Notes – 12 August 2021
Sergeant Ted Mason, in introducing President Ian Grant, stated that Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 B.C. but that our leader was nowhere near that.
President Ian welcomed all 54 members and guests and especially Nigel Donne, Doreen Levesque, Ailsa Henderson, Louise Chambers, Anne Blewden, Deb Robertson, his wife Liz with potential member Bradley de Bois and his wife Kim, Raewyn Kirkman, Geoff Tizard attended from Waikato Sunrise and our District Governor Ross Pinkham accompanied by Assistant District Governor David Hume.
President Ian then invited Lee Powell to present a framed certificate for marshalling at the Waipa Fun Run on behalf of St. Peter’s Primary Catholic School.
President Ian recounted what he and his team had been doing in his seventh week – “not to impress the DG but to keep everyone informed”. New events will be New Members’ Month and our hosting of Birkenhead Rotary Club in March 2022.
Bill Robinson introduced DG Ross whose first act was to bestow a Paul Harris Fellowship on David Blewden whose achievements included the Adventure Club and Urban Miners.
The DG went on to explain the District Officers’ duties as part of his team. He complimented our communications team on a fantastic website and media usage and asked for the road signs around Cambridge to be updated. Rotary Day of Service is an opportunity, and he will be giving President Ian some ideas. In support of International President Shekhar, DG Ross continued, each Rotarian might consider inviting someone to a meeting specifically to hear a particular speaker.
The district theme is Health & Well-being but be mindful of the level you can actually achieve – don’t go mad, DG Ross said.
Service, he explained, can often be as little as a phone call to see if someone needs help.
The District Governor then suggested that our speakers should be given a gift with some relevance to Rotary but not a box of chocolates or doughnuts!
Revisiting earlier projects which may need refreshing is often rewarding and helps to reinforce the positive image of Rotary.
The District has given US$66,000 to Rotary Foundation and we have 23 Paul Harris Fellows. This award is not restricted to Rotarians, so perhaps honouring a local non-Rotarian in the community should be considered.
DG Ross concluded his presentation with a video about Hawkes Bay, the venue for our Conference in May 2022.
“Thanks for honouring Cambridge by visiting us so early in your year,” said Richard Seabrook, “and giving such a very refreshing talk with no ‘ho hums’ – and no chocolates or doughnuts!”
- Health & Well-being Initiative (Gretchen Bosacker) - Suggested that we might help each other to good health. She said that base-line measurements, e.g. blood group & pressure, weight etc. would be a first step. We could then progress to a generally accepted level. We could have speakers on health-related subjects and make contact with appropriate community groups. First Aid and CPR were areas where training could be obtained.
- Urban Miners (Mark Hanlon) - Collection on Sunday and next month’s date to be confirmed. Te Awamutu Club will have their collection in two weeks. David Blewden (daringly!) added that Kim Prichard had had to resign from the management committee and a replacement with marketing skills was sought to counter the lack of awareness in local businesses.
- 75th Anniversary (John Bishop) – Invitations issued and RSVP asap!
- Major Project (Doug Lang) - We should identify a major project for which we can apply for a $5,000 grant and a matching amount from District. Doug recognised Raewyn Kirkman as his mentor and added that taking sugar out of his diet had reduced his weight by 10 kilos.
- Visit to Hamilton East (Richard Seabrook) – Wednesday 25 August 2021.Meet in CHS main car park at 5pm for car sharing. The event starts at 5.45pm. Don Wilson advised that although Ruakura Road is closed to through traffic, you can still gain access to Ruakura Lane. Tell security you are attending a function at the Ruakura Campus Club.
- Adventure Club (David Partis) - Reserve 4 September for a climb up Te Aroha or a walk in the Waiorongomai Valley or a 2-3-hour bike ride from Te Aroha in either direction. Each with an ‘apres-ski’ soak in the Te Aroha Mineral Spas followed by dinner. Details on Clubrunner.
- Blood Bank (Nigel Salter) – Support given to the recent collection by Ted Mason, Bev Maul-Rogers, Chris Smiley and Laurie Graham. We have been asked to assist with a further Cambridge collection just prior to Christmas.
- Communications (Roger Gordon) – Our award-winning presentation was circulated comprising a scrapbook and a typed entry. We have three websites and three Facebook pages so keep the information coming.10,000 views have come via the websites and we have over 400 Facebook followers. A highlight “worth squillions” was Urban Miners on the front page of our local newspaper.
The raffle was drawn as usual, but time did not allow for a Sergeant’s session.
Our Rotary World was given by Andrew Bateman who talked on what it means to be a Rotarian. It’s a way of life, he said, as well as providing strength by working as a group.
President Ian then thanked members and guests for attending and closed the meeting.
PS: Bill Wilson would like to thank donors for the Dry July Project and, in particular, John and Linda Tarbutt. A total of $1.6M has been raised.
