Youth Exchange students often say their experience abroad was the best time of their lives. Being part of the program can be life-changing for Rotary members as well
Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta joined the Rotary delegation to the 26th United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on 10 November to explore ways Rotary can work on environmental challenges, including by restoring mangroves, a crucial ecosystem that can mitigate the effects of climate change in coastal areas.
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President's Blog
Jason Climo
As I am away Lee-Ann has stepped in and given you a summary of what has been happening. See below.
Yours in Rotary
President Jason
A few more Lines from Lee-Ann!
Cheers everyone for putting up with me while President Jason is away for work in the North Island. You can’t seem to get rid of me, and it may be for a few more weeks! Good news though … President-Elect Grant will probably step in also at some point so at least you get a bit of variety.
What a fantastic 3 weeks we have just had. November is Foundation Month in Rotary and therefore was fitting that the funds we raised at the Melbourne Cup event went to The Rotary Foundation. We raised just on $1500. Thank you to David Carter, members, partners, invited friends and the ‘Inner Wheelers’ who have a lucky knack of hijacking the prizes and sweepstakes each year!
On 9 November, the very impressive Olivia Egerton was our guest speaker on her very new project ‘Te Atamira’, Queenstown’s new Arts and Cultural Facility at Remarkables Park. What a fantastic venue it is going to be for our community.
This week we heard from Andrew Wilson from the Queenstown Salvation Army and about the solid performance they put in supporting our immigrants and local community. COVID 19 has increased their workload meaning more needed room for the services they provide and more shop capacity is also needed. So they will be soon expanding to new premises in Frankton. We raised $336 for Andrew to take back, the proceeds of a very generous Sergeant’s session on the night.
Next week we have members from KAPOW speaking – Arthur’s Point Ecological Restoration Project.
This ties in nicely with another ‘Adopt-a-Plot’, wilding pine working bee on Saturday 27 November at 10am. Please RSVP to Lee-Ann llines@xtra.co.nz or Richard bowmanz@actrix.co.nz now if you want to go up. Gondola passes need to be arranged before Monday 22 November.
Gabrielle, Joan, Monica, Karen Spires and I attended the Impact 100 Decision Night this week.
There were 5 local charities contending for the main grant of $100,000 which was awarded to Lisa Leftley from Pivotal Point. Lisa spoke to us in March and we were so impressed back then that our club sponsored her with some start-up funding. She does a wonderful job https://pivotalpoint.org.nz/ . There was another grant of $85,000 awarded to the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust to fund a pilot project to enable feral cat control in the Dart/Rees delta area with the goal of re-introducing Takahe to the valley in 2022. Finally a further $5,000 each went to Southern Wellbeing Trust, Kiwi Kit Community Trust and Volunteer South Partnership, and Central Lakes Family Services. A huge thanks goes to the two sponsors who enabled Gabrielle and me to be part of this fabulous group of local women. I will be re-joining next year.
Coming up are the Foundation Dinners to be held between now and end of February 2022. $30pp for hosts and $45pp for guests. Thank you to the members who are hosting - you are champions. Please prepay in to the ANZ account 01-0867-0722903-00 name and ‘Foundation’.
Also, coming up on 7 December is the Christmas function to be held at Canyon Brewery, Arthurs Point from 5pm with dinner at 6.30pm. $65pp to be prepaid in to the ANZ account (name and Xmas). This is the last meeting for the year. We will return with the Presidents BBQ at Tucker Beach on January 18th, weather permitting.
Last week we welcomed new members Ross and Nikki MacFarlane who were inducted to Rotary.
Nikki is a kiwi and Ross is originally from the UK. They have lived and worked in Asia (mainly Singapore and Bali) for the past 20+ years and Ross was the Asia/Pacific Sales and Marketing Manager for Coca Cola. Ross has now retired. Nikki has her own business offering support services and advice to pregnant and new mums.
Sadly we say haere rā to Alex Bolton-Hogg. Alex and her family have decided to head back to Atlanta USA for their business and to access further educational support for their youngest daughter.
This week’s speaker was Andrew Wilson, Core Officer and Director of Community Ministry for the Salvation Army in the Wakatipu. Andrew and his wife Ruth, who shares their role and ministry work, arrived in Queenstown in 2019.
The Salvation Army’s key foci in the Wakatipu include operating the Queenstown ‘Food Bank’ as well as providing their ‘Positive Lifestyles’ program. The Food Bank caters for some 40-60 families each week. During the COVID lockdowns, they experienced a 6 fold increase in demand for food parcels.
The ‘Positive Lifestyles’ program is across both the Wakatipu and Wanaka and focuses on growing positive and successful family relationships including marriages. Andrew spoke of a ‘great team’ at work in our community and in Wanaka.
