I'm putting this together and it's a very cold, wet, 6 degrees here in Upper Hutt and I hope you're all keeping warm !
Contributions to our bulletin are welcome and if you have anything please send to Sue at sue.colville@gmail.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 are held 7am to 8.30 am on the first and third Wednesday of the month at Boulcott's Farm Heritage Golf Club, Military Road, Lower Hutt. Please RSVP to chrissi@roll.nz.
For those of you who have not pre-paid, breakfast continues to cost $25 per person, payable on arrival to Gaylene Hughes this coming week.
Members, don't forget to check the Duties Roster (Meeting Responsibilities) below for your nominated duty for our next meeting on the 17th of June.
Meeting Responsibilities
Greeter
Walker, Chrissi
Payment Taker
Hughes, Gaylene
Reception Desk
Thomas, Gregory
Opening thought
Geremia-Young, Anna
3 Minute Who Am I?
Brockelsby, Sandy
Intro to Speaker
Colville, Sue
Thanks to Speaker
Harding, Katrina
Quizlett (6 questions about your industry)
Rowell, Bob
Closing thought
Gough, Bruce
President's Report
Kia ora e te whanau and hello to all,
This is my last newsletter note as President, as Craig officially takes over next Wednesday. I’ll start the meeting and then hand over to him to finish it.
While he says he doesn’t come to the role very willingly, I suspect many of us felt the same way at first. I certainly put it off for a number of years, and having young children was the perfect excuse! I’m really pleased I took on the role and would highly recommend it as it’s been a great opportunity to work closely with the Board, grow in confidence while facilitating meetings, connect with Rotarians from around the region, and get to know our members better as we worked together on projects.
My goal during Rotary’s Unite for Good year was to offer Rotary/Rotabiz as a wraparound service—supporting businesses, businesspeople, members, and the wider community through camaraderie, cohesion, and connection. I like to think we achieved that. We celebrated together, shared meals, enjoyed movie nights, and raised funds along the way. We also had a record-breaking Tree of Joy year (my eighth year running the project) collecting 3,000 gifts for local children.
Thank you to my Board: Cameron, for hosting us at his offices and for his usual generous hospitality; Barry, our outgoing Treasurer, who has completed three years of hard labour (!) and is stepping off the Board; and Gaylene, our Secretary and Executive Secretary, who manages our Rotary International liaison and membership records. Although she is moving to the Wairarapa, she will remain on the Board for another year. Andy Soper, Richard and I have also served on the Board for several years, along with Craig, who is now stepping up as President. The seven of us have made a great team, and I’ve appreciated their company, support, and guidance as we’ve managed Rotary Hutt City behind the scenes.
Thank you all for the opportunity to serve as President this year—it’s been a blast. I look forward to supporting Craig throughout the 2026–27 year and continuing our work on the Bee in the City project for the Life Flight Trust.
Andy Soper led the meeting on the 17th of June, ensuring that the new bylaws have been passed, with Craig prepping for when he takes over as President next month. A spokesperson from the Riverlink project updated us on the project and offered contacts if we have issues.
We celebrated reaching our goal of collecting 1000 cans of food through Rotary's Cans for a Cause initiative and they were delivered to the Lower Hutt Foodbank on Thursday 18th June. A fantastic effort and much needed support for families in our community.
Riverlink guest speaker
Richard Gibbens and Cans for a Cause
Andy and Craig
Richard and Katrina dropping off 1020 cans to the Lower Hutt Foodbank as part of Rotary's Cans for a Cause project. Fantastic to be able to help the community, and we are grateful to everyone who donated cans and who organised collection points around town. Special mention to Summerset Boulcott who donated over 120 cans.
Huge thanks to Richard for overseeing the project.
Rotary meeting: 1st July 2026
The speaker for next week is Sebastian Grodd from Life Flight Trust
Sebastian is going to be talking about "Bee in the City"
a massive fund-raising opportunity for the Life Flight Trust. "Bee in the City" is also our club's major project for the year.
It's an opportunity to hear about how we can get involved, and to learn about the advantages and benefits of participating in the "Bee in the City".
Boulcott School have asked for help once again, to supervise the marshmallow toasting at their Matariki event on Thursday 2nd July at 7.30 a.m.
This has become a regular event between the school and our club and is a great opportunity to maintain connections with our community and is a lot of fun for the volunteers.
We need 7-8 volunteers and if you can help, please contact Linton Adams directly. Linton's phone number is 021 674 290 or email
Thousands of Venezuelans were feared dead after two powerful earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around the capital Caracas.
The second earthquake that hit Venezuela on Wednesday was the country's strongest in more than a century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Significant casualties are expected and Shelterbox is currently working with partners in Venezuela to better understand the situation in order to target the support required.
Your support enables Shelterbox to respond rapidly and effectively to disasters like these earthquakes, and to get shelter to the people most in need in Venezuela and all around the world.
Please, give what support you can.
Together we can help people rebuild after disaster.
Nga mihi nui.
Shelterbox is responding:
ShelterBox and Rotary are official Project Partners in international disaster relief.
ShelterBox provided shelter kits, blankets and other aid to disaster affected people and is a registered charity in New Zealand.
For more information, and to make a donation, please visit their website:
shelterbox.org.nz
A Reminder about upcoming events:
16th August: Big hats high tea, Hutt Valley Rotary Fundraiser supporting Life Flight
Remember to bring some loose change along to the meeting so you can contribute if you answer a Quizlett question incorrectly :), or wish to "Buy The Box".
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 also now available by Eftpos onsite - no excuses!
