Contributions to our bulletin are welcome and if you have anything please send to Richard 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 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.
Breakfast costs $25 per person, payable on arrival. Please RSVP to chrissi@roll.nz
Members, don't forget to check the Duties Roster (Meeting Responsibilities) below for your nominated duty for our next meeting on 15 October 2025.
Final call, please remember to bring a tinned item(s) for donation for IYM, and if you haven’t signed up to a team for the IYM quiz, there is still time (just)!
Meeting Responsibilities
Greeter
Avison, Sue
Payment Taker
Deadman, Craig
Reception Desk
Adams, Linton
Opening thought
Dong, Robert
3 Minute Who Am I?
Ross, Brian
Intro to Speaker
Ngan Kee, Mark
Thanks to Speaker
Geremia-Young, Anna
Quizlett (6 questions about your industry)
Webb, Douglas
Closing thought
Gibbens, Richard
Bruce Morrison 17 December 1933 - 23 September 2025
Bruce Morrison, former Rotary Hutt City President (1981 - 1982) and Honorary Member, has died aged 91.
President Katrina remembers his sports shop (Morrison’s Sporting Goods) in Queen’s Arcade, when she was growing up. He was still an active member at the time she joined Rotary, always making her feel welcome.
--------------------------------------------Bruce was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and left-handed batsman, with a first-class career spanning 1953-54 to 1964-65. Playing for Wellington, his tally of 163 first-class wickets from 47 matches still ranks 12th on the all-time Wellington list.
He earned a callup to the New Zealand test team for the injured Dick Motz, in March 1963 against the touring England side. Making his test debut at the Basin Reserve, and sharing the new ball with Blair, Morrison dismissed visiting captain Ted Dexter for 31 as his first test wicket, then added Peter Parfitt for a two-ball duck, caught behind by Artie Dick.
An unbeaten Colin Cowdrey century guided England to 428-8 declared as they went on to complete an innings and 47 run victory over their hosts.
Motz returned for the third test in Christchurch and Morrison remained a one-test Black Cap. He retired two seasons later.
Morrison was named Wellington cricketer of the year in 1962-63, in recognition of his sustained excellence across nearly a decade.
President's Report
Talofa, nihao,
The year is marching on, hard to believe it is October already.
I sent out an email yesterday to club members with dates for our upcoming events. There is lots to add to your diaries, so do pencil in the dates so you don’t miss out. (Details can also be found at the foot of this Newsletter).
Key is The Tree of Joy Project we have that runs at Queensgate prior to Christmas. It is where we collect donated gifts for children which are then distributed through our friends at the Salvation Army to numerous local charities.
We are taking advantage of two full weekends this year, so have an extra day on the roster. That means we would love it if you can commit to TWO slots on the roster please. The link to the roster is below.
Note that we need to cover the two hour shifts at the Tree PLUS the timetable to run the presents between Queensgate and the Salvation Army. This is one of our bigger annual projects and is as rewarding for us on the Tree shifts as it is for the children receiving the gifts.
Movie fundraiser – 3 Nov – Pike River Movie. This is a must-see New Zealand film covering the 2010 event and the aftermath. I would love to fill the big theatre at Lighthouse Petone, so do encourage your friends to join us. Of course it supports our club and our youth projects, but also supports the NZ film industry.
A flyer, booking link and film preview link can all be found below in the Newsletter.
Rotabiz members met up last night at MetalArt to see Carl Longstaff’s business and check out how it operates and what they offer, along with their other business Powder Coating Services. A great way to network and connect with each other and learn about how we can support Rotabiz businesses.
Lots on. I am always happy to have a chat if you have got an idea we could work with, or just to touch base. Do get in touch with me.
Ka kite ano, chau (as the Argentinians say it) and ciao (as the Italians say it)!
Sometimes this feature is light hearted, sometimes it sets out to be historically informative, sometimes a mixture of both.
Today covers a serious subject and one which is close to us all with our support for Lifting the Lid, as today is World Mental Health Day.
The Mental Health Foundation this year are focusing on the mental health impact of repeated exposure to news coverage of crises and conflicts. Their theme is: The Toll of Global Overwhelm on Mental Health.
The relentless barrage of negative global events and bad news, easily accessible through 24/7 digital media, is taking a significant toll on mental well-being. Living through crises like pandemics, climate change, and social injustice, coupled with constant information exposure, leads to a sense of "overwhelm" and emotional distress.
This chronic exposure can trigger a long-term stress response, manifesting in physical symptoms like aches and tiredness, and mental impacts such as difficulty concentrating, memoryproblems, and constant worrying. Emotionally, it can lead to irritability, anger, despair, and feeling "stuck."
Specific coping patterns, like doomscrolling—spending excessive time consuming negative news—intensify anxiety and sadness. This constant stream of distress can also breed feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and even guilt for wanting to disengage.
To manage this overwhelm and protect mental health, the following are suggested practical strategies:
Set boundaries with the news (e.g. limiting consumption, turning off notifications).
Use grounding exercises like mindfulness to focus on the present.
Implement phone-free times to break the doomscrolling habit.
