President Richard opened our meeting with Rotary Grace and the loyal toast. He then proceeded to award a Paul Harris Fellow to Gerry Gerlach for his contribution of $1000US to the Foundation. This is a worthy recognition. Gerry not only contributed financially but he works hard for the Club. Well done. Pres. Richard also congratulated Ken Cook who has 5 Sapphire Pins, and John Gray who has 2. Next came the awarding of Honorary Membership to a long standing and hard working member, Paul Milde. This was carried out by his proposer and mentor Rick Priest, who gave a great outline of Paul's service to the club before he reluctantly resigned and moved to Canberra to be closer to family. Paul is a highly regarded member and the club was very sorry to see him leave. Four ladies also attended the meeting to support Margo, (and quite a few were unable to be there but would have been if possible.) They were Margaret Priest, Angie Gerlach, Cherie Benn, and Cathy Pyke.President Richard also welcomed them and Steve Barker, who was guest of David Benn. Neil Schirmer told us of his exchange visit to Canada during his college years. He was hosted in a small town north of Regina, Saskatchewan known as Battleford. His host family ran a 3,500 acre mixed farming property on the Saskatchewan River. The conditions are a bit different than here. They plant in May and have the harvest well over by August. After that the cold sets in and the place "looks like the Hay plain, covered in snow". While he was there he and friends travelled extensively in Canda and the US, and has fond memories of the warmth and friendliness of the Canadians and the Indians . (During the last ice age this area was covered by up to 3km of sheet ice..hence the flatness of the land) Oh What a Night!! A hugely successful Food and Wine Festival. Phil and Pykie gave a brief report on the Food and Wine. Enough to say it was better than expectation!!! From stacks of hard work by members and Volunteers! | | | | | |
DISTRICT CONFERENCE TEMORA | | Gerry Gerlach asked us to consider coming to Temora for the District Conference from the 18th to 20th March 2022. The venue is at Temora so it will be easy to go over, even for the one day. Its a great way to get together with old friends and hopefully meet some new people. The Air Museum is well worth the visit alone! You can register online at Rotary9705.org.au Pictured are some of the displays at the Temora Aviation Museum. Most of the aircraft are flown on Warbirds display days and are a sight to behold. With exceptional speakers, entertainment and Rotary Fellowship this should be a fantastic conference. If you would like to know more before deciding check out the website and/or talk to Gerry. |
VISITORS, APOLOGIES AND MAKEUPS There were apologies listed from David Golland, Stuart Heriot, Tim Hutchings, John Ireland,Tim McMullen, Jonty Shuter and Bob Willis. Makeups were made by everyone on roster for the Food and Wine. (There isn't enough space to list them all!!) DRAW PRIZE No draw today as Margo Milde and Paul won all the chocolates!! ROTARY INFORMATION The Rotary Foundation is Rotary's official charity. Our club members donate $1 per week to this in our dues...$50 per annum. But what does this money do? Where does it go? It is returned to the Clubs in the form of Grants. District Grants are decided by the Foundation Committee of the District and are used by clubs to bolster their donations to the community. One example of this is our recent assistance given to CareVan. We asked for some $2500 to increase our help from $3000 to $5500. This allowed the CareVan operation to continue its amazing work in a modified manner due to Covid. Similarly we applied and were granted help with Help Cambodia Global Grants are for major overseas projects where we partner with a foreign club and carry forward a project. We recently took part in one such project in the Congo The Foundation matches our contribution in many such cases and so doubles the effect of the Clubs' donations. These funds are available to all and any club which can put forward a good case. Our individual donations are tax exempt and recognised by the Foundation. A club's donations are similarly recognised and once the total reaches $1000US, we can grant a Paul Harris Fellow to worthy community members. It is also worth noting that Paul Harris Recognition is automatically given to individuals who reach total donations of $US1000. Foundedmore than 100 years ago, with an initial contribution of US$26.50, the Foundation has spent more than US$4 billion on life changing sustainable projects including eliminating polio, providing access to clean water in developing countries, educational and humanitarian grants. Today the Club approved a donation to Help Cambodia of $1000. This will go to help two university students in Cambodia finish their university studies. This a project we have supported for a few years and the Club had accessed Foundation funds for this along the way. |