President Year 2008-2009 Reg Bridewell Wednesday... · 2014-09-07 · World President Dong Kurn Lee set this theme for the year quoting the statistic that 30,000 children under the

President’s Year 2008-2009 Reg Bridewell

52.1 Board Members: Reg Bridewell (President), Eddie Eggers (President Elect), Katrine

Imrie (Immediate Past President), Peter Collins (Secretary), Vallis Peet (Treasurer),

Bruce Withell (Club), Mike Cross (International). Jo Myers (Vocational), Malcolm

Busch (Community).

52.2 Rotary International Theme “MAKE DREAMS REAL”

World President Dong Kurn Lee set this theme for the year quoting the statistic that

30,000 children under the age of five die of preventable causes, every day, around the

world. DK Lee stressed the point that we start where we are standing, and that saving just

one life is infinitely better than saving none

Right from the onset of my year we were able to put this theme to good use by assisting a

Fijian burns victim with his treatment in Wellington.

52.3 Changeover

The Changeover was held on the 2nd

July, at Wharerata with the theme being A DAY AT

THE RACES. Club members really got into the theme and a large number of patrons

dressed up for the evening. There were races for the fillies and mares, as well as for the

geldings and stallions.

It was my intention to have four directors and only three committees. This was to ensure

that each committee had sufficient members to get our plans completed. The Club and

International committee’s shared the same members.

Bill Barber was originally selected as Director of Community, however he was unable to

take up the position due to family issues and he was granted long term leave. Malcolm

Busch stepped in as Director for the rest of the year to which I was extremely grateful.

52.4 District Governor Visit

We had an early visit from District Governor Tony Fryer and part of his message was to

be vigilant in looking out for new members. My aim was to have a new members/partners

night every second Wednesday.

52.5 Membership

Early in my term we received resignations from Brian Picket and Brendon Dorn, so a

major emphasis was on promoting new members. This was successful in the recruitment

of Stuart Birks. Stuart is Senior Lecturer in economics at Massey University’s

Department of Applied International Economics and also directs the centre for Public

Policy Evaluation.

In Stuart’s acceptance of becoming a member he made the following comment which is

well worth repeating.

“I appreciate the “community feel” of Rotary and added, being at Massey, I mix with lots

of people from elsewhere who see their time here as somewhat transitory. Although my

children have grown up here, it hasn’t been so easy to find what might be considered a

local community, but you have that sort of feel about you. I knew nothing about Rotary

before coming here. But I have found that you are a nice group of nice people doing

decent things among yourselves and in the community. You are doing it without fuss or

fanfare. You may not realise it, but that is not at all common. It is to be valued, and I am

pleased to become a member”.

52.6 GSE Team Visit

Our club hosted the GSE team from Brazil and the hosts and Club members enjoyed their

visit and the evening at Arena 1.

52.7 Exchange Student

The arrival of our exchange student Anne Merlau was warmly greeted by club members

and in February she gave the Club a talk on the exchange students trip to the South

Island. We also welcomed new member Stuart Birks into the Club. Stuart is Senior

Lecturer in economics at Massy University’s Department of Applied international

Economics and also directs the centre for Public Policy Evaluation.

52.8 50TH

Anniversary

The club held its 50th

Anniversary during my term of office with activities on the 1st and

2nd

of November 2008. There was been considerable interest from past members and a

large number attended. In addition members of local clubs and District Governor Tony

Fryer attended.

A committee of Ross Jones, Katrine Imrie, Eddie Eggers, Lloyd Love, Bruce Markwell,

Paul Gregg, Allan Gillingham, Malcolm Busch, Jo Myers and Vallis Peet organized the

event. This included updating “5.30 Wednesday” the record of our 50 year club history.

The Friday night function was held at our home in Florence Avenue with a large number

of out of town attendees. Sadly I received a phone call midway through the evening to be

advised that my younger brother Terry had suffered a major heart attack and was in an

induced coma in the Wellington Hospital which put a dampener on proceedings and a trip

to Wellington hospital the next day indicated that he was on life support and unlikely to

recover.

I returned to Palmerston North for the 50th

Anniversary Dinner which was held at the

Awapuni Function centre, but sadly my memory of the night was clouded by the plight of

my brother

52.9 Daffodil Day.

Club members once again turned out to help this major collection day for the Cancer

Society. It certainly was not the start to spring we all would like to see, in fact it was a

continuance of one of the wettest and coldest winters Palmerston North has experienced.

None the less our brave members all turned up and did their best.

