ROTARY CLUB OF CEROWS NEST - PRESIDENTS SPEECH
Last Saturday evening, Angelo, Sue Joy and I attended the District Changeover dinner and presentations at the Wenty Leagues Club.
Firstly let say that that Club is huge! It’s like Las Vagas of the west – but beautiful and I must say efficient.
We entered a room with approx. 200 other Rotarians from near and far (some 1.5 hours away in from Woy Woy) many of whom knew Angelo and Sue (naturally). District Governor Christine Owen spoke glowingly about the achievements the District had over the year.
After a pleasant meal, we settled down for the Awards to those Club and individuals who had shone during the year.
Club after Club came up to accept their shield or Certificate and applause rang out for those deserving special mention. When it came to the “ Service Above Self” award – the penultimate certificate - the room erupted with applause with the nomination and some standing ovations.
And I said to my “ Just a minute! We have not one but four “Service Above Self Awards” recipients in this Club. Our own Bill Lee, Angelo, Harold Sharp and Bjorn Kollberg, ! As PDG Harold Sharp always said “ This Club has always punched above its weight”. And its true. OK so we don’t tackle major marathons, wine festivals, swimming competitions but we do what we do best. “ we connect with our community”.
The list of donations listed in your programs gives testament to this fact. Buddy Benches, Teacher Education, D-Café, Local High Schools and then there’s international connections with Timor Leste.
How do we do it? Bunnings BBQs.& Melbourne Cup Trifecta. Methodical and successful.
Is there anything we could do better? Yes, increase our attendance at our Lunch meetings BUT we have gained two amazing women Catherine and Louise as members who are excellent Rotarians and we added Gloria tonight who will be a huge asset to the Club. We have seven female members which is roughly 28% of our total membership. Actually, its closer to 50% of our working members of this Club.
So, how do we finish off? We haven’t lost any members. We have gained two. We have met twice monthly, we did attend the District Conference, and we’ve had some very interesting guest speakers and we’ve had some fun along the way and we’ve raised funds for our community.
Our presence at Bunnings Artarmon with our banners, aprons and smiles has given Rotary a positive PR spin.
I do however want to thank a number of people. Mark our secretary who held me together throughout the year, Ian who managed Bunnings and BBQ dates, George for RYLA,& MUNA, Sue for the D-Café, Tree of Joy and District Grants, Owen for keeping an eye on our accounts and finally our partners. Many of whom are BBQ buddies but thank you for your support and patience.
Thank you all for your support during the year, I’ve not always felt 100% but you’ve rallied when needed and proved that you are all outstanding members of the Rotary Club of Crows Nest.
Work has already begun on our first Community Service project, the purchase with the help of a District Grant of a Lullaby Phototherapy System for treating babies with jaundice in the Neonatal Clinic at RNSH. We will continue to support past projects such as Mary’s House, Taldumande Youth Services, D-Café, Tree of Joy as well as a number of joint projects with other clubs in our area.
In International we will continue with RYLA in TL as well as looking at other projects in TL. A team of Rotarians will be visiting TL in October.
In Youth we will continue supporting RYLA, RYPEN and MUNA.
In Vocational we will be again hosting a Pride of Workmanship night.
Naturally we will be seeking new members to join.
We envisage having a number of social events with members and friends as well as with other clubs in our area. All in all, we plan to have a fun and fulfilling year.
