JANUARY IS VOCATIONAL SERVICE MONTH AND FOCUSES ON:
Adherence to and promotion of the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, not just those that are pursued by Rotarians.
The contribution of your vocational talents to solving the problems of society and meeting the needs of the community.
President's Report
Welcome to the first edition of the Springword for 2026, and it promises to be a fantastic year for our Club on a number of fronts.
The board met this last week, and we continue to work on a number of matters to strengthen the Club and build processes around elements that make for a strong and successful organisation dedicated to serving the community both locally and more broadly.
We have recently received interest from a number of people in relation to the work of Rotary and what our Club can offer them by way of rewarding avenues of service. I do hope in the coming months we will see new faces at both our meetings and community events, as my personal experience is that new people bring a good degree of enthusiasm and energy that we all benefit from. I’m sure you will join me in welcoming these new Rotarians as the commence on their path of service.
The committee has recently undertaken some gardening and enhancement work at the peace pole reserve.
It’s important that this local showpiece of Rotary and its commitment to peace is always is always maintained at a high standard; and to ensure this occurs the committee will undertake regular work there maintaining the garden and poles. Along these same lines Rotary has a dedicated garden at Buttenshaw Park that is currently singlehandedly maintained by Pat and Alan Ainslie. It is a tribute to Pat and Alan that they have continued with this over a number of years, but I would ask Club members and friends to think about any time they can give to assist in maintaining this garden. Pat and Alan attend as a routine on the first Saturday of each month at 9am, I’m sure they would be pleased to see a few friendly faces to regularly assist them.
We have a number of community events coming up in the not-too-distant future. There is the usual Ori raffle on the 1st Friday each month & the Bunning BBQ on the 3rd Saturday of each month.
February dates to note in your calendar.
Friday 6th – Ori BBQ (Bruce usually has this in hand, but feel free to see if he needs you)
Friday 13th – Ellison School ‘Back to School Breakfast’ – all hands on deck please!
Saturday 21st– Bunnings BBQ
Saturday 28th – Family Fun Dance – ShelterBox fundraiser
In closing, it is with a great deal of sadness that I note the passing of long term friend and supporter of our Club, Richard Bell. This last Friday Richard was farewelled at a beautiful service that truly honoured him. Richard had a life of significant achievement, but none more noteworthy than the loving, dedicated family he built around himself and Margaret. I know Richard touched the lives of so many in positive ways and his legacy will be long lived. I’m sure I join all members and friends of our Club in extending our heartfelt sympathy to Margaret and I know Margaret will feel our love and support in the coming days and months.
Cheers Liz
Liz Roberts
President 2025-2026
The Rotary Club of Springwood
LATEST NEWS …
1. DATES TO LOOK FORWARD TO...
Monday, 19th January - First Rotary Club meeting for 2026
Monday, January 26th - Australia Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY - no meeting
Monday, 2nd February - General Club Meeting. Normal meetings in weeks 1, 3, 4, (and 5 if relevant) will follow from this date.
Monday, 9th February - Club Board Meeting.
Saturday, 28th February - Family Fun Dance, 5.00 to 8.00 pm
2. FAMILY FUN NIGHT
Following, you will find the flier for this exciting fundraising event, all details are there.
Saturday 28th February evening.
For this event to be successful we will require a team of our trusty helpers for the evening in the following areas:
parking attendants 3 people 4.45pm - 7.45pm
front gate registration checking, raffle ticket selling 3 people 4.45pm-7.45pm
BBQ trailer cooking, serving and sale 5 people 5-7pm
Dessert server 1 person 6.30-7pm
Dam watcher (kids) 1 person 4.45-7.45pm
ShelterBox support for their display team 1 person 5-7pm
Kindly contact Al Kellway to indicate where you are able to help, so a roster will be prepared.
