Visitors: Paul Belcaster (past Member and Guest Speaker)
Welcome From President Lynda Burch. The meeting commenced with Lynda lamenting the lack of a donger.
Special Announcement: - The board has taken the decision to donate $10,000 to the Graeme Dingle Foundation. Lynda advises that the programme is regarded as being well designed and highly effective.
Christmas Pud's have again proven to be a perennial favourite with Rotarians. Some within earshot, claim to still have many stored away from previous Noels. Dave McDonald claims a record breaking 44 sold so far, and is hoping for 50. Please get your money in honesty style, as Dave has threatened not to chase anyone.
Announcement and Upcoming events:
- K Valley Cycle Event 12th March. This is a family event, a chance to get to know K Valley, and it threatens to be fun. Of less fun is Michelle’s appeal for anyone comfortable cold calling potential sponsors. Another way to help out is to sponsor a clue for $400 a pop. Rotarians will also be needed to help out on the big day, so plenty of options to be involved.
- Amazing Places – is the new branding for this project. Places are due to be shortlisted on the basis of their amazement factor in Feb. This is a Joint Venture with the Garden and Arts Festival and promises much.
- Fina – travelled back to Vanuatu on the 22nd Nov. Her leg mending very quickly, earning her an early discharge. Glenys also appealed to anyone who still has outstanding raffle money or butts to return them to her ASAP.
- New Year Meetings: Dean Thompson advises there will be no meeting 6th Jan, and an informal at the Raft (Pay as you go) on the 13th, before our first official meeting back at the club on the 20th.
- Dan Allen-Gordon– Kiora Tatau - Thanks for the funding, very much appreciated. Waitiangi Day Celebrations - the club has an opportunity to take gold coin donations - fill in the volunteer schedule if you can help. Also, many thanks to those who are assisting with support for Larissa.
- Christmas Meeting – is next week. No presents this year – just bring CASH! (Ed: I am trying this out with my family this year too. I think it is a winner.)
Speaker - Paul Belcaster. Driving an Uber in Chicago: 
Paul set off on a 4-month holiday which stretched out to 18 months. It started off as a golfing holiday, and an opportunity to help his daughter move back to NZ. The Golf was postponed and next thing Paul finds himself driving an Uber around his home town.
He really sold it to us by recounting all the drive by shootings, homicides and shootouts he witnessed. Voted the second-best place in the world to live, it must have an unenviable reputation as being a popular place to die before your time too. 4000 murders a year, $5b in debt and holiday traffic that is on the “Insane” scale. Scary and fascinating at the same time…
Thanks Paul – good to have you back.
Raffle: Jim Rickard
Sergeant Session: Adrian Pohio,
just returned from cruising around the Med – 24 days no less. Barcelona to Rome, clearly not in a straight line as it took in the Turkish Coastline, Malta, and the Blue Mosque. For those who were starting to get well jel, not all went to plan with the Grand Bazaar being inexplicably closed for an unforeseeable public holiday and our intrepid traveler's being confined to their cabin for a week with the dreaded Covid. Still, lobster and prawns every night probably made it bearable.
Parting Thought Glenys Parton:
“Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard or too sad when you've got a Christmas tree in the living room.”
Technical Set up:
The member is to setup the projector and connect with the Laptop for speakers and club power point presentations. The sound system and microphones are also part of these duties. There is a process sheet provided. Please be on site by 6.30am to carry out your duty. This may include setting up
for the guest speaker as well.
Actions if you are unable to carryout your duties
If you find that you are not going to be available to do the one assigned to you, please find someone to do the duty in your place, even if you are on ‘Back-up’, and then let Jim Rickard (jim@builtin.co.nz) know the name of your replacement as soon as you can.
Please do not call on the person assigned the duty of 'Back-up' to stand in for you. His / her sole responsibility is to take over the duty of anyone who does not turn up on Friday morning.
Canterbury Provincial Superintendent William Moorhouse (‘Railway Billy’) had proposed this ambitious project as early as 1858. In July 1861, amid much fanfare, he ceremonially ‘turned the first sod’, but the task proved challenging. The first firm contracted to do the work withdrew. The hardness of the volcanic rock and the need to find ways to ventilate and drain the tunnel resulted in delays.