As I write this it is the last day of May and there is one month left in this Rotary year. This will be my last District newsletter for the 2018-19 Rotary year. It seems to me as I look back and look forward that we have much to celebrate at this time. We had a successful conference in Napier in the middle of May, with approximately 240 Rotarians and partners attending to hear some inspirational speakers, to network, share ideas and have fun. (See article further on for more details.) I was really delighted with the support from club members, and each of our five keynote speakers commented to me how impressed they are with what Rotary is doing. Which just reinforces the need for us to keep telling our stories – wherever and whenever we can.
STOP PRESS
The Papatoetoe Central Night – not only did they give $21,000 to The Rotary Foundation they also gave $10,000 to End Polio!! brilliant, eh?
So a few great stories from the last 4-6 weeks – our future Rotary club in Tarawa, Kiribati, has had two interest meetings and things are looking promising for a new club up and running there within the next couple of months, maybe even before the end of June! There are several projects in the pipeline and there will be opportunities for interested clubs to become involved.
RarotongaRotary celebrated their 50th anniversary in style, with Past NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark as their special guest.
I was lucky enough to spend some time with her, including meeting the Rarotonga Youth Council of which several of our Rotaractors are members. The future of the Cook Islands is in great hands with these young people and the Rotary club has a prominent profile in their community, including with the mobile health clinic which was present at their celebrations.
Mt Eden Rotary held a very successful Wellness Day in Mt Eden with free classes being extremely popular, as well as stands for testing health measures and promoting services.
We made a push on giving to Polio at the conference and over $4000 was given. Our District is also giving $5000 District Designated Funds to the End Polio campaign. You may recall that our RI President Barry Rassin issued a challenge to every club to give USD1500 to Polio this year – HAS YOUR CLUB GIVEN TO POLIO? Remember that every dollar given becomes $3 with the subsidy from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
I attended a special induction of a new member in May – my husband John was inducted into the Rotary Club of Waiheke. We moved to Waiheke in March (this was not planned at the beginning of my DG year!) and it has been great getting to know local Rotarians, who have made us very welcome and have a strong presence on the island.
Rotary International has a new President Elect for 2020-21, following the resignation last month of President-nominee Sushil Gupta due to health reasons. He is Holger Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany. No doubt he will be introduced at the RI Convention in Hamburg started on 1st June. We have over 40 Rotarians from District 9920 attending so we will be making our presence known in our black shirts.
Finally – I would like to say a huge thank you to every one of you for your commitment to “Service Above Self”, for making a difference in your communities, for seeking to inspire others to do good in the world through your projects and stories. While our membership has declined very slightly over the last year – we are 9 fewer members than at 1 July 2018 - our clubs are overall in good heart. Even small clubs are making a big difference. It is good to see many clubs looking at different ways of working and meeting, to suit what works for their members. I know that in the next Rotary year you will be very ably led by DGE Gary and that he will be encouraging you to connect with each other and with the wider community, while still seeking to “Be the Inspiration”.
These clubs have been good enough to send me your bulletins. Thanks. I’ve read some inspiring stories, seen excellent pictures and been amused by the cartoons. Parnell (my club) has been given some ideas for speakers (yes, I do copy you!) and some ideas, for example publishing the sum collected for the sunshine fund each week. I don’t know who will be the district bulletin editor from July but I hope that you give her or him the same support.
Auckland
Auckland Downtown
Auckland East
Auckland Harbourside
Botany East Tamaki
Ellerslie
Howick
Mangere
Manukau City Sunrise
Newmarket
Newmarket
Otahuhu
Pakuranga
Papakura
Parnell
Penrose
St Johns
St Marylebone (London – YHC’s old club)
Suva East
Mangere Rotary
Part of our stock of firewood ready for sale... We need to urgently find further sources to meet our target so we can fund all the needs in our community.
Contact David Gock if you can help phone 09 262 0404/0274528294
Our Club will again be holding the World Press Photography Exhibition on Level 6 at Smith & Caughey’s during July. The winners for this year’s contest were recently announced in Amsterdam and for a glimpse of what will be on offer during July go tohttp://worldpressphotoexhibitionauckland.nz/
Penrose:
'As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I'm totally flexible.' (a Stewart Mathews Moment)
Botany East Tamaki
St Johns – It’s quite a splendid bulletin, most of the events in it are records of successful projects (the ANZAC Day breakfast especially) and they do have some good humour!
