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President's Report
I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Mine was relaxed, having spent some time with family and catching up with a number of things around my home.
What a fantastic meeting we had last week with Sheryn presenting on ‘current happenings in pharmacy’. It really was extremely interesting, and I certainly found out a few new things I wasn’t aware of. The relevance of the presentation was obvious by the great turn out we had of members, honorary members, friends of the Club and visitors. Everyone I spoke to after the meeting noted just how much they enjoyed the evening and the general feelings of friendship and camaraderie.
On Friday afternoon, a group of us headed down to Ronald McDonald House at Westmead to prepare a ‘meal from the heart’. I won’t speak too much on this as I know Sheryn will provide a report on the event; but I would like to thank Sheryn for taking on the organisation of the evening, which she did with her usual expertise. I would also like to mention the great team we had – Sheryn, Deana, Geoff, Rachel, Shannon Aitkins, Robin Ingram and Thi Pham – they were all amazing and worked like a well-oiled machine. Special thanks to Shannon, Robin and Thi. Without them we couldn’t have pulled off this event. It goes without saying we all had a great time and enjoyed the experience of providing a meal to children currently undergoing treatment at the hospital and their parents and other supports. An evening spent at Ronald Mc gives cause to be thankful for the many fortunate things that we have in our lives. (See Youth Director's Report below)
Whilst we were cooking up a storm, our trusty Ori team of Bruce and Deborah were on the case selling raffle tickets to the hotel patrons. The Ori has recently decided to not hold the Friday evening BBQ, but to continue with the raffle, which is obviously great news for our Club. This Friday Bruce reported the numbers were a bit low, but regardless they did a mighty job in selling $251 worth of tickets. The prize was a 1.3kg Tomahawk steak valued at $150 which is donated by the Ori, therefore allowing all the ticket revenue to go to our Club. On behalf of the Club, I extend a very big thank you to the Ori, acknowledging their ongoing generosity and support of our Club.
As we move towards the end of this calendar year we start to think about Christmas and the couple of special events we have coming up. This year we will again be holding our Club Christmas party at Paul and Suzanne Erickson’s. We thank Paul and Suzanne for their generosity in opening their home to us for this very special Club celebration. More details will be provided in the near future.
We also have the last major fund raising event scheduled for this year with Carols by the Wentworth Falls Lake on 7 December. This is a major Christmas celebration organised by the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Wentworth Falls and it promises to be a fantastic night. More details on the event will be coming to you shortly, but I would ask as many of you as possible to try to keep this evening free so you can assist with the BBQ which should be a great fund raiser for the club.
Do take care and until next week…cheers Liz
Liz Roberts
President 2025-2026
The Rotary Club of Springwood
YOUTH DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Meals From the Heart - Ronald McDonald House, Friday 7th November
On Friday night, a group of 8 Rotarians & friends were involved in the Meals From The Heart Program at Ronald McDonald House at Westmead, helping out with a "Retro" themed menu. Once we checked in, we were privileged to be shown around Ronald McDonald House, see one of the rooms the families stay in, and gain a better understanding of the important service this charity provides. After the tour we were put to work preparing, cooking, serving & cleaning up from dinner. I say "work " but really it was a whole lot of fun due to the chef being extremely well organised & the enthusiasm of our team. I'm incredibly grateful to Thi, Robin, Shannon, Deana, Rachel, Geoff & Liz for volunteering to help and I look forward to working with this team of wonderful people again.
Sheryn.
MEETING NEWS
On Monday 3rd November...
...our guest speaker was Sheryn Phillips who spoke about the current happenings that are ocurring in pharmacy. We were certainly looking forward to that presentation, and our anticipation was not disappointed.
Sheryn's presentation was not interesting, it was relevant to all of us who attended on the night. Thanks to Sheryn for sharing her knowledge and skills with us.
LATEST NEWS …
1. DATES TO LOOK FORWARD TO...
Board Meeting 10th November. No General Meeting on the 10th, but non-Board members are welcome to join us while we hold our meeting.
Tuesday 11th November is Remembrance Day. Bruce Wood will be representing the Club and laying a wreath at the Memorial at Buckland Park on our behalf at the ceremony.
Bunnings BBQ Saturday 15th November
Monday 17th, Club visit to Grace's Place. Meeting at 4pm at the Sports Club.
On Monday 24th November, the Club will be holding the Annual General Meeting. Members only to attend the AGM.
Monday 8th December will be our Christmas party at the Erickson's house.
Moday 15th December - last Club meeting for the year.
2. URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL CLUB MEMBERS AND FRIENDS
A Vocational visit to Grace's Place Doonside is planned for Monday 17th November.
Grace's Place is a world first trauma recovery centre. It is a place of healing for children and young people affected by homicide. It provides a residential facility for those affected by homicide and counselling support.
Martha Jabour the CEO who began this facility was the NSW Woman of the Year in 2025 . It was officially opened in 2022. She will provide details on how this amazing place came into being.
I am hoping to finalise the time it will begin on the Monday night but I anticipate it will begin between 5 and 6 pm. I need to know numbers as Martha will provide Pizzas and drinks for everyone. We will be car pooling so we will meet at the Sports Club at 4.00pm. We realise that this will not be convenient for everyone, but we do hope that as many of you who can attend will do so.
PLEASE GIVE GEOFF GLASSOCK YOUR RESPONSE ASAP.
glassock@bigpond.net.au or 0408 436 676
STORIES FROM ROTARY...
1. SHELTERBOX RESPONSES IN JAMAICA AND PHILIPPINES
JAMAICA Over 6 million people across Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba have been affected by Hurricane Melissa, and the full scale of the damage is still emerging.
Our team is in Jamaica, supporting families with shelter aid for 5,000 people, which arrived yesterday morning from our Barbados warehouse.Families urgently need shelter.
PHILIPPINES: Typhoon Kalmaegi (locally known as Tino) made landfall overnight, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain across the central Philippines. Large areas of Cebu have been left underwater by the storm, which swept across the Visayas island group and parts of Luzon and Mindanao.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes, and in some areas, flooding is so severe that families are taking refuge on rooftops. Kalmaegi comes as the Philippines continues to recover from recent disasters, including a series of earthquakes and typhoons.
ShelterBox is already responding to the earthquake in northern Cebu and to Typhoon Bualoi on Masbate island.
We're now assessing how best we can support communities affected by this latest storm.
Numbering in the millions, community health workers form a vast safety net for basic health interventions, including vital vaccines. The Rotary Foundation relies on its work to carry out initiatives, including the Rotary Programs of Scale grant, which is providing high-quality maternal care in Nigeria. In honor of Foundation Month in November, learn more about the global push to support community health workers in Rotary magazine online.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK...
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
– Chinese Proverb
Acknowledgement of Country
We would like to acknowledge the Gundungurra and Dharug peoples past, present and emerging as the traditional owners of the land where our Club resides and pay our respects to them.
Whilst we were cooking up a storm, our trusty Ori team of Bruce and Deborah were on the case selling raffle tickets to the hotel patrons. The Ori has recently decided to not hold the Friday evening BBQ, but to continue with the raffle, which is obviously great news for our Club. This Friday Bruce reported the numbers were a bit low, but regardless they did a mighty job in selling $251 worth of tickets. The prize was a 1.3kg Tomahawk steak valued at $150 which is donated by the Ori, therefore allowing all the ticket revenue to go to our Club. On behalf of the Club, I extend a very big thank you to the Ori, acknowledging their ongoing generosity and support of our Club.
about the current happenings that are ocurring in pharmacy. We were certainly looking forward to that presentation, and our anticipation was not disappointed.
