This week we were supposed to have two young ladies from RYLA give a presentation on the program at our meeting. Di Scheepers and I went through all the process of booking meals for them, sending them a map with our address, advising them of the time of the meeting and what to expect.
All went according to plan until Tuesday afternoon after I had booked the catering, when I got an email from Di to say they weren’t coming. What none of us realised until the very last was that we were in different continents! They thought we were the Rotary Club of Berwick, Maine. Di was fined on the night and laughingly handed over her 50c. It would have made a good April Fool's joke, except we were a few months too late.
With the lack of entertainment, Viv took on the task as Chair very seriously and roused out a couple of our members to give a talk.
Peter Mangan was our first speaker and raised his concerns about the Casey Council’s proposal to rename Pioneers Park.
The Council has proposed that the park be renamed the Mick Morland Reserve, to honour our late member, PP Mick Morland OAM. Peter felt that the Park was already named to honour the Pioneer group who enabled the Park to be donated to the Community many years ago.
It turns out that Peter was not alone with his concern. Many of the members present had similar feelings and it was great to be able to share them and take positive steps to do something about them.
Sam asked the members in attendance at the meeting for a show of hands, to indicate whether they agreed with Peter’s concern. There was an overwhelming majority of support to retain the name Pioneers Park. It was decided that, at the Board meeting on Monday 16th July, the Board would come up with a strategy to notify the Council of the Berwick Rotary Club’s opposition to the renaming of Pioneers Park. Thank you, Peter, for bringing this to our attention.
A suggestion was made that renaming Casey Fields would be more appropriate, given PP Mick's love of sport and his greater history with the development of that particular venue.
Next up was Gus Dominguez who gave a report on the progress of the Solomon Island’s dental project, which is summarised later in this bulletin. There are many very influential people involved in this project, along with three Rotary Clubs and Donations in Kind. The project involves converting half of a building on the grounds of the National Referral Hospital in Honiara into a dental clinic. Gus has put a great deal of time into this project and should be commended for his efforts. Thank you, Gus.
From no speakers to two excellent presentations from our very own members, made for an entertaining meeting. But the fun did not stop there. Our new Sergeant, Geoff Double, explained the purpose and intent of the fines sessions to us, then proceeded to fill the coffers with a barrage of funny and light-hearted fines. He had newspaper clippings and notes, so he was well prepared. David Grant was the spoon bearer and took great delight in relieving members of their 50c. Laughter filled the room and Naomi even joined in the fun.
Many who attended on the night will bring blankets and firewood to the next meeting because the heating system at Holm Park is broken. Naomi told us that she had contacted Cardinia Council numerous times in the past three week’s, but the system is still broken. She encouraged us to email and contact them as well. I used the Council’s website to “report” a fault as President of the Club, so we will see how that goes. Please feel free to contact them too. Squeaky wheel and all that! Following my reporting of the fault, I had a call on Friday from a heater repair company on their way to fix the unit. They wanted to know where the unit was located and which area was affected. Funny how adding "President" to a signature makes things happen.
Just a final reminder that if you would like to attend the Board meeting on Monday night, please let me know so that I can arrange some seating for you.
That’s it from me for this week.
Over and out.