52.10 Trees for Survival.

Our club is taking a leading role with the trees for survival program. Our Club is

involved with Ross Intermediate and Paul Gregg is our liaisons officer with the School

and Horizons District Council.

52.11 Junior Neighbourhood Support.

Our Club is taking a leading role this year in promoting this project. It was initiated last

year mainly with support from The Rotary Club of Palmerston North. It is intended that

the five Palmerston North Rotary Clubs will be involved.

The project involves local schools, Russell St, Somerset, Linton Camp and Cloverlea

together with the youth aid section of the NZ Police, Civil defence, NZ Fire Service and

the Ambulance Service. The aim is get children involved from a young age to be aware

of their neighbourhood and things they can do to make it a better area to be living.

This project fits in well with the Rotary theme MAKE DREAMS REAL as we all would

like society working together to end child abuse and domestic violence.

52.12 Fund raising projects

Manawatu Wine and Food Festival - The Club started a new project in the form of the

“Manawatu Wine and Food Festival” the first one was held on the 6th

& 7th

June 2009.

Gavin Johanson together with Malcolm Busch and Katrine Imrie did a lot of the start-up

work.

Car boot sale – Goff Ashwell initiated a car boot sale operating from Terrace End School.

Sadly we did not get sufficient interest and the operation was eventually abandoned.

The Club once again participated on the bagged compost manure project with Bill Barber

putting in a huge effort to obtain the manure and organise the bagging of it.

The Club again looked after the security for the Wine Women and Song Concert at

Caccia Birch together with the sale of wines. This project once again was organized by

Maurice Downing.

52.13 Other projects

These included: Food Bank Collection, Teddy Bears Picnic, Friendship Dinners, Club

Sergeant Competition, Relay for Life, the Walkway Clean-up project, and a successful

trip to Kapiti Island. In addition our Club has been involved with the Stewart Centre’s

renovation and we organized an opening that was enjoyed by all.

52.14 Speakers

During my year we had a lot of interesting speakers that included:

Robin Salisbury a Clinical psychologist and sex therapist.

Alistair Clement A Geographer’s view of the Manawatu

Stuart Birkes Why economists, and everyone else, often get it wrong.

Dr Don Baken Psycho-Oncology Service explained

Bethany Mudd on her fortnight at the Rotary National Science & Technology

Forum in Auckland

Fred Symes University of the 3rd

Age U3A

Natalie Eustace on RYLA. An awesome learning experience.

Michael Bryant on the Fellowship of Flying Rotarians

Professor Richard Archer and Allan Hardacre on the start-up of a micro Brewery

at Massey University

52.15 Special thanks

Some members do a substantial amount of work in the back room of a Rotary Club and I

would like to single out Maurice Downing (Sergeant at Arm) Peter McDermott (Bulletin

editor) Joan Norrie and Roger Munn (program) Alan Caddick (raffle), Peter Rainford

(door greetings) and Goff Ashwell (if something needs to be done) to thank them for all

that they have done this year.

All of the Club members throughout my year participated well on all projects and the

office bearers were a pleasure to work with.

52.15 End of year Changeover

This was again held at Wharerata. The Lucky Draw winner was Alan Caddick. Sue Forde

made a contribution with sharing a Rotary Moment, Gavin Johannsen and Joan Norrie

conducting the Sergeants Session and Pamela Tankersley gave the Parting Thought. The

Inner Wheel club of Palmerston North cook book “FEAST” went on sale, which

contained recipes from several of our members. Anne Ashwell also made a contribution

again by baking Xmas Mince pies.

All in all, a great finale, to the Rotary year.

2008-09

President Reg Bridewell

Hon

Members

Pam Hansen

Jim Esson

Died

Resigned Brian Pickett

Brendon Dorn

New

Members

Stuart Birks

2008-2009 photos

2008-2009 Presidents of the Rotary Clubs of Palmerston North with Assistant Governor Allan Gillingham (right)

Rotary Exchange student Anna Merlau, from Germany with President Reg Bridewell, and host Eddie Eggers

Rotary Club of Terrace End 50th Anniversary celebrated in November 2008

The Anniversary Cake

RCTE Past and Present Members at the Anniversary celebrations

Paul Harris Fellow awardees at the Anniversary, including new recipients Goff Ashwell (back row) and Paul Gregg (seated)

Changeover June 2009

President Reg about to hand over the Chain of Office to incoming President Eddie Eggers

President’s Year 2009-2010 Eddie Eggers

54.1 Board Members:

Eddie Eggers (President), Reg Bridewell (Past President), Bruce Withell (President

Elect), Peter Collins (Secretary), Vallis Peet (Treasurer), Bruce Markwell (Club

Administration), Goff Ashwell (Service Projects).

