Well, we are a quarter of our way through the Rotary year now and the Club is going well.
It’s great to see members returning from the winter migration to warmer climes. Welcome back Cora and Jim Huitt and Stanley Paris. We are also getting some new people coming along to meetings which is very exciting. I am hoping this will bring an injection of new blood into the club. Thanks especially to MJ inviting several people along.
It was a real pleasure for me to induct my first new Rotarian at our Social Night at Gantley’s on 23 September. It was wonderful to be able to bring Shikha Singh-Lochan into Rotary and to have her children, husband, and father there to witness the ceremony.
We also had the pleasure of hearing the life story (to date) of MJ Kooger on 16 September. She took us on an amazing personal and cultural journey through her early life growing up in the Philippines, her education at University and training to be a nurse there before emigrating to New Zealand and finally arriving here in Queenstown.
This amazing talk was followed by a very well researched and incisive analysis of the new Rotary Constitution which has been prepared by Rotary International and the District. Ross Beal raised many questions about the content and efficacy of the proposal which we as a club are bound to adopt before April next year. The Board will discuss this at its next meeting on 9 October.
The Board is meeting monthly with our last one held on 4 September. At this meeting David Tait stepped down as a long serving Club Secretary and Fiona van Waveren-Wilshire was elected as the replacement until the end of the Rotary Year. We are starting to work well as a team and are considering various funding requests as well as developing upcoming projects. The first fundraiser off the rank will be the Duck Race on 2 November and Fiona and Tim will soon we asking for helpers on the day. This year the proceeds will be split between the Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust and the Wakatipu Youth Trust. Joan, Simon and I are making steady progress with a plan to hold a major Art Auction fundraising event in April next year.
One of the highlights of the last month for me was the volunteer workday held at Lake Hayes on Saturday 6 September. Here a total of 13 volunteers (6 from Friends of Lake Hayes) did a total 32.5 hours work weeding, cutting willow regrowth and making wire plant protectors. At present the plantings next to Rutherford Road are looking healthy but we will need to keep the effort up to ensure that rampant weeds do not overwhelm them later in the season. At present we are on track thanks to the efforts of Kerry Dunlop, Shane Binns (Rotaract), Chris Taylor, Ken Fox, Nigel Hawke, Richard Bowman and Barbara Horrell. Mid way through we were treated to a welcome morning tea courtesy of Nicole Sutton from Nicole from Otago Catchment Communities.
October is going to be another busy month for us but unfortunately, I will have to miss two meetings due to grandparent duties elsewhere. I am sure that the incoming and past presidents will be able to cover in my absence.
So now with spring officially here and with daylight saving in place its roll on summer.
President Richard
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next meeting, tuesday night
30 September, 5.30pm
at the holiday inn
GUEST SPEAKER: Olivia Wensley
see below for this week's menu and duties
(remember to get your meal choice to MJ before Sunday night. If you can't do your duty, please find a replacement)
(* Please read on for Octobers Menu and duties *)
Guest speaker 9th September
Pete Yarrell, 81, discovered his passion for cycling early, becoming Wellington Junior Cycling Champion at 16. At 17, he spent time in England working as a lifeguard and chauffeur before returning home to join TV1 as a news cadet, where he covered major stories and even interviewed Louis Armstrong.
He was called up for National Service and promoted to officer, narrowly avoiding being sent to Vietnam. Pete went on to enjoy a highly successful 50-year career in insurance, later moving with his wife Jill to Lake Hayes in 1971. There, they opened their home to people struggling with addictions, raising their own four children while also caring for those in need.
Living a full life, Peter once found himself on a tennis court accidentally hitting Sir Cliff Richard in the face with a ball.
In 1990, Pete tried politics, coming within 1,000 votes of unseating Prime Minister Mike Moore.
Pete was awarded a QSM for his service, but he insists the real reward is seeing the impact of the funds he has raised over the years.
Read a further summary about Peter's amazing achievements and charity fundraising through cycling by clicking the link.
It was Members Night and there was a double act this week – with new-ish member MJ Kooger, and our ‘more seasoned’ member Ross Beal, both stepping up to the rostrum.
Dinner, friendship, and even an induction were on the menu at Gantley’s Tavern!
It was a good night out, which was made better by welcoming our newest member, Shikha Singh-Lochan. With her children, husband, and father cheering her on, she’s the first in her family to join Rotary.
Starting his Rotary journey as a Rotaractor, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Nigeria, has been selected by the Board of Directors to become Rotary International’s president for 2026-27.
the rotary foundation exceeds 2024 - 2025 fundraising goal !
For the latest update and news from the Rotary Foundation, please click the link to access the September newsletter prepared by District Foundation Chair and club member, Joan Kiernan. If you want to know more about the Rotary Foundation, feel free to get in touch with Joan.
If you have an idea or suggestion for a club project that might qualify for a RF Grant, please get in touch with President Richard.
Also, click the link for the Bequest Society Brochure.
Feel free to get in touch with Joan if you have any questions or want to know more about The Rotary Foundation (TRF).
DRFC Joan Kiernan
Link for the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society brochure here
🎬We are planning a Polio+ Movie Night for the October 21st Meeting so please save the date. More info to come.
Each year on 24 October, Rotary and Rotaract clubs around the world join with our partners, health organizations, and public health advocates to mark World Polio Day.
Clubs and Rotarians have a critical role in this by hosting events and activities to increase awareness about polio and raise funds toward eradicating it.
To build on the success of last year, we need your help!
It’s What We Do (and We Do It Well — With Aprons, Buckets, and Hi-Viz Vests!)
Whether it’s flipping sausages, rattling a donation bucket, delivering Meals on Wheels, or channelling your inner traffic controller in a carpark — being hands-on is part of who we are.
This section lists upcoming events and appeals we’ve committed to. After all, serving the community is what we're all about — and we need you to make it happen!
Click the link to see what's coming up and where you might lend a hand (or a pair of tongs!)
This is a great opportunity to visit sunny Napier, a wonderful venue for our upcoming Rotary Oceania Summit in March 2026. You may like to consider taking a road trip around the North Island after the event!
Our District is invited to host a team from Long Island, New York, in March 2026.
We are invited to send a team back to Long Island in August 2026. This is a wonderful way to make new Rotary friends, see the world through a local lens, and travel with like-minded people.
When was polio last in Europe? If you guessed 2002, the year the region was certified polio-free, you’re wrong. The last time polio affected a child in Europe was 2015. Outbreaks like the one that occurred in Ukraine that year are why, although we are so close to eradicating polio, we still need $1.5 billion more to finish the job.
Learn about the steps needed to ensure polio is truly gone forever.