Pakuranga Rotary
(One of the reasons why Paul Harris met with three friends as the first ‘Rotary’ meeting was to establish a network of business men who could help each other. Thus ‘classifications’ were introduced to ensure that a range of occupations were represented. At a time that we’re looking for more members we need to remember the importance of ‘networking’ when talking to potential members. YHC)
When Noel Holyoake joined Rotary in 1963 he had been in business in Rongotai for 10 years. Clubs in that era were defined by a commercial area and classifications were important. Noel was in the oil heating and air conditioning business and his firm manufactured sheet metal piping. What it needed to develop was the ability to incorporate bends in that piping...
John Fothergill and his team even arranged the weather! Napier was the place to be for lots of different reasons, mainly because it was the conference but also to catch up with old friends, to learn from and be inspired by the speakers, to buy lots of wine and appreciate the great restaurants, and pay obeisance to the art deco buildings. The reports in club bulletins that I’ve read of the conference (and I’ve read lots!) were unanimous in the praise of the whole event.
It started on the Friday with a golf tournament. Even the DG got involved – evidence attached!
The players were lucky that Fothers ( as John F is known to his friends) wasn’t playing so the tournament was won by …
Other conference participants talk a guided walk around downtown Napier, rebuilt in two years after the earthquake in 1931. (That’s right, two years, look upon that Christchurch and weep!) For history buffs the conference centre was close to the splendidly refurbished Napier Museum.
Then there was the formal opening of the conference, Avalon Waterways and Heartland’s (both sponsors) presentations and a cocktail party. Regular conference attendees were able to catch up with friends that they hadn’t seen since Fiji or district changeover. So it was noisy! Then on to dinner. Napier really does have a number of very good restaurants!
On the Saturday the conference proper started. A group of youngsters from a local school really welcomed us! They were great – have a look.
There were excellent presentations that you would have already read about in your club bulletins Mike Williams spoke about his work in prisons, making the point that one of the reasons for our high prison population was that many of the prisoners were recidivists thus if we can reduce that the prison population will come down dramatically.
The foreign exchange students did a presentation. They key message was that they are benefitting so much from the programme that we should extend it! They were a colourful lot, as you can see.
Social activities were a major feature.
Hawkes Bay is a main part of New Zealand’s orchard and especially vineyard. The latter particularly attracted attention. The conference was opened by Peter Buck of Te Mata fame one of the Bay’s movers and shakers. There was a bicycle tour of vineyards and many private visits. I’m certain your humble correspondent was not the only attendee who returned to Auckland with a full boot and an empty wallet.
Then there was the Saturday Night Function (the main reason why some attend), an opportunity to dress up and let your hair down. The theme was ‘Art Deco’ giving everybody scope to drag out (or hire, or create) glad, colourful rags. As they say – you should have been there. Club bulletins have been unanimous in their praise of the conference. Its only major fault was being so far away.
Awards: DG Ingrid handed out awards for contributions to Rotary. Ainie Kwok’s huge contribution to Rotaract in our district was recognised by awarding of the Bert Dreaver Trophy. In addition Ainie was also awarded the Dr Catherine Hamelin Award. The Colty Cup which recognises the club with the highest attendance at the conference bearing in mind their size and distance from the conference’s venue went to Papatoetoe Central club. Auckland South’s major projects achieved the Project excellence Shield and the huge Rangitoto Trophy went to Ellerslie Sunrise. Absentees Howick won the Changemaker Trophy and E Club Francophone retained the Twinning Trophy.
There are further awards for club’s performance during the year and these will be handed out at district change over next month.
PS There is a district Publicity in Action trophy. But it seems to have gone walkabout. If it is gracing your mantelpiece (or that of one of your past presidents) can we have it back?
The 2020 conference is in Auckland on the University campus and if it’s as good as Napier it should be a sell-out. See you there, Nick Hamilton YHC
Papatoetoe Central Rotary's Indian Diaspora night was a great success. It was the perfect combination: guests had a wonderful night, and a significant amount of money was raised to support four charities: The Rotary Foundation, Cure Kids Fiji Oxygen Project, The Middlemore Foundation and Kids Can.
The District 9920 RYDA team Left to rt; George Wilson, Peter Wilcock, Lisa James, John Overall; Chairman
They were recognised by the National RYDA organisation as the leading District committee for New Zealand. All based on their level of effort, commitment and focus on spreading RYDA across the District
The Rotary Youth Driver Awareness programme (RYDA) was established in NZ about 12 years ago. The take up by Clubs varies by district but they are led by 9920. This year in our district there are 11 Colleges and approximately 2,000 students participating in the exercises.
Since its inception approximately 70,000 students in 97 Schools have attended.
Feedback by both Teachers and Students remains very positive.
Ongoing efforts by George Wilson, Peter Wilcock (both Papakura Club) and Lisa James (Somerville Club) make this programme successful.
