Month: March 2019

MEETING OF MARCH 25th

President Daryl welcomed 16 members and recorded a number of apologies for Albert’s induction evening. As usual, we were treated to a delicious meal from Gilbert’s kitchen.

News for the evening included:

• Due to late delivery of bulletin no one won the free raffle ticket for the quote of the week, so make sure you put your entry in, even if you think it is late. 
• The trotting club is asking Coolamon Rotary to roll out our food van for their trotting events on ANZAC day and the 5th May. Decision will go to board and members will be informed. 
• Districts 9700 and 9710 are being amalgamated in 2020 into District 9705. RI is looking to increase the minimum size of districts worldwide, so there will be vote at the district conference on Saturday to assess the opinion of clubs in D9700 regarding the merger of the nascent D9705 with D9670 (to the north), which would form a “super district” covering the eastern half of the country except for Sydney (remaining as its own district).  The plan is to reduce the number of districts in Australia from 21 to 7, each having  a number of area governors (1 per 15 clubs).  A proxy will be needed to stand in for Saturdy’s vote as Daryl will be unable to attend the district conference.
• Don’t forget the conference this weekend! In case you miss it, Tracy Ochieng and Jane Mberia from Kenya will be our guest speakers on Monday night.  Tracy is the student from Kenya that the club is helping to put through pharmacy school.
• Beth Batcheldor is leaving Coolamon Central School, which means the journalism club is losing its champion (and the Chronicle is losing a major contributor in organising the paper).  If you are willing to lend a hand or know someone who has the required skills, please let Myffy know.

Members warmly welcomed Albert Suidgeest to Rotary. 

Sarah showed the members photos from the science and engineering challenge that the students from Coolamon Central School attended in Wagga three weeks ago. Te students had a great day and got a lot out of it. Big thank you to Coolamon Rotary who sponsored the cost of the bus.    

Bondy gave us a sneak peek of the cello performance he will be conducting at the close of the district conference on Sunday. Should be a fantastic event!

The evening closed with a meat raffle, which was won by Neil.

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Ted Whitten. 

 

DIARY

Friday, 29th March – RYDA in Wagga Wagga.

Friday 29th March-Sunday 31st March – Griffith 2019 D9700 Conference.

*Monday, 1 April – Speaker meeting: Tracy Ochieng and Jane Mberia (both from Nairobi, Kenya). Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm. [Some of you will remember that Tracy is the student that the Rotary Club of Coolamon is helping to attend pharmacy school.]

Monday, 8 April – Regular meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Thursday, 11 April – BINGO.  Allawah Community Centre, 6:45-10:00 pm. Paul (captain), Ivan, Leslie, Lyn and/or Anne.

Easter Saturday, 20th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. Details TBA.

Sunday, 28th April – DisTec 2019, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 10:00-16:00.

Thursday, 9 May – BINGO. Allawah Community Centre, 6:45-10:00 pm. Daryl (captain), Alex, Ian, John N and/or Albert.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly. Young, 9:30-15:00.

Friday-Sunday, 29-31 March – D9700 Conference, Griffith.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly (incoming officers and directors to attend).

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st-5th June – RI CONVENTION, Hamburg.

* denotes partner & guest night

 

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

Subs are now overdue.

 

 

March is Literacy Month

MEETING OF MARCH 18th

President Daryl welcomed 17 members, including former member Julie who came down from the top end for a visit and brought her sister Cheryl along as a guest. Other guests included Errol Sutherland (our guest speaker for the evening), Albert (on his last night as a guest), and Wayne’s wife, Helen.

The evening began with thoughts and condolences to the people of NZ who suffered a terrible tragedy the previous week with 50 people killed in a violent terror attack. Congratulations went to Daryl and his family who welcomed their first grandchild, Freya, in the early hours of Saturday morning.  Congratulations also went to last Friday night’s Rotary vs Rotary bowls pairing, with Paul and Bondy winning the match, the last one of this season’s social bowls.

Don’t forget the District conference from 29th to 31st March; please register as early as possible. Should be a great conference and Saturday night is shaping up to be fantastic with the Kapooka band set to get things rolling. Maggie (the iron lung) was in Orange last week and the Oberon to Bathurst leg of the PARADE had 2100 cyclists, which was fantastic.  

Also a reminder that subs are now due.

Guest Speaker: Errol Sutherland

Errol Sutherland was our guest speaker for the evening. A local resident of Coolamon and real estate agent, Errol regaled members and guests with stories of his ‘misspent youth’ as a part of the Victorian football league.

Errol came to live in Coolamon 6 years ago after visiting the region to do research on the small football clubs in the area and decided to settle here.

Errol spent his early youth in a family of football enthusiasts, which was further supported by being the country football development manager for Vic football association before it was absorbed into the AFL.

