WEEK OF APRIL 4th

President Albert welcomed 17 members and one guest, former CRC Rotarian, Myffy Collette, to our weekly meeting.  It was wonderful to see Myffy again after a long absence. Perhaps we’ll see more of her?

The raffle for the Sportsman’s night raised $1,460–a good effort by all those who sold tickets, especially Anne and others who sold tickets at the Foodworks store in Coolamon.  We had 9 members at the draw on Saturday night at the Sports Club and the prizes were won by:

1.  Gourmet hamper  – Sharon Miles
2.  Half a dressed sheep – Jack Chamberlain
3.  The other half – Hugo Besgrove
4.  Beauty Package – Maureen Hulsman

RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) planning meeting at the Wagga Wagga RSL at 5.00 pm Thursday, 7th April. Garth will attend on behalf of the CRC.

Recommendations for the Board to consider are:

1.  Donation to the Coolamon Swimming Club as they have a big expense coming up to replace the lane ropes and winders.
2.  Berry Rotary Club donation for para gliding off Mount Everest.

NB Next BoD meeting is Wednesday 13th April at 7.00 pm.

We had another spirited fines session conducted by acting S@A Dick and Corporal Garth.  Of special note was a fine of $5 assessed on all members by Bondy because he is still in intensive care in Sydney, and we are not.  The fine was gladly paid by all members present. Get well soon Bondy!

Received this letter from Bethany Crocker on the notes for Bethany’s talk last Monday:

“Hello everyone, I’m Bethany Crocker, and tonight I am here to thank you all for supporting me and enabling me to experience an amazing opportunity, such that of the National Youth Science forum. The forum was truly an eye-opening experience, full of educational and networking opportunities, as I had the privilege of meeting the likes of Nobel Laureates and Dr Karl. Although, due to the unique circumstances occurring globally, my NYSF experience was widely different from the hybrid event planned, I was still able to make the most of the online seminars and came away with not only, an increased confidence in what my future in STEM may look like, but with an amazing crop of new friendships.

For me, the forum definitely had notable highlights these included meeting Nobel Laureate, Dr Peter Doherty and listening to his lecture on killer T cells, along with another lecture in the field of biology presented by Dr Gurion Ang from the University of Queensland. I also attended an engineering seminar presented by UQ’s Women in STEM program, this was hands down my favourite seminar as it demonstrated every aspect of what each field of engineering has to offer and cemented by desire to pursue a career in engineering. Whilst my NYSF experience isn’t quite over, as I still have in person hub events to attend, I have applied to be a part of the Student Leadership program from the 2023 event. Once again, thank you, Rotary, for your support along this enthralling journey and I hope to speak to you again later this year to share my experiences from the in person visits.

Thank you.’

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: BERNADETTE MILNE

Bernadette was born in Melbourne and has a sister and a younger brother, David,  who was a jockey.  Her father came from Scotland and her mother was born in Tocumwal.  Her dad died at the young age of 56.  Bern’s father built the Rocklands Dam reservoir:  Rocklands Dam Reservoir.

Here Bern lived with her family and went to school at St Columbus in Berrigan where she left at 15.  Bern’s favourite colour is blue and her favourite past time is horse racing and going to the races.  Bern also enjoys Rotary, book clubs and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Bern met Russell in Berrigan where Russel was playing football as a coach assistant at $20 per week.  They had 7 children and 24 grandchildren and now 3 great grandchildren.

They ran a mixed business in Berrigan for 8 years and purchased the lease for the Grong Grong pub for 5 years in 1980 and then the Walla Walla pub for 9 years in 1985.  In 1993 they bought the Royal Hotel in Ganmain where they lived for 25 years.  Eventually in 2000 the liquor licence was sold to Sydney at the time of the Sydney Olympics.  After the pub closed down Bern ran a child care centre alongside Myffy.

Bernadette is now retired and living in Wagga Wagga.  Bern is an active and very valuable member of our club

On a visit to Rotary House in Melbourne Bernadette was impressed with the work that Rotary was doing and made enquiries about joining Coolamon Rotary which she did in June 2013 alongside Myffy.  In June 2018 Bernadette and Myffy were made Paul Harris Fellows at the District 9700 and Coolamon changeover night aptly held in the Ganmain Hall. The presentations were made by Past President Paul Weston and Past District Governor George Weston.

Auctioneer Dick made an appearance to auction off most of the contents of the gourmet hamper which was won by Sharon Miles which Sharon kindly donated back to the club.  The hamper was divided into three lots which were auctioned off by Dick.   Garth, Adrian and John Nulty were the highest bidders on the boxes.  The gourmet chocolate box went to Alex.

