Welcome to the latest edition of our Club Runner sent bulletin. Our Club President Cameron has returned from his travels in Europe and beyond: more below!
We welcome contributions of course, so if you have anything please send to Richard Nabarro at nabbo_123@hotmail.com.
And if you have any comments on the layout, content and information provided, let us know, because the Newsletter is yours.
Rotary Hutt City breakfast meetings
Meetings held 7am to 8.30 am on the first and third Wednesday of the month at Boulcotts Farm Heritage Golf Club, Military Road, Lower Hutt.
Breakfast cost $25 per person payable on arrival. Please RSVP to annagy91@gmail.com
Look forward to seeing you there.
Members, do check the Duties Roster (Management Responsibilities) below for your nominated duty for our next meeting on 2 October.
Meeting Responsibilities
Greeter
Carruth, Barry
Reception Desk
Harding, Katrina
Reception Desk
Soper, Andy
Opening thought
Wilmshurst, Wayne
5 min What is my Business?
Ross, Brian
3 Minute Who Am I?
Intro to Speaker
Markham, Michael
Thanks to Speaker
Taylor, Chris
Quizlett
Tuisano, Hana
Closing thought
Brown, Allan
John Stuart Bishop (23 Feb 1952 - 13 Sep 2024)
Our thoughts are with Chris Bishop and his family at this time.
Chris's father John died on 13 September at Wellington Hospital with his family at his side, aged 72. Rushed to hospital with an unsurvivable bleed from a ruptured aneurysm in the brain, the family only had 48 hours with him to love and remember and say goodbye.
During his career as a journalist, John worked for Radio New Zealand and as chief parliamentary correspondent at TVNZ.
John's funeral was held at Old St. Paul's, Wellington on 19 September.
After a month away I am back and feeling well rested. I had the pleasure of giving our daughter away at the wedding held in a beautiful setting in Zadar in Croatia which was very special.
Also got to enjoy a river cruise from Basel (in Switzerland) to Amsterdam, (thanks to Katrina’s recommendation) and visited my son and his wife in Chicago. I had no idea what to expect in Chicago but have to say I was pleasantly surprised as to just how beautiful and liveable Chicago is on the edge of Lake Michigan (that's me at my first baseball game by the way on the right). Our hotel was alongside the river directly across the road from Trump Tower (see below, views from the hotel).
For those of you that don’t know, Rotary was formed with the vision of one Chicago man by the name of Paul Harris. Paul was an attorney in Chicago and thought it would be a good idea to form a club whereby professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful longstanding relationships. Over time Rotary’s reach and vision gradually extended to humanitarian service to the community.
It’s now almost October and Christmas is just around the corner with so much to work on. The Tree of Joy roster will be out next month and I encourage you all to take a 2-hour duty or two.
Big thanks to Andy Soper for clarifying in detail how the “Lifting the Lid” project will operate in our 30 August Newsletter.
This project will become a central focus for our club with the support of the other Rotary clubs in the Hutt Valley.
Given just how big the issue of mental health is in our schools just now, it is fantastic that all Hutt Valley clubs plan to work collaboratively to raise a significant amount of money to ensure that this project has the resources needed to sustain the in-school program for the foreseeable future.
Also a big thanks to Andy Barker who at his own cost is developing a website together specifically for the “Lifting the Lid” project to enable people to register for the walk or donate to the cause.
I look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday where our members Kevin Grimes and Chrissi Walker will introduce their unicycle business to the club.
Our speakers next week will be our very own Kevin Grimes and partner Chrissi Walker.
They will be giving a presentation on Electric Unicycles - The New Way to get around, where they will also describe how the business got up and running (or should that be rolling, or even riding)?
Prior to focussing full-time on Roll.nz, Kevin worked for 20 years as a Software Developer and IT Architect (focusing on document and communication platforms).
Partner Chrissi still works in IT as a Lead Business Analyst, but also leverages skills from earlier career paths that have helped Roll.nz develop a global offering.
Kevin describes himself in a self-deprecating way, and he recently played around with AI to produce the attached!
(Editor: The Roll.nz website has a number of FAQs and to get the best out of the forthcoming presentation, I would encourage you to read them before 2 October. The link below will take you to them).
President Cameron will love this because he is always teasing Katrina that she is shameless in promoting her travel agency!! 😀
Today is World Tourism Day and is organised around a special theme each year to highlight a particular aspect of tourism. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation decided upon the idea in 1980 so by my calculations it wil be celebrating 50 years in 2030.
Themes change from year to year and have tackled subjects such as cultural diversity, community development, rural tourism and sustainability.
This year, the day will be celebrated in Tibilisi, Georgia with a theme of Tourism and Peace. At the current time, it is not unreasonable to say "Good luck with that'', but the sentiment must be respected. Next year sees the event hosted in Melaka, Malaysia, closer to home.
[Editor: an addendum to the date commemorated last time out, namely 13 September. We featured Elizabeth McCombs becoming the first New Zealand female Member of Parliament on that date in 1933.
It has been brought to my attention that Elizabeth was a great aunt of our very own Peter McCombs and I can certainly detect a likeness!]
Looking Back.....18 September
Mid Thomas Savellio, Sue Pattinson, Nicola Collins and Michelle Peseta from Women of Worth gave a wonderful presentation on their inspiring work.
It was evident that when WOW supported women, the knock on effect to family and community followed too.
Many clients were referred to WOW by MSD. Addiction and poverty were often traits of referrals, but it was never easy to overcome these hurdles, especially if there was no recognition of a person's worth.
Although WOW had suffered a drop off in recent funding, there were still plans to expand their programmes of support towards both young persons and men too.
Below are two excellent slides providing in depth independent statistical analysis of the effect WOW has had and is having.
