September started with the devastating news from Nepal of horrible flooding near the Tibet border…
September started with the devastating news from Nepal of horrible flooding near the Tibet border. The Club swung into action to help raise monies for those affected and to assist the reconstruction which will be necessary.
Overall we raised over $16,000 and with a District matching amount for some of it we were able to have over $21,000 sent to Nepal through RAWCS, Shelterbox and the Dulikhel Club – a great effort and thanks to all who helped.
At our first meeting in the month we heard about the life of Michelle Barry and what has driven her in life and particularly in her chosen career. From ups and downs she has managed to carve out a career which she enjoys and was proud to impart to not only the Club members but her daughter Emma who joined us on the night.
A new innovation this year is a “Foodie” Club suggested by Sam Lee and 10 of us took part in a lovely meal at Mama Mular in Chatswood – once we found the place although to be fair to Sam here directions and pictures were spot on. Food was good, wine was good and conversation on most things other than Rotary was exceptional and a good way to find out more about our fellow Rotarians. This will become a feature of our calendar going forward.
Our first working night gave the Club Service team the opportunity to introduce us to ClubRunner which the Board has officially adopted as our Administration system going forward. Members are encouraged to download the App, to check and update their own details and to familiarise themselves with other areas that give good insight into what the Club is doing.
Our first social night of the year was held at the North Sydney Hotel and was a huge success with more members attending that night than the normal weekly nights. Perhaps I should suggest a change of venue for the Club meetings. Again great fellowship and an added bonus for Michelle was the entire Community Service committee turned up for her Committee meeting beforehand – unheard of in my time at the Club.
One of our major projects that is not well understood by members is our Forest of Joy (Trees of Joy in numerous locations) We can thank Mosman Club for helping to bring the details of this project to the fore and Sam gave a great presentation of the scope of the project and the work needed to make it a success. We look forward to many members contributing in the months ahead.
Finally on 29 September a hardy number of our members visited the RFS at Terrey Hills. They catered for us with a wonderful BBQ and some lovely wine. Following this we were given a demonstration on just how dangerous fires can be unless we fully understand them – burning oil combusted with water added. Finally some of us took the opportunity to try putting out fires with hand held extinguishers – my efforts managed to put it out but the time spent before doing by working out which hand to hold the extinguisher and which hand to hold the nozzle meant the fire would have been 50 metres down the road if it hadn’t been contained, Still I managed to put it out. A most enjoyable night and great to continue to support the RFS for their great support at our Fireworks.
John Bolton
President
