Hello Club Members

 

I had a negative comment about the food at the Mercure and I felt the vegetables were under cooked and bland and the chicken was a bit dry. Hopefully we will not need to go there too often.

 

I think the meal went well and the concept of ordering at the Bar is getting out the meals before the speaker makes their presentation. I have arranged that when we finish our meals we will have the plates cleared and the orders for coffee will be taken then to avoid them being delayed to the end of the Meeting.

 

Most of you may know I had the survey available at our last meeting to fill out and return. The results so far are from 8 Members are:

 

7 Agreed we should consider a Merger

 

Most Members consider there were 3 benefits of stronger fellowship, more office bearers and more social and community activities of a merger

 

Four members would consider lunch and dinner meetings and four opted for lunch only meetings. No one wanted the dinner only option.

 

Five members preferred our club to hold its Charter and invite other club Members to join. Two wanted to hand in our Charter and create a new Club with a new Charter and One member wanted to stay with the same meetings and activities currently.

 

The preference for activities were approximately as outlined in the survey with the highest preferences being Peace Bell Tours, Peace Bell Commemoration Activities, Sponsorship activities at the Majura School, Indigenous Scholarships, and other Community projects

 

Michael needs to be given a great vote of thanks for the effort and success of the Celebration of World Peace Day and the organisation to provide the 2024 ACT Chief Ministers Peace Prize. Getting the Diplomatic Community to come out on a Saturday on a windy day is a major achievement in itself.

 

Russell and Astrida will attend a Peace Day celebration at Majura Primary School on Friday the 27^th September.

 

Bill is getting this event organised and will be calling for helpers in the near future.

 

What could be better than ripe Mangos for Xmas. The Club sources high quality Mangoes from a grower in Queensland and all indications are the Mangos are looking good this season. The expected pickup date is the 16^th of December but this could be later if the Mangoes do not quite ripen properly. You can order through Trybooking in the link given below

 

 

The cost is $27.00 per tray of Mangoes. I bought them last year and they were great.

 

Yours in Rotary

 

At our 12 September meeting on Zoom we welcomed Rob Curtis, a member of the Rotary Nomads Club, as our guest speaker. He has been an active Nomads member since 2016 and has become a travelling champion for promoting peace poles to other Rotary clubs throughout the country. He combines his travelling lifestyle with stints as a relieving manager at caravan parks and continues to undertake community projects and fundraising through Rotary Nomads.

 

Rotary Nomads’ motto is Helping Hands Across the Land. The Club has around 45 members living in various places across Australia. It is part of District 9260 and is based in south-east Queensland. Many members (but not all) have RVs and are able to meet often at musters (get togethers) for community service work, fellowship and fun. Instead of meeting face-to-face each week like more traditional clubs, the nomads meet online using free, easy to use software to organise their projects and fundraising.

 

The Nomads club has had a long time involvement in community activities, and does this by connecting with local Rotary clubs in different towns throughout Australia. Members provide community service at home or in their travels and act as volunteers for other Rotary clubs and service organisations. This community service might be provided by an individual Rotary Nomad or a group of Rotary Nomads.

 

Importantly, the Nomads have fun. They mix with, volunteer with, and socialise with Rotarians and community members from all walks of life!

 

Below are listed in a bit more detail just some of the things the club does:

Most recently in his travels Rob has been promoting the case for peace and raising awareness about Rotary’s role in peace building. He has been nominated as the Queensland coordinator for promoting peace poles. Over the years the Nomads have been effective in getting peace poles established in conjunction with local Rotary clubs in parks, gardens and schools. Rob mentioned one of our club’s members, Faye Powell (now a Nomad), as being instrumental in the initiating the establishment of peace poles. To date 22 peace poles have been set up by the Nomads. As Rob said, “It only takes a conversation to get things happening”.

 

Rob suggested if RCCBG was holding a special event or needed volunteer help for a project then the Nomads may be interested in organising a muster in Canberra.

 

Rob also sought support for a great project that the Nomads are doing in collaboration with the Nakuru Rotary Club in Kenya. They are applying for a global grant to purchase biogas units in rural communities. Donations from Rotary clubs were also welcome.