Bulletins

MEETING OF APRIL 15th

President Daryl welcomed 19 members and 1 guest for the evening. There we a number of apologies for the night including one from Alex who is currently in the UK. Congratulations go to Alex on his recent engagement to Chez. We wish them the best of luck for the future.

Business for the evening included:

• Bingo had a small turnout this month. Hopefully attendance will improve in the future.
• The Gamain Pony Club is seeking donations for horseback archery school. The board will discuss this at the next board meeting.
• The flags have arrived and are ready to be flown. They are single sided as a double sided flag is so heavy it will not fly well. Motion was passed to pay for the cost of the flags.
• We are awaiting on final approval for the shed at the showground from the landowners before building can commence. Hopefully this week.
• The Festival of Small Halls was great success last Tuesday with about 150 people in attendance including a number of families with children.  An added bonus was that Landline spent the whole day there filming the event and it is anticipated that the story will be aired in June.
• Wagga Rotary is holding a book fair in the first week of May at the Wagga Showgrounds. So if you like to bury yourself in a good book there will more than enough there to choose from, so pay them a visit.
• The Easter Markets is this Saturday. It is not expected to be an overly big event with about half a dozen stall holders because the markets need to be held in the park on the main street of Coolamon. There will not be any raffle and no food van so only a couple of people will be need to help out on the day, if you can help let Paul know. It will likely be a lovely day so if you can come along and show your support it will be most welcome.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote?

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Henry Ward Beecher.

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS

 

DIARY

Easter Saturday, 20th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. 9:00-1:30 (setup at 8:00, takedown at 1:30; contact Paul if you can assist).

Monday, 22nd April – No meeting (public holiday).

Thursday, 25th April – catering at ANZAC Day trotting event at Coolamon Showgrounds. Roster: 12:30-2 pm – Henk, Ted, Bernie, Anne; 2:00-4:00 – Wayne, Don, Albert, Dick, John G.

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

*Monday, 29th April – Guest speaker: Georgia Booth.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

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.

 

April is the month for maternal and child health

MEETING OF APRIL 8th

President Daryl welcomed 17 members and 2 guest to a night of fellowship and a delicious meal for the evening.

Points of discussion for the evening included

• Redgrave tennis club sent a letter of thank you to the club for having contributed half the cost for a defibrillator  for the club.
• New Australian and Rotary flags have been printed and picked up ready to be flown in Lions Park. A motion was put forward and carried to pay for the cost of the flags.  
• Reminder to all members that the change over dinner will be Monday the 1st July. Please be sure to save the date.
• The Small Halls performance was Wednesday night in Ganmain  – we hope all had great evening of music and fellowship. 
• Myffy passed around a card for Beth Batcheldor at Coolamon Central school who has been instrumental in helping to get the Coolamon Community Chronicle assembled each month. Myffy presented the card to Beth at the morning tea the school held for her.  The new teacher replacing Beth, Rebecca Lowe, has indicated that she will continue to support the Chronicle at the school, but help is still required, particularly over the school breaks when the students are on holiday. Helpers will not be expected to run the paper, but assistance with jobs would be greatly appreciated by the Chronicle team.  
• The harness racing club has asked the club to run the food van on ANZAC Day and on the 5th May – Hooves and Hounds Day. A roster went around asking for people to staff the van in 2 three-man shifts for ANZAC Day.
• Grahame is having a slow recovery from his knee surgery. We wish him well and hope to have him back on the bulletin team when he is feeling better.
• The Coolamon Central School had the Farwest bike riders come and visit the school last week. The students represented the school well and made the evening news on Monday evening.

The evening closed with a clever fine session by Sergeant-At-Arms Ted and a meat raffle, which was won by someone (we’ll see how many people read the bulletin!).

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote?

“The newspaper is a greater treasure to the people than uncounted millions of gold.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Nelson Mandela.

 

JUST FOR LAUGHS

 

DIARY

Monday, 15th April – Regular meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Easter Saturday, 20th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Pieper Park, Coolamon. 9:00-1:30 (setup at 8:00, takedown at 1:30; contact Paul if you can assist).

Monday, 22nd April – No meeting (public holiday).

Thursday, 25th April – catering at ANZAC Day trotting event at Coolamon Showgrounds. Roster: 12:30-2 pm – Henk, Ted, Bernie, Anne; 2:00-4:00 – Wayne, Don, Albert, Dick, John G.

