The Week that Was
A highlight of last Thursday’s meeting was welcoming two new members to our Club – Blake Heath and Diana Bachman. Great to have them both on board. It will be fun getting to know them and having them assist us in delivering for our community as ’People of Action’.
The Club’s special guest was Rotary District Governor Robert Shore who reinforced the importance of “membership, membership, membership”. He said to keep the Club alive we have to keep getting new members; members need to be active in seeking new members. He referred to a survey he did at the last Narooma Markets asking people about what they knew about Rotary and would they be interested in joining. As a result, he invited one potential member to last week’s meeting. He also surveyed members on the night.
Robert raised ideas for the Club to consider, such as six-month Blue and Gold honorary memberships that hopefully would convert into active membership. He also spoke about the cost of membership and the appeal of subsidising them.
MND Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker Kathryn Ratcliffe spoke about the devastating impact Motor Neurone Disease (MND) has had on her family, and its impact generally. MND affects the nerves that communicate between the brain and muscles; while a genetic defect causes some cases, in most cases the cause is unknown. At the moment there is no known cure or prevention.
Kathryn said community awareness of MND has greatly increased over the last 10 years. She said on average in Australia, two people are diagnosed with MND each day, and two people die each day from MND.
Kathryn is passionate about raising awareness of MND and funds for research. She spoke of several inspirational MND advocates and their driving mantra: “it’s not incurable; it’s underfunded”. One was Australian molecular biologist Professor Justin Yerbury who died from hereditary MND in 2023 following a lengthy battle with the very illness he spent years researching to find a cure.
Another was Neale Daniher AO, a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He was diagnosed with MND in 2013. While the average life expectancy after diagnosis is about 27 months, Neale is still active as co-founder and patron of the FightMND charity, one of the world’s largest independent funders of MND research. FightMND has invested $115m in both care and medical research to find a cure. In 2024 alone, $15.4m was invested.
Narooma Rotary was involved some years ago in MND fundraising; in the last Rotary year the Club donated $500 to FightMND.
THIS WEEK
Wednesday 6 September 12 noon: the Prostate Cancer Support Group will resume but is trialling a different time for a get-together and chat. Everyone is welcome. Narooma Golf Club.
Thursday 7 September 5pm: Board Meeting, Narooma Golf Club
There will be no Beacon next week.
Out and About
One last word on MUNA
Last week Moruya Rotarians heard from the three students from Carroll College they sponsored to MUNA. Moruya President Tony Armstrong concludes in their newsletter this week…
Their presentation highlights the true value and impact of Rotary’s many youth programs. By flipping burgers [at the canteen at the racecourse], we were able to give these three young ladies an opportunity and all three grabbed it and clearly extracted more than just a bit of debating practice out of it. What wonderful training for life and what a wonderful way to improve our community.
COMING UP
NEXT THURSDAY (11TH)
Our RYPEN students will report back from their weekend camp which is on this weekend at Sutton. Hopefully they will both find it a really rewarding experience. We have sponsored two Narooma High Year 10 students – Jenna Jewell Harkness and Delilah Weir – to the Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN). They will be accompanied on Thursday by their families, Year teacher and Narooma High Principal.
RYPEN is a youth program that has run in our District for many years. The students are nominated by the school. RYPEN aims to give young people self confidence and self-esteem and to enhance a belief in their abilities and talents.
Please invite family and friends and let Gero know numbers by noon 9th September.
THURSDAY (18TH)
Our Narooma Rotary Business Networking Breakfasts resume after a winter break. Guest speaker on the 18th will be BB regular Karen McLellan of The Job Shop. She will look at employment across Eurobodalla Shire and the challenges, why Eurobodalla Shire Council initiated the Job Shop, and its success to date. Should be interesting.
Our Business Breakfasts start at 7am sharp at Narooma Surf Club (upstairs – finishing at 8). Please let Laurelle know by email by Monday 14 September if you are coming. Bookings are essential. She will assume you will want breakfast ($10) unless she hears otherwise.