; it was good fun and reports are the super clean van was a joy to work in. Thanks to Wayne Redman who towed the van and helped with the BBQ and to Dave White who dropped off the meat. Takings were gate $820, food van $359.30, Wishing Well $67.25, a total of $1,246.55.

District Conference

Our District 9705 Conference was on at the weekend in Wagga Wagga. Unfortunately no one from our Club could make it but Moruya President Shirl and husband John Hayes were there. Shirl reports a highlight on Saturday was when DG Geraldine Rurengo started to sing ‘Imagine’ and a choir walked onto the stage to accompany her.

We sponsor two RYPEN students

Thanks to Ange Ulrichsen and Narooma High Yr 9 Adviser Carly McMahon, our Club will sponsor  two students to RYPEN at Boorambola Sport & Recreation Camp at Wagga Wagga 11-13 November (Total cost $800). They are Phoebe Coxon and Talon Keith.

RYPEN aims to give students self confidence and self-esteem and to enhance a belief in their abilities and talents. It targets those often overlooked for leadership or other programmes but who just need an opportunity to discover their untapped potential. This year’s RYPEN Coordinator is Darren Wallace of the Rotary Club of Wollundry-Wagga Wagga.

Ange introduced herself to Carly and the two students last week, gave them more information and completed the paperwork. Carly told Ange the parents are thrilled as are Phoebe and Talon. “I told them how in previous years we had the RYPEN Camp at Mogo Goldfields (sadly burnt to the ground in the bush fires), and how wonderful and memorable the experience had been for those attending,” Ange said. Their parents will transport them to and from Canberra, to meet up with the special RYPEN coach.  

Phoebe and Talon will join us on Thursday 24 November to tell us about their RYPEN experience. It’s the same night as guest speaker Dianne McInnes, so it will be a bumper night!

Out and About

From Bega Rotary

Bega Rotary has initiated its Inaugural Art Fair to be held in conjunction with its Book Fair at Bega Showground Arts and Crafts building 20-21 January.  Bega Club of Bega invites local emerging and established artists to exhibit and sell their work in the Fair. Types of art that can be accepted include painting, drawing, original prints and original ceramic pieces. Please spread the word.

For more information, please go to Bega Rotary’s website or contact Maz by email at marilyn@jus4us.net. Entry forms to be returned by 2 December.

NEXT WEEK

Wednesday 2 November: Prostate Cancer Support Group with guest speakers specialist Men’s Health physiotherapist Jamie Boulding and pharmacist Brad Butt from Canberra. Narooma Golf Club noon-3pm

Thursday 3: No meeting being the first Thursday in the month.

Friday 4 at 4pm: Many members will join Iris and Frank Eden’s family to celebrate Frank’s life.

Andrew’s Thoughts

Last week saw a convivial Club Assembly with a good turnout and good banter. It was a pleasure to see a lightened atmosphere. 

Thursday sees the next Business Breakfast when Nat Spencer from MEGT will explain federally funded apprenticeship and training schemes. We have widened the invite list to include more tradespeople; we’re hoping for a good turnout. 

This weekend sees the Area 9705 Annual Conference in Wagga Wagga which unfortunately I cannot attend due to wedding preparations. I have spoken at length with our Area Governor Adam de Totth and he will be “showcasing” the Club for our PCSG and for our Community service over the years. This is a big honour and a deserved pat on the back for us all.

This weekend also sees the October markets.

Thursday the 25th sees our annual Hat Day for supporting mental health. Dr David Arthur will be presenting, and I urge you all to come and bring guests. I have also written to Dr Jenny Munro inviting her and members from the Chamber to join us. We shall be holding a raffle and you are urged to donate something appropriate, and obviously there will be prizes for the most outrageous hats! Regrettably I shall not be with you as I shall be marrying off daughter Sophie in Queensland!

So, we have really interesting meetings ahead which should prove to be very enjoyable for us. So it’s upwards and onwards mes amis!

THIS WEEK

ON THURSDAY: Our Business Breakfast at Narooma Surf Club (7am sharp) features Nat Spencer, Apprenticeships Field Consultant with MEGT. She says local employers and apprentices may be missing out on thousands of dollars in incentives and benefits. There’s a range of Australian Government employer incentives and apprentice benefits in priority occupations, particularly traditional trades, but benefits are also available in other areas not on the Government’s priority list, including aged care and child care. Nat will explain what is available and how to go about applying. Cost $10. Bookings essential with President Andrew.

