Notices:
Wayne asked for volunteers for laptop set-up on a 4 week rolling rota (only 'cos he's going for an easy life this year – yeah, right)
Free tickets for The Elms exhibition were offered
Warren S Fellowship at The Phoenix on The Strand. Wednesday 8 August from 5pm. All welcome
Dan Open invitation to see how Kiwi Can works. Brookfield Primary Thursday or Friday next week 10am
Kathy. Art is rolling in with heavy website traffic. URGENT storage space needed for the Treasured Art display boards. Contact Kathy
Pat. Good turnout for Friday Fives last week. Surely our President didn't admit to being a little the worse for wear?
Its always an auspicious time when we induct a new
member and that honour went today to Philipp Wilkens. President Pat, ably assisted by Mary O, did the necessary and it was great to see Maria, Philipp's wife, come along to support her husband. Welcome into the Club, Philipp.
Our speakers today were Chris and Sophie Rapson. Merivale has for too long been regarded as a less than 
salubrious area of our city, having the only Decile 1 school in Tauranga. Chris is the Chair of Merivale Community Incorporated and also a trustee and Chair of the Whare Manaakitia Trust which is overseeing the provision of the new Community Centre. Early on, Chris had a meeting with the then Mayor, Stuart Crosby, who promptly turned it back to him to pursue, hence the reason for all his 'titles'. He cited an article from last week's Herald which reported that many of the kids from Merivale had never been to Mount Main Beach – can you believe it? Many of the pupils regard school as a safe haven, coming in many instances from overcrowded homes with parents having to take multiple jobs to make ends meet. Poverty is not the kids' fault and here came a quote from Gandhi – 'The true measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable'. The Merivale Centre provides a safe environment for kids who, after being given breakfast and lunch, can go to the Centre after school. Around 48 take advantage of this. Several unsung heroes within the Club – you know who you are - were publicly thanked by Chris for their help and support.
Sophie was asked to become the General Manger and
has 'the best job in the world'. The main focus is to get a new Community Centre in Merivale and they've set an ambitious target of completion by the end of 2020. Many events are held by and at the existing Centre and all are welcome there. Sophie says there is a great community spirit within the area -'people know their neighbours and speak to them' and there is an overriding need for after school and holiday programmes. Does anyone have any time to volunteer? Contact Chris. Great presentation, guys. Thank you.
The raffle was won by Warren Scobie, who promptly refused to go round with the fines box 'cos he was Sergeant. Multi tasking is a great attribute, Scobes! BUT, a different session as we had another brain-storm on the subject of fund raising. From this came some thoughtful/considered/interesting/wacky ideas. How about:
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Reviving the Quiz Night
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Karaoke evening
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Pop up dinners
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Kidnap and ransom the Mayor
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Involve other Clubs
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Rialto cinema on a regular basis
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Sponsored 'jail break'
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Glamour calendar
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High profile speakers/events
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Fight night
Plenty to get our teeth into there. Watch this space!
Editor's end bit:
I always wonder if anybody actually reads the bulletin all the way to the end, so today I will leave you with a question. I reckon this person has a doppelganger who is a past member of our Club. Name both! There may be a prize for the first correct answer
Hint: This one is an author
