Today we launched the Coolamon Community Chronicle, the first newspaper that Coolamon has had as far as I know. We had 7 members present to hand out the free copies to all and sundry.
It is a joint effort between the Coolamon Central School and the Shire of Coolamon and of course Rotary Coolamon with Myffy Collette and Bern Milne and their team who have done a great job.
EVANSTON, Ill. (July 26, 2016) — Rotary and disaster relief charity ShelterBox renewed a three-year agreement to provide immediate, lifesaving assistance to survivors of natural disasters and conflict.
Rotary clubs worldwide have mobilized to provide immediate relief to thousands of displaced people quickly and efficiently with ShelterBox for 16 years. To date, Rotary members have donated US$48 million to provide shelter for families in need – 40 percent of ShelterBox’s total of US$119.6 million raised.
“The partnership between Rotary and ShelterBox has provided a place of refuge to people facing some of the most difficult and uncertain moments in their lives,” said John Hewko, general secretary of Rotary. “We are happy to renew this project partnership and honor our ongoing commitment to taking action to help communities devastated by disasters and conflict.”
Each ShelterBox container typically provides a tent designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, along with regionally-appropriate supplies such as a water purification kit, blankets, tools, solar lights, and other necessities to help a family survive for six months or more after a disaster.
As part of the communities they serve, Rotary clubs help ShelterBox identify and prioritize immediate relief needs in disaster-affected areas and assist with the deployment of shelter kits, education materials and lifesaving supplies. Rotary members also fund aid boxes, become trained relief volunteers, assist with shipping customs clearance and connect with governments and other organizations in impacted areas to facilitate the delivery of boxes and aid. CEO of ShelterBox, Chris Warham said, “Rotary and ShelterBox will always stand side by side to help those less fortunate. This project partnership renewal simply indicates the strength of our long friendship, and recognizes the immense practical and funding support provided by Rotary members worldwide to enable us to reach out to families in distress.”
– Rotary International Press release
Contact: Chanele Williams (847)866-3466, [email protected]
This week’s meeting was a regular meeting with a couple of very interesting guest speakers, Fanny Lamouille and Jeremy Rey from Annecy, France. Fanny and Jeremy are a young couple that left well paying jobs in Geneva, Switzerland (a short commute from their house in France) and made the big trip to Sydney to give it a whirl. After spending several months in Sydney and not finding what they were looking for, they ended up in Ganmain and have been doing a range of jobs for John and Susan Glassford with their straw house construction business. Fanny and Jeremy love their Australian life, but do miss the pastries, cheeses and other delicacies of their homeland. They plan to move to Melbourne and spend another year or more down under before deciding their next move. Leslie thanked the pair of speakers (in French!) and presented them with a kangaroo hide coin pouch (photo below). The evening was finished off with a raffle (won by Paul) and a brilliant fine session by Sargeant-At-Arms Ted Hutcheon, who really outdid himself!
The social event of the year took place on Friday evening with the opening of the art show at the Up To Date Store. The show continues to grow, and features some exceptional artwork created by artists from Coolamon and throughout the Riverina. A number of Rotarians were in the crowd, including President Don Dyce, who presented the award for sculpture and ceramics, which was sponsored by Coolamon Rotary. The winning entry was an elaborate birdhouse created by Gabby Thompson and Albert Suidgeest. Pictured in the photo below (from left to right) are Gabby, Suzanne Houghton (the artist in residence), Jean-Claude Pretorius (show judge), and President Don. The other photo depicts Gabby & Albert’s winning birdhouse sculpture. Other Rotarians in attendance at the show included Ian (and Marilyn) Jennings, John (and Suzie) Glassford, Alex Thompson, Wayne (and Helen) Lewis, Paul & Leslie Weston, and Mike Perrott (Narrandera Rotary). Also in the crowd was Don’s partner, Sally Farmer, who exhibited an intricate mosaic. As always, it was an excellent show and very enjoyable evening. The exhibit will be on display through Sunday (31 July), so there’s still time to take in some excellent artwork.
Things Dad Will Never Say
The power of prayer
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his grandmother’s house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served.
