Visitors
Standing in for President Denise who has not yet completed her Covid isolation, Past-President Kay welcomed our visiting speaker, Simon Manning, visiting partners, Velma Knight and Carolyn Wallace and former member, Jenny Dawson.
She mentioned two decisions made at the Board meeting on 14 November,
- Support for the Christmas Pudding initiative
- Attendance at the Children's Christmas Party on 6 December
She passed round two boards and asked members to sign up appropriately. If you want to order a Christmas pudding for $25 (which Kay strongly recommends and which make great Christmas presents) please let Kay know by Friday evening 18 December. If you weren't at the meeting, or didn't see the board for the Children’s Christmas party, please tell Bruce whether - or not - you will be attending. It's important to get numbers right. As mentioned last week, all the information you'll need is on the Events page.
The speaker said …
This week’s speaker was Simon Manning, former Governor of our district and now proprietor of the Harbour City Funeral Home chain, the largest in the Wellington region. Simon has visited the club several times, and his company sponsored Te Ara Piko. You can read Mike's report here.
Viewpoint
Joe Perera gave us a fascinating Viewpoint tonight called "Belt and many roadblocks' about some of the history surrounding the Ancient Silk Road. You can find his presentation and accompanying notes here.
What’s coming up in November and beyond?
By now you may already know that Chris has been forced to postpone the Charity Golf Tournament which was due to be played tomorrow, Friday 18 November, owing to the awful weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon. It will now be held, weather permitting, on Friday, 10 February 2023.
Next Tuesday, 22 November, Kirsten Evans (née Parker) and Rene Corner-Thomas will reflect on their experiences of Rotary in Action over the past twenty-five (and more) years.
It is that time again so make sure you diary the date for Club Christmas Party on Friday 9 December and see the Rotary year out in style. Family and friends are welcome to come along and enjoy the occasion as well so maybe make up a party. The cost per ticket is $60 with payment to Club account. Bruce will invoice you for your tickets in the usual way. You will have received a flyer from Phillip but here it is again as a reminder. Remember to let Bob Austin know if you are coming (bob@armstrongdixon.nz) by 1 December 2022
Looking ahead to the Club Christmas Party on Friday 9 December, Bob Austin asks that members and guests bring a gift each to the value of $10. (No wrapping paper colour coordination necessary!) The cost is $60 per person and Bruce will send out invoices shortly. There will be a cash bar. The raffle is a Christmas Hamper so please bring plenty of pennies in your hot little hands. Please bring family nd friends so that we can hve a great party to end the year.
You can find information about all future events here.
Snippets
The AGM will take place at the meeting on 29 November. Phillip has sent out all the important documents for members to digest. Please let Bruce know ahead of the emeting if you have any questions on the accounts (although he will, of course, take questions on the night. Mayor Anita will be our speaker that night so it would be good to keep the business of the AGM as short as possible.
Phillip mentioned that the 'Decluttering' initiative is going well and has already increased funds for the Charitable Trust. Mike would like to hear from you if you have any items that you would like him to collect.
Kay mentioned that we also will be sharing a Pop-up Shop in Porirua with Plimmerton Inner Wheel during the first week of February. Some of the proceeds will go to Wellington Free Ambulance. Please store up items that are not suitable for the Decluttering initiative, ready for this event. We will also need members to help on a roster so please let Allan know if you can be available to help.
Secretary Nick has provided the Minutes of the Board and Charitable Trust on 12 September and you can find them in the right column of the Intranet page.
Although the Master List for Christmas Present Wrapping gets updated almost daily, there are still some slots available on 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 December. Please ring Wendy to find out what times are available on these days and offer to fill at least one slot if you can spare the time. And special congratulations to Bruce Phillips who has put his name down and was rubbished by his family so is going to get some instruction from a veteran wrapper before he fills his slot. Just goes to show that you guys can put your hands up too!
This week’s happenings
Last Wednesday, Bill and Barry's team had another successful planting day, the final planting day for 2022, with 1,000 more plants added to the Rotary Forest of Peace & Remembrance at Plimmerton Domain.
There were about 25 volunteers between IAG Insurance and Conservation Volunteers NZ.
This brings us to a total of 20,000 plants and concludes the last three years of planting that was funded 60% by the "Billion Trees" programme and 40% by Porirua City Council.
The most recent plants have gone into a very wet corner and drain area near the dog exercise park. All the plants are suitable for wetlands conditions.
Once again, we appreciate the pre-planting day work that was done by Ron Lucas in pre-augering the planting holes.
Donna has congratulated Christalin Thangpawl on her upcoming wedding. She asked Donna to share the invitation with Club members as she feels that they are part of her family since the Myanmar community have gained so much support for the Porirua homework club. The date is 17 December but the location will make attending a bit hard for us. It's in the States!
The Almoner said …
By the time you read your Update, Rhondda will be back in New Zealand and continuing to recover at home. We expect to see her at Rotary soon.
Parting thought
Nick Walmsley gave us the Parting Thought tonight with a quote from Joshua J Marine, "Challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
Who’s on duty for the next month?
Unable to do your duty? Please find a replacement and inform Leigh Corner.
If you're a late 'no show' please tell President Denise.
Please arrive at 5.45 pm if you're on Door duty or hosting the Guest Speaker for the evening.
Need to apologise or bring additional guests?
Advise the Receptionist at Professionals before 10.00 am on the Monday before the meeting on 233 9955 or email paremata@dwre.co.nz if you prefer.
Please provide the name (and spelling if necessary). The same applies if you're going to be late.