Errol then shared us with the early history of football including its origins in Victoria in 1858 as  way to keep cricketers fit in winter. The first game was played between Scots and Melbourne Grammar on park-lands on which the MSG is now situated. The teams played for 12 hours on a field that was over a kilometer long and had no limits to the number of payers! Only one goal each was scored for each team in that first game.

In 1859 Melbourne and Geelong also joined the comp and more formal rules of play were introduced. By  1877 the league had 8 teams. In 1888, England brought a football team out and won 14 and lost 11 games. By 1890 the game had become international with New Zealand having up to 48 clubs at one point (financial difficulties eventually lead to their demise). There was even a women’s competition in the 1890’s.

The game continued to gain popularity, with up to 54,000 people coming to games in the 1930’s,  the highest per capita attendance in history.

Errol then told a number of personal stories of his time with the league, including his interactions with a long list of well known players and even then Prime minister Bob Hawke. 

Errol worries that AFL has become very corporate and commercialised, with some fans being fanatical and small clubs now doing it tough. Errol cited the example of Rannock football club once being able to draw up to 300  spectators to a game, often with a country dance afterwards and a strong family atmosphere.

Errol said that he had a lot of fun working in football and with an average attendance of 37,000 at each game every week, the AFL is the 4th largest domestic sporting competition in the world.

That’s football!

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“Winners are grinners, and losers can please themselves”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Michelle Obama. 

 

DIARY

Monday, 25th March – Regular meeting featuring the induction of our newest member! Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Friday, 29th March – RYDA in Wagga Wagga.

Friday 29th March-Sunday 31st March – Griffith 2019 D9700 Conference.

*Monday, 1 April – Speaker meeting: Tracy Ochieng and Jane Mberia (both from Nairobi, Kenya). Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm. [Some of you will remember that Tracy is the student that the Rotary Club of Coolamon is helping to attend pharmacy school.]

Easter Saturday, 20th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. Details TBA.

Sunday, 28th April – DisTec 2019, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 10:00-16:00.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly. Young, 9:30-15:00.

Friday-Sunday, 29-31 March – D9700 Conference, Griffith.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly (incoming officers and directors to attend).

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st-5th June – RI CONVENTION, Hamburg.

* denotes partner & guest night

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

Subs are now overdue.

 

 

March is Literacy Month

MEETING OF MARCH 11th

President Daryl welcomed 19 members and guests Helen L, Mick O, Albert S and Russell B for a evening of collegiality and a delightful meal. 

President Daryl then thanked and congratulated Alex, Graeme, Wayne and Ian for a successful ride from Coolamon to Junee for  successful leg of the relay; the baton was passed onto Junee riders to continue the efforts to promote polio awareness and raise funds to eradicate it. Congratulations and thank yous also went to John G and Henk who took the iron lung to the Coolamon Central School on Friday morning. The students found this idea of having to live in an iron lung and having the machine breathe for you to be a confronting and interesting concept. The ability to actually see the iron lung made it all the more real for the students.  

Members were reminded that they should register for the district conference; the speakers are rumoured to be some of the best ever presenting at a conference. You don’t want to miss it!  

Best of luck and good health also went to Grahame who is getting his knee replaced this week. 

Don’t forget the street raffle this Saturday outside the newsagent if you’re rostered on.  Also, don’t forget that Bingo is this Thursday for those on the team this month. See the diary listing below if you’re not sure if you’re on either (or both) rosters.

Congratulations also went to the bowling team who had a successful night last Friday and won the business house bowls.

Big thank you to Henk who will be driving the students of Coolamon Central School to the Rotary Youth Driver awareness day. This is an invaluable opportunity for students to learn about handling a vehicle and driver safety and it helps to ensure that our youth drivers make it home safely.   

Janice Menzies, organiser of Doin’ it for Drought-Affected Kids, sent a video compilation of the donation day at Broken Hill for the School of the Air children. It was great to see all the children happy and smiling on receiving their donations and congratulations go to Janice and her team for their massive effort.   

 

Guest Speaker: Albert Suidgeest 

Albert gave a presentation of his family and life history, a fascinating story of his Dutch immigrant parents who came to Australia before he was born. Albert is one of 11 siblings (seven girls and four boys!). His father was a baker who worked in small local bakeries across the region until supermarket chains and box freezers squeezed out the market for local bakers. Albert recalled that things were tight in the family but, because this was the way things were, he never questioned or worried and instead focusued on the close knit ties of his family. The close connection Albert has with his siblings was apparent from the many walking tours that he has done all over the world with his family and the family biennal gathering that typically has over 100 family members gathered in the new year.

Albert told us that he was the first in his family to go to university, having gotten a scholarship to go to university in Sydney where he completed a degree in economics and a diploma of education. He also told us of his initial arrival in Sydney where he turned up with no accommodation organised and how he managed to make it through those first months in the big city with the football club being a major support base for him.

On completing his degree Albert was appointed at Randwick boys High school, but the big city eventually got to Albert and he and his wife came to Coolamon in 1981 where he was appointed to teach at the central school and they raised five children. 

