September is Rotary's Basic Education and Literacy Month
Nicholas Fantham and Maddy Lawson
will speak to the Club on Wednesday
President's Message
A great turn out at last week's meeting and it was very nice to welcome Kim Hockings back to our club for a visit from Toowong, QLD.
Thank you all for a really healthy discussion around our club's donations program and potential recipients for this year. The results of the discussion, and fact-finding by some of our members, will be discussed at next week's board meeting for recommendation and approval and will then be presented to all members the following week.
Our Charity Race Day will take place this coming weekend (13 Sept @ Kembla Grange Racecourse). Thank you to all members who are attending on the day and/or have contributed prizes to our fund-raising activities; the wine-fridge and silent auction. There are still around one-dozen tickets available for any late comers, so if you or a family member or friend wish to attend, please let me know.
This week we will welcome Maddy Lawson & Nicholas Fantham back to our club for an update on their respective studies. It will be great to hear of their progress, challenges and successes. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Sergeant Patrick opened the meeting by congratulating the assembled company on the noise level over dinner, which he rated 48/50. In the absence of further explanation, the assembled company felt very pleased with this result. We welcomed Honorary Member and Past President Kim Hockings for the evening.
The week's reflection was an opportunity to consider the concept of forgiveness; something we do for ourselves, not the person we forgive. Forgiving is allowing us peace, not endorsing the other's actions. If you really struggle with forgiving, consider this quote which may be from C.S. Lewis: "forgive your enemies, but never forget their names". (Self-improvement is a lifelong process.)
International Toast: Albert proposed a toast to the Rotary Club of Malta,chartered in 2002, with its 47 members, including men and women, many of whom are non-Maltese. It is part of Rotary International District 2110(Sicily and Malta) with over 3,700 members in 93 clubs, 3 of which are in the Maltese Islands. Malta has been referred to as a "couple of tiny rocks in the Mediterranean where birds stop on their migrations". Malta was made famous by the Knights of St. John when 600 of the Knights held off thousands of invaders. incidentally, more bombs were dropped on Malta in the war than upon London. We wish Albert a wonderful trip when he travels back to visit Malta shortly, with his family.
Dennis reported that the Joker is still in hiding. As a result, the Joker Draw profit was pleasing, indeed, last week.
Anne reported that Arthur is still in Coledale Hospital and visitors are encouraged. Read to him if you can or take him walking around the grounds. Pat and Cath Ridley send their regards.
Rose reports we need a Rep for the Imagination Library Zoom meetings held every 2 months. Please see Rose if you can help.
Phil is unable to bring along Santa's Elf to our Christmas event, so is seeking someone to wear the Elf Suit. A lucky winner will be chosen from the members' list to take up this important role.
District Conference tickets are on sale, but Early Bird tickets are sold out.
The Club Business meeting followed:
BBQ trailer, fridges & freezer have been sold.
Donations program was discussed: spreadsheet provided by Phil showing projected budget was explained and discussed.
Discussion around Primary Sponsorships: Albert suggested we set aside $5000 for natural disasters to avoid rushing decisions. Our Community Project was well supported as a recipient. Anne's suggestion that we support a hay drive donating hay to farmers affected by droughts was also well received. Women Illawarra would be another beneficiary, along with Recovery Camp (who are coming to speak to us in a few weeks)
Discussion around the scholarships and which to continue and which to redirect. All scholars have been paid for this year. John Chaplin Scholarship is to be continued. Is there a possibility the scholarship funds could be redistributed - need more information. Smith Family seems a good place to begin exploring that; and Rose is happy to find out about the possibility of supporting some kids to participate in organised sports (whose families may be struggling to fund this).
Secondary Sponsorships - one of the existing recipients could be replaced with the Hay Drive.
Sergeant Patrick then took up his gavel and struck his wine glass...effectively gaining everyone's attention for the fine session. He reviewed the roster for next week (Anne will be doing all the responsible duties). He fined Rose for having said she was good and then also all those who supported Rose. The Club's coffers will be full indeed!
Our wine raffle was drawn by Kim Hockings and won by Kerrie Hayes-Williams and Patrick Roberts.
Sergeant Patrick then gave the Reading and subsequently complained that he is insufficiently recognised (for ???)
At a time when international tensions are rising, from Ukraine to the Middle East and beyond, the role of the UN in maintaining peace and security is under more scrutiny than ever. With over 60 peace operations active worldwide, peacekeeping remains one of the UN’s most vital yet pressured tools.
Major General Tim Ford AO (Ret’d)
Over 40 years of service in the Australian Defence Force, UN Military Adviser, former Head of UNTSO, and Director of UNAA NSW.