The raffle prizes were won by Daryl and Grahame.

DIARY

*N.B. You are always welcome to bring guests to most of our meetings, just advise Ian Jennings if you want to bring a guest along when you respond to the weekly dinner roll call!

Monday April 11th – Regular Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Wednesday April 13th – Board of Directors Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 7 pm.

Monday April 18th – Easter Monday. NO Meeting (public holiday).

Monday April 25th – ANZAC Day. NO Meeting (public holiday).

Saturday 21st May – D9705 Club Development Seminar {formerly called District Assembly}. – ALL 2022-2023 Board Members need to attend. West Wyalong, 9 am start.

Monday 4th July – CRC 51st Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Friday-Sunday 28th-30th October 2022  Rotary Zone 8 Conference Canberra.

Rotary Australia New Zealand and Pacific Islands Conference.

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to the last Puzzler: The missing number is 48. All of the numbers are multiples of six (1 x 6, 2 x 6, through 9 x 6), but missing was 8 x 6 (48).

This week’s puzzlers:

1. An easier one, at the request of Dick:

Saturday and Sunday, I am big.
Tuesday through Thursday, I am small.
Monday and Friday, I am non-existent.
What am I?

2. A more challenging one:

Some horses are grazing in a pasture.  The horses are an unspecified number of mares and their fillies, and the relationships among them include the following: grandmother/granddaughter (1), mother/daughter (3), sister/sister (1) and aunt/niece (1).  What is the number of mares and fillies, and exactly how are they related? The number of mares is equal to number of fillies, and each mare has one filly.

ROTARY NEWS

1.  HOUT BAY ROTARY CLUB CENTENIAL TWIN

2.  SUNFLOWERS TO UKRAINE

When one starts a new project it is important to keep the information flowing otherwise one loses momentum.  Rotary International based in Evanston Illinois, where our head office is located, has a General Secretary and CEO, and his name is John Hewko.  John and his wife, Marga, are from Ukraine.

The latest: One example comes from Rotary Chicago president Marga Hewko. She felt so moved by stories posted on Facebook by a woman working in Ukraine — who also detailed them in the Chicago Tribune — that she found three homes for Ukrainian refugees.

The Rotary Club of Chicago, or Rotary One, as it known, was the first Rotary Club and was founded in 1905 by Paul Harris and three business associates.  Marga Hewko is this year’s president.  Rotary One has over 200 members and has their own foundation with assets of over AUD $4 million.

Our Rotary International Director for our RI Zone 8, Jessie Harman, is meeting with John Hewko on Thursday and says:

“Hi John,

APRIL IS MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH MONTH

Graphics by Debbie Vance from Canada.

This is a quick update on the progress of the Sunflowers for Ukraine initiative.  Doug Bruckner from Gnadbro Pastoral Company at Collingullie invited us over to witness the harvest.  President Albert Suidgeest and I went to his farm and we were interviewed by the Riverina ABC Radio station.

The seeds are in the bin and we will collect them next week.

STOP PRESS!

SPORTSMAN’S NIGHT POSTPONED

The Sportsman’s Night this Saturday has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.  As soon as another date becomes available we will let you all know.  The raffle will still be drawn on Saturday evening.

WEEK OF MARCH 28th

President Albert opened the meeting and welcomed our two guests and our twenty one members–a great rollup again.  Our guests were Bethany Crocker, our guest speaker, and her grandmother, Cheryl Crocker.  Cheryl is the Daughter of Keith West, who was our Charter President in March 1971. Bethany is a Year 12 student at Coolamon Central School who was sponsored by our club to attend the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) this year, which was largely held online because of the pandemic.

Albert wished Alex Thompson a happy birthday and presented Alex with a bottle of  wine, not that Alex drinks wine!

Albert then sent a get well card around for John Bond, Bondy is in hospital in Sydney and would love us to call him.  We are sure that Bondy will be home soon.

Daryl Breust spoke on  Gears and Beers which took place on Sunday and advised the meeting that it was a huge success.  There are a series of photos in this bulletin.  Daryl thanked all 21 members who volunteered their time on Sunday.  Thanks went also to those who worked on Saturday baking 60 batches of ANZAC biscuits which yielded 1750 biscuits: a mighty effort!  Not forgetting Ian Jennings who graded one of the sections for the Dirty 130 ride to make it passable and very dusty just for a change!

