Andrew’s Thoughts
Well, what a week of mixed fortunes. It started with committee meetings for both Business Breakfasts and for the Prostate Support Group, followed by the monthly Board. It must have been a premonition because we decided to defer our Business Breakfast program until the Spring, hopefully October, due to Covid-19. We also decided to cancel the August market for the same reason.
The Prostate Support Group is progressing well. Julie, Mike and I agreed on marketing house styles etc., and we shall place printing orders once we are able to. We have almost sold all of the raffle tickets to help fund all this! The plan is still to launch at the beginning of October. On Tuesday I met with local celebrity Paul West, and we hope to have a feature interview on his ABC South East radio show mid-September to publicise our Group.
Also on Tuesday, I met with the Presidents of RCs Moruya and Batemans Bay, together with two of the Rotary Race Day coordinators. The Race Day is on Easter Saturday so a date for the diary. Importantly, we discussed Rotary Projects to be put forward for the proceeds of the Race Day. Be assured I was not backward in coming forward with our Support Group!
On Thursday we had an excellent dinner meeting with guest speaker Robin Burbidge on Natural Beekeeping. I, for one, was enthralled with his presentation and his obvious passion for his subject (see later report).
With the cancellation of the Business Breakfast, we decided to have Club Fun Night this Thursday at Lynch’s to savour the Nepalese Curry. Then along came 5pm Saturday!
On Sunday, I was due to make a presentation to Taliya Smith of our local VRA on behalf of AG Adam De Totth. At the 2021 Rotary NSW Emergency Service Community Awards held on Saturday and streamed online, Taliya was announced as the winner of the Rotary Emergency Services Youth Scholarship (see story below). Sadly with the lockdown her presentation has been deferred, but I have congratulated her on behalf of our Club and assured her of a special event once restrictions are lifted.
So where from here? We are obviously in lockdown for seven days at least, and our curry night at Lynch’s has been deferred. I have sounded you all out regarding a Zoom meeting, and the response has been entirely positive. So I shall polish up my Zoom skills ahead of time and John will send out his usual invites etc.
These are challenging times for us all, but let’s keep our chins up, and as ever, onwards and upwards mes amis!
The Week that Was
Narooma volunteer wins NSW Rotary award
Narooma local Taliya Smith, aged 19, was the only far south coast recipient among the eight winners of the prestigious 2021 Rotary NSW Emergency Service Community Awards (RESCA) announced on Saturday by Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott. The ceremony was streamed online. The community-nominated awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of emergency services workers and volunteers.
Taliya won the $1,000 Dorothy Hennessy OAM Emergency Services Youth Scholarship for an outstanding volunteer aged up to 25 for training and educational materials or equipment. The Minister described Taliya as “a courageous and dedicated VRA Rescue Operator trainee”.
Taliya was thrilled with the news. She joined VRA Rescue last year after the 2019-20 bushfires when she decided she wanted to help her community and saw a post calling for VRA volunteers. Taliya will use the scholarship to support her training in indigenous mental health initiatives so she can contribute to her community’s resilience. She also wants to learn about Aboriginal fire management.
Taliya works at Katungul Aboriginal Corporation Regional Health and Community Services and Narooma Home Timber and Hardware. She has previously received a NAIDOC award for leadership and responsibility.
It’s interesting to also note that Rotary NSW has established an additional emergency services scholarship for a PhD candidate to investigate Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in emergency services workers and volunteers.
Last week’s meeting
Our guest speaker last week was Robin Burbidge who gave a fascinating talk about natural beekeeping. He started in conventional beekeeping but then “saw the light”, thanks to meeting his now mentor Adrian Iodice at Upper Brogo.
Robin had many of us quite mesmerised with his reverence for bees, praising their role in nature and their gift to the plant world. He explained that natural beekeeping is based on doing as little as possible to the swarm, trusting their intelligence. When some intrusion into the hive is necessary, he approaches the hive almost in a meditative state. We also heard about Kenyan Top Bar Hives which let bees build their own combs.
Laurelle Pacey toasted the Rotary Club of Zamboanga City Central in the Philippines, Zamboanga being the home of the Philippines’ first ever gold medallist, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. (A question in the Good Weekend quiz this week!)
Easter Rotary Race Days
The three Eurobodalla Rotary Presidents – Andrew, Chris Manahan (Moruya) and Nicole McDonald (Batemans Bay) – met last week with Easter Rotary Race Day organisers David Ashford (Batemans Bay) and Mike Dent (Moruya) to propose a project for proceeds from the Easter Rotary Race Day. Andrew proposed the Prostate Cancer Support Group, Batemans Bay would like to help fund a support vehicle for palliative care operating out of Moruya Hospital, while Moruya’s preference was for accommodation for carers and relatives in the grounds of the new Regional Hospital. All worthy projects.
Did you know…?
All metals used in the 5,000 gold, silver and bronze medals in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were derived from precious metals recovered from 79,000 tonnes of electronic waste from all over Japan, including six million mobile phones. The waste yielded 31.8 kg of gold, 3,493 kg of silver, and 2,200 kg of bronze. Amazing!