We began the year with a new structure to the organisation of the Rotary Club of Terrace

End Board. Most notable, was the creation of a Service Projects committee. We hoped that,

by having an oversight of all projects we could keep a handle on coverage of the four

avenues of service. In general, this seems to have been successful, but the process is a work

in progress. Goff Ashwell was the first Service Projects Director. Bruce Markwell led the

Club Administration Committee. My thanks to them both.

54.2 The Rotary International Theme: “The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.”

54.3 District Governor’s Visit:

DG David Watt, spoke about a placing emphasis on developing clusters of clubs and

selecting projects with a collective interest. He also suggested investigating former

Rotarians who had gone on to Probus and targeting their family members as potential

Rotarians

54.4 Club Administration Committee:

The programme subcommittee has ensured we have a steady diet of excellent speakers

and we all thank John Gardner, and Joan Norrie in her absence, for their efforts. Maurice

Downing once again took on the onerous task of trying to ensure all weekly duties were

covered and frequently beat to the punch those on Gear Out.

A highlight of both Past President Reg’s and my years as President was the club’s hosting

of Rotary Youth Exchangee Anne Merlau. She was a breath of fresh air for us all.

There were many outstanding speakers: among them Ian Wishart talking about the South

Island High country, Ross Broadhead on the Disputes Resolution process; DG David

Watt and new directions for Rotary and a pilot project for the Rotary foundation; Barrie

Gibson of Gibbie’s world fame; Malcolm and Pip Davidson of Puddleducks Early

Childhood Education Centres; Craig Steed and godwit migration; Diana Neild children’s

book author; John and Jo Ashworth winemakers; Allan Gillingham on anthropogenic

nitrous oxide emissions and Bruce Withell on microlights; Dave Baldwin and “Healthy

Bastards;” relaxed yoga with Peter McDermott; John Franson and Honey Bees;

Notable Parting Thought (from Allan Gillingham) from the pen of George Bernard Shaw:

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds

cannot change anything” Then for good measure in lighter mood he added “If it’s true

that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for.”

During the year we have also undertaken social activities and one round of Fellowship

Dinners. Unfortunately circumstances did not allow for the conclusion of the second

round.

One other activity we undertook was to arrange a combined meeting for the visiting

Scottish Group Study Exchange team. That was one of the best nights of the Rotary year

and an opportunity to work with another club and to host many Rotarians.

54.5 Service Projects Committee

Major projects for the year had been the health information evening on pain that was

open to the public and attracted a large audience, assistance to the National Special

Olympics in December, and last but certainly not least, the Manawatu Wine and Food

Festival. Although the accounts are not finalised, the proceeds from the festival should

enable the club to make a sizeable donation to the Emergency Response Kit scheme. The

Wine and Food Festival is clearly an example of a worthwhile endeavour. But, it needs

people in the form of Rotarians to manage and run it satisfactorily. This year the numbers

available were only just adequate. If we want to successfully undertake projects we need

to grow our membership. Perhaps a key point of difference we can use in promoting our

club is our desire to increase membership in order to carry out more projects.

I won’t attempt to mention all the activities undertaken this past year. Notable however

have been a composted manure drive, the Food Bank appeal, Daffodil Day, Light Up A

Life, Trees for Survival, and Relay for Life. In addition members have been involved

with the Walkway working party and other ‘little’ projects.

Earlier in the year the club made a quick response to the Samoan tsunami disaster by

providing funds for a Shelter Box. Now the Board feels that the ERK is more appropriate

for the South Pacific region where much assistance is regularly needed.

The club has contributed to RYLA, the Science Summer School and New Zealand

Business Week through sponsoring young people to attend.

54.6 Membership:

The year began with 32 members including 6 female members. This was 4 less than in

the previous June 2008. The average age was 69 years. Four members have been in the

club for 1-4 years; 8 for 3-5 years; 20 for 5-10 years or more. Four members had

proposed a new member in the previous two years.

A club membership forum led by Pam Tankersley and Allan Gillingham to start the

Rotary year was timely and was hoped to lead to new members. A Friends of Rotary

evening had 33 guests but no inductions resulted, despite the efforts of members to

locate, introduce, and to familiarize prospective members through visits to the club.