THIS SUNDAY: Our current Rotary food van has now had the brakes approved by a qualified mechanic, the electrics passed by an electrician and the exterior and interior cleaned, so it is well and truly ‘fit for purpose’ for Sunday and the coming busy summer season. Fingers crossed for Sunday’s weather; hopefully not a tough call for our Markets Manager.

The Week that Was

Club Assembly

Last week’s Club Assembly saw any consideration of the discussion paper on Rotary’s future catering choices, produced by 40% of members, avoided.

President Andrew reported the Carers’ Accommodation Eurobodalla Regional Hospital (CAERH) committee is starting to gain traction. Coming up is the group’s participation in the Eurobodalla Health, Wellbeing and Community Group’s Expo 2022 on Wednesday 2 November at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club. This will be the start of CAERH’s campaign to inform the community about the project. Andrew is CAERH’s deputy chairman and is assisting with publicity. Its next meeting is Wednesday 19 October.

The next Prostate Cancer Support Group meeting on Wednesday 2 November features guest speakers specialist Men’s Health physiotherapist Jamie Boulding and pharmacist Brad Butt from Canberra. Please note new time 12-3pm at the Golfie.

Moruya Rotary tows Healthy Harold

Spotted in Narooma last week was Moruya Rotarian Rohan Gleeson towing the Life Education mobile classroom with Happy Harold from ‘down south’ to Narooma Public School, one of many schools the van is visiting in the area. Towing the van around our area is shared by Rohan and John Gillett also from Moruya, taking over from Moruya’s late Jerry Bussa.

For those not familiar with it, Life Education has been active in Australia for over 40 years. It was established by the Rotary Club of Kings Cross through the auspices of the late Rev Ted Noffs from the Wayside Chapel. Along with other health challenges, illicit drug use was exploding back then. Ted saw an opportunity to address the issue before it became a problem.

His vision for Life Education was centred on a powerful concept: each and every child is unique. Ted’s approach was not to scare children, but rather motivate and empower them so they could and would actively draw on their own knowledge to make safer and healthier life choices.  The same approach to education continues to inspire Life Education today.

The first mobile classroom was built in 1982, enabling Life Education to take its program to schools throughout Australia. It continues to be assisted by many Rotary Clubs. Healthy Harold assists discussions with kids in the mobile classroom healthy eating, personal safety, physical activity, positive relationships, cyber-safety and the impact of alcohol and other drugs. Programs are run in primary schools with differing emphasis for different age groups. All modules are age and stage appropriate and aligned to the NSW PDHPE syllabus and the Australian school curriculum.

Narooma Rotary supported Life Education for many years in the past, particularly when former DG Jack Ings was a member and in the years immediately following.

NEXT THURSDAY

Hat Night for Mental Health 27 October

Next Thursday we ‘Lift the Lid on Mental Health’ with guest speaker Dr David Arthur on ‘Integrative Mental Health Care in Rural Communities’.
Dr Arthur has extensive experience in health care in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the UK f as a nurse, a counsellor, a researcher in mental health, and a health educator. He has published widely in areas related to post-natal depression and anxiety, schizophrenia and family management, as well as mindfulness stress management and meditation.
Returning to Australia just as the bushfires hit prompted him to join Bega Health and Eurobodalla Health as a mental health clinician and drug and alcohol counsellor in hospitals and the community. Through this experience and on through COVID, he became familiar with the stark differences in mental health care between urban and rural Australia. Concerned with the paucity of mental health care yet buoyed by a vision of community-centred multi-disciplinary low cost care, David will discuss some of his experiences and propose ideas which can benefit mental health in rural communities.
Should be a very interesting talk and don’t forget it’s a fundraiser for Mental Health. Please invite partners and friends and encourage them to wear a hat, anything from flamboyant, zany to just plain practical. Prizes given.

Andrew’s Thoughts

Well, another ‘interesting’ week with the Board deciding to take advantage of an available grant (deadline 10 October) to fund the purchase of a new van. I have no doubt there will be interesting debates going forward and you can all be assured that as President I shall only ever act in the best interests of the Club.

Thursday sees a Club Assembly and I suggest that the ‘V’ word is banned! Let’s have a more convivial meeting and I suggest that the evening is filled with humorous personal anecdotes to lighten proceedings. I’ll start with car hire on Martha’s Vineyard!

