Julie’s Jots

Last Thursday’s Business Networking Breakfast delivered interesting insights into the challenges faced by those working from home, remote from their work office (see below), as well as the benefits. It also attracted what was possibly a record attendance.

Last Thursday I attended the monthly meeting in Moruya of the Carer’s Accommodation committee for the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital. The Hospital’s construction is on track and the committee is looking at new ways of raising money to fund construction of the Carers’ Accommodation.

Don’t forget we have the Market this week. Our new market banner is now on show at the roundabout. Thank you Rachel for the design and Laurence for the donation. Looks good!

THIS WEEK

This Thursday 24 April

Our Dinner Speaker this week is local naturopath Sally-Anne Bertram who will ‘Demystify Naturopathy’. Hopefully we will get a few extra people along to hear her.

Sally Anne has practised as a naturopath at Grandpa’s Garden since 2021. She is a general practitioner treating men, women and children with asthma, allergies, women’s health issues, men’s prostate, autoimmune etc. She uses herbal medicine, nutrition, diet and homeopathy. Sally-Anne has been a lecturer in herbal medicine, nutrition and clinical studies and was Head of Natural Therapies at the then well respected Nature Care College, and a clinical supervisor for over 10 years.

This Sunday 27 April

Narooma Rotary Markets – all hands on deck please. A few of our members are away so we will need all the help we can get.

The Week that Was

Last Thursday’s Business Networking breakfast, with a panel on Hybrid Working and Working Remotely, gave us all greater insight into what is becoming quite a normal way of working post Covid. While technology enabled it and Covid showed the way, it was the realisation that it’s possible to combine lifestyle without sacrificing careers that has seen this way of working flourish. Online Teams meetings are key. Cat Leach of Catfish Creative has summarised the meeting succinctly with a wonderful ‘live scribe’ done during the meeting.

Here are some highlights.

Françoise Cleret is Director of Cyber Security with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in Canberra. She spends about a week a month in Canberra; the rest working from home. Her skills are particularly in project management. She manages a team of 24 people who she has organised in four teams. Her biggest challenge is getting the right teams together that are able to work from home because it’s not for everyone. Another challenge is managing personalities.

Meredith Macpherson is Water and Regional Development Manager with the Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO), an organisation of 11 Councils and 1 water county council. Reliable internet is possibly her biggest challenge. She’s one of a team of nine, six of whom work remotely; she has a staff of one. Her office is in Bathurst. They meet online for an hour twice a week. Regular face-to-face meetings have fallen by the wayside replaced with frequent Teams meetings; over time Teams meetings have become more productive and meaningful. She travels to her region every 4-6 weeks and tries to coordinate all face-to-face meetings for that time.

Oliver Batten works with Destination Store a small team of seven destination specialists all of whom work remotely. Remote working allows him to juggle family life with work and noted the need for transparency. They do have an office in Surry Hills and they physically get together every quarter. Oliver works all over Australia in destination strategy, branding and managing online content. He uses the Fish Tank co-working space in Narooma.  

Graham Martin‑Dye is a Grain Broker with Delta Grain Marketing, working miles from any grain producing area. Regular communication with his grain producers and buyers is key. Reckons it was his 10 years working in the Harden area and his strong work ethic recognised by Delta that convinced the company he could work remotely and maintain the trust of his producers and buyers.  Graham also uses the Fish Tank one or two days a week.

David McInnes is a self-employed Consultant Geophysicist operating across Australia and overseas. Many of his clients are physically very remote in mines etc. His challenges are having the computer and internet capacity to handle up to 60GB of data. One of his biggest challenges is the lack of other geophysicists in the local area.

Out and About

Narooma Oyster Festival Big Breakfast

This is on the Sunday of the Oyster Festival 4th May, being organised by the Chamber of Commerce. Rotary is one of a number of organisations charged with delivering the breakfasts to several hundreds of Festival goers. If you can help, please contact David McInnes or Ann Hegerty if you haven’t already done so.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride

Plans are coming together, the number of registered riders are slowly growing as are donations. So here’s hoping for a great weekend 17-18 May. It will be a busy month with the Market the following Sunday.

