Tickets can be purchased from Lynettes, Paper Plus Te Puke and Te Puke Super Liquor or by contacting Kim Hinaki Mob: 021 0206 1004
* Did you know that Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play? I didn't. Good quiz question.
PREZ SEZ #2
Another really busy month for the Club with a heap of stuff going on.
It was our turn to host members from other clubs and we had Tauranga and Te Papa members join us at a meeting with another three Tauranga members to join us later this month. We are hoping to visit Maketu shortly and Katikati have also invited us to attend one of their meetings.
SPEAKERS AND MEETINGS
Another interesting and varied bunch of speakers thanks to Programme Manager, Dave Woodhouse.
Dave himself gave a typically light hearted review of his year as President of his club in England. Marc Anderson spoke on the Tauranga Garden and Art Festival but members were more interested with his experiences backstage with some of the world’s most famous entertainers.
We then had local identity, Buddy Mikaere, accompanied by Anthony Averill give a thought provoking and moving presentation on NZ army involvement in the 1918 battle for Le Quesnoy.
Nicola Wearns talked about how she surmounted some harrowing personal experiences and severe health issues and found ultra-distance running as a means to do so. Her descriptions of running in the North Pole and Nepal will remain in our memories for quite some time. A remarkable young woman who not only is an Ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation but has recently become a Project K mentor.
Once again we were delighted and amused by some amazing Sergeants who painlessly extracted several hundred dollars from us. Thanks to Neil Matson, Dave Woodhouse, Pauline Cowens and Rhonda Wisbey for so brilliantly handling this vital club role.
RECOGNITION
Warwick de Vere and Ray Scott were presented with Secretary and Treasurer pins respectively and their announcement that they have agreed to remain in the positions for two years was warmly acknowledged by club members as it gives us some stability as we move forward.
The highlight of the month however was the birth of Carter James. Congratulations to Larissa and Walter and to very proud Granddad, Dan Allen. Could there be a third generation Rotarian in the making?
SOCIAL EVENTS
We were joined by our colleagues from Te Papa and had around forty in total for a wonderful night of fellowship at Friday Fives. On Sunday, nineteen of us had a guided tour of The Rooms exhibition at The Elms followed by a Devonshire Tea in sumptuous surroundings. We greatly appreciated the fact that “our” artist, John Roy was in residence to talk though his art and what it meant. For many this was their first visit to the Elms for decades and it brought home just what an amazing asset this is for the city. The exhibition finishes late October so if you get a chance I urge you to go along.
OUR WALKING WOUNDED
Great to see Les back on his feet and being able to take a full part in Rotary and it was a very present surprise to see Andrew Knowles at Friday Fives accompanied by Kathy. Well done you two!
Bill Holland is in great heart and sends his best wishes to the club hoping to be back towards the end of this month.
Mike Batchelor is recuperating at home so please keep in touch with him. He would love to hear from you
.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Six members kindly gave up their time at very short notice to collect for Alzheimers and in doing so raised sufficient to fund three months’ worth of room hire for their support groups. Thanks to Warwick, Anna, David McConnochie, Dean, Wayne and Neil and a special thank you to Wendy for organising this.
We had 18 members man the Savealife stand at the Home Show over three days and sold over $800 worth of capsules and kits with the odd black toilet paper also sold. A lot of fun and we met many interesting people, including two potential members, but more importantly raised the profile of Rotary and our club in particular. Thank you, all of you for your help.
PUBLICITY AND PR
Well done Julie Hignett. Not only an article in the BOP Times but also in the NZ Herald. A media star in the making?
Also a brilliant two page article on Barry Vercoe in the Weekend Sun written by prospective member Rosalie Crawford.
Both these articles have been circulated through our Facebook page. Wayne is doing a fantastic job on this with several articles every week. If you haven’t done so please visit the site.
