Rotary Club of Plimmerton
Dexter Trevor Traill gave us the Viewpoint tonight telling us ...
'Something you may not know about me:
'Born on Monday 16 September 1963. Eketahuna born and raised.
'Something else you may not know about me is that I always wanted to be a Racing Commentator after the late great Peter Kelly. Why? My father was racehorse mad. Every Saturday morning at approximately 8.00 a.m. there used to be the scratchings for the day. Dad was very deaf so I would have to do the job. He would be watching me like a hawk to make sure I got all the scratchings. It was a pain in the backside.
'He was never any good at it but he used to take me to the TAB in Eketahuna every Saturday and take his bets. They used to have the yellow carboned rip-out paper receipts that dad used to get. Never did any good but we enjoyed it. It’s a habit/tradition I have maintained to this day.
'The first race meeting I went to with my parents was at Awapuni. My Mum wasn’t interested in horse racing but we all went. The funny thing about the whole occasion was that it was my Mum who had a big day. She used to pick jockeys and bet on them. And so it happened. Back in the day, you used to be able to take a double and concession double. That is on the two main races (open class, middle distance, and the sprint).
'Well, Mum took the Jones brothers in the 1st leg and 2nd leg. And lo and behold, she won both legs.
'Now this was 1974, and she won over $1400 and we had to go to the main office and get a cheque written out for it.
'The most vivid memory I have is my mother gripping onto my arm very tightly because she had never had this amount of money and was worried about losing it.
'Anyway, my Dad wasn’t too happy but he got over himself when they brought a brand new orange coloured lounge suite.
'Something else you may not know about me is that I had the privilege and honour to serve our communities at some of the biggest disasters in current New Zealand history. And some of these events/natural disasters still affect our communities to this day.
- Moutua Gardens in Whanganui
- Pike River disaster in Greymouth
- Christchurch Earthquake
- Pigeon Valley fires Tasman
'Something else you may not know about me is that the biggest and most important decision I have made in my life happened in February 1982 at a small café in Princess Street, Palmerston North where I met my then-wife to be for the first time. All I can say is that ‘I chose well’. And the rest is history.
'From Paul Harris and a few friends at the Unity Building in downtown Chicago 1905 and the legacy of Service above Self to my fellow Rotary club of Plimmerton …. Tena koutou katoa.'