Visitors
President Kay welcomed members and the many visitors: Mayor Anita Baker, District Governor-Elect Marilyn Stevens, Area Governor Kathryn Beattie, Honorary member Christine Blick, visiting Rotarian Adrienne Murray. She also welcomed the wives of long-serving members, Maureen Barber, Faye Raffin, Joy Tongs, Velma Knight, Sue Couch, Judy Parker, Cherryl O’Connell, Carolyn Wallace, and Lorraine Whyte. What a special group of visitors tonight.
She also welcomed back Donna, who has now scored a negative test for Covid and has her injured leg well on the mend at last.
Kay welcomed another special visitor Meryll Evans. Meryll expressed her profound appreciation to all members who had been so thoughtful in the lead-up to Noel's death and their ongoing kindness. Kay told Meryll that she will always be welcome as part of the Plimmerton Rotary family.
President's Announcements
There are many possible recipients for the President’s bottle of wine this week, said Kay. She awarded it to a member who spends time every week sorting out who should be asked to do all the tasks that help make our meetings enjoyable and run smoothly - Graham Wallace – and she thanked him for all his efforts with the roster every week.
Kay explained the detailed process for selecting the President Nominee, the Club President for the Rotary Year three years hence. Suffice to say that she will be sending out the nomination form to past Presidents who are active members shortly to set the process going.
Kay's next happy task was to present a Chocolate Frog to members who have been nominated by their Director as deserving of a special mention during the past month.
- Communications Director Phillip nominated Mike Scott for all his work on the Ethify project.
- As Community Director Les was away, Kay nominated Graham Craig for getting us to our first small harvest from the Rotary Garden today. A carton of Snowball turnips went to the foodbank this morning. DG Mark Wheeler joined us to mark the occasion.
- Youth Director Colin nominated David Knight for all his work with the Parumoana Speech Competition each year.
- In Administration Director Denise's absence, Kay nominated Philip Whearty for, among many other things, rediscovering the club's laptop hiding behind the bar.
- Social Director Chris nominated Allan Nicholls for running so many social events, the next one being Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
- Membership Director John couldn't choose between the hard work of Bruce Phillips, Colin, and himself with their plans to bring in new members.
Kay's final task was to ask District Governor-Elect Marilyn Stevens to present long-service certificates to John Barber, John O'Connell and Bob Austin for over 40 years of service, Graeme Tongs, Bruce Couch, David Knight, and Michael Parker for over 30. Marilyn congratulated all seven on this very impressive record of continuous service to Rotary.
You can photos of each of the presentations in the Gallery here.
Marilyn, as a previous member of the Club, commented on how enjoyable it was to re-connect with old friends and that it was nice to find the atmosphere was just as welcoming as she remembered it.
Viewpoint
Wendy gave us the Viewpoint tonight. She said that she has been contemplating why gratitude is so powerful and has done some research because she has been concerned for some time about the pain that so many people are suffering in the wake of the Covid pandemic. You can read the whole text here.
The speaker said …
David Pine kindly stepped into Mike's weekly role and you can read his report on Mayor Baker's excellent address to members. She told us about the proposed 'Three Waters Reform', the growth of new business within the City, the Council's work on Climate change, and much more.
What’s coming up in April and beyond?
Next week our speakers, Dexter Traill and Gareth Derby will tell us about The Ombudsman's Role.
The next Garden and Golf Weekend has been one of the social highlights of the last two years, With accommodation being difficult to find at Labour Weekend, as Graham Blick and Kay both discovered, Denise has set the date for the next trip for the weekend after Labour Weekend – Friday 28 October until Monday 31 October. The destination is Whanganui where there are some beautiful gardens, great golf courses, and other attractions such as the Waimarie Riverboat, Bushy Park, and glass blowing factories to name a few. Kay will be the overall organiser with others helping. To confirm sufficient accommodation she passed round a checklist so members can indicate their interest. All activities are voluntary.
You can find information about future events here
Snippets
Treasurer Bruce gave members a gentle reminder to return their ticket butts, unsold tickets, and money to him by next Tuesday. If it suits members better, they can direct credit the proceeds to the Rotary Charitable Trust account and give Bruce the butts at Rotary next week.
This week’s happening
President Kay concluded the meeting by reporting on the District Conference. Sadly she was the only Plimmerton Rotarian who attended. There were many highlights with excellent speakers but her moment of truth was when Michelle Berriman suggested that 'It’s not how great Rotary is but how great our members are.' Something for us all to ponder as we think about who might make a fine Rotarian and benefit from being a member of Plimmerton Rotary.
Parting thought
Dallas gave us her Parting Thought tonight with a quote from Charles Darwin, the British naturalist. 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change'.
Who’s on duty for the next month?
Unable to do your duty? Please find a replacement and inform Graham Wallace.
If you're a late 'no show' please tell President Kay.
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.