PROJECT LAUNCH
Following on from suggestions made by our Kaitiaki we have now introduced a weekly 5 minute spot for each of our committees to let the Club know what they are up to. So far we have had Steve Dorrington, speak on behalf of Dave Robinson to update us on New Generations and that was followed by Brett Hobson giving an update on Polio eradication through Rotary Foundation. Thanks guys!
In another recommendation we have also commenced providing a report on Board decisions and discussions in the meeting following each Board meeting. Members are reminded that this information is available on Club Runner
.
BOARD MATTERS
The Club has commented on several remits to the 2019 Council on Legislation and our feedback will form part of a District submission.
Thanks to the efforts of Warwick de Vere, James Ross and Bill Holland we have a first cut set of club byelaws. This is currently being reviewed by the Board and then will be broadcast to members for comment. This is a huge task and I am deeply grateful for the expertise of these three members.
The Board has also signed off our Financials to June 2018 and these too will be broadcast this month. Special thanks to Steve Reed for his professional input in ensuring the accuracy of this information.
Barbara announced several funding approvals totalling $6100 at our last meeting.
We have authorised some spending on promotional material to make the club more visible at events and will also take part with other Tauranga clubs in promoting Rotary through an article in the BOP Times
THE FUTURE
So what have we got coming up?
-1. This coming month we have Kevin Atkinson speaking on the NZ housing crisis plus speakers from Volvo, NZ Police on the training of police dogs and Ken White talking on his year as President.
-2. On Oct 7 we are going to hear Barry Vercoe’s world premiere at Tauranga Boys College, followed by an event to celebrate this outstanding achievement at the Matua Bowling club. Come along and support Barry on his special day.
This is an historic occasion and tickets are selling fast so get yours now!
-3. On Nov 10 we have our major fundraising event, Treasured Art. Thanks to the hard work of Kathy Webb and her team this is looking to be a real highlight of the Tauranga Arts calendar. As we get closer to the time we need much more club involvement so please expect a tap on the shoulder from Kathy. We still need more art and particularly need more buyers so please contact your network.
-4. On Wednesday 28 November Steve Dorrington is arranging a night out at the play “Stepping Out”. We are hoping to sell out the theatre to enable us raise $2000 for New Generations’ projects so please get a party of your friends together for what will be a night to remember.
-5. On 29 Nov to 1 Dec we will be hosting a team of 6 Rotarians and their partners from Sao Paulo (Eduardo’s home city).
Michele and Simon Beaton have kindly agreed to be our club liaison with District.
The timing of our hosting is perfect in that they will be able to attend a meeting and Friday Fives. We will however be seeking help and assistance to put together an interesting and varied list of activities whilst they are in Tauranga. Any offers or suggestions to Michele please.
-6. In late February we will have Bob’s World Famous in NZ BBQ. Bob has not been able to put this on for a couple of years but those that have been in the past rave over Bob and Jen’s hospitality at their magnificent property.
Put that in your calendar now!
-7. On Mar 3 Warren and his events team will be running the second edition of the K Valley Cycle Event. This is a fantastic day out and we hope to see the majority of the club take part in some way.
Heaps going on and we are truly living up to the Rotary motto “Be the Inspiration”.
Cheers
Pat
Ian Burns was presented with a Sunshine Award for his 'quietly in the background' work with the K Valley Trust. In 13 years 100,000 flaxes and natives (not human ones) have been planted. Well done, Ian.
Atkinson,who gave facts and figures and of course his own thoughts about our current housing market. An erstwhile 85% ownership figure is now down to around 50%. As regards affordable housing, there very much a NIMBY syndrome with people not wanting to be a good neighbour to 'them' in the event of such housing being scheduled. There's been lots of land grabbing, mainly by non-kiwis and that's been pushing land prices up to non-realistic heights - somewhere between 3% and 7% of sales have been to non-nationals. Changes are afoot, however, with tighter controls over money coming in and a weeding out of the more dubious sources.
Sergeant Kathy Webb used 'procrastination' as her theme, like - 'a problem will go away if you leave it long enough'. References to Victor Hugo, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Shakespeare and his mate, Hamlet* enforced her presentation.