President Rhonda opened the meeting.
Birthdays and Anniversaries: None noted.
Guests: Indeavar Duhan (Nathan), Michael Batchelor (Life Member), Lynne Brown, Erica Jackson (Buddy), Warwick de Vere and our speakers Barbara Hill and Robyn Kerr.
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is on 17 April and 1 May. Please contact Simon Beaton. In support of Shelterbox.
- Car Rally has been postponed due to lack of member interest.
- Thanks for support for the Red Puppy Appeal and the Multi Cultural Festival.
Presentation of Life Membership to Sally Morrison
The Kaitiaki were called to face the meeting [Editor’s note: it was explained that Kaitiaki can be translated as Wise Elders, a notion which caused some amusement in parts of the room].
Mary spoke about Sally’s long and outstanding service to Rotary and to the community. Apart from having a Paul Harris award, Sally has been decorated with the NZ Order of Merit for services to Health and the Community. Sally’s work in Vietnam was particularly noted.
The formal presentation was made by Mike Batchelor, our only other Life Member, and was followed by a standing ovation for Sally.
Barbara Hill and Robyn Kerr were introduced by Phil Mangos. Barbara and Robyn are trustees of the Life a Plenty Trust which runs live-in workshops for women in need of support due to stress in their lives from factors like the need to care for family members with illness and family violence. The women are referred by health professionals and spaces are available for only 1 out of 3.
The workshops are held at Tyburn Monastery in the Waikite Valley near Rotorua
and run for 5 days/4 nights. Morning sessions are for time on your own, and afternoon sessions are workshops to learn skills.
The course was described as a circuit breaker, giving participants time to reflect on their situations, and to learn skills to help them deal with it. Many of the participants have issues with grief, and with commitments to care for other people, and they are given skills in looking after themselves including goal setting, planning ahead, and setting boundaries.
Speaker thanks was from Kevin Atkinson.
The Raffle was won by our guest Erica Jackson.
Glenn Dougal took us through a riff on the word Sally – as a name it originated from Sarah, Sallys are fantastic cooks and are romantics, and our Sally got credit for the Salvation Army (Sallies), Sally Lunns (although they were invented in 1780), an Olympic gold medal in the 400m hurdles, and for involvement in film eg When Harry Met Sally and for various awards (Sally Field).
Reminder: GWCTD on 17 April and 1 May – contact Simon.
Parting Thought came from Steve Read: Quoting Vladimir Lenin – there are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen