The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
David Hyde
February 17
Join Date
Joanne Coleman
February 1, 1984
37 years
President's Message
Kevin Tattrie
Club Meeting News
Welcome
Guests
President Kevin introduced the guest speaker Julian Todd from Back Vintage Wines and Maggie Shanahan who is visiting us again.
Toast
Alan Hessian toasted the Rotary club of Carlingford. They meet on a Tuesday evening and have 40 members. They in the past have been greatly involved with student exchange. They have for the last 37 years held markets every Sunday at the Deaf & Blind centre at Carlingford, which have recently reopened in June. They have raised $4.5 million in this time giving $1 million to the Blind Society.
Announcements
Bunning BBQ this Sunday at Chatswood. Also, the book stall at Northbridge.
Kim advised this is the first book stall since March 2020 and thanked everyone for volunteering. We don’t need any more books at this time.
President Kevin advised that the District Conference is on the 13 and 14 March by virtual meetings and a cluster clubs would meet at the Northbridge Golf Club on the 13th of March. Would anyone like to attend. There was no show of hands.
Jon Gidney advised that he is missing a club square and missing package bag.
Luke Keighery advised that the betting competition would commence soon for the Rugby League. $50.00 entry all betting on the computer. Half of the money goes to the charity account the rest in the fund prize pool. Family and friends welcome to join in.
Guest Speaker
Paul Sullivan introduced Julian Todd of Back Vintage Wines who Paul has known for 40 years. Julian spoke of his involvement with Back Vintage Wines for the last 17 years.
Australian Wine Market China import tariffs have affected the wine market The impact on China playing games for a wine industry prospective is relevant small to the extent that we have 1.241 billion litres of wines, 2800 wineries and $6.6 billion revenue. 62% of wines imported. China is the 7th biggest wine growing along with South America. 41 wineries in Australia owned by China.
China totals 10.4% of our export and they favour drinking Cabernet. 18% going to China by volume but represents 42% by value. Due to China’s tariffs, there will be an accumulative effort of a surplus in Cabernet.
Hugh challenge for the industry and labels like Penfolds will come down in price which will be good for the consumer.
Australia loss into China market other countries have taken our share of the market. This means wineries decline, good quality wines being sold and unknown future. Julian also pointed out that Woolworths have more than 52% of the market share and the market share is dominated 82% by them as well as Coles and Aldi.
Paul Sullivan thanked Julian for his informative talk and update on the situation with wine going to China.
Sergeant
Peter Russell topic was “what goes around comes around”.
In closing
President Kevin gave reminders regarding people wishing to volunteer at the dementia coffee club, the Bunning BBQ AND Book stall. No speaker next week a committee meeting. Kevin thanked Julian and Maggie for being guests.
If anyone has any jokes or funny stories, feel free to send them to me for the humour section of the Bulletin!
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:
Northbridge Rotary Bookstall will be reopening at the Plaza on Sunday 21st February, from 9 am to 5pm, and thereafter (hopefully) normally on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
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.