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

*Monday, 29th April – Guest speaker: Georgia Booth.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

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.

 

April is the month for maternal and child health

MEETING OF APRIL 1st

Paul, as acting president for the evening, greeted 23 members and 6 guests, including Tracy and Jane all the way from Kenya Africa.

Tracy and Jane were both guest speakers at the district conference held last weekend which was hailed as the best conference that many of our members had ever attended, with an amazing line-up of women speakers who demonstrated their fortitude and resilience as they fought their way from dire circumstances to the highly productive members of society they are today.

The Rotary Club of Coolamon was well represented at the conference. Paul was one ticket off from winning the trip to Nepal, Wayne enjoyed it immensely saying it was well worth the trip to Griffith and back and Bondy did a great job on the cello at the closing of the conference. All members agreed it was a fantastic success and congratulated DG John G for his perseverance and effort in putting the conference together with resounding applause.

Next year’s conference (the last for District 9700) will be held in Temora and the organisation is well underway already.  

DLIC Jane Mberia speaking on membership growth.

DG John G, Tracy Monica and PDG Fred Loneragan

The didge, a gift to the Kapooka Jazz Ensemble

MC Evan Burrell from Turramurra RC and DG John

PRIVP Anne L. Mathews presents the PHF to James Baxter O’Shea from Oberon RC

Tracy in full flight.

The presentation of the Service Above Self Award to PP Paul Murray.  This is the highest award given to any Rotarian and only 100-120 are awarded each year by the RI President.  On stage with Paul are the other SAS members who have this honour.  Maria Egan has the Partner’s SAS; the others L-R PP Mary Brell, PDG Fred Loneragan, PDG Bill Donaldson, DG John, PRIVP Anne L. Matthews and PP Paul Murray.  Absent PDG Ray King and PP Alok Sharma.

The closing ceremony involved John Bond in a flash mob finale!

In other business…

The vote for on the motion to amalgamate future district 9705 with the district north of 9705 was put forward. Paul acted as proxy on Daryl’s behalf and after some consideration the motion was denied primarily because the delegates wanted more time to consider the ramifications of the motion to those districts being merged. It was agreed that it was very likely that he merger will go ahead but that members in the district need to be informed about the likely consequences of the merger.

Dave and Henk attended the Rotary Youth Driver Awareness program (RYDA) held in Wagga with 18 year 11 students from Coolamon Central School with teacher Josh Celi and community youth coordinator  Lewie. The  Rotary Club of Coolamon sponsored the students for the cost of attending and the students all took the day very seriously, representing the school and the Coolamon community very well. The RYDA program is a great program  for teaching driver awareness to students just embarking on driving on our country roads and is a credit to the Rotary organisers (one of whom is an ex-Coolamon club member, Max Chapman). Josh also gave the club a big thumbs up for their sponsorship of the day and looks forward to closer ties with the club.

Guest Speakers: Jane Mberia and Tracy Monica Ochieng

District Governor John G introduced Jane and Tracy with a trip down memory lane on his youth in Africa and his and the club’s connection to Africa, including the connections with the Rotary clubs of Kenya, of which Jane is a leader in her own right and came to the conference as a  speaker to share her insights and to accompany Tracy. John also spoke of the the mountain climbs that he and Fred made to raise money for Tracy’s sponsorship out of poverty. The money raised and Tracy’s own determination have now culminated in Tracy coming to Australia to be a incredibly moving and inspiring guest speaker at the district conference (especially impressive for a 20-year-old).

Jane Mberia

Jane has been a part of the Rotary family for 20 years, the first 10 as a member of Rotaract and then as a member of Rotary in her community. She was treasurer of her club for three years and then president at age 35 before becoming assistant governor of District 9212 and gladly shared her experience and the lessons she has learned with the club.

Jane began by illustrating the unique circumstances of Africa, with the continent having a population of 1.3 billion, the majority of whom are in their youth so the population is still growing rapidly. District 9219 spans 4 countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea. One of the main challenges in the district has been to decentralize the clubs from major cities such as Nairobi and promote regional clubs. Active efforts in this area have seen memberships double and now the district has 107 clubs in total, 84 of which are in Kenya with an average of 48% female membership with much of the growth occurring by founding new clubs in needy communities.

