What can I say? God is good to me. He’s shining my star so bright, I’m in awe.
These are blessings that will set us up for success🥺🥺
My first outreach was a feat, and for the moments where I doubted myself, God’s mighty hand strengthened me.
The feedback from the workshop, astounding!
We shared Christmas packages to the 20 young adults we trained and spared 10 packages for our elderly.
Blessed beyond measure. Tracy.
Our weekly meeting was the last of 2020. Much of the evening was spent scrunching up Monster Raffle tickets in preparation for the draw on NYE. Hundreds of tickets were sold in Coolamon, Ganmain and the surrounding areas, which will allow us to make generous donations to the Coolamon-Ganmain Hospital and Allawah Lodge. We’ll be selling raffle tickets for another week or so, and the draw will take place at the Coolamon Sport & Rec Club on NYE. Kudos to the raffle committee, especially Brian, Grahame and Albert for their exceptional work organising the prizes and selling the bulk of the tickets. We had hoped to hold the draw at the NYE festival in Coolamon, but unfortumately, the festival was cancelled because of COVID. A fine session and weekly raffle rounded out the evening.
CRC Christmas Party
We held our Christmas party at the Coolamon Sport & Rec Club on Saturday, December 19th. We were treated to a fabulous meal featuring lamb roasted on the barbie, similar to other roasts that John G had done over the years:
We had a great roll-up of members on the evening. We’re hopeful for a return to more “normal” times in 2021, despite the recent flare-up in COVID numbers in the northern beaches area of Sydney. Best wishes to all for a joyous Christmas season and a healthful and prosperous new year.
DIARY
Wednesday 20th January. First board meeting for 2021, TBC. If required.
Monday 25th January 2021. First regular meeting for 2021. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday 1st. March 2021 COOLAMON ROTRY’S 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY .
Details to be announced in the New Year. Our District 9705 Governor Dr. Michael Moore AM and PP Helen Moore will be our honoured guests.
Friday 19th-Sunday 21st March 2021. District 9705 Conference in Bathurst.
THE PUZZLER
Answer to the last puzzler: The fourth child was Tracey!
This week’s puzzler is a set of rebus puzzles to keep you occupied over the holidays until we resume in late January. Enjoy!(?)
ROTARY NEWS
NEWS FROM TRACY AND HER BIG SISTERS’ INITIATIVE.
Morning John and Fred,
I’m on my way to Kendubay and I wanted to share the progress so far. I came up with the idea to brand our books and the facilitator’s t-shirts so that we can have a lasting impression. We could have gone all out on the Christmas package bags but that would have been expensive. I’m so happy with how the t-shirts and books turned out.
So far, we are all set!
Many thanks, words couldn’t describe the gratitude that’s flowing in my heart.
Merry Christmas
Love always,
Tracy
JUST FOR LAUGHS
If 2020 was a swing!
ONLY IN AFRICA
Happy Christmas to you all from Paul and John
ROTARY CLUB OF COOLAMON Inc. 2020-21
Chartered March 3rd, 1971; Sponsoring Club Narrandera Rotary Club
Our weekly meeting focused on several items of business (Monster Raffle ticket sales, planning for the Christmas party, etc.) as well as fellowship. Sales of raffle tickets are going well, but we have a few weeks left until the draw (NYE). Because of COVID restrictions, no guests are being invited to presentation nights at the area schools, so members will not be able to present our annual donations to the schools. The meeting closed with a fine session and raffle.
Thursday marked the end of an era for the Rotary Club of Coolamon. After thirty years, the club has decided to put an end to our monthly bingo. The club raised over $30,000 for the local hospital over that time, but the number of players has declined steadily over that time to the point that it’s hard to justify the number of person-hours required to run bingo. It was fitting that Barb and June Inch won the majority of games on the night, given the support they’ve shown for bingo over the years.
OTHER NEWS
Chez and Alex in the mood for Christmas 2020!
DIARY
Monday, December 14th – LAST Regular Meeting for 2020. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm. Don’t forget to bring your Monster Raffle tickets (and money) to the meeting.