When little Johnny received his plate he started eating right away.
“Johnny, wait until we say our prayer.”
“I don’t have to,” the boy replied.
“Of course you do,” his mother insisted. “We say a prayer before eating at
our house.”
“That’s at our house,” Johnny explained, “but this is Grandma’s house, and she knows how to cook.”
One night, a man receives a call from the police. The police tell the man that his wife was murdered, and that he should reach the crime scene as soon as possible. The man drops the phone, shocked, and drives 20 minutes to the crime scene. As soon as he reaches the crime scene, the police arrest him and he is convicted of murder. How the police know that he committed the crime?
Answer to last week’s puzzler:
Monday, 1 August: Regular meeting*. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. Guest speaker: Scott Norman (The pleasures of owning a Tesla!)
Monday, 8 August: Club assembly. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. No guests.
Thursday, 11 August: Bingo [Grahame (Capt), Daryl, Wayne and Ted]
Monday, 15 August: Regular meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.
Wednesday, 17 August: Board meeting. Don Dyce residence, 7 pm.
Thursday, 25 August: Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Australian Medical Scholarship Informational Program, Wagga Mercure, 6:30 pm start. Answer to riddle: wholesome!
Monday, 12 September: Regular meeting and visit by DG Michael Millston. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.
Saturday, 17 September: Kindra Forest Multipurpose Trail Opening.
Saturday, 17 September: Coolamon Cheese Factory Grand Opening.
Sunday, 2 October: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!
Sunday, 16 October: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.
Saturday, 26 November: Street Raffle.
*Partners and Guests Night
Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157 BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.
This week’s meeting was the first club assembly of the new Rotary year. Much of the meeting was spent tidying up loose ends, but a few announcements livened up the proceedings. Myffy Collette announced that the first issue of the newspaper will be going to the printer this weekend, and would be distributed on the following Saturday. To publicise the arrival of the paper, Myffy has obtained permission from the shire council to set up a table in the plaza next to the newsagency and distribute copies of the paper to passersby. Following that, the papers will be brought to the various distribution points around the shire, where they will be available for pickup by community members. This is a very exciting project and one that has the potential to have a very large impact on the Coolamon shire. The newspaper committee are looking for any stories of local interest to include in the paper, so don’t hesitate to send your pieces to a member of the committee (Myffy, Bernie Milne, Grahame Miles and Paul Weston).
John Glassford and Dick Jennings attended the Narrandera changeover last Wednesday, where they were presented with a cheque in the amount of $1000 for RAGES (Rotary Action Group for Endangered Species, an initiative headed up by John). It’s very gratifying to see local clubs getting behind this international program.
Last week’s bingo at Allawah Lodge was profitable, despite the relatively low turnout. Winter weather seems to keep the bingo players at home, but more of them might show up next month when they hear that the jackpot continues to grow (now at $170, supplemented in part by Myffy’s generous donation of her raffle winnings at the bingo). Organisers Neil Munro and Grahame Miles are encouraging all members to try their hand at bingo next month. As usual, all profits generated by bingo are spent on enhancements to the facilities at the hospital and retirement home.
The street raffle was surprisingly profitable last Saturday, aided no doubt by the lure of a beautiful load of firewood on offer. Proceeds were twice what the street raffle typically generates, and the members selling tickets had to work hard to keep from drooling over the gorgeous load of wood in the trailer parked in front of the newsagency. In the end, the prize was won by local resident Jean Young, who happily donated it to her daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Mal Roberts, since Jean doesn’t have a wood fire. Thanks to members Rod Jarrett, Daryl Breust, John Glassford, Wayne Lewis, Trevor Parkes and Paul Weston who braved the frigid temperatures to sell tickets, and to Wayne and Trevor for loading the wood on Friday.
The formal proceedings of the assembly were uneventful in the end, despite some spirited discussion about the frequency and nature of our weekly meetings. We decided to recommend to the board that we make no change to the bylaws regarding the frequency of meetings, but several suggestions may result in some minor changes to some of the meetings (including increasing the frequency of meetings away from our traditional meeting location and shifting board meetings to weeks when bingo is not on to avoid overloading weeks with too many Rotary events).