However, despite the growth in clubs, the number of members in the clubs tend to remain static at  approximately 30 to 35 members with an average age of 40 years old. Retaining members is still an issue in D9219 just as it is in Australia, and Jane shared some of the lessons she has learned to help in this area. 

Jane’s mother club was dying when she first shifted from Rotaract to full membership in Rotary, and she said she easily could have joined a more vibrant club, however she chose to stay with her mother club as she believed that it was best to ‘be the change you want to see’; it is clear that her enthusiasm and strong leadership were a major contributing factor to her club now having a strong representation of 42 members. She said that her role first as attendance officer and then particularly president were key learning experiences that helped get the club where it is today.

Her key takeaways were:

• Build a strong leadership team; hold people to account for the jobs they have committed to, and ask them to be honest about their ability to fulfill those commitments. In Jane’s opinion, it is more honorable to move aside when you cannot fulfill an obligation than to string people along.     
• Use committees and subcommittees so everyone in the club has a responsibility and purpose within the membership and work to people’s strengths.
• Build diversity in the club; the wider the variety of people in the club the more skills and experiences can be brought bear.
• Work on succession planning; try and leave a position stronger than when you started in it.
• Do as many service projects as you can that help service your community; ask your members about potential projects they can support. Projects that Jane’s club has helped sponsor include sanitary packs for girls so they can attend school and bookkeeping classes for girls to help support their families.
• Build connections with sister clubs all over the world. A connection with a sister club in Germany helped her club sponsor a surgeon coming to Kenya to perform 16 much needed open heart surgeries.
• Give to Rotary; even $2 dollars a day saved from taking a packed lunch to work can have a huge impact. The dollars add up!
• Don’t underestimate your impact as described in the fable of the little hummingbird; do the best you can, because your best might just inspire others, too.
• Communicate – never keep quiet about what you are doing. Use every platform you can to tell people what Rotary is doing and encourage others to join Rotary.
• Involve your family; make them a part of the Rotary experience, too.

Tracy Monica

Tracy began by thanking the Rotary Club of Coolamon for sponsoring her, stating that education can really change the world for a child.

Tracy then described the circumstances in which she grew up and how her education gave her another option. She came from the Mathare slums in Nairobi where girls are rarely educated beyond the primary years. Young teen girls living in the slums will often fall pregnant to a young guy who is often involved in gangs and in a few short years will typically die in gang-related violence, leaving the girl to raise her children alone, often forced to turn to prostitution to survive and consequently perpetuating the cycle of poverty.  

The sponsorship by the Coolamon club helped Tracy break out of this cycle, not only for herself but also for her family. Tracy spoke of the hope that her parents had for her going into the future and her hope to help her family escape poverty.

Tracy then described how Rotary has changed her life; she didn’t think she would get to high school, but with Rotary’s sponsorship she could see a different path for her life and now she is in one of the best universities in Africa and is studying to be a journalist as she loves telling stories and appreciates the stories of other people.

It is safe to say there was not a dry eye in the club after hearing Tracy’s story and I am sure all Coolamon club members are more than happy to have helped in some small way in changing the course of Tracy’s life for the better.   

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote?

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Charles Darwin.

DIARY

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.

 

April is the month for maternal and child health

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

Meeting of February 25th

President Daryl welcomed 17 members, together with  guests Chez P, Chi-ann H, Graeme C,  Albert S, Helen L, and Lachlan Doulton.

Apologies from Ian, Myffy, Howard, Henk, John N, Anne and Lyn.

Daryl thanked Neil for the great organisation of the Peace Ceremony on Saturday and its huge success as well as the fantastic input from the Muslim community.

John G gave a brief account of the Peace ceremony held in Wagga on Sunday.

Mooney’s March will be held on Saturday, 16th March at 10 am to honour and commemorate the 57th birthday of Garry “Mooney” Armstrong and to raise funds for cancer research.

Wayne spoke on membership and the potential of corporate membership to encourage greater involvement with the community and perhaps draw in younger members to our club.

We have one or two new members wanting to join our great club; we look forward to inducting them soon.

Our next street raffle will be on Saturday 16th March outside the Coolamon newsagency.

Bingo roster:  Grahame will be updating the Bingo roster in next week or so;  if you know you can’t do it any particular month in the next year, please let him know, to avoid having to find replacements at the last minute. Dick tells us he is not available July /August as he’ll be off overseas.