There were times when the outlook was very encouraging but there were no additions to

the membership list.

54.7 Memorial Education Trust:

Another successful year resulted in an exciting group of recipients for Trust awards.

Awardees: Matthew Wilson (NZ Sec Schools Choir), Peter Clark (International chemical

congress), John Kendall (athletics), Kate Middelton-Olliver (Drama management

internship), Katarina O’Callaghan (hockey), Daniel Hayles (small bore target shooting),

Daniel Hayles (performance jazz).

54.8 Paul Harris Fellows:

At the end of my Presidential year, at Changeover, PHF awards were presented to Katrine

Imrie, Maurice Downing and Allan Gillingham for their notable contributions to the club

and community.

54.09 Thanks:

All members made contributions to the success of this past Rotary year. Although there

are dangers in singling out individuals, I want to note Alan Caddick for his meticulous

door and attendance-keeping and weekly story, and Stewart Birks whose weekly

Bulletins were something we all fired up our computer to read on a Sunday afternoon.

Thank you both. Your commitment and regularity set a fine example. The Bulletins

contained something for everyone. Katrine Imrie has been someone we just couldn’t do

without and I needn’t detail the things she has done. Suffice to say there have been many

more things she’s done than have been publicly recognised. The programme

subcommittee has ensured we have a steady diet of excellent speakers.

Although it has been a somewhat quiet year administratively, the members of the board

have all made substantial contributions to the running of the club. The subcommittee

conveners have also played their part. Thank you for your support.

Thanks also to the Wharerata staff for looking after us so well each week.

To those who have encouraged me during the year, Thank you. I’m grateful for all the

support I’ve received. Kind words go a long way. If you haven’t been mentioned by

name I’m sorry about the oversight.

Special thanks to Anne for all the little things she’s done and the ways in which she’s

helped the year run smoothly and for the activities in which she’s involved herself.

So another Chapter has reached its end and I can now become not ‘Past’ President but ex-

President.

2009-10

President Eddie Eggers

Hon

Members

Pam Hansen

Jim Esson

Died Nil

Resigned Barrie Gillespie

New

Members

Nil

2009-2010 Photos

New President Eddie delivering his acceptance speech

Composted manure project: Bruce Withell, Roger Munn, Malcolm

Busch, Alan Caddick, Eddie Eggers, Paul Gregg, Simon Eggers, Goff

Ashwell, Peter Collins

District Conference Team in Scottish theme dress: Allan

Gillingham, Sue Withell, Anne Eggers, Katrine Imrie, Eddie

Eggers, Bruce Withell

President’s Year 2010-2011 Bruce Withell

55.1 Board Members:

Bruce Withell (President), Katrine Imrie (President Elect), Eddie Eggers (Immediate Past

President), John Gardner (Secretary), Vallis Peet (Treasurer), Roger Munn (Club

Committee), Stuart Birks (Community/ Projects Committee).

55.2 Rotary International Theme: Building Communities, Bridging Continents

55.3 Vision

My prime objective for this year was to dispel any suggestion the club was in a “sunset

scenario” due to a drop in numbers, and instead focus on the clear evidence that we

possessed a demonstrable depth of commitment, enthusiasm, and “can-do’ capability

which would guarantee a healthy future.

I stressed that we needed to counter our increased ages and go for it with lots of activities,

fun and levity, coupled with lots of achievements in all the things we do.

55.3 Changeover:

Changeover was again held at Wharerata where the theme was the always popular

“Midwinter Christmas”. As usual, members entered into the spirit of the occasion by

either dressing up or wearing suitable festive season item such as antlers, Xmas hats, or

flashing bunches of holly. Members and their partners helped the evening along with an

enthusiastic rendering of suitable festive songs- “Jingle Bells”, “God Rest You Merry

Gentlemen”, and the like!

55.4 Club Committees

After a period of uncertainty about the number, role and form of club committees it was

decided that the work of previous three committees could be accomplished by just two,

which would mean simply that the club would be divided in two. Firesides were

reintroduced as the format for the committees operation since it was widely felt that the

atmosphere and fellowship created by members meeting in each other’s homes in an

informal way was a key reason why the club was so strong.

The two Directors, Roger Munn and Stuart Birks, for Community Projects and Club

Administration respectively, had three basic objectives:

Leading the whole area of their committees objectives while convening and

chairing the firesides

Keeping committee members fully informed and motivated on the years plans

To endeavour to have something to present at every club meeting on activities

past , present or future so as to always show the committee is fully active.