NEXT THURSDAY 1 May

Board Meeting 5pm TBC – Julie is reviewing – may not have a quorum for this date.

Julie’s Jots

Last Tuesday was another great day when Ange, Chris and I attended the annual Rotary Youth Driver Awareness programme in Moruya.  We accompanied the 140 Narooma High and Bateman’s Bay High Year 11 students on Tuesday.  It’s always a learning experience for both the students, teachers and volunteers.   This was my third year volunteering and I always come away knowing something I didn’t know before.

Planning for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is coming along well, thanks to Françoise and her team. I have put up posters in Bermagui this week and others are doing the local area.

We only had a small number at our Club Dinner last Thursday because quite a few members are away.

This Thursday is our Business Breakfast with an amazing 43 people booked to hear a panel five people speaking about the challenges of working remotely. We have such a great regular Rotary team who sets up and packs away each month; it’s a well-oiled operation. Thanks everyone.

THIS WEEK

Thursday 17^th 7am: Our Rotary Business Networking Breakfast with a panel on the challenges of working in this area remote from the office . Surf Club 7am sharp.

Saturday 19^th: Rotary Easter Saturday Races at Moruya – all proceeds to CAERH.

The Week that Was

RYDA again a great success

Over 300 Year 11 students from the five Eurobodalla high schools attended the two-day Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) programme last week at Moruya Jockey Club, the first organised by new coordinator Pam Williams of Batemans Bay Rotary.  

The three Rotary Clubs in Eurobodalla Shire collaborate on this wonderful service program with Moruya providing a wonderful lunch, Batemans By morning tea, and all Clubs providing volunteers and student transport.  This was the 17th year of delivering RYDA in Eurobodalla, with 3,500 students benefitting from the programme in this time.

Out and About

Encouraging DG Riders to make a weekend of it

We’re encouraging anyone coming to Narooma for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) on Sunday 18 May to think about making a weekend of it. Our DGR coordinator Françoise Cleret says speakers on Saturday night will talk about ‘Looking After Blokes’, showing how physiotherapy and pharmacy can work together to support men with prostate cancer, and in turn, their carers. Everyone’s invited, not just motorcyclists.

Pharmacist Brad Butt and physiotherapist Jamie Boulding from Canberra have expert knowledge, experience and training in men’s urological health.They’ll explore how early intervention, the right tools and a team approach can make a big difference. Please spread the word.

Special accommodation discounts on early bird bookings have also been organised for that weekend with Easts Holiday Park, Surf Beach Holiday Park, Whale Coast Realty and Ben Bate Real Estate.

Bega Rotarians and ANU students dance

Some neighbouring Rotary Clubs have a long and productive association with ANU Medical students training at our local hospitals. Last month Bega Rotary organised a very lively and enjoyable evening for ANU first year medical and psychology students at an old-fashioned bush dance at Kameruka Hall, part of their annual program of student experience in Bega. Twenty-three students spent four days in the Bega Valley gaining firsthand experience of a rural lifestyle; the idea was too encourage them to consider employment in the area once they are qualified.

This event was also for GPs new to the area, local medical staff, fourth year medical students and students on longer placements in the area. Bega Rotary supported the event by providing the BBQ for a total of 100 people ably assisted by hospitality students from the Sapphire Coast Anglican College. The next day Bega Rotary also supported medical students who were offering free blood pressure tests in Bega.

NEXT Thursday 24^th April

Our Dinner Speaker will be local naturopath Sally-Anne Bertram who will ‘Demystify Naturopathy’.

Sally Anne has practised as a naturopath at Grandpa’s Garden since 2021. She is a general practitioner treating men, women and children with asthma, allergies, women’s health issues, men’s prostate, autoimmune – you name it. She uses herbal medicine, nutrition, diet and homeopathy. Sally-Anne has been a lecturer in herbal medicine, nutrition and clinical studies and was Head of Natural Therapies at the then well respected Nature Care College, and a clinical supervisor for over 10 years.

Julie’s Jots

Last week’s Board meeting decided to donate $1,000 to ShelterBox for the earthquake affected areas of Myanmar. International disaster relief charity ShelterBox provides emergency shelter to those left homeless due to some disaster.

