Charmaine’s Chat
The next 12 months will be a time of adventure in uncharted waters with our four ‘captains’ steering our Club. As you know, this is a new course for our Club because no one person was available to take the helm for the whole year. Each of our four ‘captains’, all Past Presidents, will do a three-month stint as President and all be on this year’s Board. This will also help Rolf Gimmel prepare for his term as president the following year.
All of us are committed to continue our major projects: our monthly markets, the Renewable Energy Expo in November, the Busking Championships as well as our Rotary youth programmes.
The Rotary International theme for this year is ‘Rotary connects the World’. So let’s hoist the flag, anchors aweigh, set the sails, and all be aboard to ‘connect the World’ by continuing to help our local community and Rotary International.
THIS WEEK
Board Meeting at 5pm at the Golf Club followed by Club Assembly and fellowship.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Last Thursday we celebrated the end of a good year under President Rod and the start of ‘a rotating presidency’ through 2019-2020. Past District Governor Maureen Manning in replying to Bob Aston’s toast to Rotary International, said our Club was “the epitome of what Rotary International is about”.
Rod said his theme for his year was “Steady as she goes” with the Club continuing to punch well above its weight in terms of fundraising and community activities. “We also enjoyed some fascinating guest speakers through the year who attracted many visitors to our meetings,” he said.
Incoming first President Charmaine White continued the nautical theme, referring to the next 12 months as “a year of adventure in uncharted waters” (see above).
Over the past 12 months our Club provided over $28,000 to local and international causes over the past year, of which about $10,000 went to local youth programmes and tertiary scholarship recipients, $4,756 to the Rotary Foundation including the polio eradication campaign, and $3,000 to Rotary Health Australia for medical and mental health research.
Rod said highlights included the 60th birthday celebrations last August, the recent Busking Championships, the Australia Day Duck Race, the Pride of Workmanship Awards, youth programmes, the Tertiary Scholarship Awards as well as monthly markets.
John Rungen, Sandra and Lynn had earlier been recognised as Paul Harris Fellows, with John Rungen also being named the the club’s Rotarian of the Year by outgoing President Rod. President Elect Rolf received his second Paul Harris Sapphire Pin on the night.
Guests at the Changeover included the Rotary District Governor’s representative Past District Governor Maureen Manning of the Batemans Bay Rotary Club, Past District Governor Phil Armstrong and his wife Kim, and representatives from Moruya Rotary Club, Narooma Lions, Quota, CWA and other local volunteer organisations.
OUT AND ABOUT
Congratulations to Nadine
John and Sandra Doyle’s daughter Nadine Holland, our wonderful Busking concert MC, was inducted into the Rotary Club of Cooma at the Club’s Changeover by DG Margaret Hassall, also a member of the Cooma Club.
Alas, we lost Cinders…
Moruya Rotary won the recent annual Cinders Trophy trivia night. This fun night between our two Clubs sometimes sees some fierce competition but always in a spirit of fun. Our numbers were well down with so many members away so a good reason to lock in the date early in 2020 before people start travelling, maybe March/April.
Congratulations to our neighbours
DG Margaret Hassall’s presented her District 9710 Awards at our District Changeover on 30 June with several recipients being our neighbouring Rotarians.
Moruya Rotary Club won the International Service Award for the Storage Facility and Intensive Farming Project on Arturo Island in Timor Leste. This project provided storage to ensure that rice provided by the Timorese Government each year under the School Feeding Program is properly stored and protected, while the intensive farming project provided training and protection for the intensive farming of vegetables and animals to benefit the local community. This project was supported by a District Foundation Grant.
Shirley Hayes-Cornish of Moruya Rotary was awarded the District’s Excellence in International Service Award. Shirl is the driving force behind Moruya’s projects in Timor Leste, particularly the storage facility and intensive farming project. She has also become active in the Mindanao Poverty Relief Action in the Philippines with her husband John, and as the lead presentation in a training program ‘Awareness of Sexual Health´ which aims to reduce teenage pregnancies.
Bega Rotary won the Vocational Service Award for their Bega Rotary Business Breakfast initiative which Noel Trevaskis has previously outlined to us. This initiative brings Bega’s business community and other organisations together with Bega Rotarians and provides a valuable source of membership for Bega Rotary while simultaneously addressing the needs of the group and community organisations.
Maureen Manning from Batemans Bay Rotary was awarded the Excellence in Youth Service recognising her service to RYPEN and over 2,000 students over the last 17 years. Through the RYPEN camps, Maureen has assisted many young people reach their potential by her enthusiasm, organisation, devotion to the wellbeing of others and through her care and compassion.
Our 9710 District Governor is Peter Ford from the Rotary Club of Aurora Gungahlin.
In case you missed it
Outgoing RI President Barry Rassin wrote last month that Rotary International had incorporated environmental sustainability into each of Rotary’s six areas of focus. This was due to the actions of the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group in partnership with UN Environment.
Those six areas of focus are: Peace and Conflict Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, Economic and Community Development. Rotary will work to ensure projects in these six areas preserve the ability for the environment to renew itself and continue to support human well-being, thereby supplying life-sustaining benefits to communities.
Both Rassin and new RI President Mark Maloney hope Clubs find ways to implement these suggestions. Sounds like our Renewable Energy Expo is right on RI’s target.