Dave and I attended the annual conference in Waimate last weekend. The Waimate Club did a great job providing a very relaxed and enjoyable conference, and the weather was stunning. Each morning started with a bacon buttie breakfast provided by the local fire brigade, along with coffee cart. The whole community embraced this conference and it provided fundraising opportunity for the local school, fire brigade and local groups.
The conference theme was "The Power of Moments". The 3 main speakers had local connections and all happened to be woman. They gave their version of the moments in their lives
Dame Therese Walsh, current Chairman of Air New Zealand, was a very good, witty, and funny speaker and gave many examples of moments that had impacted her life and the decisions she made. She is 49 years old and obviously a very intelligent, driven woman but with her feet well on the ground.
Group Captain Carol Abraham, Chief Defence Strategy Manager with NZDF. Carol grew up in Waimate and had always wanted to be a pilot in the Airforce. She nearly achieved this but had to change direction near the end of her training. She has been deployed overseas in peace keeping missions with the UN. Carol has a wonderful career in the NZDF and I was quite moved by her journey.
Kirsten Patterson, Chief Executive of the Institute of Directors, like Carol Kirsten had grown up in Waimate and is from a Rotary family. She had been
on a Rotary twin exchange in 1988, and credits that experience with much of her later success.
We had some free time on the Saturday afternoon and were able to visit the Eco Sanctuary they have established for the area. This is similar to our Orokonui Sanctuary but on a smaller scale. The land had been gifted by a Rotarian and we were able to go on the walking tracks formed around the fencing of the sanctuary. Some chose to be more adventurous and biked the trails.
The Saturday evening provided a lovely meal and great band, and in usual Rotary style everyone was up dancing from the first song. The theme for the night was "Green" so the lighting and costumes ensured the room was very "green". Dave and I are not in this photo!!
This is just a brief account of the weekend and there was a lot more content and things we learnt about. ShelterBox had a tent setup and promoting the 20 years since Tom Henderson came up with the idea.
Lea