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