The Board also agreed to sponsor two Year 9 students from Narooma High to this year’s Rotary Youth Programme of Enrichment (RYPEN); this year it’s in Sutton, ACT. Should that all go ahead, we can look forward to hearing reports from these students in late May.

Françoise also brought the Board up to speed on the DGR – see above poster and the report below.

This Tuesday Ange Ulrichsen, Chris O’Brien and I will join Narooma High Year 11 students to help out with Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) at Moruya Jockey Club. Our Club is paying for the two buses to transport students using funds raised from cooking breakfasts for the recent Honda Goldwing bike gathering.

I invite all Club members to a planning day for the new 2025-2026 Rotary year on Saturday 31 May at 2pm at Club Narooma. All Club members are encouraged to attend and have their say in what they would like to see our Club achieve.   If you are unable to attend, please write something down and submit it so that you don’t miss this opportunity 

THIS WEEK

Tuesday 8 April: Narooma High Year 11 students will attend the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness programme at Moruya Jockey Club, accompanied by three Narooma Rotarians.

Thursday 10 April 6 for 6.30pm: Club Dinner at Narooma Golf Club

The Week that was

Club ramps up for DGR next month

Françoise Cleret brought the Board up to date last week with plans for this year’s Narooma’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) for Prostate Cancer and Men’s Mental Health (Sunday 18th May). It’s our second and is shaping up to be even bigger and better than last year’s.

Last year 73 riders from Batemans Bay to Merimbula (many on classic or vintage styled motorbikes), ‘dressed dapper’, and raised $10,967 for these great causes. This year we’re expecting more.

Our DGR will be one of over 900 DGRs across 104 countries held that day. Francoise said they bring people together to celebrate these bikes and the ‘gentlefolk’ who ride them, men and women, while celebrating the power of community and making a lasting impact on men’s health worldwide.

All riders must register online before 18^th May to take part and ‘dress dapper’. www.gentlemansride.com/rides/australia/narooma.  Should you wish to donate to the Narooma DGR, please also go online and support one or more registered Narooma riders or pillions. 

We’re also encouraging riders to come for the whole weekend with special accommodation deals, and we have special speakers organised for the Saturday night. More in the next Beacon

Recent District PETS and Club Development Day

Laurelle reported on some highlights for her at the recent District Day at Broulee, particularly the Membership session. DGE Rob Shore said on several occasions through the day: “Make sure every Rotarian in your Club is happy and proud to be a Rotarian. Get that right and our membership will grow.”

The membership session was presented by Simon Bernhard Yass Rotary President, up to that week the fastest growing club in the District. “ A couple of ‘memorables’ from Simon – “Membership is a marathon not a sprint.” “Membership doesn’t end with someone signing up… The total number of engaged members is what is most important.”

Laurelle also did a presentation on our Business Networking Breakfasts.

Out and About

After much negotiation, Moruya Rotary PP Shirl Cornish is off to the Philippines with two other Rotarians this week to finalise a Rotary Global Grant. This will be to support Roots of Health, a second generation US NGO with 44 staff, whose USAID funds were recently cut. Their programme has reduced the pregnancy rate in Puerto Princesa by 60%.

NEXT THURSDAY 17 April 7am

Our Business Networking Breakfast on the 17th will explore the challenges of remote and hybrid working from our area. Being able to work from home remote from the office has been a huge life-changer for many people, giving them the flexibility of combining their desired lifestyle with good jobs. It’s increasingly evident in our area. We will have a panel of five speakers.

1.  Meredith Macpherson, Manager of the Water Utilities Alliance with Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO) – an organisation of 11 Councils + 1 water county council

2. Graham Martin‑Dye, Grain Broker with Delta Grain Marketing

3. Françoise Cleret, Director of Cyber Security with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in Canberra.

4. Oliver Batten, Lead Destination Strategy & Impact with Destination Store. (DS is a small team of destination specialists)

5.  David McInnes, self-employed Consultant Geophysicist with Montana GIS, operating across Australia and overseas.

Our Business Breakfasts start at 7am sharp at Narooma Surf Club (upstairs – finishes at 8). We will start the panel at about 7.15 to allow time for questions at the end. Bookings by COB Monday 11 April via Laurelle are essential (Breakfast $10). If you know someone who works remotely in our area, please invite them but make sure they book in (to ensure both breakfast and a chair!!)

