12 March 2015 From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: [email protected] Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible. The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au Important Dates District Conference Inverell 13-15th March 2015 RYLA - Yarrahapinni 21st-28th March 2015 Rotary Club of Uralla Art Show – 21st – 29th March 2015 Flyer attached to Illuminator email RYAG Sheep - Walcha 25th- 29th March 2015 Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – Cluster 7 – 25th March 6.30pm Civic Theatre Gunnedah Coffs Coast Science and Engineering Challenge – 31 March 2015 MUNA – Inverell 16-17th May 2015 (please note correct date, apologies from the Editor!!) PETS – Tamworth 18th-19th April 2015 Trivia Night Rotary Club of Port Macquarie – 2 May 2015 6pm for 7pm Pt Macq Panthers District Assembly – Port Macquarie 3rd May 2015 Book Fair - Rotary Club of Armidale Central – 16th to 23rd May 2015 Casino Royale Ball - Rotary Club of Tamworth Sunrise – 23 May 2015 - more info to come District Assembly – Gunnedah 24th May 2015 Rotary International Convention Sao Paulo Brazil - 6th-9th June 2015 District Changeover – Inverell Saturday 27 June 2015 Hat Day – all clubs – on or about Friday 9 October 2015 Inspirational Women’s Award 2015 – the winner is…….. Thea Batterham was recently nominated by the Rotary Club of Inverell for the NSW and ACT Inspirational Women’s Award for 2015. At a gala lunch at Doltone House, Pyrmont, Sydney on Sunday 8th March attended by over 500 people, Thea was named the awardee for Rotary District 9650 and presented with a trophy by Past District Governor, District 9675, Garry Browne. Thea was born in Indonesia, moved to Singapore, Malaysia, Sydney and then in 1981 to Inverell. During this time Thea and her husband Ross took over the care of two boys, who along with his 3 daughters, became part of the Batterham family and remain so today. Following her husband’s death in 2005, Thea has provided free grief counselling for over 60 people, some for long periods of time. She also works at the Community Gardens and has consistently raised funds for various charitable organizations or individual people in need. On a recent visit to Indonesia she distributed money she had raised, amongst elderly beggars whose children are unable to support them. (There is no pension system in Indonesia). In 1999 Thea arranged to send comfort parcels including her biscuits, to Australian troops in East Timor and then to Afghanistan with the help of some of her friends from St. Augustine’s Anglican Church. She was Secretary of the local Camp Quality branch for many years, and very involved with Neighbourhood Watch for 10 years. Neighbourhood 12 March 2015 From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: [email protected] Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible. The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au Watch distributed 4,000 newsletters twice yearly to local homes, with information and advice from the local Police regarding safety issues in Inverell. There was always one of Thea’s recipes on the back page. Thea supported the New England Volunteer Air Transport, which took people from small towns to medical treatment and appointments in larger centres. She has provided accommodation to various pilots, who themselves were volunteers. During this time she published 1,000 cookbooks to raise money for NEVAT, calling it “My Thankyou Australia Cookbook”. This was a very successful venture and she still has requests for copies. Thea is also an active member of the Red Cross, visits people in the McLean Retirement Village every Friday, supports a disabled lady who lives alone, transports people who do not have a car, and takes meals to people who are unwell or have had a death in the family. This inspirational lady Thea Batterham, believes that her life is a gift from God, but what she does with her life is her gift back to God. Changeover funds disbursements Outgoing presidents are now starting to think about funds disbursements that will be announced at their changeover functions. I suggest two areas that should be kept in mind: If your funds allow, try to create a Paul Harris Fellow and try to create a Silver Friend of Australian Rotary Health. Both cost $1000. In both cases, the money will be put to good use – and you might already have a credit which means you don’t need to pay any more. PDG Laurie Barber, board member of Australian Rotary Health. 12 March 2015 From District Secretary Annette Mackay email: [email protected] Please Circulate this information as widely in your club as is possible. The archive of this communication is available on the District website www.rotary9650.org.au Celebration Dinner to mark 110th Anniversary – Cluster 5 Rotarians from Armidale, Uralla and Guyra gathered last week to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Rotary and Pin it for Polio Day, at a dinner held at the Armidale Bowling Club. Guest speaker, Brian Bourke, is a polio survivor from Armidale’s sister city of Masterton, in New Zealand. He told Rotarians of his story as a 14-year-old boy, and his journey that took him from mountain climbing to marathon swimming; despite the fact that he did both with a walking stick and a calliper on his leg. He was considered too old for the children’s ward, and his story was peppered with some amusing anecdotes of life lessons he learned in the hospital men’s ward. He also acknowledged the great work that Rotary was doing in trying to end the scourge of polio around the world. Nigeria has been free of new cases for six months, but the wild polio virus is still found in Pakistan and Afghanistan. ‘End Polio Now’ pins were sold at the function and all profits from the dinner went to the Polio Plus program. Photo is guest speaker Brian Bourke being helped from the water by his grandson at the completion of a Marathon swim. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Taree The Movie Night last Thursday was a resounding success. Just under 300 people enjoyed delicious nibbles and drinks provided by members of the Taree North and Taree on Manning Clubs. A raffle (of course) was conducted by members of the Taree Club. Then the well-fed and - watered guests sat down to enjoy a funny and sweet movie. Nearly $3000 was raised on the night. Everyone enjoyed the movie, everyone enjoyed the night, and people stood around chatting long after the movie finished. It was a fantastic evening and a great way to celebrate Rotary’s 110th anniversary and raise funds for Polio-Plus.
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