At Lions Park the rest stop was very busy and our team, including Jan Breust, handed out ALL the ANZAC biscuits, 70 kg of bananas, melons and water.  There were 1,600 riders on the Dirty 130 ride and 400+ riders on the 115 km ride.  All up, in excess of 2,000 riders passed through Coolamon on Sunday morning.  There will be a de-briefing with Wollundry Rotary in two weeks’ time.  Daryl was seconded to do the radio interview on the ABC.

Thank you Daryl and your committee–a tremendous effort!

Bethany Crocker was introduced by our Youth Services Director Anne Rzeszkowski and spoke on her experience as a NYSFparticipant held earlier this year.  Bethany enjoyed the experience immensely and thanked the club for our sponsorship.  Bethany said that the experience confirmed her plans on becoming an aerospace engineer.   Ian Jennings presented our small gift to Bethany as a token of thanks.

Daryl then spoke on the upcoming Sportsman’s night which was to take place this Saturday but which has now unfortunately been postponed.

John G spoke briefly on the progress of the Sunflowers for Ukraine project and read out a letter of support from our Rotary International Director for Zone 8, Jessie Harman.  JG explained that the project was moving fast and that the donor of the sunflowers, Doug Bruckner, will notify us when the seeds will be harvested.  Ian Jennings has invited Doug Bruckner and his wife Clare to one of our meetings.

The highlight of the night was without doubt the stand-in Sergeant@Arms Dick and his Corporal, Garth.  Dick and Garth spared no one and we had a lot of fun.  The raffle was won by Brian and second prize, the bantam eggs from Howard, went to Ian Jennings.

Finally Daryl announced that the club bowls team won the whole tournament.

DIARY

Saturday, 2nd April – Sportsman’s Night featuring SCOTT REARDON and VANESSA LOW. The CRC Sportsman’s Committee have organised a fundraising function featuring local Paralympian Scott Reardon and his wife Vanessa Low, also a Paralympian.  The event will take place in conjunction with the Coolamon Football Club at Kindra Park.  Time 6.00-10.00 pm.  POSTPONED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Monday April 4th – Regular Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday April 11th – Regular Meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Monday April 18th – Easter Monday. NO Meeting (public holiday).

Monday April 25th – ANZAC Day. NO Meeting (public holiday).

Saturday 21st May – D9705 Club Development Seminar {formerly called District Assembly}. – ALL 2022-2023 Board Members need to attend. West Wyalong, 9 am start.

Monday 4th July – CRC 51st Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Friday-Sunday 28th-30th October 2022  Rotary Zone 8 Conference Canberra.

Rotary Australia New Zealand and Pacific Islands Conference.

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to the last Puzzler: There will be a total of 63 games played. Interestingly, this is one less than the number of teams in the tournament, which is always true for a single-elimination tournament.

This week’s puzzler:

ROTARY NEWS

1.  GEARS AND BEERS MARCH 27th, 2022

Gears and Beers

“And once again the ANZAC biscuits were an absolute hit – Coolamon Rotary we salute you “

Another very well organised Gears and Beers weekend by the Wollundry Rotary Club and Chair Phil McIntosh.  Our club did a great job with so many of our members volunteering in all the areas in which we were needed.

Daryl Breust, the chair of the Gears and Beers Coolamon committee, and the committee members worked hard to make sure that Coolamon did our job well.  Some 21 members and several partners were involved from baking ANZAC biscuits to being marshals on the event.  The Dirty 130 and the 115 riders were our responsibility some 1,600 entrants in the Dirty 130 category.  Overall Gears and Beers had over 3,000 entrants.  This resulted in the amazing result of over $200,000 being raised by Wollundry RC, which will go towards local charities in the Wagga Wagga area.

The next Gears and Beers will be held over the October long weekend this year (1st-3rd October).

Some photos from Sunday and our members at work!

Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo.

THE END!

2. SUNFLOWERS TO UKRAINE

The project is gathering at a fast pace and we have plenty of enquiry including the following clubs:

Rotary Clubs from Sydney and the RAWCS Eastern Region Manager for the RAWCS Project #83-2014-15, Guy Glenny from the Rotary Club of Sydney Cove.  Guy called me yesterday following an email to him via one of my classmates, PDG Sue Hayward, other supporting clubs include Tuggeranong, Hall, Narrandera, Lower Blue Mountains, Bundaberg East, Young, Orange, Canberra , Forbes, Wagga Wagga Sunrise, Griffith Avanti and others.

Narrandera want 2kgs of seeds.

