Another good turnout with 31 members present for the first round of Committee Meetings this year, and what was also great was - someone remembered to order breakfast! Please "Click on "Read More", for summaries from the Directors on the various committee discussions.
Prior to the committee meetings getting underway, President Robyn and her Directors shared a few notices;
- "GI Food Bank re-stock". New World Lunn Ave, Saturday July 20th. Please contact Miles if you can assist.
- Miles, who was conducting his first Sergeants Session of the year, advised that last year we collected $2,500 in fines for the Sunshine Fund. Organizations and charities that benefited from the fund were;
- Help NZ
- Daffodil Day
- Multiple Scherosis
- Fiji Water Project
- GI CAB
- Tooth Brush Distribution
- Starship Hospital Teddy Bear Appeal
- Christchurch Mosque Appeal
- President Robyn announced the Board has approved that St Johns Rotary will sponsor an Outbound RYE student over the next calendar year; Lachlan Kerr, a 17 year old Year 12 student from Sacred Heart College. We will shortly have the opportunity to meet Lachlan and hear details of where his year away will be.
- At last weeks Board Meeting, the Board agreed to keep annual fees unchanged at $340. Thank you Board - we are sure that members will fully appreciate your decision in this regard!
- Regrettably the club has received the resignation of long time member and Past President Toni Miller, who will shortly be leaving Auckland and starting a new life in Katikati. Fortunately the Board did not accept Toni's resignation, instead agreeing to appoint Toni an Honorary Member in recognition of her long and dedicated service to our club - Congratulations Toni and very best wishes for your move and the next phase of your life in what is a beautiful part of the country.
Summary of 4th July Committee Meeting discussions;
COMMUNITY - LOCAL: Director Tricia Gerrard;
- Food Bank Appeal for the local Glen Innes Food Bank and Tamaki Budgeting Services to be held next Saturday 20 July.
- Multiple Sclerosis annual street appeal in September, we will liaise with Donald.
- Working with Christie to find ways to increase the Xmas Pudding Sales, starts September/October.
- Miles brought us up to date with his progress on "Its not OK to Litter" project.
- Miles put forward other local schools we may assist with School Vegetable gardens and he will look at applying for grants.
- Clean up by Andy and John Cornaga of Rotary brass distance markers along Tamaki Drive.
- The club's continued support of Hospice Garage Sales each month.
COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL: Director Muriel Roake;
Projects for year ahead:
- Onja technology training initiative in Madagascar led by Sam Lucas is progressing well. Sam is preparing the second grant application for the year ahead. He is hoping to get support from other districts, and to this end he will be attending the conference in CHC later this year.
- Taveuni Eye Project- Committee requested that RCoSJ Board donate towards this project again ( $2000 last year).
- Emergency Response Kits (ERKs) – Committee requested that funds be set aside again to support this project in the year ahead.
- Tonga - Mango tree centre project – housing for severely disabled children. Committee supportive. Foundation support could be sourced if a local club is involved. MR to make contact with RC Papanui
- ROMAC – 2 options: Committee supportive in principle to support a family from Vanuatu for 6-8 weeks commencing on 25 July? MR to talk to Barbara Watt re roster and Peter Walsh re message in Bulletin, and club runner email.
YOUTH: Directors: Rosemary Such & Kevin Kevany;
We had a small but enthusiastic gathering of the Youth Services Committee... thanks to Isabella for her valuable contributions. The focus for the meeting was to discuss priorities and create a plan to spread the load and ensure all committee members have the opportunity to lead projects and contribute. We are developing a project calendar with details of the project, dates, project leader and ways in which club members can get involved. We agreed we need to share more detail about projects at future meetings, in the bulletin and on our website so watch this space.
CLUB SERVICES: Director IPP Allan Smith;
The Club Services Team are looking to change the structure and format of our meetings between now and Xmas. There was certainly feedback from the members that they wanted to look at having different activities within the monthly calendar. An important aspect was to hear more from the members and also have a strong participation from the local community. Alongside this to have fun and ensure that we have events that we can all participate in. Michelle and Cherie are already working on this so watch this space for more. What we do need is your contacts with possible speakers from our community. Please send them through.
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE: Director PP Peter Buchanan;
Suggested plans for 2019/2020 Rotary year:
- Motutapu Island - projects associated with the nursery; tree planting; weeding
- Tree Planting and Weeding, Mt Wellington & Glendowie - enquiries pending
- Advocating sustainability action for club members - monthly action
- Beach Cleanups
- Freshwater Quality Assessment in Omaru Stream, Glen Innes - with Glendowie College using donated SHMAK kit
- ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group) - exploring club membership
- Sir Paul Callaghan Eureka Awards - with Youth Committee
- Rotary National Science & Technology Forum - with Youth Committee
Many thanks to all participants. The next Combined Committee Meetings are scheduled for Thursday September 12th.