President’s Report

We had a number of guests attend our last meeting which made for a very entertaining and informative evening. One of these was PDG, Mrs Jennifer Scott, an eloquent speaker who spoke about The Rotary Foundation’s efforts in advancing world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty. Our club handed a cheque in the amount of $3000, which Jennifer gratefully accepted and assured would go towards advancing the principles’ of The Foundation.

We had a presentation from Ms Kim Nguyen and Ms Ivy Negre, from ‘The World MUNA United Nations Seminal’. The two young ladies impressed members with their dedication in promoting world peace and understanding through the theme, “tolerance of race, religion and nationalism whilst retaining individualism and the best of national traditions”. Kim and Ivy are heading to a world conference in a few weeks and are invited back to report their experiences on their return. You can’t help thinking what a wonderful place this world could be if world leaders could adopt the fundamental principles these young ladies hold so high.

We also had two representatives from Drug Arm grace us with their presence. Jane Thompson and Naomi (I won’t even try spelling her surname), had earlier attended a meeting with Gary Halliday to discuss the “Circus Extravaganza” and stayed for dinner. Drug Arm will be the chief benefactor of proceeds raised through the Circus tele-marketing campaign. I sincerely hope they enjoyed the fellowship of our members. We will be seeing more of them soon when we hand over a rather sizeable cheque to their wonderful cause.

Our three RYLA attendees, Alex Capra, Jamie Lee Russell and Sarah Russell also gave a talk on their experiences at the recent camp held at Springwood. All three demonstrated the confidence these camps instills in young adults, a confidence that promotes good citizenship and understanding. I especially thank Michelle and Glen Russell for ensuring they were on hand to see their daughters and Alex accept their certificates’ of achievement. They would have been very proud of them, as I was. Jimmy Leahy would have loved to be on hand last night but sickness prevented him from attending. A big thank you was extended to Jim by the three awardees for his efforts.

Next week our meeting is transferred to Wednesday at Hunts Hotel, Crossroads, for the Great Debate. We will have ten members on hand to cheer David and Pat on, as they partner two members of Cabramatta Club against Liverpool and Liverpool Greenway. Should be an interesting night, although the outcome may be a dubious one as Greenway have arranged for an independent adjudicator. Nonetheless, it is not who wins the debate that counts, but try telling that to the losers on the night.

I have sent a commitment sheet to all email addresses detailing our upcoming engagements over the next few weeks. Our club has shown tremendous solidarity over the past year, typified by the attendance figures at all our meetings, vocational visits, functions and of course, the farmers market BBQ. I would love for this to continue over the coming months, as we have some interesting events including the GSE and Circus extravaganza almost upon us.

Last night’s fine session conducted by Joe raised $63.40 and the raffle raised $146.00. First and third prize in the raffle went to Jock Cimino and second prize to Naomi from Drug Arm.
This Saturday sees Peter Beadle, Pat Murray and Jimmy Leahy manning the BBQ and book stall.
Finally, with the imminent departure of our resident spruiker, Peter Farrell to sunny Queensland, there is a position available for anyone who can yell at the top of their lungs such famous quotes’ as, “Don’t be shy, come and buy its delicious, nutritious and good for you too”. Any takers?

Charlie.

PS: The raffle raised $146 and Fines $63.4 – The members Raffle Jackpot will be $160 on 23 February 2010