Focus on controllable, positive actions (e.g., volunteering or donating).
Give yourself permission to rest.
Talk with others for support and connection.
Recognizing these human reactions to a turbulent world is the first step toward taking positive action to improve well-being.
Looking Back 26 - 28 September: RYPEN (Rotary Youth Programme of Enrichment)
So we sponsored Tyler and Glenn at the recent RYPEN event. Conal McKenna reports that both Glenn and Tyler had a great time and really appreciated the experience, especially the rafting.
The post meet blurb is immediately below, but there are more individual pictures from the event following on, especially the rafting which looks cool. Looks like Glenn and Tyler were in Bunk Room 6!
Looking Back 1 October
Ian Ramsay offered the Opening Thought (see immediately below this article) from Albert Einstein, but as you will see, was it really Einstein's quote?
Andy Barker brought us an intriguing presentation on the latest AI tools available today, culminating in producing a new website for our very own Tree of Joy whilst our meeting was taking place. We are extremely fortunate to have Andy as a member of our Rotary Club!
It is amazing to think that it is only in November 2022 that ChatGBT was publicly launched to everyone and yet in such a short space of time, the possible uses for AI have grown exponentially. Like industrialisation, it is and will continue to be repetitive, rule-based tasks that will be replaced by AI.
Barney Walker (no relation to Chrissi who introduced him, although they did work together) provided a fasincating mix of what it takes for a cartoon to appear in a newspaper, alongside the ideas and designs behind many of his works.
Barney provided a list of ''no go'' areas for cartoonists, such as deaths (unless respectful), and explained that often, he will present two cartoon options to editors.
The amount of detail, and different stories, particularly in his political drawings, was amazing.
Great fun and enlightening at the same time!
Vidette Eaddy provided the Quizzlet on her profession, the police service.
Finally, Ganesh Cherian offered the Closing Thought (see further on below) about Artificial Intelligence.
Opening Thought 1 October 2025
Presented by Ian Ramsay
''Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
According to a large number of inspirational mugs and posters, this famous quote comes from none other than Albert Einstein. However, there is no evidence at all that Einstein ever said it! And in fact, he wasn’t associated with the phrase until the 80s, decades after his death. But apparently, the real wordsmith was Civil rights campaigner and feminist writer Rita Mae Brown!
In her 1983 book Sudden Death, Brown attributes the quote to a fictional ‘Jane Fulton’. However, the idea of a link between repetition and insanity can be traced back to the 19th century.
RYLA, or the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, is an intensive, hands-on leadership development program for young adults, sponsored by local Rotary Clubs. The program uses seminars, group activities, and community events to help participants develop leadership, communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Participants are chosen by sponsoring Rotary Clubs or companies and are selected based on their potential for leadership and desire to grow.
Rotary Hutt City has budgeted to sponsor two candidates and we are looking to Club members to suggest possible candidates. Rotabiz members especially would find it an excellent leaddership course fo younger staff
Any one of these attachments could be put in the newsletter, and you can say that the club has budgeted to sponsor 2 candidates. We need club members to suggest candidates, and Rotabiz members will find it an excellent leadership course for younger staff members (18 – 24 years).
Please contact Andy Soper andy@maudelegal.co.nzfor further information or to offer your suggested candidates.
Next Week's Speaker 15 October
#1 Ben King Ben will introduce Rotaract, which is a perfect lead on for RYLA attendees (see above)!
Rotoract is Rotary's global program for young adults aged 18 to 30 who want to develop leadership skills, build professional networks, and make a positive impact through community and international service projects. Sponsoring Rotary clubs provid guidance, but Rotoract clubs are self-governing and self-funding, running their own local and international projects and offering a fun, engaging environment to meet new people and grow personally and prfessionally.
It therefore provides an affordable membership to a younger audience. Members often progress and join a Rotary Club later. Ben is keen to present to our Club and to find opportunities for his team to work alongside us on projects.
Ben is a highly motivated and energetic software developer with over three years of experience at Datacom. Datacom specialize in designing and deploying solutions to enhance business workflows coupled with operational efficiency, focusing on automation, scripting, and integration.
His key skills include hands-on experience with Jenkins, Ansible, and PowerShell, distinct yet complementary tools frequently used together in modern IT and DevOps environments for automation, configuration management, and continuous integration/continuous delivery.
He is a graduate of the Southern Institute of Technology. Beyond professional work, Ben is not only a proud member of Rotaract, but is also actively involved volunteering for the Cancer Society and Hospice. He assists with their annual appeals.
(Editor: Our district supports three Rotaract Clubs across Manawatu (Palmerston North Massey Univesity); New Plymouth and Wellington. But according to our District website, the Wellington Club is currently inactive......)
Next Week's Speaker 15 October
#2 Fabian Straube
Fabian, from Resonate, will speak on the topic of ''Clear Ears'' with some challenging information about dealing with hearing loss. Hearing affects or is affected by memory, balance, sleep and tinnitus. Apparently, our ears are not designed to live as long as we do! We lose the higher tones of subtlety, clarity, of and with background noise lighter sounds are lost.