Dave gave a brief talk on Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) which will be held on Friday, March 29 with about 28 Coolamon Central School students going in the two school buses.

Paul gave a talk on Easter markets on April 20th and the need to hold the markets in Pieper Park (Coolamon) as UTDS is not available.   120 hot rodders are coming to Ganmain and are planning to attend the markets.

Sarah spoke on the Science & Engineering Challenge to be held on Thursday, March 7th at Mater Dei school.  Approximately 30 students in teams of four from CSC are planning to attend. The club has been asked to fund $390 to hire a bus from Allen’s to transport students to Wagga, which was passed by the Board.

The End Polio Now bike relay is arriving in Coolamon on Thursday March 7; John will be bringing a vintage iron lung to Coolamon on Thursday night.

On Wednesday, March 6th the Wagga Wagga clubs will ride down Baylis Street to the WW City Council Chambers where they will be greeted by the Mayor at 10.00am.  The Mayor will then hand the baton on to the WW Cyclists who will take the baton to Coolamon on Thursday morning March 7th.

The iron lung will be in Coolamon on Friday morning, March 8th in a place to be nominated.  The iron lung will remain in the trailer as it’s very heavy. 

The Coolamon cyclists depart for Junee at a time of their choice; Mayor John Seymour may want to send them off.

Ted ran another lively fine session. The evening concluded with a meat raffle (won by a very surprised Dick) and fellowship.

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“I actually think I think better in high heels.”

The author of last week’s Quote of the Week was Freddie Mercury.

 

DIARY

Saturday, March 2 –  Long Table Charity Event. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 pm til late. Click here for details.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 09:15-17:00.

Saturday, 2nd March – D9700 District Leadership Team Training, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 14:00-16:30.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS Dinner, Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 19:00.

Sunday, 3rd March – PETS Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young 9:30-15:00.

Sunday, 3rd March – Clean Up Australia Day. Volunteers to meet at Coolamon P.O. at 9:00 am.

Thursday 7th March and Friday 8th March Polio PARADE arrives in Coolamon

Friday, 8th March – International Womens’ Day breakfast. The old Convent (Coolamon), 7 to 8:30 am.

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

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.

 

February is World Understanding Month

Meeting of 18 February 

President Daryl welcomed 22 members, together with  guests Leo & Marianne DeKroo, Mel & Eleanor Meyer, Mick & Gail O’Brien, Albert Suidgeest, Maureen H, Sharon M, Marilyn J, Anne B, Heather McK, Lexi F, Jan N, Barry L, Helen L, Sally F, Lorraine H, Russ Barrow, and Minnie Lewis.

Several diary items of note:

• Neil announced that 40 people have signed up to come to the Peace Ceremony in Lions Park at 4.15 next Saturday, 23rd Feb.  Please let Neil know if you are planning to attend.
• Catering on Tuesday morning, 26th Feb, at 8 am for Delta Ag breakfast; need about 5 members. Please let Dick know if you can help out.
• PETS training will be held in Young on 2 & 3 March. Contrary to what was said at the meeting, PETS training is just for incoming presidents, not incoming board members.
• Clean-up Australia Day on Sunday March 3, 9 am at Coolamon PO.
• International Womens’ Day on Friday March 8 will be celebrated with a breakfast at the Old Convent, from 7 to 8.30am.  Guest Speaker is Heather Ward on the theme ‘Balance for Better’.

Daryl announced that Janice Menzies & her team (Doin’ it for Drought-Affected Kids) distributed 270 school packages in Broken Hill.

Bingo Roster:  Grahame will be updating the Bingo roster in next week or so.  If you know you won’t be able to work at bingo for any particular month in the next year, please let Grahame know to avoid having to find replacements at the last minute.

Guest Speaker Leo DeKroo gave us the second instalment of the most interesting story of his life in the music & radio industry. He started with a brief rehash of the story he gave us last time, of his life in the entertainment industry in the 1960’s, working with the likes of Brian Henderson, Col Joye, Judy Stone, Bee Gees, etc

He then spoke of another part of his life when he moved to Eumungerie, near Dubbo, in the early 1970’s.  This is where Leo met Marianne; they married in 1978.

Leo recounted some most interesting stories of experiences he had when he was working as a radio announcer on local radio station 2DU.  One story involved a phone call in the early hours from a guy who claimed he had just murdered someone & all the ramifications of that event;  far too much to recount here.

