President Rhonda opened the meeting.
Birthdays and Anniversaries: Ken White, Henry Kayser, and Bill Holland have birthdays around now, and Michelle Beaton has done 13 years in Rotary.
Guests: Shianne Banks (Warren) and Indeavar Duhan (Nathan) with our speaker Matt Anderson-Smith.
Notices
• Michelle Beaton: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is on 17 April and 1 May. Forms circulating also next week. In support of Shelterbox.
• Bulletin: due to a few departures from the club we need some volunteers to go on the roster for preparation of the weekly Bulletin. This role involves taking notes at the meeting, preparing the text for the Bulletin, and sending it to Dave Woodhouse or Wayne Shadbolt who prepares and distributes the Bulletin each week.
• Wendy: Collectors needed for the Blind and Low Vision collection Red Puppy appeal on 26 March.
• Mary O’Sullivan: Glenys Batchelor has passed away her funeral is on 31 March.
• RYPEN (Rotary Youth Enrichment Program). The 2021 session is to be held at Ngamuwahine Camp on 26/27/28 March.
• Henry Kayser is organising a car rally for 10 April. Cars will leave Tauranga CBD in early afternoon and return in time for dinner. A degustation menu is on offer. Participation in the rally is not a requirement for attendance at the dinner. The instructions for the rally will involve compass bearings and distances. More information to come.
Speaker
:Matt Anderson-Smith Spoke about the Big Buddy program. Big Buddy is a not for profit organization supporting boys aged 7-14 who have anger issues and who lack a male mentor/role model. Big Buddy is based in Auckland with branches in Tauranga and Hamilton. Matt said it has taken off in Tauranga and so far has matched 17 boys with good men.
The program recruits men with a screening process taking about 8 weeks with interview, police and psychological testing. The boys are often referred through agencies or through advertising (funds permitting). If there is already a father figure involved in the boy’s life he is consulted and generally Matt has found them to be supportive. The Buddy commits to an initial 12 month program which requires 2-3 hours each weekend. The focus is on consistency and relationship building. The Buddy needs to turn up on time and stick to the commitment.
Matt himself has a background in the construction industry. His own father left early in his life and Matt made some bad choices of his own. From his own experiences he found that everyone benefits from having someone consistent in their lives who can show them how to work through their emotions and model behavior.
Big Buddy has lots of boys but is short of mentors. They get about 2 boys a week but can only process up to 1 mentor a week. Funding is a constant issue.
Speaker thanks was from Wayne.
The Raffle was won by Buddy
Sergeant Session:
Kevin Atkinson noted that Colin Beere has had his first Covid jab, and Dan was doing his bit by scanning in at the supermarket when his trolley got away and hit a car.
Kevin then provided a summary of the benefits of being a boomer and why boomers are responsible for many if not all of the world’s problems (eg generational plunder, excessive capitalism, climate change, and leaving future generations to clean up the mess). On the upside, boomers are likely to hold the highest paying jobs and earn about 70% of global income. A few of those present at the meeting sought to distance themselves from being identified as a boomer.
Parting Thought came from Glenys: As a nation we should strive to be best for the world not the best in the world.