Last week also saw the latest PCSG meeting with a really useful presentation from Dr Gundi. It’s interesting to see that we are developing a meeting nucleus. 

Next week sees October’s Business Breakfast meeting with a last minute change of speaker. So as ever, it’s upwards and onwards mes amis!

THIS THURSDAY

Dinner Meeting – Club Assembly 6 for 6.30pm

The Week that Was

Board advances consideration of van’s future

Last week the Board received a report from six members who hope to move the whole discussion of a trailer/marquee, BBQ trailer and food van forward from the current impasse. That report has now been circulated to all Club members at the Board’s request. Other members might have other points they would like considered.

Probably all members acknowledge that concerns about the state of the current van have limited what the Club could undertake in the community in recent years wrt catering. The Club had prudently limited our van’s excursions to travel between Easts, NATA Oval and return. Bob Aston and Julie Hartley had both done excellent assessments of the existing food van that set some members thinking about issues they raised.

Bob’s and Julie’s reports acted as a springboard for the group to examine these issues at a brain storming session on Monday 3 October, issues they felt had not really been addressed by the Club to date in a systematic and logical way. At that meeting, our newest member Françoise Cleret pointed out there was a Bushfire associated grant through the Bendigo Bank that could possibly fund the entire cost of a new van, should we go that way. Only problem was applications closed 10 October.

That report, presented to the Board last Friday and since circulated to all members, examined:

1. A key issue raised by Julie and touched on by Bob – What does the Club want to achieve by having a catering presence at the markets and elsewhere?
2. It then looked at the benefits and disadvantages of an open trailer/marquee, a BBQ trailer and a food van.

Friday’s Board meeting unanimously agreed to go ahead with the grant application, a decision also supported by Mike Young and Ange Ulrichsen in absentia. It was felt it was too good an opportunity to miss. Lynn, Françoise and Laurelle then did the application on the Club’s behalf, ultimately approved by President Andrew.

Clarifying the van’s condition

Few would dispute the van is probably past its use-by-date, but the report also posed the question “can it get us safely through the December-January markets”. Some doubt had been raised by some members about the perceived safety of the van’s electrics, but a professional assessment was needed.

The Board last Friday also agreed to the group’s recommendations, viz  get the electrics checked by a qualified electrician before the next market (if any concerns, that was it), do a deep clean before the next market (23^rd), and check the temperatures of the bain-marie and fridge at the next market to ensure they still meet food regulation standards. David McInnes had given the clean a head start by giving the exterior an initial good clean at September’s market.

Baby Book Project

The Board also decided last Friday to continue to support the combined Moruya-Batemans Bay- Narooma Baby Book Project initiated in 2005-2006 by Moruya’s Steve and Jan Young during Steve’s year as President. Maternity Services for the whole shire had at that stage been centralised in Moruya so the plan was to present a small book to every child born in Moruya Hospital, the costs to be shared by the three Rotary Clubs. We’re now waiting on a Tax Invoice from Moruya, but it will be about $500.

An initial special deal saw 350 signed copies of Jackie French’s Diary of a Wombat launch the project. Seventeen years later and the project is still going strong. Steve and Jan reckon the project has so far donated 6,800 books. A number of different books have been used over the years; the most recent a series of Steve Parish booklets, each with a story by Rebecca Johnson. (Some information from a recent Moruya Rotary newsletter)

Out and About

Hat Night for Mental Health 27 October

Don’t forget our Hat night on Thursday 27 October to ‘Lift the Lid on Mental Health’. This will be a fundraiser. Our guest speaker is Dr David Arthur who will speak about ‘Integrative Mental Health Care in Rural Communities’.
Dr Arthur has worked in health care in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the UK for over 45 years as a nurse, a counsellor, a researcher in mental health, and a health educator. He has published widely in areas related to post-natal depression and anxiety, schizophrenia and family management, as well as mindfulness stress management and meditation.
Returning to Australia just as the bushfires hit prompted him to join Bega Health and Eurobodalla Health as a mental health clinician and drug and alcohol counsellor in hospitals and the community. Through this experience and on through COVID, he became familiar with the stark differences in mental health care between urban and rural Australia. Concerned with the paucity of mental health care yet buoyed by a vision of community-centred multi-disciplinary low cost care, David will discuss some of his experiences in Asia and propose ideas which can benefit mental health in rural communities.
Should be a very interesting talk and don’t forget it’s a fundraiser for Mental Health. Please invite partners and friends and encourage them to wear a hat, anything from flamboyant, zany to just plain practical. Prizes given.