Bondy thanked Albert for a most entertaining and interesting talk, presenting him with a kangaroo hide coin pouch as a token of thanks.  Because of the length of Albert’s talk, the fine session and raffle were deferred for another day.  

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

Just wondering how many Albert has acquired over the years

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“Immigration is at the heart of how we developed as a nation. In every generation immigrants have earned their place as part of ‘we the people’”

The originator of last week’s Quote of the Week was Albert Einstein.

 

DIARY

Thursday,  14th March – Bingo.  Community Centre Hall, 6:45 – 10:00. Neil (Captain), Don, Dick and Dave.

Saturday, 16th March – Rotary Street Raffle outside Coolamon newsagent, 7 am-noon. Roster: 7:00-8:30 – Don and Alex; 8:30-10:00 – Myffy and Bondy; 10:00-12:00 – Daryl and Garth.

Saturday, 16th March – Mooney’s March for cancer research. 10 am.

*Monday, 18th March – Speaker meeting: Errol Sutherland.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Friday, 29th March – RYDA in Wagga Wagga.

 

Friday 29th March-Sunday 31st March – Griffith 2019 D9700 Conference.

Easter Saturday, 19th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. Details TBA.

Sunday, 28th April – DisTec 2019, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 10:00-16:00.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly. Young, 9:30-15:00.

Friday-Sunday, 29-31 March – D9700 Conference, Griffith.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly (incoming officers and directors to attend).

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st-5th June – RI CONVENTION, Hamburg.

* denotes partner & guest night

 

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

 

 

March is Literacy Month

Meeting of March 4th

President Daryl welcomed 20 members, together with  guests Albert S, Barry L, Helen L  and Anne Baker.  Apologies from Bern, Anne, Garth and Lyn.

Dick gave a report on the catering last Tuesday at Delta Ag, which went off very well;  great rollup of members to help with the cooking.

Ian J gave a report on Clean-up Australia Day from last Sunday;  he commented that he and Garth made a good impact on the new bike track to Ganmain.

Advance Ganmain Committee will host the Festival of Small Halls on 10th April.

Polio PARADE – Riders from Wagga will arrive in Coolamon on Thursday, 7 March.  Three riders from Coolamon will depart for Junee on Friday morning.  Ian, Alex and Graham Collins will represent Coolamon.  The iron lung will also arrive in Coolamon on Thursday, and will spend several hours at the Coolamon Central School on Friday before departing for Junee.  The club voted to donate $2000 to Polio Plus; this will be matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation, bringing our contribution to $6000.  Every bit helps!  Members are encouraged to purchase End Polio Now tee shirts and wear them on Friday.

Howard and Anne will be hosting an event for International Women’s Day on Friday at Old Convent.

Upcoming guest speakers: Albert Suidgeest (Monday, 11 March); Errol Sutherland (Monday, 18 March).

Wayne attended PETS conference in Young over the weekend and gave a brief account of the event.  Some of the more noteworthy sessions involved risk management and related issues that will become increasingly important as we go forward.  Wayne mentioned there is the possibility of a combined meeting with our club and the Narrandera club. Stay tuned for details.

Henk thanked Neil for standing in as Treasurer last week in his absence.  Subs are now overdue, so if you haven’t paid, please pay soon to stay in the good graces of Rotary International (and the Treasurer!).

DG John spoke on planning for the district conference and reported that all is going, thanks in good part to Griffith Club.

Ted ran another lively fine session. The evening concluded with a meat raffle which was won by Leslie (who can no longer claim she never wins the raffle!).

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

 

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Teresa May.

 

DIARY

*Monday, 11th March – Speaker meeting: Albert Suidgeest.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Thursday,  14th March – Bingo.  Community Centre Hall, 6:45 – 10:00. Neil (Captain), Don, Leslie & Dave.

*Monday, 18th March – Speaker meeting: Errol Sutherland.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Saturday, 16th March – Mooney’s March for cancer research. 10 am.

Saturday, 16th March – Rotary Street Raffle outside Coolamon newsagent, 7 am-noon.

Friday, 29th March – RYDA in Wagga Wagga.

Friday 29th March-Sunday 31st March Griffith 2019 D9700 Conference.

Easter Saturday, 19th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. Details TBA.

Sunday, 28th April – DisTec 2019, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 10:00-16:00.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly. Young, 9:30-15:00.

Friday-Sunday, 29-31 March – D9700 Conference, Griffith.

Sunday, 26th May – District Assembly (incoming officers and directors to attend).

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st-5th June – RI CONVENTION, Hamburg.

* denotes partner & guest night

 

REMINDERS

Please get your working with children check completed and give the number and expiry date to the secretary ASAP. Failure to do so may mean you are not covered insurance wise when you volunteer at events.

 

 

March is Literacy Month