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 at nicola@wow.org.nzAlternatively, please talk to Andy Soper.
In her Who Am I address, Sue Avison gave an account of her early years in Rhodesia before moving to safer New Zealand in 1964, her varied working life including being a buyer and model for lingerie, her extensive charity work, gaining a degree as a mature student and helping establish Innovative Young Minds whilst Rotary President in 2017.
Anna Geremia-Young's Quizlet featured her two passions: Real estate (around the Hutt Valley) and all things Italian.
Nicola Collins (Marketing), Sue Pattinson (Funding and founder), Michelle Peseta (Training) and Mid Thomas Savellio (CEO) of Women of Worth
Putting into monetary terms WOW's worth
Social Value and Social Return on WOW's social investment
If anyone would like a PDF of the above slides please get in touch with Richard Nabarro at nabbo_123@hotmail.com
Looking Back.....
Hutt River Trail Planting 7 September
Another photo from the recent planting exercise: the new pipe bridge that connects to the river trail at Manor Park golf course.
The dual purpose of the bridge to carry both water and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists, linking both sides of the Hutt River Trail, will ensure increased recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to the region while fulfilling an important job of helping get water to our taps.
Linton Adams
Hutt River Trail Committee
Sheepdog jokes were far more plentiful!
Wellington Hospitals Foundation Appeal
From Liz Gibson (Communications & Event Manager)
I’m reaching out again because our Annual Street Appeal for the Children's Hospital is on Saturday 5 October, and with collectors needed across the Hutt and Petone, we’d gratefully appreciate the assistance of Hutt City Rotary!
September is Dementia Wellington's Annual Appeal Month where we reach out to you - our community, to thank those who generously support our mahi, and to encourage on-going support and new donors.
Dementia Wellington's services are partly funded by the government – Te Whatu Ora, but without donations we cannot sustain our range of services or meet the ever increasing demand as more people and their whānau face the challenges of mate wareware dementia.
Dementia Wellington's purpose and mahi is to support and enable those with mate wareware dementia and their whānau to live life to the fullest. In the first six months of 2024 with the support of donors, our mahi included:
welcoming 540 new clients and supporting 1,635 clients and their whānau
providing 25 education sessions to enable clients and whānau to better navigate the dementia journey
facilitating 30 support groups for carers/supporters
hosting 48 Active Brain and Connection groups for clients
This year we have introduced a new Staying Active Programme which helps those with mate wareware to stay connected in their communities; by attending social and recreational activities, the isolation and loneliness that can accompany mate wareware dementia is reduced.
It has been, and continues to be, a challenging time economically with cost-of-living pressures. We are all impacted by this and therefore any donation you can make is very appreciated. You may also consider leaving a gift for Dementia Wellington in your Will.
Your generosity will help us continue our mahi and expand our reach, making a tangible difference in the lives of all those affected by mate wareware dementia.
To donate, simply visit our website here or make a direct bank transfer to Dementia Wellington Charitable Trust, ASB 12-3142-0258625-50. *
Thank you for your support. Together, we can create a community that values people living with mate wareware dementia and a community where they belong.
Ngā mihi nui
Anne Schumacher Chief Executive Dementia Wellington
Please note, a prospective member is entitled to one breakfast funded by the club. Subsequent visits will need to be paid for either by the individual or their host.
All attendees at a breakfast meetings must pay for breakfast whether they eat or not, as a portion of the cost goes towards the venue we utilise.
Loose change and Buying the Box
Remember to bring some loose change along to the meeting so you can contribute if you answer a Quizlett question incorrectly. :)
If you should have any interesting stories about fellow Rotarians then please pass them onto Craig so he can share them at the meeting. Email: craig@packprod.co.nz
Payment is now available by Eftpos onsite - no excuses!
Incidentally, a new member has asked why the slot named "Buying the Box" is so called? A robust search of the 'Net has turned up very little, but I have it on good authority that the "Box" in question used to be retained by an army's Quartermaster, who in many cases might turn out to be the Sergeant Major. In order for someone to be called out for poor behaviour simply on the say so of fellow soldiers, contributions were put in the Box.
What I want to know is what evidence if any was provided about the indiscretion? Did the Sergeant Major make a huge profit?
Still no responses on this by the way........
So with a travel theme, is this joke Carbon neutral................
A reminder of Club Meeting Duties: (Greeter)
Our greeter is there to give a warm personal welcome to each and everybody as
they arrive.
• Position yourself so as to be the first person they meet
• Wear a big smile and shake their hand.
• Try and use first names
• Give a particular welcome to Guests and Visitors – we want them to remember the warmth of the people they meet and to come again!
Closing Thought 18 September
Presented by Murray Brocklesby
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Wrongly attributed to Sir Winston Churchill apparently and was actually part of a longer quote by Sir Norman MacEwen, a senior RAF Commander before and during the Second World War. He apparently said: Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Halloween fundraiser at Longstaff House 31 October 6pm. $25
This would normally be "Last Wednesday" drinks on 30 October, but with Halloween falling the day after, this is too good an opportunity to miss this wonderfully dressed house, hosted by our very own Carl Longstaff and Tracy, and located in Broomfield Terrace, Central Hutt. Final details to follow
16 October
Our speaker will be Sophie Williams from StarJam, who will be giving a presentation on Musicians with Disabilities.
StarJam is an inspiring charity for young people with disabilities providing workshops and performance opportunities for them to discover and celebrate their talents. Within the Wellington and Wairarapa region, StarJam Wellington has 11 workshops, with 4 workshops located in your community in Lower Hutt venues.
Finally, I asked you last time - In what year did the Rotary Council of Legislation remove the provision that Rotary was for males only? It's actually quite late, 1989.
For this week's (travel related) question, according to Google, how many miles is it from Tbilisi to Melaka to the nearest five hundred miles?