Above all was the letter of support from our Rotary International Director for RI Zone 8, Jessie Harman:

Hi John,

Here is a simple testimonial.  If it’s not sufficient or if you want more, please come back to me.  Thank you for everything you are doing.  

Sunflowers for Ukraine

This ‘Sunflowers for Ukraine’ project is a simple way that we can show our support for the victims of the war in Ukraine.  The funds we raise will provide desperately needed relief for those who seek it; the sunflowers we plant will stand as evidence of our solidarity and our hopes for a brighter, peaceful future for all.

I encourage you to get involved.  

Jessie Harman

Rotary International Director, 2021-2023

This is a very important step forward for our club and  Jessie was the first person to respond to our Facebook post on the project around March 2nd. where Jessie said:

“A lovely idea – and I especially like the sentiment of joining together to do it as a united body”.

We are working with RAWCS and the  Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations. I will have an update on the logistics and the partnerships with RAWCS, Caritas Ukraine and the Australian Ukrainian Organisations very soon.

You can view the progress of the RAWCS Project for Ukraine here:

Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Aid

MARCH IS WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE MONTH

Graphics by Debbie Vance from Canada.

Highlights from the DISCON BBQ in Temora

Week of March 21st

We had 21 members present–a great rollup–and one apology.  President Albert welcomed those present and announced that the meeting was to consolidate our part in Gears and Beers, which will take place this coming Sunday, the 27th of March.  However Albert asked the three Temora conference goers for their short appraisals.  Adrian gave a very good and concise report on the events of the weekend.  Paul spoke on the inspirational aspect of district conferences and learning new ideas from other clubs.  John G spoke about meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

Daryl Breust then went through the duties of the marshals and the roster for Gears and Beers.  Daryl showed where all the marshals will be stationed and what to expect.  The baking of the ANZAC biscuits will take place on Saturday morning from 9.30am at the school.

Two rides will be coming through Coolamon in opposite directions, the Dirty 130 and the 115km ride.

Daryl requested that all marshals read through the Gears and Beers manual, which was forwarded to all member via email on the 21st of March.

Here is the roster–just click on the image for a larger version:

Other business on the night included discussion of the Sportsman’s Night on April 2nd at Kindra Park.  Mary Potts and Anne  Rzeszkowski have been selling raffle tickets and handed out 20 tickets per member for them to sell at $2 each or 3 for $5.  Albert then gave out some of the entry tickets for the night; don’t forget to record to whom you sold the tickets. Entry tickets are also for sale at the Coolamon Post Office and via Albert.

Dick Jennings was the stand in S@A and left no one out in his amusing fines session.

The raffle was won by Chez (1st prize) and Alex (2nd prize). An investigation has been launched to determine how Chez seems to have rigged the raffle to land in her favour far too often!

DIARY

Sunday, 27th March – Gears and Beers. See: Gears and Beers WEBSITE.

Monday, 28th March – Speaker Meeting. Bethany Crocker will speak on her participation in the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) earlier this year. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Saturday, 2nd April – Sportsman’s Night featuring SCOTT REARDON and VANESSA LOW. The CRC Sportsman’s Committee have organised a fundraising function featuring local Paralympian Scott Reardon and his wife Vanessa Low, also a Paralympian.  The event will take place in conjunction with the Coolamon Football Club at Kindra Park.  Time 6.00-10.00 pm.

You can now buy tickets from the Coolamon Post Office.

To all our Internet users: please start sharing the CRC Facebook page, our website and the booking form links which will have all the details for this night.

A Night with Vanessa Low and Scott Reardon Links.

Monday April 18th – Easter Monday. NO Meeting

Monday April 25th – ANZAC Day. NO Meeting

Saturday 21st May – D9705 Club Development Seminar {formerly called District Assembly}. – ALL 2022-2023 Board Members need to attend. West Wyalong, 9 am start.

Monday 4th July – CRC 51st Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Friday-Sunday 28th-30th October 2022  Rotary Zone 8 Conference Canberra.

Rotary Australia New Zealand and Pacific Islands Conference.

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to the last Puzzler: A major goal is worth 8 points and a minor goal is worth 3.

This week’s challenge: The NCAA college basketball tournament is underway in America, an annual rite of spring for basketball fans.  In the tournament, 64 teams play single elimination games to end up with a champion after five rounds (the number of teams remaining is halved after each round is played). How many games in total are played to determine the winner?