The evening was finished off with a raffle (won by John G) and a rousing fine session by Sargeant-At-Arms Ted Hutcheon, who is secretly hoping for a win by Donald Trump in the US election in November.
Do you have your district directory yet? In case you’ve been living under a log, the directory is no longer being printed; it’s available only as a download from the district website. All members of the district should have received an e-mail in the past week describing how to access the directory, but in case you missed it, simply go to the district website and click on the link “2016-17 District Directory” from the home page.
Riddle: What is it that when you take away the whole, you still have some left over? (answer somewhere below)
Here’s a visual puzzle for you:
Answer to last puzzler: There were 24 triangles of various sizes, including the whole figure itself.
Monday, July 25: Regular meeting
Monday, August 1: Regular meeting*. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club. Guest speaker: Scott Norman (The pleasures of owning a Tesla!)
Thursday, August 11: Bingo [Grahame (Capt), Daryl, Wayne and Ted]
Thursday, August 25: Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Australian Medical Scholarship Informational Program, Wagga Mercure, 6:30 pm start. Answer to riddle: wholesome!
Monday, September 12: Regular meeting and visit by DG Michael Millston. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club.
Saturday, September 17: Coolamon Cheese Factory Grand Opening!
Sunday, October 2: Gears & Beers. Stay tuned for details!
Sunday, October 16: President’s Forum and D9700 AGM, Young.
*Partners and Guests Night
Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157 BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.
A regular meeting was held on 11 July at the Coolamon Sport and Rec Club, with a very healthy rollup of 32 members and guests. We were treated to a very interesting presentation by Scott Munro, son of Trevor and Penny Munro (and nephew of our own Neil and Claire Munro). Scott works for GeoPacific Resources, a mining company looking to develop gold and copper resources in Cambodia. Scott spent a bit of time describing the geography and long history of Cambodia, including the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge and the carpet bombing by the US during the Vietnam war. Although the country is capable of producing a wide variety of horticultural crops and lots of rice, the standard of living is quite low (the GDP per capita is US$740 vs US$37,500 in Australia). While in Cambodia, Scott got to know the inhabitats of the small village of Chhaeb, and learned of the need for basic amenities lacking at the local school (e.g. running water, electricity, toilet facilities, etc.). [When this plight was brought to the attention of our club earlier this year, we were moved to donate funds to help provide these amenities and to apply for a district grant to leverage our funds further. We were successful in our application for district funds, and we were able to provide funds in the amount of $3,000 to the village to construct a toilet block.]
Scott, his wife, Kate, and their three kids visited Cambodia earlier this and had a life-changing experience getting to know the residents of Chhaeb and Cambodia. The whole family joined us on Monday as Scott showed us great photos of the local terrain, villages and residents of northern Cambodia. Paul thanked Scott and presented him with a kangaroo-hide coin pouch. Well done, Scott!
Our meeting concluded with a raffle; prizes were won by Alexander Thompson and Wayne Lewis.
What on earth is IFCR? You might take many guesses and still not get it right–it stands for the International Fellowship of Cricketing Rotarians. The IFCR is having its biannual festival in Wagga Wagga from 16-21 October. If you’re interested in learning more or participating in the event, please visit their website here.
What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and grey when you throw it away? (answer somewhere below)
Here’s a visual puzzle for you:
Answer to last puzzler: There were 2,753 individuals going to St Ives.
Thursday, July 14: Bingo [Neil (Capt), John N, Don and Ian D]
Friday, July 15th: Firewood working bee (Wayne, Dick and Trevor)
Saturday, July 16th: Street Raffle in Coolamon
6:00-8:00 – Daryl and Rod
8:00-10:00 – Paul and John G
10:00-12:00 – Wayne and Trevor
Monday, July 18th: Club Assembly
*Partners and Guests Night
Apologies for Monday meetings: call Ian Jennings on 0428 492 157 BY FRIDAY 12:00 pm.
Answer to riddle: charcoal!