Dinner Meeting of August 12th

President Wayne welcomed 20 members and guests Marilyn J, Lorraine H, Chez & guest speaker Jennie Nester, cheesemaker at Coolamon Cheese.

Apologies from Dave, Dick, Lyn, Garth and Myffy.

Business of the evening included:

• Secretary John G announced the sad news of the passing of Auntie Flo Grant. She was closely associated with Rotary, was an honorary member of Kooringal Rotary Club and recognised in NSW and ACT as the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year in 2015.
• Tracy Ocheng, our student in Nairobi, going well.
• Dick Smith has given another generous donation of one million dollars to RAWCS.
• A special guest speaker next Monday – John Bond giving a presentation on a topic he is passionate about and most knowledgeable on: Our Nuclear Neighbour, The Sun, and Space Weather caused by sunspots/solar storms and its effects on communication, power distribution & weather on our planet.
• Captain Henk gave a brief report on BINGO;  there were 11 players and a small profit was made. Helpers were Bruce, Anne and Bern.
• A reminder of our DG’s visit on August 26. All members are encouraged to attend.
• Treasurer Henk reminded members of the July subs are past due.
• Neil reminded us that Will Studholm and his family will be our guests at our Sept 9 meeting. It is anticipated we will have a BBQ with members cooking & purchasing salads externally.  Will was a recipient of the matching grant via Dick Smith program where the grant helped his family cover some of Will’s ongoing rehabilation costs.
• Daryl announced the food van shed is progressing well;  steel has been cut and construction should be completed within a month.
• It is expected that 1600 riders will come through Coolamon for the Gears & Beers festival on October 6th
• John N brought up need for list of where defibrillators are located and the possibility of publishing the list in the CCC.

Guest Speaker Jenn from Coolamon Cheese

Jenn spoke on her job as head cheesemaker at Coolamon Cheese, a position she recently has assumed. Jenn hails from Gippsland in Victoria and worked as a cheesemaker in Gippsland for a number of years. She has five kids with husband Shaun though only one has come to Coolamon, the other four independent children preferring to stay in Victoria. Jenn saw the advert for Head Cheesemaker at Coolamon Cheese and applied for the position, taking up the position in April of this year.

Jenn is settling in well at the factory and is mastering the cheeses of  Coolamon Cheese as well as making new cheeses, including a soft blue named Bell Isle Blue and a cheddar. Jenn will likely continue making most of the native bush recipes started by Barry Lillywhite.

Jenn loves cooking and had previously worked for a while as a caterer.   She is looking into making her own cheese cultures as the cultures are one of the more expensive ingredients in making cheese.  Jenn commented that the cheese industry may be over-regulated in Australia, especially in Victoria.  

Jenn finished her talk by giving us tips on storing cheese, one of the primary ones being the recommendation to store cheese in containers that can ‘breathe’, and not in plastic wrap as cheese has live cultures that need oxygen. The containers used to cause cheese need to keep cheese from drying out without suffocating it.

After Jenn’s talk, there was a large number of interesting questions from the floor. President Wayne thanked Jenn for an excellent talk and presented her with a small gift.

Sergeant-at-Arms Albert led a vigorous and entertaining fine session, which led to some good cross fines.  The evening concluded with a raffle, which was won by Paul.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Who is responsible for this quote?

“I don’t want to kill 10 million people.”

Last week’s Quote of the Week was attributed to Frank Zappa.

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS

DIARY

*Monday, August 19th – Speaker meeting.  Guest speaker: John Bond speaking on the sun and solar weather.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

*Monday, August 26th  – Visit by DG John McKenzie.  All members encouraged to attend.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Thursday, September 12th – Bingo.  Community Centre Hall, 6:45 – 10:00. Neil (captain), Rod, John N & Howard.

September 20-22 Australian New Zealand Rotary Conference, Christchurch.

Friday, October  4 – Fannie Lumsden concert in Old Junee. Tickets cost $30.

* 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 due.

 

August is Membership and New Club Development Month