Stories

WOW! Well what a year this has been. One for us all to remember.

It started with the devastating bushfires up and down our east coastline and the smokey days down at the lake reminded us what others were facing. Our Club donated $2000 to an appeal run by Taree Rotary Club – given in $1000 vouchers to people in that district who had lost their homes.

Our Rotary year was soon into gear, with a Vocational visit to the Red Frog, providing services for families with autistic children. After an interesting talk and tour of the premises we dined at Warners at the Bay.

 

 

The Rotary Clubs in Lake Macquarie invite you to enjoy a fun day out at the inaugural Lake Mac Autumn Fair. The fair will be held at Speers Point Park on the 1st of May from 9am and will include games stalls, rides, exhibits, animals, music and dancing.

The whole family can enjoy wandering through the classic car exhibit or maybe for the adventurous a joy ride in the red seaplane you may have spotted recently down at the bay.

The kids will also learn about some of our emergency services with Police, RFS and Marine Rescue displays. 

 

There will be plenty of food and beverage stalls to satisfy the entire family. Local charities, schools, the girl guides and the council are also involved as well. 

 

We thank our major supporter Lake Macquarie City Council as well as other supporters 2NURFM, Kennards Hire, Electrodry and Centennial Coal. 

 

Proceeds on the day will go back into the local community through our local charity and community group partners. 

 

Read a recent article by Newcastle Weekly

Tickets may be purchased at Lake Macquarie Autumn Fair to be held at Speers Point Park on Saturday 1^st May.  Tickets may also be purchased by contacting Christine at christineje@bigpond.com

 

 

The Christmas Trailer Raffle has been drawn with the winners being drawn at Survivors R Us on Friday 18th December and the lucky winners are:

 

1st: Damon McDonald

2nd: Ann Humpreys

3rd: Ryan Field

 

For our Presidents message from the day please read more

 

 

Barry introduced the guest speaker, Peree Watson, and CEO of “Got Your Back Sista”, Mel Histon.

 

As the registered charitable arm of The Sista Code movement, their vision is to see women and their children happy, thriving and living independently after escaping the trauma of domestic violence.

 

As such, Got Your Back Sista offers benevolent relief and support to women and children escaping domestic violence and are at risk of living below the poverty line. They give a hand up for them to begin again and live independently.

Twilight Bike Rides Every Thursday at 5.30pm we gather at Speers Point Park to join Barry’s Twilight Rides. The rides are a community event and each week have included a few local riders joining Club members on investigating different rides around our beautiful lake.

They also provide a social get together for Club members and community members whether riders or spectators. You don’t need to be a rider, or on the roster, to come and enjoy the afternoon. We have streamlined the organisation. We provide soft drink or water as well as a sweet treat as a reward for sharing the evening. A reminder that a gold coin donation is appreciated and will go towards RCWB’s community service.

 

Text Yes, name and number of riders to 0428 259 769.

 

We look forward to sharing this regular event with you.

 

It has been a frustrating few days to say the least. As I was setting up for our first face to face board meeting last Monday, I heard that our live-in Newcastle Jet had been sent home from school with cold-like symptoms. So we got him tested (negative), but had to cancel the face-to-face, just in case.

 

Then, having confirmed with Club Macquarie that we were good to meet there on Monday, we had 3 covid cases in Newcastle, with the potential for more, so I cancelled that too. Things do seem to be calming down, and I am hopeful we can meet face-to-face next time!

 

 

 

Our fortnightly Zoom meetings continue on and tonight we had guest speaker Sally Hetherington OAM, founder and CEO of Human and Hope Association Incorporated (Australia). At the age of 25, Sally bought a one-way ticket to Siem Reap, Cambodia, with the goal of helping people living in poverty.

 

A few months into her journey in Cambodia, Sally realised that the sustainable development of a community cannot be achieved through the involvement of short-term foreign volunteers. The realisation led Sally to transform a community centre into a locally run NGO registered organisation - Human and Hope Association (Cambodia).

 

 

Last night we had our Rotary Club of Warners Bay changeover. Members and guests all zoomed in as our current President Les Corrigan passed the collar over to President Elect Barry Knowles.

 

We were pleased to have District Governer Graeme and Sue and Area Governer Clarice join us for our formalities and celebrations.

 

 

Tonight’s meeting had 25 attendees and focused on a very important topic of Child Protection presented by Wilma Simmons.

 

Firstly a little business from President Les on the Constitution update and adoption.

 

Wilma took us through her presentation and an engaging Q&A followed from members. Thank you Wilma. Our getting to know you spot was with Brian Maclachlan sharing about his journey of life long learning.

 

DG Graeme and Sue Hooper also joined to listen in as we were heading into a project meeting on our Charity Bike Riding event and the direction it will be taking in the future.

 

Thanks to our speakers, contributors, AG Clarice and DG Graeme and Sue for attending.

 

A number of our club members hold roles in the Rotary District. One such member deserves a huge congratulations, Assistant Governor, Kerry Hayes was recognised at the District Awards night (via Zoom) for her contribution to The Rotary Foundation and End Polio.

 

A very well deserved accolade indeed. #endpolionow #rotaryfoundation #communityspirit #volunteering #peopleofaction #joinrotary

Our club had its second Zoom meeting tonight with 30 participants and a great program including our two Youth Exchange students and a guest speaker. Olivia our YEP outbound to Norway who unfortunately due to Covid19 has returned home early, talked about her experience learning a new language, taking a short trip including skiing and making friends, although disappointed to return home early, she is still learning Norwegian and would like to return at a later date.

 

Also Gabby our Inbound YEP luckily has almost been here for a year, will return home early to Brazil as well. She talked about how much she has enjoyed and learned from her experience as well.

 

Our Guest Speaker Leo Magnisalis from Magtech IT made a very timely presentation to educate us on how to spot email and online scams, what to do if you have been scammed and also tips on security. There was great engagement through lots of questions from our participants.

 

Thanks to all involved and looking forward to our next meeting in a fortnight. 🙏

 

While we are all doing the right thing and staying home at this time, we can still stay connected.

 

Our club had it's first and very successful Zoom this evening with 26 participants.

 

We are very fortunate to live in a time where during this isolation, we have many tools at our disposal to keep in touch.

 

We are planning our regular fortnightly meetings with guest speakers.

 

Thanks to District 9670 for making Zoom available to us and particularly Pat Heal for his assistance and guidance.

 #staysafe #stayhome #washyourhands #rotaryconnectstheworld #peopleofaction #joinrotary