On 4 May, the Mt Eden Rotary Club held its inaugural free WELLBEING DAY OUT at the Mt Eden Village Centre.
The free open-access health and wellbeing initiative introduced the local community to a number of organisations and activities. The day went well and was received positively. Looking ahead, the intention is to hold a bigger event, broadening the focus to include the environment, conservation and sustainability, over a half day on an annual basis.
The club is very grateful for the Albert-Eden Local Board’s support and funding and the assistance provided by the organisations, workshop presenters, Rotarians and Rotaractors who participated.
Rotary Club of Mt Eden: Ursula Rajkumar, Aritra Ray (President), Ainslie Campbell (President-Elect), Geraldine Henderson
MUNA 2019 for Districts 9910 and 9920 was run over 17-18 May at Auckland Girls Grammar School by Rotary Club of Auckland East.
Nearly 300 high school pupils from 44 schools participated this year. Vigorous debate on the 5 remits submitted to the model United Nations Assembly ensued, with plenty of objections and points of order along the way. Delegates also took part in a snap Security Council debate on a pressing topic of the day. The event was ably chaired by Ross Robertson QSO former member of parliament, and the awards were announced by Bevan Iles, President of Rotary Club of Auckland.
Not just another pic of Smiling Rotarians _ GIVING to END POLIO and YOUR Foundation of choice
These Rotarians featured have much to smile about. Your District 'End Polio' coordinator PDG Ron Seeto was on hand with AG Gill Johnston, pictured here with President Tim Edney, to receive 2 cheques from the Rotary Club of Penrose at their breakfast meeting!
A cheque for Foundation Annual giving of $2,750.00 and a cheque for Polio giving of $2,500.00 which becomes $7,500.00 with the Gates Foundation 2:1 Polio contribution.
What’s more, Rotary Penrose has exceeded RI President Barry’s call for a Polio per club contribution $1,500.
President Tim observed that the funds were from individual member contributions.
Here’s hoping that this can be an example for other clubs and their members in our District to do the same – GIVE to END POLIO BEFORE 30 June!
PS As both my regular readers will know I don’t like photographs of people handing over cheques. However, as I’ve often forgotten to recognise the huge work that Ron has been putting in for Polio Plus, this is an exception!
A majority of the Interact Clubs in Schools throughout our District got together to share ideas and meet other like-minded students and Rotaractors from Auckland University and Auckland City. Some of these Rotaractors were part of their school Interact Club and together, they shared their experiences and their "Rotary moment".
RYLA – a district success story for clubs and awardees who attend
RYLA 2019 is on again in first week of July. This is one of the largest RYLA events in Australasia and is quite unique in many ways. Once again, we are expecting 120 candidates from a wide range of corporate and Rotary sponsors.
The support we get from all district 9920 Rotary clubs in terms of finding candidates, managing the corporate sponsors and in the overall support of the programme is greatly appreciated.
I was lucky enough to spend some time with her, including meeting the Rarotonga Youth Council of which several of our Rotaractors are members. The future of the Cook Islands is in great hands with these young people and the Rotary club has a prominent profile in their community, including with the mobile health clinic which was present at their celebrations.
Mangere Rotary
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John Fothergill and his team even arranged the weather! Napier was the place to be for lots of different reasons, mainly because it was the conference but also to catch up with old friends, to learn from and be inspired by the speakers, to buy lots of wine and appreciate the great restaurants, and pay obeisance to the art deco buildings. The reports in club bulletins that I’ve read of the conference (and I’ve read lots!) were unanimous in the praise of the whole event..jpg)
Then there was the formal opening of the conference, Avalon Waterways and Heartland’s (both sponsors) presentations and a cocktail party. Regular conference attendees were able to catch up with friends that they hadn’t seen since Fiji or district changeover. So it was noisy! Then on to dinner. Napier really does have a number of very good restaurants!
The foreign exchange students did a presentation. They key message was that they are benefitting so much from the programme that we should extend it! They were a colourful lot, as you can see.
On 4 May, the Mt Eden Rotary Club held its inaugural free WELLBEING DAY OUT at the Mt Eden Village Centre.
MUNA 2019 for Districts 9910 and 9920 was run over 17-18 May at Auckland Girls Grammar School by Rotary Club of Auckland East.
These Rotarians featured have much to smile about. Your District 'End Polio' coordinator PDG Ron Seeto was on hand with AG Gill Johnston, pictured here with President Tim Edney, to receive 2 cheques from the Rotary Club of Penrose at their breakfast meeting!
The Interact Forum was held on 25 May 2019