Julie’s Jots

March has been a busy but very successful month in every sense. My thanks to our wonderful team for all their hard work. It’s wonderful to see Ann driving again after her recent surgery and relishing her return to independence. We all wish Gordon and Di Bentley a quick recovery from Covid, and Gordon also a full recovery from his recent surgery. We’re all thinking of you.

Last week sounds like it was a fascinating night with a focus on Cobargo moving forward post fires. Thank you to Ronnie Ayliffe for her talk on the new Cobargo Resilience Centre currently under construction.

Our Business Networking Breakfast on 17 April promises to be really interesting when a panel of five business people will talk about the challenges of remote and hybrid working from our area.

Also this month we’re ramping up for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) on Sunday 18 May, thanks to Françoise Cleret and her team. It promises to be even more successful than our first DGR last year. Hope you can help on the day.

THIS WEEK

Wednesday 2^nd April 6.30pm at Narooma Golf Club: Prostate Cancer Support Group

Thursday 3^rd April 5pm at Narooma Golf Club: Board Meeting

The Week that Was

Last Thursday Ronnie Ayliffe spoke passionately about the new Cobargo Resilience Centre (CRC) currently under construction on the western side of Cobargo’s main street. Ronnie is Vice Chair of the CRC Committee which is the primary recovery project for Cobargo’s main street. The buildings previously on this site were destroyed in the bushfire five years ago.

Construction is funded by a grant from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund. The architect is TAKT Studio. The CRC will include a small exhibition space, a commemorative courtyard, a retail outlet for work by local artisans with the themes of resilience and hope, and a theatrette with capacity for 30. There were many questions; discussion continued after the meeting including about how the community could come together to make best use of the new centre.

Out and About

On RYDA next week

Our wonderful Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) programme is on next Monday and Tuesday at Moruya. Narooma High Year 11 students will attend on the Tuesday; Narooma Rotary is funding the two buses to transport them to and from the venue, and 3 of our Rotarians will be volunteers on the day. Batemans Bay Rotary provides morning tea; Moruya Rotary lunches.

Moruya Rotary’s newsletter explained RYDA rather well. It aims to reduce the number of teenagers killed and injured on our roads each year. The RYDA programme is a one day school excursion which involves six interactive sessions presented by professional facilitators.

The sessions include practical demonstrations of speed and stopping and hazards and distractions; discussions about rights and responsibilities and personality and its effect on decision making, as well as a powerful presentation by a speaker about the crash that changed their life. The programme provides students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will contribute to their safe and responsible behaviour as drivers and passengers.

ShelterBox to Myanmar

International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is responding to Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar which has also affected Thailand, China, Bangladesh, India and Laos. Buildings collapsed and homes destroyed leaving many people homeless and isolated. A rare plea for international humanitarian aid has been made by Myanmar authorities.

ShelterBox is sending an assessment team to Bangkok but its focus would be on Myanmar. They will look at what’s been happening, where the needs are, and how they could get aid to the affected population.

ShelterBox CEO Sanj Srikanthan said the charity had “a lot of work ahead” but it was “absolutely essential” to provide emergency shelter to keep people safe. ShelterBox has launched an emergency appeal as support was “crucial in making this response possible”.

NEXT WEEK

Tuesday 8 April: Narooma High Year 11 students will attend the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness programme at Moruya

Thursday 10 April: Club Dinner

Julie’s Jots

We had two great highlights this week – a very successful Pride of Workmanship Awards night at Club Dalmeny and another fascinating Business Breakfast. Thank you everyone who made these two events such a success; it was a big day.

On the Awards night… people who grow businesses contribute to the lifeblood of Narooma and are a key part of retaining our younger population and making Narooma a desirable place to live. We are proud of all the participants and wish them the very best.

We have our monthly market tomorrow, so all available hands on deck please. We have a few of our regulars away, so will be drawing on some of our wonderful Friends of Rotary.

