President’s Report March

MARCH IS LITERACY MONTH

It is often said that the most interesting guest speakers are usually club members and Ross Bird certainly proved that this saying is correct at our last meeting with his very funny and interesting talk on his long and varied career in Debt Collection with the Commonwealth Bank and subsequent private contractor. He must have heard every excuse in the book for not paying your bills and I am sure the  ”Emu kicked down many Dunny doors” over the course of his career. Well done Ross, though I would like to hear the one about the politician who didn’t pay his bills.

District 9820 Nominating Committee has advised that PP Tony Spring from the Rotary Club of Frankston North has been nominated as District Governor 2012-2013 and that subject to there being no challenge by March 14, Tony will be the District Governor in 2 years time after DGE David Piper and DGN Kel Hobby. Congratulations to Tony on his nomination!

There is a lot of news this week. In response to the roses we sent,  I have had a lovely phone call from Joyce Clarkson, who had just crashed her car and said they were a great pick-me-up because she was feeling down in the dumps;  an equally lovely email from Maggie White  - Thank you for being my Valentine! The roses are beautiful and I love you all for the lovely thought. xxxx.

I have also received a lovely letter from Cynthia Moore thanking us for the beautiful roses.  Cynthia had just come home from the hospital and was feeling very down so she said finding the  flowers on her doorstep was perfect timing. Speaking of Joyce and further to my email to everyone, this is just a reminder that if anyone knows of a suitable car please contact Joyce as she is very isolated without her car.

The Sausage Sizzle at the Mornington Cup on February 17 was a bit quieter this year, raising around $2,400.00 for Ashan Orphanage in Ghana. We may need to use some of this money to get glasses or contact lenses for some of the male members of the team to ensure that they get a really good look at all the beautiful young girls next year. I would hate to think that they missed out on any of them! Ha! Ha!

Tuesday 23rd February was the Rotary 105th Anniversary BBQ at George Pentland Gardens with a great turnout from all clubs in the Nepean Group – around 205 guests, with 50 of them being from our club.  There were a couple of surprise announcements on the night starting off with President Peter Hose, Frankston Sunrise announcing PHF’s for PP Chris Angerer and PP Brian Coughlin, both very well deserved and we extend our congratulations to both of them. The second surprise of the night was the announcement of 3 Paul Harris Fellows (PHF’s) awarded by our club to three very deserving people who are not Rotarians. These three people have committed their time and energy over the years to help our club raise funds for a Matching Grant; they have worked on sausage sizzles, garage sales, trivia nights, orphanages in Cambodia, bush fire relief projects in Gippsland, hosting and running around  YEP students, just to name a few. All three were an integral part of the District Conference Committee that organised one of the most successful conferences our district has ever held, right here in our own back yard and I for one thank them yet again for all their help at that time.  Your Board almost unanimously agreed that the conferring of a PHF on these three people nominated by PDG Janet was a great idea. When I say almost unanimously, Steve didn’t know until we had to tell him at the Sausage Sizzle last week, when he told us he didn’t think Nat was going to the BBQ! Whew!

Allan Rebecca was the first up and being a bit deaf and also not listening to what was going on, he thought he was being called up because he had won a prize in the raffle. He was obviously a bit disappointed to get a pin instead of a bottle of wine!!! Cheryl Carter came next and she hadn’t a clue either – a bit surprised when instead of wanting to come for Family night on Wednesday, all her family thought it would be nice to come to the BBQ!!  Funny that!! Natalie Cernotta’s face was a picture and now she knows why her sister and Robin Street were there – how did they know it was on?? Who knows?? I am innocent!! It went like clockwork and I know that you will all want to extend your congratulations to these three wonderful people. That song about “The Wind beneath my Wings” really applies to all of them and I know that Steve and Tony will agree with me there. Congratulations Allan, Cheryl and Natalie!

The evening raised over $3,328.00, plus the $US5,000 for 5 PHF’s  A fantastic result. Many thanks to all from our club who attended and helped to make it such a great night. Unfortunately, i have been unable to find anyone with photos of the night. Of the only 2 people I knew taking photos one had a flat battery and the other ran out of space!

The weekend of 26th to 28th February was this year’s District Conference in Sale, preceded by the Ride to Conference in which Nici was a rider. She managed to fall of her bike and injure herself but continued the ride very bravely and she managed to finish despite her injuries. We met them as they arrived at the park and later attended the reception for them at the town centre. The Ride to Conference team raised over $60,000 and if anyone would like to add to this sum, donations will still be accepted on Thursday.

Well, you all missed a great conference with great guest speakers, delicious food (I think we all put on several kilos) and a fantastic bush band to entertain us. Just don’t mention mild concussion!

We all agreed it was the most enjoyable conference we had ever attended and will be ready to book for next year’s conference to be held in Shepparton. Some of you will remember the great time we had in Shepp a few years ago, so let me know if you intend to come next year as we will need to book very soon or we’ll miss out on the best accommodation. The conference is to be held over the weekend of 25th to 27th March 2011.

Great guest speakers make for attentive listeners!

I am sure I will be seeing most of you tomorrow at Max Armstrong’s funeral and I look forward to hearing all about the Bendigo Bank for Mount Eliza on Thursday. Maybe we can buy shares!!

Cheers

President Judy