Charmaine’s Chat
Our first meeting was of 12 but who’s counting? Great to get to see my brother Bern White and introduce him and his friend Sue Tredrea to my fellow Rotarians.
Our Board meeting sorted out the four Presidents for the year; a big thank you to all concerned for their help. We are all hoping for smooth sailing all year. Ange Ulrichsen will take over from me 1 October, Bob Aston from Ange Ulrichsen 1 Jan and Laurelle Pacey from 1 April. Rod Walker will take over from Laurelle as Vice President for that last quarter. Rolf Gimmel will then be President 2020-2021.
Last week Bob gave us a wonderful summary of some of his and Therese’s adventures during their ten weeks overseas.
We’ve heard from two of our three Tertiary Scholars with their results (see following).
The defibrillator we provided to Woolworths has been returned as all Woolworths are having the same brand of defibrillator installed in all stores across Australia. So if anyone can think of a new home for this defibrillator that would be great.
The Board also came up with some key dates for the coming year. 8 August: D G visit – partners’ night 29 August: Combined meeting with Bega at Cobargo Hotel (changed because of roadworks) 2 November: Renewable Energy Expo 20 March: Cinders – TBC with Moruya Club 16 April: Pride of Workmanship (TBC because of school holidays) 30 May: National Busking Championships in Narooma
THIS WEEK
Our guest speaker is Tilba-based cookbook author and food stylist Jody Vassallo. She will talk about her latest cookbook venture, Farmer, to raise funds for drought-affected farmers. Jody enlisted the help of leading chefs and a team of people who also tell the stories of farmers and their families in this book. She crowd-funded the whole venture. This should interest a lot of people.
OTHER NEWS FROM LAST WEEK:
Tertiary Scholarship
Bob Aston has already spoken with about 12 Year 12 students at Narooma High about applying for our Rotary Tertiary Scholarship this year. The closing date for applications is a week after the end of the HSC with interviews 21 December.
MUNA
Our Club is sponsoring a team from Narooma High to the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) in Canberra 16-18 August, thanks to Ange Ulrichsen’ s initiative and Narooma High teacher Monique Wicks. MUNA is organised for D9710 each year by the RC of Canberra Sunrise.
Teams are made up of two or three Year 11 or 12 students, with each team representing a nation at a simulated Model United Nations Assembly. Narooma High is representing Syria, a huge task. Teams debate topics of international concern such as world peace, environmental issues and human rights over two days at the Museum of Australian Democracy (old Parliament House).
The benefits for students are that they develop an awareness of the working of the United Nations and of the country that they are representing. They have an opportunity to practice and develop their public speaking and debating skills, and gain a better understanding of the international positions of other countries.
Ange is looking forward to our members meeting the team soon.
OUT AND ABOUT
Our Tertiary Scholars
Great results from our tertiary scholars Sabine Kildea and Cassie Kerr. Sabine Kildea is doing an Arts degree at ANU. She received three credits in the first semester and is now off to the United States for the next phase of her course. Bob Aston is her counsellor.
Cassidy is doing a double degree in Law and Psychology at the University of Wollongong. She wrote to her counsellor Rod Walker:
I received my exam results yesterday and I’m very pleased with the results, I received 3 Credits and 1 Pass, which are results I am super proud of as the first semester of law was indeed challenging!
I just wanted to update you and thank you again for the scholarship. Your contribution and my youth allowance payments have allowed me to focus completely on my studies as with this budget I have been able to live comfortably without a job thus far, which has played a huge part in the results I received. So, thank you so much again I cannot stress how grateful I am, I look forward to continuing my studies later this month and I will most definitely continue to keep you updated.
Best wishes, Cassidy
Our other current tertiary scholar is Alicia Bate; she is studying for a Bachelor of Animal Science at Charles Sturt University.
Moruya Rotarians host Small Farm Field Days
Moruya Rotary is organising Small Farm Field Days 20-21 March at Moruya Showground which will require a big effort by all Moruya Rotarians. They hope for up to 100 stallholders providing products and information for small landholders as well as giving local producers an opportunity to showcase and sell their wares.
Money will come from exhibitors’ fees, sponsorships and gate entry fees. They hope to have some stallholders from last year’s Renewable Energy Expo which was held at Moruya because power alternatives are a big deal for small land holders, especially if they live well out of town. The event will also include a program of speakers on topics relevant to small farms, and possibly a petting zoo for children.
RI and ShelterBox renew partnership
Rotary International announced last month it had renewed a three-year partnership with its disaster relief project partner, ShelterBox. For almost 20 years, this unique humanitarian alliance has supported families with a place to call home after disaster. ShelterBox provides emergency shelters and other essential items to support families who have lost their homes in disaster.
What began as a local connection with one Cornish Rotary Club has led to an international movement that’s provided 140,000 ShelterBox family tents or 390,000 ShelterKits worldwide to date (a value of over £54 million).
NEXT WEEK:
Our guest speaker will be Matt Deveson from Narooma Chamber of Commerce who will speak about ‘Narooma Dreaming – Jobs for the Future’. He will outline the development of a strategic plan for Narooma to benefit everyone.
On a lighter note
Winston Churchill apparently loved these, and of course there is a word for it. ‘paraprosdokians’ (!). They are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and frequently humorous. Here are a few:
- Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
- Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good evening’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
- Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
- Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars but check when you say the paint is wet?