THIS THURSDAY 27^TH

Thursday 27 March 6 for 6.30pm: DINNER SPEAKER – Ronnie Ayliffe on the new Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre. The CRC is the keystone rebuild and recovery project on the area of western side of the main street of Cobargo that was destroyed in the bushfire five years ago. TAKT Studio are the architects; construction is being funded by a $4.8M grant from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

The Week that was

Business Breakfast

Thirty people booked in for last Thursday’s Rotary Business Networking Breakfast to hear Teresa Lever from Council on hard spend data from the summer period and from Narooma Rocks Chair Cath Peachey on the rapidly approaching Oyster Festival.

Teresa is Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Manager Economic Development and Place Activation. She accesses card sales data to show how busy the peak season was, where people came from, their spend etc, and compare them with past years.

For Narooma, for the December 2024-January 2025, period visitors came from quite a dispersed market. Most (66%) came from NSW (mainly Queanbeyan, Palerang, Wollongong), 25% ACT, and 5% Victoria. Top suburbs were Goulburn, Jerrabomberra, Kambah and Monash. Mountain bike trails is attracting people from across Sydney. She reported on total local spend in this period, compared with visitor spend. She described this summer as “çruel’’ in that the peak New Year week spend collapsed after that first week, which corresponded to the national trend.

Teresa produced an interesting quiz which included total population in the Dalmeny to Tilba being 8,500, total number of businesses 660.

Cath Peachey said there are many new things at this year’s Oyster Festival (check out the website). She mentioned the feature events (most of which have sold out), the great line-up of celebrity chefs, and the band line-up on the Friday and Saturday. They are still looking for volunteers. She also mentioned the Big Breakfast on the Sunday being organised by the Chamber in association with various community groups including Narooma Rotary.

The accompanying Rock Oyster Week has events across the shire with many more businesses getting involved , many being oyster related. One aim of the NOF and Oyster Week is to encourage people to stay longer and spend more.

Valued employees recognised at Pride of Workmanship

Ten local businesses recognised valued employees at our annual Pride of Workmanship Awards at a special dinner at Club Dalmeny on Thursday. Awards co-organiser Françoise Cleret said these Awards are a highlight of the Club’s year with good reason. Our VP and MC extraordinaire David McInnes said they give local business people the opportunity to publicly recognise one of their staff who goes above and beyond.

“The number of nominations this year was fantastic and shows how much local businesses appreciate these Awards,” he said. Recognised were:

• Lewis Baker of Dalmeny Designer Kitchens
• Jim Sharpe of Estia Health Dalmeny                          
• Sophia Moody of Hear Well — Live Well          
• Sue Piazzoli of Maven Dental Narooma                        
• Sebastian Mellish of Mr Bold Catering Company        
• Makhenzie Mathie of Narooma Fishing & Dive
• Irene Baxter of She Fashion                                    
• Ella Moore of Southbound Escapes                             
• Cash Graham of  Southern Euro Plumbing                
• Sean Stent of Swan Plumbing                                                                

Co-organiser Laurelle Pacey said she is always quite moved by what employers say when nominating an awardee, and this year was no exception. Southern Euro Plumbing Neil Graham coming to the mike and giving his own heart-felt appreciation of his apprentice, his son Cash.

Unfortunately awardees Makhenzie Mathie, Ella Moore and Sean Stent were unable to attend.

NEXT WEEK

Wednesday 2^nd April 6.30pm at Narooma Golf Club: Prostate Cancer Support Group

Thursday 3^rd April 5pm at Narooma Golf Club: Board Meeting

Julie’s Jots

Lynn, Laurelle and I spent Saturday attending the annual Presidents-Elect and Club Development Training Day, this year held at St Peter’s Anglican College in Broulee.  It is an amazingly expansive school, a lovely venue, and we learnt a lot.  Laurelle also gave a presentation on our Business Breakfasts. This year it was a little different from previous years, being held over one day so as to cut down on overnight stays.  There are two others being held across the District – one in Canberra, the other in Wagga Wagga.

I found it a very rewarding day, as did Lynn and Laurelle.  I highly recommend that if you can go next year, do so.  These seminars are designed for everyone in Rotary Clubs and are very informative. We will share some of what we learned at a future Club Dinner.