Friday December 18th- Monster Raffle ticket sales at Coolamon Foodworks
Saturday December 19th– CRC Annual Christmas Partyat the Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club, 7.00 for 7.30 pm start. Whole roast lamb in a roasting oven plus, bookings essential.
Wednesday 20th January. First board meeting for 2021, TBC. If required.
Monday 25th January 2021. First regular meeting for 2021. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday 1st. March 2021 COOLAMON ROTRY’S 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY .
Details to be announced in the New Year. Our District 9705 Governor Dr. Michael Moore AM and PP Helen Moore will be our honoured guests.
Friday 19th-Sunday 21st March 2021. District 9705 Conference in Bathurst.
REMINDERS
1. CHRISTMAS PARTY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19th
Venue: Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club, 7.00 for 7.30 pm start.
Menu includes whole roasted lamb.
2. MONSTER RAFFLE TICKETS
Please return your raffle ticket butts and funds raised to Grahame Miles and Albert Suidgeest; Grahame would like to have these by Monday (14 December).
Keep selling the remaining tickets that you have and again these need to be in before the draw on New Year’s Eve.
Thanks.
THE PUZZLER
Answer to the last puzzler: From the letters that spell out 5 (F I V E), remove the first and last letters, which leaves IV (four in Roman numerals)
This week’s puzzler:
Tracy’s mother had 4 children. The first child was named April, the second was named May, the third June. What was the 4th child called?
ROTARY NEWS
1. ROTARY CLUB OF ORANGE
This is a great idea and a great way to raise funds for our chosen charities we support.
Last week, while attending the All Africa Rotary International Institute, held in Kampala, Uganda, I had the distinct honour of being confirmed by the President of Rotary International, Holger Knaack, as Director Nominee for Zone 22, on the Board of Directors of Rotary International.
I will be taking over from an extremely illustrious colleague, Yinka Babalola, from Nigeria.
The RI Director for Zone 22 is responsible for superintending Rotary work in all the 54 countries on the African continent – a very demanding assignment!
This is the very first time in nearly 70 years of Rotary’s existence in Zambia, that a Zambian has ascended to this distinguished role.
One of my passions in life is to render service to humankind. I will therefore dedicate my tenure of service as Director, to advancing the work of Rotary in Africa to the next level.
In the photo above, I am seen in red tie standing next to Director Yinka Babalola and other senior African Rotary leaders.
NOTE: Patrick is a great friend and I served with Patrick on the RFFA Board for 3 years.
PDG Patrick Chisanga standing far right with the RFFA Board in Atlanta in 2009.
JUST FOR LAUGHS
Is Santa Claus a Rotarian?
There has long been suspicion that Santa Claus is a Rotarian.
Therefore efforts were put by PDG Chris Offer to discover the truth!
So, Santa needs a Rotary club if he is a Rotarian. Chris checked the International Directory and then the RI web site for Where Clubs Meet. Sure enough, he found a possible club. The Rotary Club of North Pole is in District 5010, Alaska, located near Fairbanks. This is a smidgen baffling since everyone knows the real North Pole is in Canada . Santa may prefer to be in the warmer south of Alaska rather than the north. He could also be a member of an E-club but Chris doubts that as he clearly likes Rotary lunches.
Next Santa would need a classification. There are several possibilities, Toys-Export, Reindeer- Teamster, Counsellor Pre-Adolescent Behaviour, Toys-Manufacturing or Elf Management.
All valid classifications. There is no indication of a Rotary pin on his jacket but it could be concealed under all that fur trim. If Santa is a Rotarian, he plainly is a 100% attender and has never missed a Rotary lunch.
The real evidence is, does he act like a Rotarian? Does he put “Service Above Self?”
The answer is unequivocally yes. Santa is dedicated to improving the lives of children. He is committed to bringing happiness to children around the world no matter what race, religion, creed or ethnic group they are from. He distributes tens of thousands of books to children to increase literacy and he gives gifts of toys that stimulate young minds to achieve their full potential. He volunteers as a mentor, spending countless hours at shopping malls listening to children’s secret wishes. Santa without question works to realize the Object of Rotary.