ROTARY NEWS

1. Sunflowers for Ukraine

The “launch” of our project in Temora was done by Acting Governor Michael Moore at the start of the conference on Saturday morning.  As the proceeds will be going to RAWCS Caritas Ukrainian Humanitarian Relief Aid I was invited to share the RAWCS booth at Temora.  This worked out well and most of the 80 bags of seeds and flyers went quickly.  Many enquiries and expression of interest to support the project.

I was asked several times what Rotary is doing for Ukraine and here is a very recent article from the Rotary magazine in Ukraine (22nd March 2022).  Sent by a good friend of mine from Rotarians On The Internet.

Rotary in Ukraine 23 March 2022

I have been working on the art work and need to comply with Rotary’s branding so here is my latest attempt:

Some great news from the Rotary club of Hall via Rtn. Emma Bell:

“Thanks for the link to your website. Do you have/want a similar page on the district website since this is a project for the district to get behind?

I have reached out to a Rotarian who is fabulous with graphic design. She is super busy so no guarantees but I will let you know if she is able to assist with the artwork for the cards and flyers.

Couldn’t agree more that this is an important and worthwhile effort and I hope to support you in any way I can.

I can also flag that the RC of Hall is interested in supporting this project and we would like seeds.”

Emma Bell PHF

District 9705 Chair of Communications

2. TEMORA D9705 CONFERENCE

Above Dick Jennings head BBQ chef cooking gluten free sausages and beef patties! 

There are four pages on our website with photos and stories of the Temora Conference.  Just click on the links below.

MARCH IS WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE MONTH

Graphics by Debbie Vance from Canada.

As always all good things come to an end and Sunday was a morning session and we concluded the conference at mid-day.

There were three very good sessions starting with youth.  PDG George Weston is the Youth Chair for D9705 and introduced the speakers.

Rotarian Emma Jayne Bell from the Rotary Club of Hall.  What an inspiration this young lady is and Emma will lighten up any gathering.  Emma is a great speaker and has done so much in Rotary.  Emma was an Exchange student and went to New York where Emma was hosted by the RC of Peekshill.  Emma loved that 12 months with her host families.  Emma also attended RYLA and was the Charter President of the Rotaract Club of the University of Canberra.

Emma since joined the RC of Hall in 2021.  Emma now looks after our social media platforms for D9705 in particular Facebook.  A breath of fresh air is Emma Bell:

We then had two of the areas of D9705 give presentations on one of their club projects.  First was Ash Pagett who gave a presentation on the RC of Weston Creek’s project in Sri Lanka called Educational Uplift.  A small project initially however the idea is taking off and they are doing great work there:

Educational Uplift Sri Lanka

Another highlight was the presentation on the RC of Berry and their Rotary Nature Play Park.  Phil Crocker the President of the RC of Beery had us amazed at what this club achieved for the children and not so children with the building of this play park.

The Shoalhaven City Council, the State Government of NSW and the Commonwealth Government all got behind the project.  The total cost was $6.5 million and the RC of Berry built it!  It is a very safe environment and is getting plenty of use.  The play park was opened in January 2022.

After morning tea we were given a wee chat about Rotaract by the current D9705 Rotaract Representative Shawn Wilson and the incoming D9705 Rotaract Representative Libby O’Brien.

The main take away from these two inspirational speakers was that we need to all work together in Rotary as partners.  Shawn made some interesting observations:

• Rotaract is not a farm for Rotary
• Not a children or youth project
• Not a social media consultancy.
• Age is not the criteria as anyone can now join Rotaract from the age of 18 the 30 year old cut off does not apply anymore.

Shawn wants to see Rotary and Rotaract intertwined and we have so much to gain by working together.

Finally the best to last with Dr. Chadden Hunter.  Nothing to do with Rotary but everything to do with ordinary people doing extraordinary things (well that is Rotary is it not?)

Chadden is the producer and director for the BBC and for Sir David Attenborough and the Planet Earth series.  Chadden said that the series have attracted 500 million viewers.  The talk was wonderful and most entertaining.

Dr. Chadden is an Australian wildlife biologist and filmmaker.  After completing a PhD on gelada baboons in Ethiopia, Chadden worked with the National Geographic and Discovery Channel.  Chadden’s work with Sir David is legendary from snow leopards…….well you know the story.

Dr. Chadden Hunter

Behind the scenes of David Attenborough’s documentaries

Our heartfelt thanks go to:

DG Leo Farrelly for the hard work planning this event since Leo became our Governor Nominee.  It takes 3 years of planning to put a district conference on.

