The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Peter Grinter
March 1
Eleanor Chevor
March 3
Peter McNair
March 13
John Turner
March 19
Spouse Birthdays
Fran Garrett
March 2
Anniversaries
Helen Gulson
March 8
Join Date
Malcolm Lye
March 6, 2001
20 years
Alan Hession
March 8, 2016
5 years
Helen Gulson
March 8, 2016
5 years
Andrew Rennie
March 20, 2018
3 years
David Robertson
March 23, 2010
11 years
Sally O'Neill
March 25, 2003
18 years
Denise Woodward
March 27, 2018
3 years
Luke Keighery
March 27, 2018
3 years
Ros Virtue
March 28, 2006
15 years
Garth Carter
March 29, 2016
5 years
Club Meeting News - 9 March 2021
Welcome
President Kevin welcomed all members, guest speaker Taylor Harrison, as well as guests Maggie Shanahan, Ian Law and Kosta Georgiadis, President Elect of Five Dock Rotary Club.
Toast
Ros Virtue proposed a toast of the Rotary Club of Northern Beaches.
Announcements
President Kevin reminded members to join the Footy Tipping competition and for everyone to ask friends and family to also sign up.
The Dementia Café will commence on April 28.
Chris Switzer spoke about the Rotary Foundation and encouraged all members to become a Centurion member. The Rotary Foundation generally supports those clubs who support them, and our club has in the past benefitted from grants from the Foundation which have supported our projects. At $100 per year membership, it is a very worthwhile contribution of benefit to many.
David Robertson thanked club members for their concern and good wishes during his father’s ongoing illness. David is taking part in a Trek for Epilepsy Australia and is looking for sponsors to support him in his walk to raise funds for Epilepsy.
Andew Rennie mentioned that Gallery 307 will be starting Paint & Sip evenings which will be a great social event for the community.
Sally O’Neill reminded members of Comedy for a Cause to be held at NGC on 22 April. An email was sent to members, who are asked to forward it to friends and family. An audience of 100 would be great! You can book online at https://comedyforacause.net/tc-events/nrc/ so please get a group of family and friends together for a very enjoyable evening.
Kosta Georgiadis, President Elect of the Rotary Club of Five Dock, spoke about his club. They have 30 active members and 11 honorary members and are a strong and active club involved in much community work.
Paul Sullivan spoke about the Rotary Golf Day to be held at NGC on 10 April. He is still looking for volunteers to help on the day so please contact him if you are willing to assist.
Guest Speaker - Taylor Harrison - Exercise for Seniors
Liz Grey introduced us to Taylor Harrison who founded Active Seniors Health Centres in 2006 and is passionate about helping people exercise and maintain their health as they age. Some 5000 people have been through his centres, which are based at Gordon, Dee Why and Bondi, as well as online, and he has written four books. He has also been able to donate $20,000 to dementia research through his work.
Taylor talked about the personal reasons why he felt there was a need for these centres. One was a family friend whose life quickly changed due to health reasons, and the other was about his grandfather who started at a gym at 76 and is now 95 and doing well.
Taylor currently has an online workout free trial to get people back exercising, with and a prize of a trip on The Ghan for a person who exercises the best. See attached web site for further information - https://www.activeseniors.net.au/
Taylor answered many questions from Rotary members. He advised that the best exercise is the one you do!! It’s important to be consistent with exercising.
Importance of Balance
Taylor said that balance was especially important to seniors to prevent falls, and there were a few simple exercises which he demonstrated to help improve and maintain balance. He also advised eating a ½ hour after exercise to get the best benefit and to vary your routes when walking.
Strength training is important as well as diet and nutrition, and one's sleep pattern needs to be consistent. Seniors’ afternoon naps are OK!! But no more than 30 minutes. His tip was to exercise with someone else to stay motivated.
Liz thanked Taylor for his amazing and inspiring talk and commented on how well he engaged the members with the questions and answers and that everyone got something out of it. There were many things to think about.
Our next Northbridge Rotary Bookstall will be at the Plaza on Sunday 21st March, from 9 am to 5pm, and thereafter (hopefully) normally on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
Every year Rotary District 9685 – which includes Sydney’s Lower North Shore region - offers a post-graduate Global Grant Scholarship for US$30,000 for overseas study at a recognised university or institution.
Applications for a scholarship grant for 2021-22 are now open and are being sought from candidates with the following attributes:
A proven record of success in academic results or vocation
Commitment to a career in one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus
Demonstrated personal commitment to community service
Personal qualities to be a good ambassador for Rotary and Australia
Excellent leadership skills and potential
Well defined and realistic goals
Commitment to participate in Rotary activities and maintaining a strong relationship after the scholarship period.
