Exact numbers attending and apologies must be advised before each meeting. Please advise by 4 pm on the Monday before each meeting. To ph: 442-3484 / fax 442-3494 or email: admin@rilean.co.nz
The Rotary Foundation inducted into University of Oxford’s Chancellor’s Court of BenefactorsThe Rotary Foundation has been welcomed into the University of Oxford’s Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors for its continuous support of the
Fighting modern slaveryAn estimated 40.3 million people around the world live in slavery involving either sexual exploitation or forced labor. A Rotarian Action Group and Freedom
International President for 2018-2019 is Barry Rassin from the Bahamas.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Russell McGrouther
Russell's Ramblings
October commenced with a great night when we hosted our local Member of Parliament Hamish Walker. He is certainly one of the younger members in the House of Representatives and in his own words very much learning his way in how Parliament in general operates. He gave us a couple of examples of how he managed to get the support of the Labour and New Zealand First when his ‘Member’s Bill’ was drawn. A very enjoyable address from our local MP.
Un beknown to him I had proposed that he would present the following award but by the instructions of his PA he was on the move to his next engagement at Mossburn. Kerry Dunlop was then invited to address the gathering. He spoke about a Rotarian who had provided a great amount of assistance with the Tucker Beach Trail in particular, and of course other Rotary Projects in general including the Feehly Hill Project. Following Kerry’s presentation President Russell presented a rather embarrassed Tony Fleming with a Paul Harris Sapphire acknowledging his major contributions to these projects.
Following the meal we then proceeded to auction two Dorothy Brown Vouchers and an Alpine Helicopter ex the Adeaters Project which raised $5,800. Our grateful thanks to those successful participants who gained the vouchers.
Last week we had a very enjoyable Guest Speaker, Frances Piacun. She spoke on Waka Ama and her involvement locally as well as her National and World Championships involvements. As a 69 year old she is on the water plying the Wakatipu most mornings throughout the year whether it is 10 degrees or minus 5 degrees and competes nationally and internationally. She has been leading and introducing the waka activities to the local group since her arrival from the Far North four years ago and is presently working on having this activity / sport introduced into the Wakatipu High School outdoors activity programme. One of the national and international events is the 50km race. Normally you see the beginning and then all the competitors disappear from general sight until their return. Her thoughts are that this event could be held between Kingston and Queenstown and all participants could be seen from the Kingston Road during the entire event. This could include paddle boarders also competing and would be a great sight to be seen.
October and November seem to be very busy months. In addition to our regular Tuesday night meetings we had on Sunday 14th Mike Henry’s Garden Tour> On Sunday 28th is Quail Rise and Tucker Beach Gala Day and the Official Opening of the Tucker Beach Trail which is our 75th Anniversary Project presented to our local Community. Add to that the Rotary Foundation Film Premier ‘The Bohemian Rhapsody’ on Wednesday 31st October. PLEASE NOTE :this will replace our Tuesday 30th October Meeting.
Moving on to 6th November David Carter is arranging a special ‘Melbourne Cup Night’ at the Stacks Pub in the Hilton Complex. More details to follow. Saturday 10th November our District is holding a Car Rally and Fun (Track) Day with all arriving at the Highlands Motorsports Park at Cromwell at 12.30pm. (See further on in the bulleton for more info). The following day Cromwell Rotary are holding their 25th ANNUAL FISHING CLASSIC and invite any keen fishing personnel to join with them. (More info also further in the bulletin).
Of course, the Queenstown Marathon is on Saturday 17th November and whilst many of us will be assisting Inner Wheel with Marshalling etc. we are also hosting the International Marathon Fellowship of Rotarians. These are Rotarians from throughout the world who have for many years competed in such marathons. As requested by them for Friday Night 16th November we have arranged a Pasta Night at Wild Thyme and a Dinner where they will have their general banter, prize giving and hand over. I believe that this will be a great chance to promote our community and our area in total to this group of international visitors. Please let me know if you can join with them either on Friday 16th Pasta Night and / or Saturday 17th Dinner. Hopefully District Governor Andrew is coming through to be with us but this does clash with the President’s Elect training weekend, so he may be tied up with that.