To the Chair of the conference committee Peter Kain from the RC of Belconnen.

President Brendon Fritsch and all the members of the Temora Rotary Club who worked so hard in the planning and on the weekend and of course the weekends and days before the event.

The MC and Chair of the conference from the RC of Hall Andrew Giumelli who ran a smooth conference.

Our sincere thanks to IPDG Michael Moore AM PhD and Helen Moore from the RC of Canberra who stepped in for DG Leo over the past two months.

DGE Geraldine Rurenga was unable to attend due to family.  However Geraldine will be taking the reins on July 1st and her conference will be in Wagga Wagga from Friday October 21-Sunday October 23rd 2022.  The event will be held at Joyes Hall at the CSU In Wagga Wagga.  Join us then to Imagine Rotary.

What a great night we all had at the Temora Aviation Museum for the dinner dance, well not many danced.

We mustered at 6.00pm and witnessed a Wirraway,  Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning “challenge”) was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1939 and 1946 at Fisherman’s Bend in Victoria. The aircraft was an Australian development of the North American Aviation NA-16-1A and NA-16-2K aircraft. It is powered by Australian manufactured versions of the Pratt & Whitney R1340 Wasp engine.

The pilot flies for Qantas in his spare time!!!  Airbus 390s we were told.  Loved the sound of this fighter plane:

We then went into the Aviation Museum for dinner, dancing and fellowship.  The food was superb and there was plenty to go around.

The highlight of the night was Bush Poet David Benn from the Wollundry Wagga Rotary Club.  David recited from memory several great Australian bush poems and as always turbulence was the best and had everyone in stitches.  Well done Benny not sure if you noticed the English Electric Canberra Bomber creeping up behind you!

This is a pictorial report on the Rotary District Conference held on the 18th-20th March 2022.  It was a most enjoyable event and well organised by the Temora Rotary Club.

1. FRIDAY EVENING WELOME TO TEMORA BBQ

The welcome to Temora BBQ was held at the Temora Rural Museum and the Rotary Club of Coolamon was invited to help with the cooking and serving of the evening dinner:

2. SATURDAY EVENTS

The Conference was opened by the Mayor of Temora Rick Firmin and the welcome to the delegates was given by Acting District Governor Michael Moore AM.  Our District Governor Leo Farrelly was unable to attend due to the passing of his wife Elaine.

The MC and Chair of proceedings was a young Rotarian from the Rotary Cub of Hall, Andrew Giumelli who did a wonderful job.  The Rotary International President’s Representative was PDG Kathy Fahy from the Rotary Club of the Iowa Great Lakes in Spirit Lake, Iowa.  Kathy spoke well and gave us all an inspirational talk on Rollin’ with Rotary.  Kathy started her Rotary life as an Ambassadorial Scholar in 1997 in Canberra.  Kathy was the District Governor from District 5970 Northern Iowa in 2014-2015.

The theme of the conference was Regenerating Rotary and had the Environment as a major them in supporting Rotary’s Seventh Area of Focus.

We then had the In Memorium tributes to recently passed Rotarians which included our own PP Marg Perkin.

After morning tea we started the proceedings proper and it began with a key note presentation by Mary Brell and Judy Ford our joint D9705 Membership Chairs.  Their talk was entitled Are you on the Titanic or the Queen Mary II. They were supported by two enthusiastic Rotarian in Barbara Mifsud (Sydney) and Kero O’Shea (Perth), who joined us via Zoom.

Following this excellent presentation we had four Area Governors or their replacement give 15 minute presentations on what is happening in our district.  One of these presentations from Area 2 focused on the work being done by the Rotary Club of Harden-Murrumburrah on domestic violence.  Area Governor Joan Graham outlined what they are doing with “Escape Bags” for the victims of domestic violence.  70% of the victims are women with 80% of the abusers are males.

After lunch we were inspired by RIPR Kathy Fahy’s presentation on Rollin’ with Rotary.  Followed by the PRIP Royce Abbey Peace Oration given by Professor Fiona White. Fiona is originally from Sri Lanka and now a Professor in Social Psychology and currently the Director of the Sydney University Psychology of Intergroup Relations Research Lab.

Two keynote presentations followed in the afternoon session one on the environment by PDG David Brawn and the other by PDG Peter Freuth on the proposed regionalisation for Rotary Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands i.e.  Zone 8 as it is known today.

David was appointed to the Chair of D9705’s Environmental Envoy programme by then DG Michael Moore.  David has since created a team with 15 Environmental Envoys and is moving forward with our 7th Area of Focus.   Our club has since appointed our Environmental Envoy in Adrian Lindner.