55.5 Club Administration Committee:

Director Roger Munn oversaw a really good year with the prime objective of ensuring

that there was as much fellowship and fun as possible in all the clubs activities. The

opportunity to link with Terrace End Probus to attend Centrepoint Theatre productions

was taken twice. In September the now annual Sunday breakfast meeting featured

Country Calendar TV show producer Frank Torley as guest speaker. To further the

concept of more “away” meetings, ex-member Peter McDermott hosted us to his

establishment for an Indian meal. A visit was made to Junction Wines at Takapau,

Hawkes Bay, motivated primarily by their support for our Wine and Food Festival.

There were two well attended Fellowship dinners during the year which were organized

by Katrine Imrie and Mike Cross.

The summer BBQ function was again held at Bruce and Margaret Markwell’s holiday

home at Waitarere Beach

55.6 Community /Projects Committee:

Under Stuart Birks leadership this committee had a very successful year with the usual

combination of regular, relatively minor projects, and the one sentinel project, the Wine

and Food Festival . The regular projects were the periodic walkway clean-ups, the

Daffodil Day street collection, collection for the Food Bank, Light Up a Life, and Relay

for Life, and assisting with the Wine Women and Song Concert at Caccia Birch.

The Wine and Food Festival (lead by Vallis Peet) was again successful with growth in

the numbers of attendees, although these were still well below what we hoped would

come. An especially notable aspect of this project is the extremely high level of support

by the club membership in the actual running of the festival. This was nearly 100% of the

membership who could feasibly participate.

To the end of June income from the Festival totalled $10200. Of this $6000 was donated

to the Emergency Response Kit appeal.

55.7 Cluster Projects

Through a grant of $2700, our club supported a cluster project which was a water capture

reservoir situated in Rucchi, India.

The club also strongly supported a cluster film evening to raise money for polio

eradication by attending in very good numbers. Notably our attendance was

proportionally the best of all clubs.

55.8 Youth and International:

We were unable to find a suitable candidate(s) for RYLA, but did sponsor a young person

to the Science Forum.

55.9 Memorial Education Trust:

Bruce Markwell (Chairman) and Eddie Eggers (Secretary) again completed the cycle of

advertising for applicants, short listing them, and setting up the interviews. We again had

a number of splendid young people to meet and interview, and regrettably had to limit the

number of grants to match the funds available.

The evening when the successful applicants visit the club to be introduced, and to outline

their hopes and dreams, is always a highlight of our year!

55.10 Bulletin:

The Bulletin is without doubt central to the clubs effective functioning and editor Alan

Caddick did a superb job as always.

After a long incubation, the club website was finally launched in a useable form to

compliment the Bulletin

55.11 Membership:

Membership during the year was relatively stable, with the resignation at the very

beginning of the year of Maurice Downing, followed by that of Gavin Johansen and Sue

Forde, while Peter McDermott’s leave of absence was regrettably converted to a

resignation. However, these departures were countered by the welcome addition of Brian

White, Ben McCready and Olwyn Evans. Brian’s joining was particularly valuable as he

was a returning Rotarian after previously leading a breakfast club in Palmerston North

that went into recess. Ben had difficulty maintaining attendances from the onset due to

unforeseen family and business commitments.

A notable and unusual event occurred at one meeting in the year, with a 100%

attendance of all eligible members - something that had not occurred in recent memory.

55.12 Speakers:

A wide range of topics presented to the club by good speakers has always been one of the

foundations of a strong club and it was my objective to ensure that this continued. I

therefore made a point of assisting speaker convenor John Gardner in the search for

speakers which would best meet the interests of the membership. A sample of topics: city

council functioning, Uruguay, waste water, earthquake theory, Antarctic wildlife, sport

economics, Chinese and Indian Economies, and oral history collection.

55.13 Club Forum:

At the start of my year I conducted a Forum at which I used visual aids to put a series of

thoughts and ideas I had up for discussion and consideration.

55.14 My Year as President:

At the onset I promoted a concept of consolidating and streamlining duties within

meetings so as to reduce demands on members and allow meetings to flow faster. This

entailed elimination of the role of Sergeant-at Arms as it was felt this could be effectively

done by the member getting gear out, who would also welcome members, and call the

members and guests to dinner. Introduction of guest speaker would remain as a duty but

Thanks and Parting Thought would be given by the one member.

The net effect of these changes was to reduce the actual number of duties members would

be obliged to do, make the task of duty allocation easier (Thanks to Alan Caddick for

this) and generally make meetings flow better, which I feel was achieved.

