The picture above is of the record number of Zoomers who joined us on last Thursdays Zoom Meeting - 26 members plus one guest. Many thanks to all who joined, and hopefully you will also be able to join our next Zoom Meeting - Thursday this week 7 pm. See writeup on James below.
Not too many club notices at this time, but a few recorded here for those who missed the meeting.
- Tom extended his thanks to Brian and Graham for volunteering their time to join him interviewing candidates for the Science Forum.
- Director Foundation Gary once again reminded members that Donations to our Charity of Choice, the Rotary Foundation, are now being sourced. All donations will be gratefully accepted.
- The "Orakei Volunteers Expo has been cancelled and a new date is yet to be confirmed.
- A huge thank you to Michele Mann for her donation to the Museum from the ANZAC Day Breakfast Trust.
- ...and once again thanks to Angus for the Sergeants session and his breakfast quiz keeping us all on top of what's going on in the world outside the Auckland Lockdown!
Our good friend and fellow Rotarian, Desley Simpson, was our guest speaker and she was introduced by Co-President Penny. Desley is, of course, the Orakei Ward Auckland City Councillor and she has been an advocate and representative for the Eastern Bays area since 2007. Desley is a second term Councillor and she chairs the Finance and Performance Committee, the Value for Money Committee and the Auckland Domain Committee as well as being a member of many other council committees. Her presentation focused on recent and and current issues, the impact of Covid19 on our city and residents, the significant financial savings made by the Council over the last year and the challenges and what is planned for our city going forward.
Needless to say, the challenges facing the City are huge, and her commitment to the Ward is well known and she re-emphasised that she welcomes contact from any of the public who wish to talk to her about any issue or ask questions that they may have. Desley also acknowledged that many residents are currently feeling very concerned about Covid, the impact, their safety, the future and many other aspects and she recommended that if anyone needed to "talk to someone", Text 1737. This text is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is fronted by trained professionals from the National Telehealth Service.
Many thanks again Desley, for your time and the very detailed update and summary of Council activity, past, present and future. We look forward to catching up with you again soon and you are, of course, welcome to join us when we are once again meeting face to face.