Last week we opened with President-Elect Hugh’s announcement of our first ever paired President-Nominees! Congratulations Penny McGarry and Lesley Harris, who will co-President in 2021/22.
Thank you for all those who attended our first Project Forum meeting for this calendar year. These meetings are intended to allow us quality once-a-month time to brainstorm, discuss and plan upcoming and/or new projects of which dialogue is encouraged across committees; and also, to allow valuable committee meet-up time. As a Board, we are monitoring how effective this type of meeting is, so we value receiving your feedback.
This week we have our first evening meeting of the year which provides a great opportunity to invite partners, family, friends and prospective Rotarian’s along. We have superb speakers lined up – Shaun Hendy on Climate Change, and a report back from our three sponsored Science & Technology Forum students. You will all have received full info from Club Services – so please RSVP Yes or No and register your guests, ASAP. See you all on Thursday evening.
A total of 27 members were welcomed by Miles who introduced President "Recalcitrant Robyn", although he did indicate that the title was not at all appropriate, but he is running our of names beginning with "R".
This meeting was the first monthly "Project Forums" of the year and Robyn stressed that she is keen to have feedback on the format. Please be sure to submit this if you do have any comments / feedback - good or constructive.
Prior to the project discussion there were several club notices, none more exciting than the introduction by PE Hugh of our President Nominee's, as noted by President Robyn above - big congratulations to Penny and Leslie and many thanks for stepping forward. Other notices are all covered in this Bulletin, so please read on.
Projects / fundraising activity discussed included; a Quiz Night, Dove Hospice High Tea, support for Parkinson's Disease Annual Street Appeal, a Beach Clean-up and possible opportunities to team up with the Mens' Shed, the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Stonefields Residents Association.
Watch this space and other forms of communication, to stay involved and to learn more on how these projects unfold!
GUEST SPEAKER - PROFESSOR SHAUN HENDY, Plus meet our next batch of science students from the Eureka Science Expo.
CLIMATE CHANGE - "Is it Real"
This Dinner Meeting is "A 4-way Evening of Science". Allan has planned an exciting meeting with 4 speakers sure to stimulate interest and discussion. Professor Shaun Hendy, from University of Auckland, is a frequent commentator on scientific matters on radio (eg. Bryan Crump's RNZ show) and TV, and has great talent in explaining complex things in simple ways.
Shaun leads off with a presentation reporting his personal journey over a 12-month period to respond to climate change. This was the subject of his recently released book.
Shaun will be followed by 3 talented senior secondary school students whom our club selected and sponsored for the 2-week National Science & Technology Forum held in Auckland in January. They are Emma Taylor from Glendowie College, and Finn Welham & Julio Romero from Sacred Heart College. All have indicated their gratitude for our assistance, and are keen to share their personal experiences and impact on their future study and career choices.
Please plan to join us for the first Dinner Meeting of the year, along with your spouse, partner, friends and family, for this evening meeting and please promote attendance to others.
THURSDAY MARCH 12th - BREAKFAST MEETING.
GUEST SPEAKER - GRANT NICHOLS & KAREN OATES, REMUERA GOLF CLUB: Karen is the Insights and Membership Manager working alongside Grant who is the Operations Manager. Rotary St John has had an extremely long and excellent relationship with the Remuera Golf Club, but do we really understand how the club impacts on our community? By attending this meeting you will gain a great insight on the club and its planned future development.
MONDAY MARCH 16th - ROTARY CLUB OF ST. JOHNS, GOLF TOURNAMENT:
See next two stories to see how you can help:
THURSDAY MARCH 19th - BREAKFAST MEETING:
Project Forum - Our monthly opportunity for members to be updated on status of projects underway, new projects to be discussed and learn how you can participate to ensure all our activity is successful.
The 2020 St Johns Rotary Golf Tournament is coming up and your support is needed. Please go to this DOCUMENT and have a look at the options available to you, your friends and those who wish to help us make a difference in our community.
All members can also assist promoting this event by adding a post to your Facebook Page. Please see next story with specific details on how you can assist.
Hello everyone, Gonza here, writing from Argentina.
Saying goodbye was SO HARD for me, because there’s many people who I really love in New Zealand, but it was the in the rules, sadly I needed to finish my exchange.
I arrived in Argentina on the landing track which is at 200m from home. The following day I had a lovely family lunch (28 people) and at the night I had a surprise party organised by my friends; It was really nice to see all of them in just 1 second.
Since I finished saying hello the first week I have been studying so hard because I had 8 exams this week, and they were the ones I had to do to don’t lose my school year in Argentina. I finished today my 8 exams, and I was so blessed to finish achieved in all of them with excellence, which is perfect to start Medicine, and I have to say that I have learned a lot in this month, but what I have learned in NZ all the last year is AMAZING, and there’s not any school which teaches you things like that.
I miss you all my kiwis, you’ll always be in my heart❤❤❤ Love, Gonza.