I was also always mindful of the intolerance of members to meetings which ran late and

endeavoured to ensure speakers were well briefed on their available time and were kept

to this where possible.

In an attempt to reduce the frequency of Sergeant session obligations for the benefit of

members I conducted an alternative fund raising session called “Sad and Glad” where

members were expected to contribute cash after outlining current things they saw as

negative and positive respectively in their recent lives.

I also introduced Rotary Achievements Moments, where at each meeting I would briefly

outline some aspect of Rotary’s huge contribution to the wider community. Examples are

Outward Bound, the Kidney Foundation, and Cure Kids.

55.15 DG’s Visit:

The District Governor was Howard Tong, a superb motivator and communicator, who

along with partner Jenny clearly made a very positive impact on the District during his

year in the chair. At their visit in October, Howard was especially impressed by the

presentation by Bruce Markwell on the role of the Memorial Education Trust. He was

also quite surprised (and impressed too) when we presented him with a copy of Five

Thirty Wednesday! Howard delivered one of his typically highly motivational addresses

to the club, and also completed the induction of Brian White into the club.

55.16 Rotary Conference:

I attended the Conference at Wairakei with Allan Gillingham and Dennis Quinn. The

overriding theme was how we might make changes to the way we run our clubs so as to

make Rotary more attractive to younger people, such as those typed as “Y Gens”.

2010-11

President Bruce

Withell

Hon

Members

Pam Hansen

Died

Resigned Downing

Forde

Johansen

McDermott

New

Members

Brian White

Ben

McCready

Olwen Evans

2010-2011 Photos

Visit of District Governor Howard Tong (centre) with President

Bruce (right) and Assistant Governor Scott Bruce (left)

Alan Caddick shares the limelight with DG Howard Tong

President’s Year 2011-2012 Katrine Imrie

56.1 Board Members:

Katrine Imrie (President), Dennis Quinn (President Elect), Bruce Withell (Immediate Past

President), John Gardner (Secretary), Vallis Peet (Treasurer), Roger Munn (Club

Committee), Stuart Birks (Community/ Projects Committee).

56.2 Rotary International Theme: Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.

This year I wanted to focus on our community, especially the youth, and through

different speakers we accomplished this.

56.3 Changeover:

Changeover was held at Wharerata where we celebrated a traditional mid-year Christmas

Party starting with mulled wine dispersed with fine food, singing of carols and finishing

with Christmas cake and port wine. It was great to have a number of incoming

Palmerston North Rotary cluster Presidents in attendance

56.4 Club Committee:

This was again a very busy year with Club Director Roger Munn and his team organising

a number of events. A great night at Centrepoint, dinner and movies, a visit to the

Pukeora festival in Waipukurau, a breakfast meeting in September with a bottle auction

led by Eddie Eggers, Te Manawa Visit, The Mail Centre and the Rugby Museum, a

barbeque at Bruce and Margaret Markwell’s holiday property at Waitarere beach where

there were lots of fun with golf croquet, and an Indian banquet just to name a few. We

had two Fellowship dinners during the year which were well attended and organized by

myself and Mike Cross.

56.5 Community /Projects Committee:

Stuart Birks and his committee did an admirable job with the largest project being the

Wine and Food Festival, under the organisation of Vallis Peet and committee. This gets

better and better each year.

From the funds raised we were able to donate 10 Emergency Boxes. Another regular

project was the Tidy a Walkway led by Goff Ashwell. The Relay For Life, in support of

the Arohanui Hospice, has become a great fellowship part of the club, every year getting

better. We now have a trackside tent site which makes us more noticeable and much

easier to find. Daffodil Day was another regular project that members annually

participate in, even though it is always a cold at that time of the year. We had our first

Ambassadorial Scholar for a number of years when Jennie Smith from the USA joined us

in March. She was joy to have, and visited us on most Club nights. She joined in all the

activities. We loved her singing and her friendship and were sorry to see her go, but we

keep in touch with her on Facebook. Vallis kindly volunteered to look into our Website

and begin the update to get us into the world of modern technology. Stuart Birks began

his Oral History project that at first we were not sure about, but by the end of the year

understood and were keen to help him.

56.6 Youth and International:

This was a shared role with Roger Munn and Sue Forde. We sent Ellie Johnstone to

Auckland to the Science Fair and she subsequently came to the Club as a guest Speaker.