He will explain just how the structure of our ears works, and that hearing loss can contribute to dementia. This is because the brain takes from memory to shore up hearing. And because hearing loss affects the way we socialise, social isolation is another risk factor. In a study of cognitive decline in those with and without hearing aids it was shown that there is 50% less cognitive decline in those who wear hearing aids consistently.
Fabian stumbled into Audiology by pure coincidence after finishing high school, but the mix of meeting fascinating people and working with ever-evolving technology has kept him tere for over 20 years. Helping someone reconnect with the world through better hearing is a real privilege and it’s what keeps me coming back every day.
Outside of work, he is a husband, father, dog lover, keen gardener, DIY tinkerer, petrol head, bookworm and mountain bike enthusiast. He enjoys park runs on the weekend and thinks life is always better with good music playing in the background.
Big Hats High Tea 12 October 2025
From Michelle Simpson at Rotary Hutt Vallley, who can also help with any enquiries michellesimpson50@hotmail.com
57 Channels and nothing on......
IYM Fundraiser 16 October 2025
Gaylene Hughes writes:
gaylene@jdicoach.co.nz
Hi there
Innovative Young Minds (IYM) and Rotary Hutt City are bringing YOU, our
awesome supporters, together for a great night out AND it’s an opportunity to
raise some money.
We are in the middle of organising our annual fun Quiz night and Auction – and
have just a few more teams to find.
We’ve organised:
Craig – a local experienced quiz master, with a wicked sense of
humour;
A cash bar and the opportunity to purchase your own snacks;
Lots of free parking! and
Some fantastic raffles and auction items (both silent & live).
The flier can be found below and please share with your friends and
In addition to making up a table, remember you have the opportunity to Sponsor a round (there are 8). For just $200 plus gst your company logo will be on the screen before your round, you’ll be verbally acknowledged and thanked on the night for your support and we’ll take a photo which will be displayed on all IYM and RHC digital platforms and feature in the IYM newsletter.
You are welcome to have a company banner at the venue and on your table. We would love to have you join us, so please reply to mde at the email above, indicating you’re in!! and we’ll reserve your spot.
Let me know if you’d like to sponsor a round in that email too.
We’ll send you an invoice in due course with bank account details.
Thanks in advance!
Wellington Heritage Festival 18 October - 9 November
President Katrina writes:
As a club we have contributed funds towards this Wellington-wide event programme in October. A great Rotary initiative which has been running a couple of years now. Do try and get along to some of the events.
You can visit the Cable Car Winding Room, peer into the cells at the Old High Court, even see behind the scenes at the Upper Hutt Naturist Club (maybe not that one)!
Alex Hockley CEO of Wellington Heritage Festival will be speaking to us on 19 November.
Register for Wellington Heritage Festival below using this link:
The District is marking World Polio Day on Thursday 30 October with its annual bacon buttie stand at Wellington Railway Station from 6-11am.
If you want to help, please contact Tony Robinson on robinsonaps0@gmail.com
It's a fun event and gives us a chance to talk to the community about Rotary and about polio. One year a man asked me what polio is! Our job is not done yet
although we have made a huge impression irradicating polio over the years although new cases are now found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Let's keep working on it so we can eventually move on to other needs.
Here's some numbers:
Over $3 billion raised by Rotary for Polio Eradication;
21,000,000 Children Saved from the Paralysis of Polio; and
Over 1.6 million lives saved thanks to the Polio Vaccines.
Are Your Membership Details up to date in ClubRunner?
A message from Doug Webb our Club Site Administrator:-
Have your personal details changed, especially email address and phone number? Take a few minutes to log-in to rotaryhuttcity.org.nz.
Click on the following link for a step by step guide to accessing your member profile.
''AI won't replace humans, but humans with AI will replace humans without AI."
This quote is taken from the Harvard Business Review, 4 August 2023. This statement highlights that AI will likely transform the workforce, not eliminate jobs entirely, by creating a divide between those who leverage AI tools and those who do not.
Note there are 2-hour tree-manning shifts and up to 4 present delivery shifts per day.
- Wednesday 17 December Last breakfast meeting of the year, to be held at local charity Ignite Sport, Bell Road, Waiwhetu.
A chance for the Ignite team to show us their new venue and showcase the activities they use to involve kids in sport.
Breakfast provided by them, usual payment of $25 pp will be taken at the door.
2026
- Wednesday 4 February will be first meeting back in 2026 at Boulcotts Farm.
- Friday 20 March - Sunday 22 March Finally, planning ahead a little, President Katrina is really keen to get a group together to go to the new ''whole of North Island'' Rotary District Conference in Napier. Do pop the dates in your diaries – I think we can make an impact as a club and have fun together at the same time.
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!
Last Edition, I asked: Which is the oldest Rotary club in New Zealand?
The Rotary Club of Wellington was the first Rotary Club in New Zealand, chartered on 7 June 1921, although the Rotary Club of Auckland was established a few days earlier in the same year, on 31 May.
This edition's question: How many James Bond films have "Die" in the title and what are they?
Ben will introduce Rotaract, which is a perfect lead on for RYLA attendees (see above)!