NEXT THURSDAY 20^th

7am: Rotary Business Breakfast at Narooma Surf Club: Natalie Spencer of MEGT will talk about the range of Australian Government employer incentives and apprentice benefits available in priority occupations. These particularly target traditional trades but benefits are also available in other areas not on the Government’s priority list, including aged care and child care. It’s worthwhile employers coming along to discuss with Nat. We’re hoping to attract a number of employers especially tradies from around the area.

MEGT is a not-for-profit organisation that supports employers, apprentices, trainees, job seekers and students. Their local apprenticeship experts work across Australia helping businesses, apprentices and trainees get the most from the Australian Apprenticeships programme.

Andrew’s Thoughts

Another important week for the club with Françoise Cleret inducted as our newest member at last week’s meeting. It’s wonderful to have her on board; she adds to the now six new members in the last three years, part of the important rebuilding of the Club. Also at that meeting we had a good opportunity to frankly discuss the merits of ‘where from here’ for the van.

This week we have Wednesday’s meeting of the PCSG where Dr Gundi Muller-Grotjan will be discussing the GPs’ perspective. After the last meeting, this should be very interesting. 

Then on Friday we have the October Board meeting where hopefully we shall arrive at a sensible compromise on the van issue, because the debate has gone on for too long.

As ever, it’s onwards and upwards mes amis!

THIS WEEK

Wednesday 5 October 6.30pm: Prostate Cancer Support Group at Narooma Golf Club with Dr Gundi Muller-Grotjan of Braveheart Healthcare to lead discussion

Thursday 6 October: No Dinner Meeting being the first Thursday in the month

This Friday 7 October 4.15pm:  Board Meeting at Narooma Golf Club

The Week that Was

From Moruya Rotary bulletin

Moruya Rotary President Shirl Hayes-Cornish reports that the recent meeting of the Carers’ Accommodation Eurobodalla Regional Hospital (CAERH) committee accepted an invitation to participate in the Eurobodalla Health, Wellbeing and Community Group’s Expo 2022 on Wednesday 2 November at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club. The Expo is for ‘conventional and customary health services and providers and also the exceptional and unique’. Our President Andrew is CAERH’s deputy chairman.

Shirl said this is the beginning of CAERH’s campaign to inform the community about the project with the aim of attracting people and organisations to make up the Steering Committee. Louise McFadden from the Project Team at NSW Health will provide a map of the hospital plan for the display showing the site put aside for Carers’ Accommodation. CAERH Chairman Rob Pollock will have photos and information about the Bega and other Carers’ Centres.

Publicity will begin with Andrew Lawson using his relationship with Paul West of the ABC and Andrew Elek with James Tugwell of the Bay Post. Shirl will also mention it on her monthly talk with Peter Diskon on EAR and write a media release. The CAERH’s next meeting is Wednesday 19 October.

Out and About

Nominations open for RYLA 

In 2023 the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) will be held from 7-13 January inclusive at the Warrambui Retreat & Conference Centre at Murrumbateman NSW. It aims to grow the leadership potential of young people in our community.

The seven day residential programme is designed to challenge and inspire these young people and help them gain further confidence and self-esteem as well as set goals for their future. A number of past Rylarians assist in running the programme and, through their experiences at previous RYLA programmes, give enormous support to their peers and the community.

Our Club is asked to find a suitable applicant between 18 and 30 years who has shown some leadership potential. (Please note that for 2023 only the age limit has been extended to 30 years because the programme has not run for the previous two years; in 2024 this will be reduced back to 28 years.)

Application forms can be found online at https://rotary9705.org.au/page/ryla. The closing date for RYLA applicants is 31 October, however the District would prefer applications by early October.

Our District RYLA Chair Clare Lawlor says should our Club select a RYLA participant, please invite them to attend some Rotary Club meetings prior to the programme. Fees will be invoiced to participating Clubs and cover accommodation, all meals and programme expenses. The fee is $950.00, which includes a subsidy from the District.

NEXT WEEK

Thursday 13 October: Dinner Meeting at Narooma Golf Club 6.30 for 7