56.7 Memorial Education Trust:

This continues to be our flagship project that we are very proud of. I would like to thank

Bruce Markwell (Chairman) and Eddie Eggers (Secretary) for the time they put in each

year in advertising for, and interviewing candidates. It is always a pleasure and a

privilege to have the successful applicants speak at a club night about their plans.

56.8 Bulletin:

Alan Caddick has done a superb job with the Bulletin and we all enjoy his little titbits,

along with the photos and information. Alan has kept us on the straight and narrow and

entertained us with his great jokes. Long may they continue.

56.9 Members:

This continued to be an area that raises concern but I have always felt that it is quality not

quantity that matters and we remain a club of great fellowship with high meeting

attendances. I was pleased that over this year we have gained two new members, Gaewyn

Grant, who has doubled the size of the ladies group, and Bob Stewart who transferred

from the Rotary Club of Palmerston North. Welcome to them both.

56.10 Speakers:

We have had an excellent programme during the year thanks to John Gardner assisted by

Roger Munn. Speakers included Neighbourhood Support, Roger Clausen, Lew Findlay,

Salvation Army, Women’s Refuge, and Memorial Education Trust recipients’.

56.11 My Year as President:

As a second time President I endeavoured to do things a little differently. The main

changes being that I started a weekly talk by members on My Childhood Memories.

When that roster was finished we moved on to My Teenage Years. These talks were

great and it was enlightening to hear some of the antics that the members had been up to,

but also the history that they gave. I gave a weekly update on the Rotary Theme as each

week I wanted to bring something Rotary into the meeting mix. I really enjoyed on my

last night prior to Changeover bringing out the old yellow song books, Alan Caddick was

kind enough to lead the singing. The comments, and the expressions on the faces of

members and guests were priceless. A big part of my year was hosting our

Ambassadorial Scholar Jennie Smith. She was welcomed at Reg and Barbara Bridewell’s

home with a barbeque, and from there she was truly part of our club. The Relay for Life

this year made $2,500 towards the total. We were all very proud of that. I was proud at

the end of the year to receive a Presidents Citation.

56.12 DG’s Visit:

District Governor Bob and Margaret Smith were welcomed warmly by the members and

partners. Bob gave a great relaxed look into his thoughts on Rotary. He was a great DG,

always there for assistance when required.

56.13 Club Forums:

I ran two Forums over the year which was led by the entire Board and these were a great

way to get member input on all aspects of the club. This was on going during the year as

members were kept in touch with Board Matters and an open door policy meant points

were brought up as required. Vallis was able to report that “The Club was in good heart”

following presentation of the accounts.

56.14 Paul Harris Award:

It was my pleasure at the end of the year to award Alan Caddick with a Paul Harris

Award. This was well deserved for all the work he has done, especially in his role on the

frontline keeping us all in order, and for the work he does on the Bulletin.

56.15 Rotary Conference:

I attended the Conference with Jennie Smith and Dennis Quinn in Wanganui. It was a

very informal and friendly conference focused on the young with great musical events on

the Friday night. While at the conference Jennie received a number of requests to be a

guest speaker. She was a great ambassador for Rotary.

56.16 President of Awapuni

It was with sadness that I reported the death of Dr Anand the President of Awapuni. He

was a lovely man and I had shared a number of visits with him. I represented the club at

his funeral which was conducted by his grandson, Navin Patel, Head boy at Palmerston

Boy’s College, and a former recipient of a Memorial Education Trust Award.

2011-12

President Katrine Imrie

Hon

Members

Pam Hansen

Died

Resigned Sue Forde

Jenny Gordon

David Bridges

Peter Rainford

Malcolm Clarke

New

Members

Brian White

Gaewyn Grant

Bob Stewart

President’s Year 2012-2013 Dennis Quinn

57.1 Board Members

President: Dennis Quinn, President Elect: Brian White, Past President: Katrine Imrie,

Treasurer: Vallis Peet, Secretary: John Gardner, Directors: Gaewyn Grant (Service

Projects Committee) and Roger Munn (Club Administration Committee).

57.2 Changeover

The year started with a Bang – it was the 4th of July – and so American culture was the

theme for Changeover. Attendees were quizzed on American culture, on cartoon

characters, music, geography and many other aspects of Americana. The highlight was

Jennie Smith, our Ambassadorial Scholar singing impromptu and a capella “The Star

Spangled Banner”.

Yet another memorable moment was witnessing Alan Caddick rendered speechless, and

overcome with emotion, when he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship at the June 2012

Changeover.