This month has been a busy one! I've had a month full of interesting people, great food and intense Spanish practice. To list everything I've done this month would make this report into an essay, so I'll tell you two of my personal highlights:
I was invited to perform in an upcoming Rotary conference with a band of about 10 people. The first rehearsal was going to be organised in Santiago and it would be my first time in the big city! After getting permission from my YEO and buying some bus tickets, I hopped on the autobus leaving to Santiago and headed for the meeting. I was a mix of nervous and excited, I didn't really know what to expect and only had a vague idea of where I was supposed to go. But, embracing the kiwi idea of ´She´ll be right´ and the Chilean idea of 'Mañana, mañana', I arrived at the bus terminal in Santiago looking a lot more confident than I felt. The terminal was packed full of people and it was a lot hotter than the coast, around 27-28 degrees Celcius around midday and hitting a peak of 32 that same day! I met up with another exchange student at the terminal (who was also part of the band) and we both took the underground metro which, like the rest of Santiago, was hot and full of people. After wandering around aimlessly for a bit we arrived at the house of Roberto Silvia - the governor of my district here in Chile. He was remarkably welcoming and we had almorzar (lunch) together on his balcony. The rest of the day was a lot of fun, we had rehearsal and played through the song we would be performing. Afterwards, we had tea together then I returned to the terminal to take the autobus back home. For my first time in Santiago, it was really successful and I had a wonderful time!
My second time in Santiago I travelled with two of the exchange students in my town (Mila and Safi) to meet up with my friend Florencia Aldunce who had just arrived home after her exchange in New Zealand. We met her at the terminal and drove to her house in Peñalolen where we would spend the night before returning home the next day. We spent the next two days exploring Santiago and meeting up with the other exchange students in Santiago. One discovery I found was a small plaza in Central Santiago called ´Plaza Nueva Zelandia´. It was neat seeing a piece of home in South America. I got to meet one of the exchange students from Australia (Hearing a similar accent to mine was wonderful!) and it was cool meeting all of the students from the US. Seeing my friend again was also awesome, talking about her experiences on exchange and using a little kiwi slang (Sweet as!) was a lot of fun.
My first full month here in Chile has been a difficult, interesting and wonderful mix of experiences. From asados to trips to the city to quiet days with my host family. I've made some really good friends here already, both local and exchange, and have become really comfortable with my lovely host family. My Spanish is also improving, I understand more every day and can almost understand everything. The real struggle is responding back but I have plenty of time to improve! I'm excited to meet with my host club in march and will make sure to keep you all in the loop about how Rotary is here and how I'm getting along!
District Conference, which is being held in Auckland this year, is now only 3 months away and President Robyn is very keen to see a good turn-out from our club.
More details below and on-line registrations are open now, and here is the link for more information and registration;
Although RYLA is still several months away, June 27th to July 4th, we have already begun the selection process and this will be completed over the next month. Accordingly we now need your help to identify potential candidates, aged between 18 and 28 who already demonstrate leadership capability. Candidates could either be sponsored by our club, or others who would be sponsored by Corporate Partners.
To date we potentially have 6 nominations, but these folk need to be interviewed and selected, and we are looking for at least another 6 nominations to ensure that we have a solid base of candidates to choose from.
Have any questions? Know of any potential candidates? Please contact Tom Street at your earliest convenience.
Below are some snippets from the latest Orakei Local Board info email. The links won't work from these photos, but you can get straight to their email by clicking here.
If you are interested in news and what is happening in our neighbourhood, please consider signing up for their newsletter.
On a bitterly cold winters morning a husband and wife in Dublin were listening to the radio during breakfast.
They heard the announcer say, "We are going to have 8 to 10 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the even-numbered side of the street, so the snowploughs can get through."
So the good husband went out and moved his car.
A week later while they are eating breakfast again, the radio announcer said, "We are expecting 10 to 12 inches of snow today. You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the street, so the snowploughs can get through."
So the good husband went out and moved his car again.
The next week they are again having breakfast, when the radio announcer says, "We are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today. You must park...." Then the electric power went out.
The good husband was very upset, and with a worried look on his face he said, "I don't know what to do. Which side of the street do I need to park on so the snowploughs can get through?"
Then with the love and understanding in her voice that all women who are married have, the wife replied, "Why don't you just leave the bloody car in the garage this time."
Did you join Rotary to do good things in the community?
You can help or join in all projects (whatever the committee), just contact the committee director and/or project team leader. In most cases, you can include family and friends. Enjoy your Rotary: Be an active Rotarian
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Saying goodbye was SO HARD for me, because there’s many people who I really love in New Zealand, but it was the in the rules, sadly I needed to finish my exchange.
Although RYLA is still several months away, June 27th to July 4th, we have already begun the selection process and this will be completed over the next month. Accordingly we now need your help to identify potential candidates, aged between 18 and 28 who already demonstrate leadership capability. Candidates could either be sponsored by our club, or others who would be sponsored by Corporate Partners.