I would like to thank David, Rachael, Ange, Gero and Chris for their help over the weekend with the bacon and egg rolls we cooked for the Goldwing Honda Club over the three days.  We had a 6.30am start to fire up the BBQ and start buttering the bread rolls and cooking the food.  132 rolls were cooked over the three days and the motorcycle club involved were from all over Australia and a really nice group of people.

We have a busy few days ahead of us with the Business Breakfast this Thursday morning, the presentation of 10 Pride of Workmanship Awards that same night, and the Markets on Sunday.

THIS WEEK

Thursday 7-8am: Our Business Networking Breakfast . Narooma Surf Club.

Guest speaker Teresa Lever of Council will report on the fascinating hard data she’s able to access showing just how busy the peak season was, where people came from, their spend etc, and compare the figures with past years and between different towns. Teresa is Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Manager Economic Development and Place Activation.Narooma Rocks Chair Cath Peachey will also briefly outline how this year’s Narooma Oyster Festival and the accompanying Rock Oyster Week are shaping up.

Thursday 6 for 6.30pm: Pride of Workmanship Awards at Club Dalmeny Cost $55 per person, buy your own drinks. Bookings now closed.

SUNDAY (23^rd): Our Market… all hands on deck please.

The Week that Was

Breakfast for GoldWing bikers

Members of the Australian GoldWing Association were most appreciative of our Club’s early starts to cook them a delicious breakfast over three days at the Discovery Holiday Park south of town. They were here for their Annual Show and Shine and AGM.

AGA Riverina Chapter representative Kevin Lindley, the main organiser of the weekend, is absolutely delighted that the money we raised from the breakfasts will finance two buses to take Narooma High Year 11 students to the wonderful Rotary Youth Drive Awareness programme at Moruya on Tuesday 8 April.

Well done our breakfast team who also included President Julie. Françoise also dropped by to spruik the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in May. Hopefully we will see a few GoldWings winging their way back to Narooma for this event.

For those not familiar with the GoldWing, and who may not have seen the influx of these amazing bikes over the weekend, they’re widely regarded as the ultimate touring bike.

Moruya Rotary goes to Tuross

Moruya Rotary’s meeting at Tuross last week was an experiment to raise their club’s profile there and hopefully also attract some new members. They had a great attendance from members and partners and good speakers gave a succinct summary of the Club’s focus areas. It was well advertised and Tuross Country Club rose to the occasion. Early results are positive with initial discussion between the two clubs about possibly working together on a couple of community projects plus a couple of membership enquiries.

Out and About

• Yass Rotary Club was the fastest growing Club in the District up until last week; Batemans Bay has now overtaken Yass.
• The Men’s Health Education Van is in Batemans Bay this weekend, Moruya this coming week, and Bega the following weekend. Rotarians assist at the van. The Van which tours regional areas is a project of the combined Rotary Clubs of NSW.

NEXT WEEK

Thursday 27 March 6 for 6.30pm: DINNER SPEAKER – Ronnie Ayliffe on the new Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre. The CRC is the keystone rebuild and recovery project on the area of western side of the main street of Cobargo that was destroyed in the bushfire five years ago. TAKT Studio are the architects; construction is being funded by a $4.8M grant from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

Julie’s Jots

Big news from last week’s Board meeting was approval of the Commonwealth Bank Narooma team becoming Corporate Members of our Club; our first! We’re looking forward to inducting them into the Club once we get all the badges and information packs organised.

March is certainly a really busy month for us. This coming weekend we’re cooking breakfasts for three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday 7-9am) for the Goldwing Honda motorcycle club gathering at Narooma Beach Discovery Park (south of town).  Thank you to those who have volunteered to help on those days; see me if you would also like to help. We will discuss this more on Thursday night. 

Also this Saturday is the annual President Elect (PETS) and Club Development Session, this year at Broulee (details below). These seminars are designed for all Club members, so if anyone would like to attend, please register online.  At this stage I will be taking Lynn and Laurelle with me. We have also been asked to do a presentation on our Business Breakfasts. Anyone else?

I look forward to seeing you this Thursday for a Club Dinner and a bit of a catch-up on all that’s happening.