Scholarship applications are sponsored by a Rotary Club in your district. For example, in District 9685, candidates can apply through the Rotary Club of Northbridge. This Club’s Rotary Foundation director, Valda Andrews, can be contacted via:
The Rotary Peace Fellowship is the premier educational program of The Rotary Foundation and supports Rotary’s mission to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. It is intended for individuals who have chosen a career related to international relations, peace and conflict resolution; who have work experience in these areas and who have a commitment to community or international humanitarian service and working for peace. The following link contains additional information in relation to Rotary’s Peace Fellowships:
He’s not renowned for his cricketing prowess, nor is he an Oxford or Cambridge academic, but Northbridge’s Donald Landers is, indisputably, ‘our Don’.
A retired solicitor, Don and his wife Shirley are long time Northbridge residents who have served our community selflessly for many years.
On 15 December this year, Don was honoured at the Northbridge Rotary Club’s Christmas dinner with a special award, presented – as the photograph below shows – by Willoughby Mayor, Gail Giles-Gidney, with Northbridge Rotary President, Kevin Tattrie, hosting the event.
Don was also presented, at this dinner, with a letter from the NSW Premier and Member for Willoughby, Gladys Berejiklian, honouring Don’s “dedicated Service” to our community, through Rotary. At the bottom of her typed letter, the Premier stated, in her own handwriting:
“Don, your contribution to our community is beyond outstanding – thank you.”
Don Landers was a founding member of Northbridge Rotary Club in 1983. In 1990 he became a Trustee of the Club’s Benevolent Fund, overseeing charitable donations in excess of $230,000, involving a range of humanitarian projects and disaster appeals for the Club. This year he has relinquished his Benevolent fund Trustee role after 30 years of dedicated service.
Don is the perfect example of a hard and committed worker who has given and continues to give his time, energy and experience in the service of others. All who know him, value his wisdom, civic-mindedness, corporate contribution and wonderful sense of humour.
Don, the Rotary Club of Northbridge salutes you.
[Don and Shirley Landers (centre) posing with Northbridge Rotary President Kevin Tattrie (left) and Willoughby Mayor, Gail Giles-Gidney (right)]
The Covid-19 pandemic made fundraising and giving extremely difficult this year, but in the end Christmas won through.
After much hard work, Northbridge Rotary Club’s Sally O’Neill, her fundraising team and her army of Club ticket-sellers, pulled off a fundraising coup with their Christmas Raffle conducted during the course of December at Northbridge Plaza.
Thanks to the generosity of the Northbridge Plaza management – including its security team, local Northbridge and other businesses and shoppers attending the Plaza, the Rotary Club raised over $8,000. That money will be used for local and regional projects, particularly focussing on those recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 22 raffle prizes were drawn at the Plaza by Northbridge Rotary Club President, Kevin Tattrie, on Sunday 20 December, as the photograph below shows.
Congratulations to the following list of lucky prize-winners:
The Rotary club is now motivated to make its Christmas Raffle an annual event, together with its Tree of Joy which, as can be seen from the photograph below, produced a windfall of toys and other gifts for children who would otherwise go without this Christmas. Now, thanks to the Club’s Eleanor Chevor and her team, they too will experience the true joy of what this Season of Giving is all about.
Saturday 26 September shone a bright light over Northbridge. From first light they came bearing gifts of love – by car and on foot, trailing children, dogs and each other. The blue uniformed brigade of Northbridge Rotary was there to meet them – about 40 in all, bright eyed and Covid safe. From early morning the first shift was beginning to receive and unload a continuous flow of non-perishable food supplies, making sure the donors went away with a smile. Northbridge Rotary’s Community Food Drive was in full swing.
By mid-morning, the alcoves and stairs of St. Marks Anglican Church Memorial Hall in Malacoota Road were bulging with rows of food boxes and packed shopping bags. The pace ebbed and flowed as people trailed in and out. When the two charity collection vans from Taldumande Youth Services and StreetWork had departed fully laden late that afternoon, there was still a supply of food remaining and Oz Harvest obliged with a collection of the remaining donations the following morning.
In all, it is estimated the Northbridge and North Shore community contributed to over a tonne of non-perishable food supplies that filled over 100 boxes and 50 shopping bags – enough for 2,400 meals or sufficient to feed a needy family of four for 18 months.
Liz de Rome, Taldumande’s Grants, Community and Volunteers Officer summed the impact of this event up perfectly:
“I wanted to share that as we dropped off bags and boxes of food to our young people, they were so grateful for their generous parcel. This morning, one young girl nearly cried (and me) as she couldn’t believe her luck. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make ends meet this week. The generosity of the community and Northbridge Rotarians has helped fill the pantries of our young people and they’re so grateful.”
The final comment belongs to the Northbridge Rotary event organiser, Eleanor Chevor: “What a day!”