Peter spoke eloquently on the Regionalisation project for our Zone 8 and together with co-Chair Ingrid Waugh from New Zealand and they have cone along way since The Board of Rotary International approved the petition to form a Regional Organisation.

We adjourned for dinner at the Temora Aviation Museum.

PART ONE

THE FRIDAY WELCOME BBQ AT THE TEMORA RURAL MUSEUM

Temora 2022 hosted by the Temora Rotary Club a pictorial report by John Glassford.

Attended by delegates PE Paul Weston, Adrian Lindner and John Glassford.

Friday pre-conference Welcome BBQ by Coolamon RC with thanks to the following members:  Anne Rzeszkowski, Paul Weston, Adrian Lindner, Dick Jennings, Ian Jennings, Brian Pattison, Don Dyce, Neil Munro, Gath Perkin and John Glassford.

Letter of thanks from Temora President Brendon Fritsch:

Thanks John it was great to see you, and Coolamon did a great job Friday evening

Kind regards,

Brendon Fritsch

President Temora RC

Week of March 14th

Albert was back from his holidays in Far North Queensland and looked refreshed.  Albert welcomed our guests which included 16 members and Mary Potts’s two sisters as well as visiting Rotarians Phil McIntosh and David Byfield from the Wollundry Wagga Wagga Rotary Club. The meeting was dedicated to the upcoming Gears and Beers event on Sunday 27th March.

After our usual excellent Chinese dinner, Phil McIntosh with David Byfield in support outlined the very important part our club plays for the event.  There are some areas where good marshals are needed to make sure that the riders only enter a main road where there is traffic as we cannot STOP cars!

Phil pointed out that a number of riders have pulled out but they still have a good rollup, with some 3,000 registered for the various rides over the weekend.  There will be two rides going through Coolamon: the Dirty 130 and the 100 km ride.  Phil went through the intersections where we are most needed in the vicinity of Coolamon.

Dead Camel Lane is rougher than ever and Phil explained how advanced bike tyres are these days, so flat tyres won’t be a problem for many riders.

Phil thanked our club for the continuing support and handed over to Daryl Breust who with his committee have done a great job on organising things from our end.  Next Monday Daryl will go through in detail our duties, the roster and the logistics of baking ANZAC biscuits and supplying water, bananas and safety vests for our marshals.

​How good is your bunny hop game this year!? (jokes) You can ride around them,

The D9705 Conference have the following volunteers going to cook and serve at the welcome BBQ at the Temora Rural Museum from 5.00 pm:  Garth, Ian ,Dick, Brian, JG, Anne, Neil, Adrian and Paul.

All in all an it was an excellent meeting with an abbreviated fines session due to our S@A John Bond being in hospital — we wish Bondy a quick recovery.

The raffle was won by Leslie.

DIARY

Friday – Sunday, 18th-20th March – Temora DISCON {District 9705 Conference}.  See:  TEMORA 2022

Monday, 21st March – Regular meeting. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

Sunday, 27th March – Gears and Beers. See: Gears and Beers WEBSITE.

Saturday, 2nd April – Sportsman’s Night featuring SCOTT REARDON and VANESSA LOW. The CRC Sportsman’s Committee have organised a fundraising function featuring local Paralympian Scott Reardon and his wife Vanessa Low, also a Paralympian.  The event will take place in conjunction with the Coolamon Football Club at Kindra Park.  Time 6.00-10.00 pm.

You can now buy tickets from the Coolamon Post Office.

To all our Internet users: please start sharing the CRC Facebook page, our website and the booking form links which will have all the details for this night.

A Night with Vanessa Low and Scott Reardon Links.

Saturday 21st May – D9705 Club Development Seminar {formerly called District Assembly}. – ALL 2022-2023 Board Members need to attend. West Wyalong, 9 am start.

Monday 4th July – CRC 51st Changeover. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7 pm.

JUST FOR LAUGHS

THE PUZZLER

Answer to the last Puzzler: A golf ball.

This week’s challenge: Two teams are playing footy on the planet of Tralfamadore. The game is similar to Aussie Rules footy except the point values are different.  If the score of the match between the Troggs and the Croods is 8-1-67 to 16-2-134, what are the point values of major and minor goals? The point values for major and minor goals are whole numbers, and the point value for major goals is greater than the point value for minor goals. [In the unlikely event you’re not familiar with scoring in Aussie Rules, the first number is the number of major goals, the second is the number of minor goals, and the last number is the total number of points.]

