President Hugh Stowell opened the meeting at 6.30 pm.
Welcome to our guest speaker,Andre Morkel, Rotary Club of Perth member Jill Dawson, Susie Rich and Paul Kestell.
The meeting was opened by singing the National Anthem to Ann Bray’s accompaniment on violin.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
In which city, province and country will the Rotary International Conference be held in 2025?
Answer: Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Correctly answered by Peter Panek
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES: The following birthdays were announced by Susan Watson:
Member’s Birthday:
Richard Ranshaw 77 years old on 6 December 2024.
Partner’s Birthday:
Vicky Stewart 4 December 2024:
CLUB AND COMMITTEE REPORTS:
• Christmas dinner – On Monday, 9 December, we will have our Christmas dinner at the Weld Club; invitations have been issued by email; for catering purposes, please book via Trybooking by Wednesday evening, 4 December. Ties are optional for the occasion. Please reach out to past members and partners to invite them to this special event. The Trybooking link is https://www.trybooking.com/CXDQK
• Cans for Christmas – Anthony McGrath thanked all those who participated in the Cans for Christmas campaign. He will know the total figure of kilograms once Foodbank picks up the wheelie bins on Wednesday. There are 24 chock-a-block wheelie bins with items collected from the 4,725 flyers delivered in Nedlands and Dalkeith. Ant thanked Nigel Johnson for using his place again. President Hugh thanked Ant for his work on the Club’s biggest annual project. Also thanks to Bruce Jeanes, Bruce Fiegert and David Ellis for picking up the food donated at three primary schools. Many thanks to Scott, Hamish, Vicky and Kshithij for their work on the sorting table with Club members Hugh, John MacKinnon and Nigel. A big shout of gratitude goes out to all the friends and family members who helped distribute the leaflets and food collection; their assistance is very much appreciated.
• Foodbank—The last volunteering day for this year is Thursday, 5 December, at Welshpool from 8:20 a.m. to approximately 2:00 p.m. Please email Anthony if you wish to participate; the list of volunteers is almost at capacity.
• Calendar—Our last meeting for the year will be Monday, 16 December. The first official meeting back in the New Year will be Monday, 13 January 2025, with the welcome barbecue on Monday, 20 January 2025. There will be an informal meeting at Steve’s on Monday, 6 January 2025, at 6 p.m. There is no need to respond; just attend if you are able.
ROTARY MOMENTS:
• New Year’s Eve concert – Jill Dawson from the Rotary Club of Perth spoke about the annual concert by her Rotary Club under Musical Director Mark Coughlan and the Vienna Pops Orchestra. Guest stars include Ellie Malonzo, 14 years old, whom, you may recall, played a piece on her violin at our meeting earlier this year, and soprano Jessica Blunt. This year it will be held at Winthrop Hall. There are two concerts, one at 2 pm and one at 9 pm until midnight. Tickets are available at https://www.ticketswa.com/ Special VIP tickets may also be bought, please contact Jill Dawson on jill@quairadingearthmoving.com.au these VIP tickets are only available through the Rotary Club of Perth.
• Volunteer hours for November – The volunteer hours for November include the Bicycle Count and the distribution of the leaflets and bags for Cans for Christmas, not the collection itself. Nor do the hours include the time taken by Craig James and Anthony McGrath to organise these huge events. Folding the leaflets and bags together and stapling them times are not included, nor are travel times for these events. All up, an extremely conservative estimate of hours given by Club members and friends is 92 hours for November, 82 hours by Club members and 10 hours from friends and family. Well done to all who contributed.
SERGEANT SESSION: The following members were fined by the Acting Sergeant:
Leon Lorenzen, John Bolto and Bob Davis for being surprised that the Acting Sergeant has actually rogained, at four events, no less;
Richard Ranshaw for being known as Vincent by the nannas at Grandcarers;
President Hugh for his own presidential line of clothing;
Susan Watson for eating just as she is introduced for the celebrations announcements;
David Ellis for trying to overcharge on the registration desk.
GUEST SPEAKER: Andre Morkel – introduced by Neil Wilkie:
Andre is the President of the WA Rogaining Association. Rogaining has taken Andre to all parts of Australia and international competitions. He is passionate about the sport. Andre has a connection to Rotary through his wife, who was a Rotary Exchange Student in Minnesota and whom they will be visiting next year.
Rogaining is the sport of long-distance navigation using a topographic map, conducted during both the day and night. It is completed in groups of two to five participants, typically over a long duration (up to 24 hours). It differs from orienteering in that the participants choose their course and the controls they reach, graded by points according to their difficulty finding them in the terrain.
Rogaining was developed in Victoria in 1976 and combines the three founders’ names, ROd, GAIl and NEil. Western Australia was the second place worldwide to host a rogaine competition.
At each event, a 'hash house' provides food and drink for competitors, and a huge bonfire is lit at night near the hash house.
Rogaining is undertaken from the very young to older people and can be a pleasant stroll or a fiercely competitive run. It is suitable for all fitness levels and the enjoyment comes from finding one’s way around a course of one’s choosing and navigating back to the finish.
In September 2024 the Australasian Rogaining Championships were held near Donnybrook, with 500 local, national and international competitors attending. The championships required the assistance of 50 volunteers who manned the hash house and registration booths for the full 24 hours. Every event needs helpers, for registration, safety, first aid, feeding the competitors, setting and vetting the course and each helper is a volunteer.
Andre did not disclose that he and his partner came tenth in the Championships, spending all 24 hours on course and covering over 100 kilometres of terrain.
Thanks to Andre for introducing the Club members to the sport of regaining.
REMINDER OF NEXT ROSTER:
Monday 16 December 2024
Steve Halbert Welcoming members and guests.
Richard Gorham Table duty.
Bruce Fiegert Registrar 1.
David Ellis Registrar 2.
Lindsay Dry Introduction of guest speaker.
Neil Wilke Pass the microphone.
REMINDER OF COMING EVENTS:
Monday 9 December 2024 Christmas Dinner, Weld Club ***BOOK NOW PLEASE***
Monday 16 December 2024 Last meeting for the year, Nedlands Golf Club.
Monday 6 January 2025 Informal gathering at Steve’s, from 6 pm, no need to RSVP.
Monday 13 January 2025 Mark Khangure, Life Talk, Nedlands Golf Club.
Monday 20 January 2025 Welcome barbecue, Nedlands Golf Club.
Monday 27 January 2025 No meeting, public holiday.
THANKS:
Thanks to the Nedlands Golf Club staff, Claire and Matt, for their service tonight and Chef Zamry for dinner.
WE RECOGNISE OUR VERY GENEROUS SPONSORS:
Lizzi Bee - supplier of flowers
Dry Kirkness Chartered Accountants (Butler Settineri) – Club Auditors
Accura Accounting & Advisory Services for providing Xero Accounting software and
Sharesight Portfolio reporting software to the Charitable Trust.
Dirk Vanderstruyf from Euroz Hartleys.
MEETING CLOSE:
President Hugh closed the meeting recognising the Rotary International presidential theme for 2024-2025: THE MAGIC OF ROTARY