3. NIGHT AT THE ORI - ORI RAFFLE NIGHT
The first raffle for 2026 at the ORI was held on Friday 16th, not on the scheduled date of the 2nd due to the very quiet period following the festive season. My usual wingman, Deborah, was unavailable due to illness, so the reserve was brought into action, our daughter Stephanie. The ORI was still very quiet with limited numbers of patrons, but we estimate that about 75% of those present purchased tickets. The comments were interesting '....sure, $10 worth because it's for Rotary'; '.. happy to assist Rotary'; and, 'We're vegetarian so we won't buy any tickets but because it's for Rotary, we'll donate $20'. That was the atmosphere right throughout the Hotel and we finished the night with $303 to add to the Club's coffers. Not a bad number for 1 ½ hrs work. My thanks to Stephanie whose pleasant and friendly banter assisted greatly. IPP Frank dropped in to ensure we were doing a good job and took the attached photograph.
Cheers and Happy New Year to all.
Bruce.
4. YOUTH DIRECTOR'S REPORT (DECEMBER)
We had our last Breakfast Club for the term & year on Tues 9th Dec, so along with Grace & Javi from MYST, we donned our Christmas gear and spread some Christmas joy. We have thoroughly enjoyed supporting MYST with the Breakfast Clubs each week but will enjoy our sleep-ins on Tuesday mornings during the holidays!
I also wanted to share a lovely email we received about the involvement of our club with the Breakfast program. We regularly receive "thanks" from students & teachers at both Winmalee High school & Springwood High school, however it was heart-warming to receive the email below. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Bronwyn who has been at MYST almost every Monday to help with the behind-the-scenes sandwich preparation.
An email to Sheryn and Bruce:
On behalf of the school, I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to you, Debra, Bev and Springwood Rotary in general. Your assistance every week with Breakfast Club is invaluable in ensuring that students get a positive start to the day. Beginning their day with some food, a drink and a friendly smile is a fantastic thing. It makes them feel cared for, connected to school and makes them better placed to engage in their education.
Again, thank you. The wonderful work you all do certainly doesn't go unnoticed.
Kind regards,
Greg Harriden (he/him)
Student Support Officer | Springwood High School
In Youth Exchange news, Valda put together a delicious goodie box for Addie on behalf of our club. It was a little more challenging to organise delivery of than we originally thought. Thanks to Santa's elves and Australia post, this bundle of Christmas goodies was safely delivered to Addie in the Czech Republic, and was very warmly received.
Addie has returned from her exchange, so hopefully, she will be able to visit one of our meetings soon.
Photo: Cheryl Kitto (Many thanks, Cheryl)
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for the assistance they have given to Youth projects this year & wish you all a relaxing Christmas and a happy, healthy 2026.
Sheryn.
STORIES FROM ROTARY...
1.WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ROTARY - SERVICE PROJECT CENTRE
The Service Project Centre has new features to help you increase the impact of your projects:
Compete with Rotary members around the world! The Impact page has an engaging quiz game to expand your knowledge about how to measure impact.
Visit the Resources page to find materials about project planning, collaboration, grants, areas of focus, and impact.
Go to the updated, mobile-friendly Grant Center page, which offers an overview of our grants and other grant resources.
We encourage you to visit the Service Project Center for your project planning needs and to check back regularly for new features and enhancements
Register now to attend Elevate Your Leadership Skills: Facilitation
Join us 15-16 May at One Rotary Center in Evanston, Illinois, USA, to build your skills in facilitating everything from team meetings to large-scale learning sessions.
The two-day event, conducted in English, will include:
Live demonstrations of facilitation
An opportunity to practice and get personalized feedback
Access to Rotary leader’s guides and tools
Early registrants can get a special price through 1 February: US$195. Similar programs are valued at US$1,750. Rates will increase incrementally through 1 May.
Space is limited, so secure your spot today!
3. THE HAPPINESS ISSUE: ROTARY MEMBERS’ SECRET WEAPON
Click on the image below to see what this involves.
What makes us happy? Not from moment to moment, necessarily, but over the course of our lives. Nearly a century of science suggests one action outweighs all others. Rotary members have a head start. Learn more and see additional photos of happy Rotarians in the Rotary magazine online story: A happiness hypothesis.
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.