ROTARY NEWS

1.  RAWCS

Rotary Australia World Community Service have two projects that we can promote that are both current and topical:

A.  National Flood Appeal (RARF) Project # 47 of 2021-22

National Flood Appeal – To raise funding to provide financial assistance to flood victims in Queensland and Northern New South Wales – February 2022.  Around 15000 homes have been flooded and some owners will be needing assistance to clean and refurbish their residences.

Individuals who are adversely affected and require assistance will be identified and be given funds to help with their recovery. It is our priority to get funds quickly to those who are in need to help them with the clean up and damage caused by the floods.

CONTACT:

PDG Adrian Froggatt
(M) 0400 074 342
Email: [email protected]

DETAILS HERE.

B.  Ukrainian Relief appeal 83 of 2014-15

Ukrainian Relief Aid – To meet immediate lifesaving needs of the crisis-affected civilian population in Ukraine & provide early recovery assistance as soon as feasible. To save & preserve lives, easy suffering & promote self-sufficiency.

The Ukraine Crisis Appeal – a collaboration between the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO), Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) and Caritas Ukraine – is the largest Australian tax-deductible fundraising effort for Ukraine.

https://www.ukrainecrisisappeal.org/

Our club has started the Sunflowers for Ukraine project and more details will follow next week after the District 9705 Conference.  Our Acting DG Michael Moore AM will be launching our project in Temora over the weekend. In the mean time there is plenty of information on our website:

Sunflowers for Ukraine.

CONTACT

PP Guy Glenny 0418 695 803  Email: [email protected]

2.  MY ROTARY WEBSITE AND NEWS ON UKRAINE

Just in case you are asked what Rotary is doing for the disaster in Ukraine, please refer to the following stories.  Rotary is answering the call and helping out, and are calling for support.  We will do our best in Australia via RAWCS however I think it is important to know what else Rotary is doing around the world.

A.  Ukrainian describes leaving Kyiv, using Rotary network to help others

By Iryna Bushmina, District 2232 (Ukraine) Rotaract Representative

I left Kyiv in the first hours of the war. My sister, her husband, her 3-month-old baby and a cat were in the car. When we reached the border, men were already not allowed to leave the country, so I went on with my sister and a little nephew. We were five days in the car, six days until we got to Vienna.

We stayed for the night in different countries……………

Click here for more

B.   Rotary’s network enables rapid humanitarian relief for Ukrainian refugees

By Rotary International

The crisis in Ukraine is having devastating consequences on civilians as families flee their homes. According to the United Nations, more than 2 million people, most of them women and children, have sought refuge in neighboring countries and across Europe, while about 1 million more people have been displaced within Ukraine.

Rotary and Rotaract clubs in Europe and around the world have taken swift action and are working with members nearby to provide food, water, medical equipment, and shelter for refugees.

Click here for more

ROTARY DISTRICT 2231 POLAND don’t slow down because the needs are huge

Today another transport with refugees from Ukraine went to Szczecin and from there further to Denmark.

LONG LIVE FREE UKRAINE !

MARCH IS WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE MONTH

Graphics by Debbie Vance from Canada.

Past President Garth Perkin from our club is raising funds for ShelterBox Australia.  One of the best projects for disaster relief.  No matter where it happens in the world.

ShelterBox Australia

About this adventure

As part of ShelterBox Larapinta 2022, over seven days, you’ll follow well-worn yet timeless red dirt tracks along the slopes of the West MacDonnell Ranges, immersed in the rich history of Australia’s First Peoples.

Beside winding rivers, across open plains, to the summit of Mount Sonder and into the shaded Ormiston Gorge – by day, you’ll conquer one of the world’s premier desert treks, enjoying breath taking historic landscapes made famous by Albert Namatjira’s paintings.

At night, you’ll camp under inky black skies filled with silver stars and fall asleep to the nocturnal sounds of the desert, inspired by the difference you’re making to the lives of families impacted by disaster and conflict.

PLEASE GO HERE AND SUPPORT GARTH PERKIN

Garth says:

“What a great cause, to help people in need.

I simply couldn’t resist this trek (mind you at the age of 79) as it starts on the 2nd of August which would have been my dear wife, Marg Perkin’s birthday.

Marg was the first female president of Coolamon Rotary club, and always passionate about helping others in need. She passed away last year after fighting cancer for 5 years so I feel this is a small tribute to her, yet for a great cause that she would be proud to support”.