57.2 Membership

Membership remained static through the year with no new members joining. We lost Ben

McCready, who resigned because of ill-health.

57.3 Rotary International Theme

The Rotary International President was Sakuji Tanaka from Japan and his theme for the

year was “PEACE THROUGH SERVICE” - symbolised by the sihouette of origami

paper cranes.

57.4 District Governor’s Visits

We were visited not once but twice by District Governor Graeme Blick. The first was the

usual routine Club health check. The second was to attend our Christmas function and

more specifically, to first confer a Paul Harris award to Dorothy Booth for services to

Inner Wheel and the community, to confer a Paul Harris Sapphire award to Lloyd Love,

the first in our club, for his long and significant service to Rotary and our club, and to

farewell our Ambassadorial scholar Jennie Smith.

57.5 Club Programmes

The two committees worked well to ensure a varied calendar of regular meetings, site

visits and social functions, interspersed with ‘external’ activities and events.

Our Speakers took us around the world to India, Antarctica, Nepal, Uzbekistan,

Zimbabwe, Israel, China, and through Dr. Don Stewart, everywhere else in between! The

speakers also informed us about Fire Safety, Liquidations, Genealogy, Pests, Climate

Change, Earthquake engineering, St. John Ambulance, Music Therapy, Hospice service

in the community, NZ History through music, gardening, Cycling and coaching, Strokes,

RYLA, Green Star design, the Globe Theatre, and much more. All these subjects were

précised and reported by scribes, Paul Gregg, Alan Gillingham, Eddie Eggers and Stuart

Birks and published in the Bulletin edited by Alan Caddick. Lloyd Love organised the

majority of the Speakers, ensuring no gaps in the Club programme.

Visits included to the Palmerston North Fire Station, Feilding Coach House Museum,

Palmerston Extension Ladder Company, playing croquet at Rose City Croquet Greens,

and a picnic at the Waiterere house of Bruce & Margaret Markwell.

Other projects and activities in which the Club participated were Daffodil Day, Foodbank

Collection, Relay for Life, Dictionaries in Schools and the Manawatu Wine & Food

Festival.

The Wine & Food festival suffered this year from poor weather which deterred the

attendance of participants. So the anticipated profits were not achieved, but some funds

were raised for the St. John Ambulance service

57.6 Memorial Education Trust

The Trust continued the excellent support of Youth under the Chairman, Bruce Markwell

and Secretary, Eddie Eggers. The other Trust members were Pam Hansen, Dennis Quinn,

Katrine Imrie and Brian White. There were fewer appropriate applicants this year, with

many of those applying seeking tuition fees, which are specifically excluded in the

conditions of the Trust. However, there were some very good young people who received

assistance from the Trust. These were:-

Te Kahui Baker – Head Boy of Otaki College NZ – to visit the College of the Otaki

Scholar in Aberdeen (the first NZ student to travel there, reversing the direction of the

exchange for the first time in 70 years)

Kayla Houghton – attended a specialist dog training course in San Francisco

Dylan Chambers – studied international relations and languages in Sweden

Rachel Murray – undertook post-graduate study in Urban Design in Paris

57.7 Highlights of the Year

Our Rotary Ambassadorial scholar Jennie Smith from Iowa, brought to the Club a

refreshing outlook on life and made us aware that tomatoes are not always red! Jennie

was a breath of vitality and enthusiasm throughout her stay, and was an excellent

Ambassador for Rotary, the US, and tomatoes. She travelled throughout the country

visiting other Rotary clubs and was sought by many as a speaker. She stole the show at

Changeover with her solo of “The Star Spangled Banner” and gave a heartfelt farewell at

the Christmas function, as well as participating with verve in the District Conference in

Wanganui.

The Club joined the electronic media age by listing on Facebook through the

encouragement of Olwen Evans and established a website through the generosity and

skill of Gary Goodman of the Palmerston North club, who assisted Vallis Peet.

2012-13

President Dennis Quinn

Hon

Members

Pam Hansen`

Died

Resigned Ben McCready

New

Members

Nil

2012-2013 Photos

Ambassadorial Scholar Jenny Smith from the USA with Bev Quinn, Honorary

Member Pam Hansen and Ann Eggers (right)

District Governor Graeme Blick and his wife Christine at the Christmas function

Members and partners enjoying the Christmas function

Lloyd Love receiving his Paul Harris Sapphire award from DG Graeme Blick

Dorothy Booth after receipt of her Paul Harris Fellowship from DG Graeme Blick