The only conclusion that has been reached is, “Yes, Santa Claus is a Rotarian!
I just hope he does a make up at my club this year!
Words: PDG Chris Offer
District 5040 – Rotary Club of Ladner (Delta, BC) Canada
ONLY IN AFRICA
ROTARY CLUB OF COOLAMON Inc. 2020-21
Chartered March 3rd, 1971; Sponsoring Club Narrandera Rotary Club
Club activities are at a crawl as many members are tied up day and night with harvest. It looks to be a record-breaking year for most crops, so good luck getting the last of the crop harvested before Christmas.
Because of the large number of members engaged in the harvest, we have not lined up guest speakers for the past few meetings. We will resume our guest speaker schedule in February. The lull has given us additional time for fellowship, so the meetings have been quite relaxed. Sergeant-At-Arms Albert has kept up the pressure on members to behave, lest they become the target of his fine sessions. The members must be behaving because there have been fairly few fines levied for the past two weeks, but Grahame continues to cop his fair share of abuse.
Don’t forget get your booking in for the Christmas party, which should be a doozy. The date is Saturday, December 19th–be there or be square!
OTHER NEWS
CRC BOARD DECISIONS
At the November board meeting of the CRC, the following decisions were made on behalf of our members:
END OF BINGO: That the Coolamon Rotary Club discontinue the running of Bingo nights after the last Bingo on December 10th 2020.
CHRISTMAS PARTY: To hold the Christmas Party at the Coolamon Sports Club on Saturday December the 19th. That the event is to be self-catering.
MONSTER RAFFLE DRAW: That the monster raffle draw for all 9 prizes to take place at the Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club at 9.00pm on Thursday December 31st 2020. Albert is or has booked the following dates for the monster raffle: Coolamon Newsagents on Saturday December 12th, Ganmain Newsagency on Friday December 11th, and Coolamon Foodworks on Friday December 18th.
COOLAMON COMMUNITY CHRONICLE: That the CRC forms a committee to support Sally Farmer with the publication of the CCC.
MONSTER RAFFLE NEWS:
On Friday November 27th a wonderful effort selling the tickets outside the Foodworks supermarket and a total of $1,300 in tickets were sold. Congratulations to Albert Suidgeest and all who sold the tickets.
DIARY
Monday, December 7th – Regular meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday, December 7th – District 9705 Special General Meeting (via Zoom). 6:45 pm. The club needs to have a representative at the meeting.
Tuesday December 8th. Coolamon Late Night Christmas Shopping 4.00-8.00pm. There will be 25 shops taking part and we will be selling monster raffle tickets. Volunteers required.
Thursday December 10th – THE FINALBINGO NIGHT FOR COOLAMON ROTARY CLUB. Allawah Community Centre, 6:45 – 10:00 pm. Roster: Henk (Captain), Albert, Anne, Howard.
Friday December 11th– Monster raffle ticket sales at the Ganmain Newsagency.
Saturday December 12th– Monster raffle ticket sales at Coolamon Newsagency.
Monday, December 14th – LAST Regular Meeting for 2020. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.
Friday December 18th- Monster raffle ticket sales at Coolamon Foodworks
Saturday December 19th– CRC Annual Christmas Partyat the Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club, 7.00 for 7.30 pm start. Whole roast lamb in a roasting oven plus, bookings essential.
Wednesday 20th January. First board meeting for 2021, TBC. If required.
Monday 25th January 2021. First regular meeting for 2021. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.
Monday 1st. March 2021 COOLAMON ROTRY’S 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY .
Details to be announced in the New Year. Our District 9705 Governor Dr. Michael Moore AM and PP Helen Moore will be our honoured guests.
Friday 19th-Sunday 21st March 2021. District 9705 Conference in Bathurst.
REMINDERS
CHRISTMAS PARTY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19th
Venue: Coolamon Sports and Recreation Club, 7.00 for 7.30 pm start.
Menu includes whole roasted lamb.
Christmas 2008 in Ganmain
THE PUZZLER
Answer to the last puzzler: Give one of the girls her apple in the basket.