Henk thanked Leo for his talk and presented him with one of our kangaroo hide coin pouches.

The meeting concluded with a brief fine session, during which Sargent-At-Arms Ted managed to fine most of the guests in attendance–a bit harsh, don’t you think, Ted?  The raffle was won by Sally.

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Which famous person made this quote? 

“I’m just a musical prostitute, my dear.”

The answer to last week’s poser was vehicle B.

 

DIARY

*Saturday, 23rd February – Rotary Peace Ceremony.  Lion’s Park, Coolamon, 4:00-4:30, followed by fellowship and dinner.

Monday, 25th February – Regular meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Saturday, March 2 –  Long Table Charity Event. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 pm til late. Click here for details.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 09:15-17:00.

Saturday, 2nd March – D9700 District Leadership Team Training, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 14:00-16:30.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS Dinner, Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 19:00.

Sunday, 3rd March – PETS Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young 9:30-15:00.

Sunday, March 3 –  Clean Up Australia Day.

Friday, March 8 – International Womens’ Day breakfast. The old Convent (Coolamon), 7 to 8:30 am.

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

Easter Saturday, 19th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Up-To-Date Store, 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.

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st -5th June – 2019 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.

 

February is World Understanding Month

Meeting of 11 February 

Past President Paul welcomed 18 members along with  guests Marilyn J, Lorraine H, Maureen H, Maree J, Helen L, Russell B, Greg & Janice Menzies (guest speaker) and John & Val Burns (Rotary Club of Woden/ACT). Apologies from Howard A, Daryl B,  Myffy C, Bern M, Lyn S, Anne R & Alex T.

Reminder: the Long Table Charity event will be held on Saturday, March 2 – raising funds for our local Hospital & Kindra Park Sporting precinct. 

Dave talked on Rotary Youth Exchange and the meeting last weekend at Young, which was also attended by Sarah as well as Jackson Wykes & family.  Neil spoke on the Peace Ceremony and the need for numbers.  RSVP is 18th Feb.

Stop Press:  Neil has managed to renegotiate price for the dinner;  it will now be only $20 and a smorgasbord, with choice of lamb or fish.

Delta Ag breakfast catering on Tuesday 26th Feb – 3 members needed.

‘Swimming With Men’ movie is on Friday March 1 to raise funds for End Polio Now; let Daryl or Neil know if you want to book a seat; $20 a ticket.  Every dollar raised from proceeds of this movie will be doubled by the Bill Gates Foundation.

Clean Up Australia Day is on Sunday, March 3.

Janice Menzies spoke on her work with Doin’ It For Drought Affected Kids and thanked Rotary for all its assistance with the project.  Paul presented a cheque from our club and Val Burns a cheque from their club in Canberra.  Ian J thanked Janice for her initiative & enthusiasm for the project.

A reminder that our guest speaker on February 18 is Leo DeKroo. As Leo is such an entertaining presenter, it was suggested this would be a great opportunity to invite guests along, especially potential new members.  So, if you have any one in mind, please make a point of inviting them along (and let John N know if they’re coming!).

The raffle was won by Neil.

 

 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

POSER OF THE WEEK

This week’s poser tests your knowledge of Australian traffic laws.

In the diagram below, which vehicle has the right of way, A or B? 

The source of the last Quote of the Week was Billy Connolly.

 

DIARY

*Monday, 18th February – Speaker meeting: Leo De Kroo.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

*Saturday, 23rd February – Rotary Peace Ceremony.  Lion’s Park, Coolamon, 4:00-4:30, followed by fellowship and dinner.

Monday, 25th February – Regular meeting.  Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 for 7:00 pm.

Saturday, March 2 –  Long Table Charity Event. Coolamon Sport & Rec Club, 6:30 pm til late. Click here for details.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 09:15-17:00.

Saturday, 2nd March – D9700 District Leadership Team Training, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 14:00-16:30.

Saturday, 2nd March – PETS Dinner, Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young, 19:00.

Sunday, 3rd March – PETS Presidents Elect 2019-2020, DGE John McKenzie. Young 9:30-15:00.

Sunday, March 3 –  Clean Up Australia Day.

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

Easter Saturday, 19th April – Coolamon Rotary Markets, Up-To-Date Store, 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.

Saturday-Wednesday, 1st -5th June – 2019 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.

 

February is World Understanding Month