THIS WEEK

Thursday 13: Our Club Dinner at the Golf Club, 6pm for 6.30pm. Numbers to Gero please by noon Tuesday 11^th. Order from the bistro.  

Friday 14- Sunday 16: Cooking breakfasts for Goldwing Honda at Discovery Park Caravan Park (just south of Narooma).

Saturday 15: President Elect (PETS) and Club Development Session – at St Peter’s Anglican College, Broulee. This is designed for both incoming leaders and club members, offering an opportunity for training, learning, and networking. Starts with arrival from 8:30 AM, with the official welcome at 9:00 AM. The day will end by 4:00 PM. Registration through District 9705 website. DGE Rob Shore urges all members to come, as well as asking us to invite non-Rotarians.

Out and About

Our Business Breakfast on 20 March

Our next Business Networking Breakfast is next Thursday 20 March at the Surf Club from 7am sharp.  We have another couple of great speakers lined up.

Teresa Lever from Council will report on the fascinating hard data she’s able to access showing just how busy the summer season was, where people came from, their spend etc., and compare the figures with past years and between different towns. Teresa is Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Manager Economic Development and Place Activation. Narooma Rocks Chair Cath Peachey will also briefly outline how this year’s wonderful Narooma Oyster Festival and the accompanying Rock Oyster Weekare shaping up, including the highlights.

It starts at 7am sharp at Narooma Surf Club (upstairs – finishes at 8). Rotarians, please book directly with Laurelle, by Monday 17 March at the very latest. She will assume you will want breakfast ($10 each) unless she hears otherwise.

Pride of Workmanship, also 20 March

This is one of our Club’s very special nights. We have 10 wonderful nominations for Pride of Workmanship Awards this year on Thursday 20 March at Club Dalmeny 6 for 6.30pm.

These Awards give employers the opportunity to acknowledge one of their staff who goes ‘above and beyond’, publicly recognising who displays outstanding qualities in terms of their approach, attitude, dedication and commitment to their job. It’s not a competition. This Vocational Service project aims to publicly recognise the value of having pride in personal performance in the workplace, hence the scheme’s motto ‘Do it once, do it well’.

Please let Laurelle know by noon this Friday at the latest if you are coming. Lynn encourages you to do direct deposit into our Administration account. Rotarians, please make sure you put ‘your surname POW’; participating businesses please include ‘name of business POW’. It will be a top night.   

From Moruya Rotary

This Tuesday Moruya Rotary is meeting at Tuross Country Club. They have booked in 39 people which includes 12 from Tuross. Moruya hopes to increase its profile in Tuross and perhaps attract new members.

Time to check your Bowels

Now is the time to check your bowels, regardless of your age. It could save your life. Narooma Rotary President Julie Hartley said increasingly we’re seeing younger people diagnosed with bowel cancer. “This programme is available for everyone regardless of age, whereas the free National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is only provided to those aged 50-74,” she said. Early diagnosis is critical; 99% of caes can be treated successfully if detected in the early stages.”

The annual BowelCare Programme which Narooma Rotary supports is now well underway with kits available for purchase until 31 May.  Australia has the world’s highest incidence of bowel cancer with 1 in 12 men and women diagnosed with bowel cancer by age 85. It is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer.

Kits this year can be purchased through the online store at www.cancercareaustralia.org.au until 31st May or by phoning the BowelCare office Tuesday to Thursday 9.00 am – 3.00 pm (02) 4341 6695. The cost is $30.00 inclusive of postage and fees, pathology testing, and notification of your result to yourself and your nominated doctor. They are no longer sold through local pharmacies. 

To keep the cost of the kit as low as possible, the kits are not branded BowelCare, but instead ColoVantage. They are the same test kits as in previous years just the outer envelope has the supplier’s generic branding. BowelCare Australia is a division of CancerCare Australia Limited.

NEXT WEEK

THURSDAY (20^th)

Thursday 7-8am: Our Business Networking Breakfast (see story above)

Thursday 6 for 6.30pm: Pride of Workmanship Awards (see story above)

SUNDAY (23^rd) Our Market… all hands on deck please

Julie’s Jots

It sounds like last week’s guest speakers Christina Potts and Ben Woolnough from Narooma High School gave a fascinating insight into the school’s Wagonga Inlet Ecosystem Project (see report below) and everyone there had a very enjoyable night.