This week’s puzzler:
How can you take 2 from 5 and leave 4?
ROTARY NEWS
1. TOILETRY KITS TO HELP END TRACHOMA
This exciting project is not only continuing the great work of Rotarians in supporting financially the End Trachoma Project, it is also meeting the request of many Rotary Clubs and Rotarians about how we can make a hands-on difference.
The result:The Toiletry Kit
The Aim: to prepare 2,000 Toiletry kits for distribution to 2,000 school children in 30 schools in the Northern Territory.
How: ask your Rotary Club to commit to making up a certain number of kits (see contents below) – this number will be matched to a school, or for smaller Clubs your effort will be shared with other Clubs to meet the goal for a larger school.
Contact: PDG Michael Milston to record your interest: 0419 414 959 | e: [email protected]
2. COOLAMON ROTARY 50th ANNIVERSARY
As you are all aware by now we are having our 50th anniversary of our charter as a member of Rotary International. The anniversary is March 3rd 2021 our mother club is Narrandera Rotary Club.
The committee for the celebrations is looking for stories of Rotary in Coolamon some detective work is needed on this story sent to us by PP Neil Munro. If one of you can write up how our club was involved please send it to us, thanks, and thanks Neil:
3.Wagga Rotary women recognised for service.
FAMILY: Wagga rotary women Elaine Almond, Ellen Brasier, Mary Ann Kelly and Vida Smart say the club is like a family. Picture: Wagga Rotary
In 2002, the Wagga Rotary branch welcomed its first female member, with women not allowed to join until the 1990s.
Since then, 30 women have joined the club, with three former presidents among its current nine female members.
This year, the men of the club got together to surprise those nine members with Rotary International pins recognising women’s participation, donating funds for the gesture out of their own pockets.
As a joke, my brother used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them. What they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every Christmas morning, although Jay’s kids’ stockings were overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty.
One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don’t sell those things at Wal-Mart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown.
If you’ve never been in an X-rated store, don’t go. You’ll only confuse yourself. I was there an hour saying things like, “What does this do?” “You’re kidding me!” “Who would buy that?”
Finally, I made it to the inflatable doll section. I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute as a passenger in my car so I could use the carpool lane during rush hour.
Finding what I wanted was difficult. Love dolls come in many different models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do things I’d only seen in a book on animal husbandry. I settled for ‘Lovable Louise.” She was at the bottom of the price scale.
To call Louise a “doll” took a huge leap of imagination. On Christmas Eve, with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to life. My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning hours, long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose with Louise’s pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby tray.
I went home and giggled for a couple of hours. The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house and left a present that had made him VERY happy but had left the dog confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some more. We all agreed that Louise should remain in her panty hose so the rest of the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional Christmas dinner.
My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door. “What the hell is that?” she asked. My brother quickly explained, “It’s a doll.” “Who would play with something like that?” Granny snapped. I had several candidates in mind, but kept my mouth shut. “Where are her clothes?” Granny continued. “Boy, that turkey sure smells nice, Gran,” Jay said, trying to steer her into the dining room. But Granny was relentless. “Why doesn’t she have any teeth?” Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying,”Hang on Granny! Hang on!”
My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up to me and said, “Hey, who’s the naked gal by the fireplace?” I told him she was Jay’s friend. A few minutes later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise. Not just talking, but actually flirting. It was then that we realized this might be Grandpa’s last Christmas at home.
The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise that sounded a lot like my father in the bathroom in the morning. Then she lurched from the panty hose, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the sofa. The cat screamed. I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering mouth to mouth resuscitation. My brother fell back over his chair and wet his pants. Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car.
It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember. Later in my brother’s garage, we conducted a thorough examination and found the cause of Louise’s collapse. We discovered that Louise had suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh.
Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to perfect health. Louise went on to star in several bachelor party movies. I think Grandpa still calls her whenever he can get out of the house.
POSTSCRIPT
ONLY IN AFRICA
ROTARY CLUB OF COOLAMON Inc. 2020-21
Chartered March 3rd, 1971; Sponsoring Club Narrandera Rotary Club
