It was a pleasure on behalf of Hutt City Rotary Club to present Peter McCombs with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award at our last meeting, for his outstanding service to our club.

 

Peter is a true gentleman who has made a massive contribution to our club over a very long time and is a very deserving recipient. His full citation can be read below.

 

Next week at our next Rotabiz meeting we are fortunate to have a presentation from Bastion Security Group who will go into detail about just how vulnerable all our businesses are from online hackers and fraudsters. I personally know of a number of horror stories and my business has been targeted on more than one occasion.

 

If you have been thinking of bringing a business guest along to one of our Rotabiz meetings then I suggest this presentation is the one they need to hear. I believe it will be of real value to better understand the potential risk exposure in your businesses and what you can do to mitigate the risk.

 

We will also have another 10-minute presentation from Gabe and Claire from the Nourish Christmas Trust. They want to thank the club again for our support with the boxes and update us on how things are progressing this year. Given we have introduced a number of new members to the club this year, they will give us all a brief overview of the project. I am proud of the club’s association with Nourish and have seen first-hand the joy it brings to many at Christmas.

 

For those of you who have businesses please note that Nourish Christmas is a registered charity, so all donations are tax deductible. To support Nourish when they need help the most, I have decided that any money raised next Wednesday and from our Movember challenge will go to the Nourish Christmas Trust.

 

I hope our members will get behind this by either growing a moustache in November, with sponsorship from family and friends, or sponsoring one of our members who are doing so, by making a donation to the club to be passed onto the Nourish Trust.

 

Look forward to seeing you next Wednesday morning with any visitors you might like to bring along for breakfast.

 

Citation:

Peter McCombs has made remarkable contributions both to Rotary and in his professional career in traffic through his work with the Traffic Management Group of New Zealand. His leadership in developing and implementing the Auckland City Motorway Management System stands as a significant achievement, demonstrating his expertise and commitment to improving road safety and traffic flow across one of New Zealand's busiest urban areas. Peter's contributions to traffic management have had a lasting impact, both within New Zealand and beyond.

As President of Hutt City Rotary, Peter demonstrated exceptional leadership, steering the club forward with wisdom, integrity, and courtesy. His term was marked by a calm and measured approach to decision-making, ensuring that all members felt valued and heard. Peter's leadership style reflected his deep commitment to Rotary's values, and he inspired others by leading through example.
Peter has a unique ability to give you a job you would never have volunteered for and made you feel grateful for the privilege. The best delegator I know, and I have learnt a lot from him.
After his term as President, Peter continued to serve the club with distinction as Immediate Past President for several years, a role extended by the unforeseen challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His successors greatly appreciated his wise counsel and support during these unprecedented times. Peter's ability to lead with grace and foster a spirit of unity within the club is a testament to his character.
It is no surprise that when Peter asked any of us to take on a task, the immediate response was a resounding, yes!

His quiet influence, combined with his wealth of experience and generous spirit, has left a lasting legacy in the club.
Peter along with Allan Brown convinced me to take on the role of president and also convinced Katrina to take it on the following year.
It is my sincere privilege to present Peter McCombs with a Paul Harris Fellowship.

Cameron Tooley

President

Most of us will remember the wonderful presentation from Women of Worth at our 18 September meeting.

 

They empower women to know their worth, overcome challenges and make lasting improvements in their lives.  And when WOW supports women, there are positive benefits for their families and the wider community too.  If any members would like to learn more about WOW or explore ways to support them, whether through sponsorship, business connections, schools, or NGOs, they are welcome to reach out to Nicola Collins – nicola@wow.org.nz – or talk to Andy Soper.

 

 

Firstly, thanks to all of you who have been involved in the work required to set up Lifting the Lid, and helping to raise the funds our club is contributing to this programme.

 

This is an update of where we are up to:

 

There is a small management group (Darryn Gray- Hutt City, Andy Soper- Hutt City, Dave Appleyard- Hutt Valley, Kevin Harris- Petone) who have been working to establish the processes and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) documents for this program of work. The plan is for there to be a MOU for each school and a MOU with each club. The financial and process documents have also been established and are ready to go. Given the time to set this up and establish the relationships with the schools and with the information below, it is unlikely that this will start before the beginning of the first term of 2025.

 

Following discussions with a wider group of Club representatives, a decision has been made to establish a Charitable Trust- (called Lifting the Lid Hutt Valley Charitable Trust). This is for two reasons. First, it provides a more formal structure for the program and secondly it provides a vehicle to apply for funds from other funding agencies – because the trust would be registered with the Charities Commission. The process for this has commenced with Trust documents having been drawn up by Andy Soper and will shortly be submitted.

 

As noted above we have received support and funding from Rotary Clubs within Hutt Valley to start this program. The current value of this is $26k. The establishment of the Charitable Trust will enable us to access funding opportunities that would otherwise not be available. There is a plan to have a function at the Lower Hutt Town Hall on Saturday 5^th April 2025 with Wellington Orchestra. With the Charitable Trust status, it is thought that the venue and orchestra costs will be covered, with the Trust being able to benefit from the sale of tickets. This may lead to other events in future to support Lifting the Lid.

 

Thank you for your ongoing support of this work. As a group we see this work as being very purposeful and having the ability to support youth in the Hutt Valley. It also has the significant advantage of bringing together the Rotary Clubs of the Hutt Valley and potentially setting things up for combined projects in the future.

 

Nga mihi nui