Andrew explained their challenges locally which lie in the uncertainty of future demand (due to a ‘COVID’ inspired fear of face to face meetings), succession planning for their current ‘great’ team, and the capital costs that they face in providing a necessary new facility in the Wakatipu. Despite the cost challenges, they do have good local support.
Of their future, the Salvation Army wishes to expand its services in Wanaka as well as carry out additional programs involving children and youth and Drug and Alcohol.
Of note, our Rotary club gave $10,000 to the Wakatipu Trust last year at the time of the 2020 lockdown. The monies went directly to the Salvation Army specifically to support mental health issues incurred as a consequence of the COVID lockdown.
Olivia is Development Director of the new ‘Te Atamira Arts & Cultural Centre’ currently being established at Remarkables Park.
Its vision is to foster, promote and facilitate community interest and involvement in the Arts. Over 40 groups have already indicated that they will use the facility.
Occupying some 1400 sq. metres, the facility will provide 2 dance studios, 2 theatre/music spaces, a pottery studio, a workshop space, a recording studio, 6 visual arts studios, an art gallery, 6 itinerant music studios, a workshop classroom and a youth meeting space at a cost of $4.2m. The Central Lakes Trust has recently made a grant of $700k to the new facility.
Olivia spoke to Rotary some 10 years ago on a vocation visit to the restored ‘Boat Shed’ where she was involved in its restoration. Olivia and her husband left Queenstown shortly after that visit for Christchurch and has recently returned but with the addition of 2 children.
We will hopefully see more of Olivia in the future.
For the next two weeks we have a wonderful exhibition of prints, sculptures and paintings done last week at Shotover Primary as part of the Art in Schools project – so wonderful to be filled with art!
Foundation Dinners - 30th November ‘It's that time of year again’
... and it's just 3 weeks away. We are looking for at least another 4 Hosts please. If you haven't already spoken to Lee-Ann, Jason or Foundation Director Richard Bowman and you are keen to be a Host, please ask the other significant stakeholder in your household if it is ok and let one of the above know asap or reply to queenstownrotary@gmail.com. If not we may come shoulder tapping.
Foundation dinners are a fun night of friendship with great food, wine, and lots of laughs while we raise money for the Rotary Foundation.
Cost: We are mindful of the extra costs at this time of the year and that we have had a few other Rotary events lately, so the cost per person will remain the same as last year:
Hosts pay $30pp. Guests pay $45pp
Further Info:
There will be 6 guests at each event + the Hosts. (7-8 pax)
The hosts usually provide the main course, tea & coffee and any entertainment they wish to inflict, but it is up to the hosts how the evening is run and who brings what. It can be a planned set-course dinner, BBQ or a pot luck. Whatever takes your fancy.
It is up to the Host to decide on the date and time and can be before the 30th November, in December or even in January, if you all agree.
This event replaces the usual Rotary meeting on Tuesday 30 November at the Holiday Inn.
'Days for Girls' is an international project to help combat period poverty by providing reusable menstrual pads. Click on the link to be taken to the website for more info - https://www.daysforgirls.org/
IPP Lee-Ann is looking after the programme, duties, meetings and attendance. If you have any suggestions/ideas for the programme please let her know. If you have a duty and can’t attend, please make sure you find a replacement.
The 3 Minute Talk - to make sure we run to time, please keep to between 3-5 minutes, unless pre-arranged with President Jason.
Apologies - Must be received to queenstownrotary@gmail.com before 12pm Tuesday at the latest. Please be aware that you will be invoiced for your meal if no apology is received. If you are unsure if you can make it each week, you can put in a permanent apology and let us know when you do come. It is easier to inform the restaurant of an extra meal than the Club having to pay for meals not claimed.
DUTIES ROSTER
23 November
30 November
7 December
Setup 5.20 pm Meet & Greet
Lee-Ann Lines
Foundation Dinners
Christmas Function
Cashier
David Tait
NA
NA
Introduce Speaker & Parting Thought
Brian MacPherson
NA
NA
Sergeant
Neil Boniface
NA
NA
Toast to Rotary Project OR
3 min Talk
Alan Ward
NA
NA
Thank Speaker
Monica Mulholland
NA
NA
PLEASE NOTE: Person rostered to Introduce Speaker please forward notes of their presentation to Keith McIntosh, Bulletin Editor, for inclusion in the Bulletin.
If you will be away, or for some other reason you cannot do your duty on the nominated day, it is your responsibility as soon as possible, and certainly no later than the Monday night before the meeting, to arrange a substitute. A swap with the person who has the duty the next week is suggested.
Please be there by 5.25 pm if you are on Reception or Meet & Greet.
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