Then on Sunday, our dynamic trio of Françoise Cleret, Gero Mitchell and Laurelle Pacey braved an early start to beat the tide and help Clean Up Australia, working from Mill Bay to the Apex Park Boat Ramp. Our members have been doing this for many years now and it’s great to note a substantial reduction in the amount of rubbish, thought to be partly due to refunds for returnable bottles and cans, plus the army of our wonderful community-minded locals who regularly pick up rubbish when out walking. Thank you ladies.

THIS WEEK

Wednesday 5 March 6.30pm: Prostate Cancer Support Group at Narooma Golf Club

Thursday 6 March 5pm: Board Meeting at Narooma Golf Club

The Week that Was

Narooma High citizen scientists

How wonderful to hear on Thursday from Narooma High teachers Christina Potts and Ben Woolnough about the school’s Wagonga Inlet Ecosystem Monitoring Project. Many of us had been wondering what the little raft was off Rotary Park; now we know! (Great interp sign nearby.) Narooma High is one of about 12 schools in Australia participating in this project with Australian Ocean Lab (AusOcean). The site was selected after consultation with scientists in several organisations and is in a posidonia (strapweed) seagrass ‘meadow’, so therefore a rich habitat for marine creatures.

The floating rig was built by Narooma High students to AusOcean’s design. Its equipment continuously monitors water temperature and salinity (data stored in the Cloud) with a live stream cam underwater camera. Students will use the data for real world learning and carry out ongoing field work to understand changes to sea grass communities and stingray movements. It will also be used to monitor some of the oyster reefs as they are redeveloped in the Inlet.

“This collaboration provides world class scientific opportunities for our students as well as developing technological skills and encouraging teamwork,” Ms Potts said. The rig also requires ongoing maintenance by the students. The live cam is streamed into Mr Woolnough’s classroom all the time.

CAERH Car Raffle drawn

The electric car raffle of 3,000 tickets in aid of the Carers’ Accommodation for Eurobodalla Regional Hospital (CAERH) was drawn at Narooma Golf Club last Thursday night. The winning ticket was 1422, held by Pastor Julie Brown of the Southern Life Church at Moruya.

CAERH President Rob Pollock praised his committee and expressed confidence the project would succeed.  Mayor Matt Hatcher spoke of the community spirit evidenced by the support for CAERH, while Col Jay thanked the sponsor Batemans Bay Coastal Auto Group. The final raffle contribution to the CAERH account was $110,000.

Out and About

Time to check your Bowels

The annual Rotary BowelCare Programme which Narooma Rotary supports is now well underway with kits available for purchase until 31 May. Kits are no longer sold through local pharmacies. 

Narooma Rotary President Julie Hartley said increasingly we’re seeing younger people diagnosed with bowel cancer. “This programme is available for everyone regardless of age, whereas the free National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is only provided to those aged 50-74,” she said. “This simple test can save your life.”

Australia has the world’s highest incidence of bowel cancer with 1 in 12 men and women diagnosed with bowel cancer by age 85. It is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer.

Kits this year can be purchased through the online store at www.cancercareaustralia.org.au until 31st May or by phoning the BowelCare office Tuesday to Thursday 9.00 am – 3.00 pm (02) 4341 6695. The cost is $30.00 inclusive of postage and fees, pathology testing, and notification of your result to yourself and your nominated doctor. 

To keep the cost of the kit as low as possible, the kits are not branded BowelCare, but instead ColoVantage. They are the same test kits as in previous years just the outer envelope has the supplier’s generic branding. BowelCare Australia is a division of CancerCare Australia Limited.

Moruya Club looks to Tuross

Moruya Rotary will meet at Tuross on Tuesday 11 March, thanks to the planning and work of their Membership Director Steve Picton. Tuross is in Moruya’s drawing area but the Club feels it has not paid Tuross much attention in recent years. The Club hopes this meeting will lift its profile there.  

NEXT THURSDAY 13 March

Next (13^th) Thursday is our Club Dinner at the Golf Club, 6pm for 6.30pm. Numbers to Gero please by noon Tuesday.