Andrew’s Thoughts
Well, what a difference seven days made, actually seeing each other in the flesh last Thursday after so long! I got a real feeling of optimism. It was also good to see the Golf Club like its old self too.
I had a good catch up with Bob Aston concerning the awarding of our 2022 Narooma Rotary Tertiary Scholarship. I am really looking forward to the selection process in December.
So, as we play catch up, the marketing of the Prostate Support Group is gathering pace and we are interacting with every medical practice and Men’s Shed from Eden to Batemans Bay.
This week’s meeting is going to be special and I really urge you all to come and bring partners and friends. We will belatedly present the Dorothy Hennessy Emergency Services Youth Scholarship Award trophy to Taliya Smith. Both Taliya and her mother will be our guests and I know tother members of the VRA will join us to cheer her on. If we can get the technology to work, we shall hopefully have Dot Hennessy herself zooming in.
The following week is our deferred Mental Health Hat Dinner to raise money for Mental Health Research. It is always great fun. More about that next week.
Finally, a reminder our AGM is on 9 December. Anyone looking to fill any role should get their application signed by a proposer. More information from John if necessary.
It is so good to be back and being able to push forward with our objectives and ideals for 2021/2022. So definitely, it’s onwards and upwards mes amis!
THIS WEEK
A dinner meeting on Thursday night at Narooma Golf Club when we will finally present Taliya Smith of VRA Rescue with her major 2021 Rotary NSW Emergency Service Community Award. Taliya was announced as the winner of the $1,000 Dorothy Hennessy OAM Emergency Services Youth Scholarship during the virtual presentation in August when Sydney was in lockdown. President Andrew was to have presented her with the scholarship award the next day, but by then we were also in lockdown.
So who is Dot? Dorothy Hennessy OAM initiated the Australian Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Wollongong. The awards started 10 years ago in the Illawarra as a pilot, and are now held at a state and national level. The community-nominated awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of emergency services workers and volunteers. The Scholarship in Dorothy’s name is awarded to an outstanding volunteer aged up to 25 for training and educational materials or equipment.
A reminder there is no market this Sunday. Our markets resume in November.
Out and About
This Sunday is World Polio Day
Rotarians across the world take action on World Polio Day to raise awareness, funds, and support to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world.
When Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year. We’ve made great progress against the disease since then. Today, polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent. Just two countries continue to report cases of wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Eliminating polio in these countries presents unique challenges including political insecurity, highly mobile populations, difficult terrain and, in some instances, vaccine refusal and misinformation. With sufficient resources, the commitment of national governments and innovations that improve access to remote areas, Rotary is optimistic that polio can be eliminated. Rotary has contributed more than $2.2 billion to ending polio since 1985, including funds raised buy our Club.
It is worth remembering the infrastructure Rotary helped build to end polio is also being used to treat and prevent other diseases (including COVID-19) and create lasting impact in other areas of public health.
Spotted – Merimbula Rotarians at work
While walking around Merimbula last week with the Dalmeny and Narooma Bushwalkers, Laurelle and crew came across several Merimbula Rotarians spreading topsoil on the lawns in their Rotary Park. They included PP Sue Jellis and current President Andy Thorp. A couple of weeks earlier, they’d spread mulch on the park’s raised flower beds. Their Club polo shirts also had their names.
What was impressive wandering around Pambula and Merimbula was the number of projects in the area that bore the names of the Clubs.
NEXT WEEK Thursday 28 October
We will hold our Hat Day or ‘Lift the Lid’ on mental health dinner at Narooma Golf Club on Thursday 28 October, still within Mental Health Month. Please invite family and friends and encourage them to wear a hat. All proceeds raised on the night will go to Australian Rotary Health’s (ARH) Mental Health Research.
ARH is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research within Australia. Every year 1 in 5 people experience mental illness and one in three young people have had an episode of mental illness by the time they are 25 years old, and those figures are pre Lockdown.