I received an email from a friend recently talking about activities in November and December etc. and I replied “It won’t be long before we are wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and welcoming in 2019.”
That of course also indicates that we are just about halfway through our Rotary year, so we should now be looking at what we have achieved and what did we expect to achieve especially during the first six months. Whilst I believe that our Social Events and Meetings in general have meet with general acceptance of all members I am well aware that we have a membership number problem. At this stage we have to gain five new members to equal the membership at the beginning of the Rotary Year (1st July). Our membership has to increase and whilst this task does not rely on the Membership Team in total they are once again looking for names to attend a Membership Night. Can you assist?
Thanks to Lee-Ann who has covered the Bulletin and General Public Relations of the Club during Keith and Heather’s sojourn through Europe. They have now returned to the Land of the Long White Cloud and are ready to resume their duties.
Our Guest speaker last week was Frances Piacun. She gave a very interesting explaination of 'Waka Ama' and brought along 2 of her paddles to show us.
An active local with heaps of energy to burn, she was an inspiration to us all and proved age is no barrier when you do what you love and love what you do. See President Russell's intro in 'Russell's Ramblings" for more about Frances.
We also welcomed back Christain Hesse, his 2nd visit to our Club. Christain's daughter lives in Queenstown with her Kiwi husband and 2 children. Along with his wife, he visits NZ every 2 years. Christain's home Club is Clausthal-Zellerfeld in Germany.
A momentous moment for Fellow Bill Forsyth this week. Bill spoke about his 50 years as a Rotarian, sharing the highlights and stories during this time.
Polio Fundraiser Movie Night - Bohemian Rhapsody, 31st October, 5.30pm at Reading Theatre
A District wide “Fun Day” is being organised for Saturday 10th November 2018. This will be a day when all Rotarians, and their families, in the District can get together, socialise and have a fun day out. There will be a Car rally involved, (an opportunity to raise funds for your club). We will all meet for lunch in Cromwell and enjoy some time at Highlands Park Raceway! This is being organised by the District Assistant Governors and should be a great day out. Further details will follow later, but in the meantime mark the date in your diaries!
Cromwell Rotary Club Annual Fishing Competition 11th November.
Planning for the District Conference is well under way and we have had a steady stream of registrations. Just to remind you, the Conference is in Oamaru on April 26 – 28, 2019. There is a limit on the number of registrations we can take, so do not delay! If you have not already done so, appoint a Club member to be the conference co-ordinator and organise a group from your Club to attend what will be a fantastic weekend of catching up with old friends, making new friends, hearing some special speakers, along with the opportunity to be involved in a project.
Rotarians and families are invited to attend the opening of the Rotary Tucker Beach walk/cycle track by our Mayor Jim Boult, ONZM, at 4.00pm Sunday 28th October. This will take place at the car park of the Old Shotover Bridge. Five minutes walk from Gretton Park.
By now, Members and other invitees will have received an email with the event schedule. To get to Gretton Park turn left off Tucker Beach Road into Quail Rise. Drive up Ferry Hill drive, take first turn right Portree Drive, then 1st left to Gretton Way which leads to the park.
Rotarians and families are welcome to join us afterwards for the community BBQ. For catering purposes it would be appreciated if you could email salesassist.queenstown@professionals.nz by Wed 24th October.
The annual fishing competition is on again this year out on Lake Dunstan.
Sunday 11th November with weigh in and prize giving at the Lowburn Hall from 2pm onwards.
For the first time registrations can be made via Club Runner. Head to Cromwell Rotary Club Runner page, from the news article on the Fishing event you will see a link to a Registration Form. If anyone tries this and has any problems please get in touch with Richard Broadhead at r.broadhead@xtra.co.nz directly.
