It was great to have Amanda Choy from Better Business Partnership with us in person last Wednesday. A few of us remember Amanda from her Zoom presentation some time ago. As a club we have an interest in the environment so Amanda’s talk on sustainability, appropriate use of materials, recycling, energy conservation, etc. was well received.
See attached a recent BBP Newsletter highlighting Amanda's visit to Wahroonga.
I’m very encouraged with the relationship we are developing with Mark Moran Warrawee. The staff and executive of the this very modern Aged Care facility are keen to work with us and this will open new opportunities for community service and fund-raising. This past Friday a few of us attended the Mexican themed lunch at MMW which was most enjoyable; we were also entertained by Mexican musicians. Some of the staff at the lunch were on the MMW table at the Novus Foundation dinner.
It’s interesting how our relationship with MMW ties in with Rotary generally. On the weekend I attended both the Community AoS and Vocational AoS presentations at District Assembly. During the Vocational session, John Fenessy (District 9685 Membership Chair) talked about Business Connections and during the Community session, members talked about their involvement with the elderly, aged care, nursing homes, etc. Our relationship with MMW covers Vocational and Community. As more residents move into MMW, some of our members, on special occasions, might like to use their talents and gifts to provide entertainment to the residents. We have members who like to sing so maybe a small choir; some of us play a musical instrument, some like to story tell, recite poetry, etc. All of this would be appreciated by the staff and residents. The more support that we offer, the more incentive there will be for MMW to support Rotary.
The Novus Foundation Gala dinner this past Friday night was most enjoyable and well attended. Seems like people have been waiting for a reason to dress up and have a good time. I think the two most colourful ladies present were my wife Gabrielle and my sister Robyn. Thanks to all members and partners who contributed to this event. Interesting that four Ku-ring-gai Councillors (including Mayor and Deputy Mayor), two Hornsby Councillors, and our local member were at the event.
Our guest speakers this week are Nermine Toma and her son Mark Toma.
It is with great relief all round that we can report a satisfactory holding of our 14th Novus Foundation Fundraising Dinner last Friday evening.
I say relief, because after a 3 year COVID-19 gap, we still faced potential problems this year.
But pleased to say our long term supporter corporations came back, the beneficiaries were there in force and our Rotary tables did us proud.
The evening itself was vibrant, everything ran well, the Live Auction exceeded expectations and our other fundraising efforts produced strong results.
It is appropriate to thank publicly the enormous time and effort put in by our Novus Board and Dinner Committee Rotarians Rochelle Wiley, Janelle Speight, Bob Howe, David Russell, Rob Hamilton Richard Pitt and John Collins and all the volunteers on the day and night, including some great Rotaractors(Instagram video) and I’m proud to say my granddaughter and a gang of her friends who thoroughly enjoyed selling raffle tickets!
And special thanks to Mariela whose amazing work ethic and technical ability was fantastic.
I am of course being asked for a result! As I write this on Saturday morning I’m reluctant to put a figure on it and with a lot of last minute no shows through COVID and illness, which brought our attendance down from 420 to 370 it’s difficult to assess without all the numbers accounted for and checked- but I think with the reduced numbers in attendance we will be pleased.
The main point of course is that we have again been able to support three wonderful charities, the BeCentre, SteppingStone House and StreetWorks as well as putting essential funds into our Club’s Youth portfolio.
The Special Olympics Fun Run event was held at Claude Cameron Grove, East Wahroonga on Sunday !
At 0630 on Sunday, a group of very intrepid Rotarians attended the Claude Cameron Grove at East Wahroonga to provide a BBQ for the Special Olympics Fun Run.
Led by Greg Starr, the workers consisted of Ann Davidson, Nermine Toma, Sue and Ross Catterall along with Ian Cameron and Dave Rigby. They were able to provide a hearty BBQ for a good crowd which appeared to consist mainly of Knox boys.
During the morning they were greeted by our State Member Alister Henskens and our newly re-elected Federal member Paul Fletcher who both attended the event.. John Collins was also there as he had volunteered on Wednesday to assist the Event Manager Ben Mildren with Marshalling
This is the second time we have assisted made somewhat more interesting by having it occur just after the Novus Dinner on Friday night.
Have you started ticking off the 5 challenges in the
Environment Action Countdown Calendar?
In celebration of the UN’s World Environment Day and Rotary’s End Plastic Soup Day, District 9685 has launched the Environment Action Weekend, 4th & 5th June 2022. You are encouraged to undertake the challenges individually, with your family or Rotary mates.
On completion, register your activities here to receive the Certificate of Recognition from the District, and win your chance to enter an exciting raffle
Click on the image to the left for a larger version.
Solvatten, a deceptively simple device from Sweden enables the production of clean fresh water. The size of a suitcase, the unit uses the power of the sun to generate potable water, relieving many from the drudgery of gathering wood and lighting fires to purify the water needed for consumption and washing. Peter Rheinberger explains how the Rotary Club of Castle Hill encourages local schools and others to donate to this life changing device. https://www.solarsafewater.org
It was great to have Amanda Choy from Better Business Partnership with us in person last Wednesday. A few of us remember Amanda from her Zoom presentation some time ago. As a club we have an interest in the environment so Amanda’s talk on sustainability, appropriate use of materials, recycling, energy conservation, etc. was well received.