All enquiries with regards to the registration process to Richard. All other queries with regards to the Fishing contact Andrew Burton.
You can also distribute to friends and family who might be interested.
IMFR (The International Marathon Fellowship of Rotarians) was formed after a group of French Rotarians developed the idea of having at least 100 Rotarians competing in the Paris Marathon during Rotary’s Centennial year in 2005 and have since met annually. President Kester Baines (Rotary Club of Kardinia, Geelong, Victoria, Australia District 9780) decided that he would like to take this event to New Zealand in general and Queenstown in particular.
A travelling group of 31, their tour starts in Auckland on 3rd November and arrive in Queenstown via the West Coast on Thursday 15th November and will participate in the Air NZ Queenstown Marathon. From Queenstown they travel to Milford Sound and overnight on the Milford Mariner return to their native homes on Thursday 22nd November.
SO WHAT’S OUR PART IN THIS EVENT?
We are arranging a Pasta Night for them on Friday 19th November at Wild Thyme and on Saturday 20th November a Dinner for them, most likely at Copthorne Lakeside where they are staying. Both nights will of course be open for our club members and partners so that we can offer the hand of friendship and hospitality and make sure that their stay in Queenstown becomes a very memorable one for them. I believe that this is a great opportunity for us to ‘Show Case’ Queenstown and Queenstown Rotary and at the same time experience another International Rotary Event, on this occasion in our own back yard.
Please note your diaries accordingly and I trust that I have your full co-operation to making this one timer for Queenstown a great success.
Every year presents an awesome opportunity for families to be a Host for a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. Not only do the students get to find out how to "live like a local" and experience our beautiful country but host families can learn about the students country and form a relationship which usually leads to strong ties and somewhere to go and visit in the future.
Queenstown Rotary Club is seeking expressions of interest for four Host families from July 2019. These families can be Rotarians, Friends of Rotary or from outside of Rotary. If you think this is something you could be interested in, please contact President Russell or Ashley Adams for further information.
Our District is participating with Tasmania in a Professional Development Exchange, similar to the old Group Study Exchange with the main difference being... ROTARIANS CAN NOW APPLY!
Initially we are seeking applications from young professionals aged 25-40 in the fields of Tourism, Agriculture and Engineering to exchange mid March - mid April 2019. Applications should be in by 2nd November, 2018.
We are also seeking clubs within the District who would like to host and entertain the Tasmanian exchanges plus arrange vocational visits to work places. We expect there to be about 6 members including their leader and for them to be here during April 2019.
For further details or to express interest, please contact
Merv Clearwater
mervclearwater@xtra.co.nz
0274 339 689
Applications close on Friday the 2nd of November 2018
The 2019 Rotary International Convention will be here before you know it — and you won’t want to miss it. Taking place 1-5 June, in the heart of Hamburg, the convention will offer fantastic entertainment, motivational speakers, beautiful scenery, inspirational sessions, and delicious cuisine for you to enjoy with old and new friends alike.
Do you have an exciting idea for a breakout session? Be sure to propose your breakout session by 30 September to be considered. Looking for inspiration? Don’t forget to download the promotion kit and share the official promotion video to your social networks.
We hope you’ll join us in Hamburg to capture your moment while connecting with people of action from around the world. Register now http://rotary.msgfocus.com/c/136nEVIGFqNu0yuNp6CrHVwsdem
DUTIES ROSTER
Meet & Greet
Introduce Speaker
Thank Guest Speaker
16 Oct
Neil Dempsey
Ralph Hannan
John Thompson
23 Oct
Pat Jefford
Brian MacPherson
Richard Cunliffe
30 Oct
Sergeant
3 min Talk & Parting Thought
Toast to a Rotary Project
16 Oct
Derek Bulman
Lee-Ann Lines
23 Oct
Chris Taylor
Ashley Adams
30 Oct
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.
.jpg){kind=logo}
