(Please Note: If you cannot fulfil your roster, email or text Hugh so a substitute can be arranged)
LAST Week's Meeting
Rotary Club of Greater Geraldton meeting at the Geraldton Golf Club on 7am, Wednesday, 27 November 2024.
Present: Hugh Lavery, Robert Mosel, Jo Clarke, Grant Woodhams, Barry Dring and Eugenie Burkett, Jim Dillon, Russell McKinnon, Don Rowlands, Ian Taylor, Geoff Woods, Terry Stewart and a tardy Laurie Dines.
Special guest: Kirrilee Warr, the Nationals candidate in the upcoming State election.
Apologies: Vicki Fennell, Bob Hall, Kevin Green, Peter Sukiennik, Bob Symington, Bob Urquhart.
Toast: Given by The Honourable Grant Woodhams, Sergeant at Arms.
President’s notes: 1. Landor Fundraiser raised $20,000 and from the proceeds it was decided by the Board that $5000 would go to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. 2. Edith Cowan Statue proposed for opposite the courthouse in Edith Cowan Park. Decided by Board that $5000 goes to the Tour Guides for the next two years (total $10000) to use as they wish. 3. Bunnings sausage sizzle on January 19. Get out your aprons. Our Club is Scheduled (pencilled-in) for a Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings on Sunday, January 19th. Bob Hall is the Head Chef and we are looking to raise some money for The Blokehood Project Scholarships. See Bob Hall for details 4. Suggested that we manage the State-wide Four-Way speaking competition, possibly staging the regional finals or even the State finals. Grant Woodhams has submitted an EOI to District 5. Plea for any worthy charities or projects we should become involved with.
From the floor: 1. Barry Dring suggested four Christmas cakes go to the women’s refuge. 2. Geoff Woods spoke of the Xmas Toys project with members urged to bring at least one toy (unwrapped) to the value of $10-20 to the Xmas function at Ocean Air on 18 December. 3. Russell McKinnon spoke of Phil Martin’s work to keep Laian Restaurant alive while member Nadeem Turkia is undergoing cancer treatment in Darwin. Phil has introduced a Thursday night music and tapas night and suggested that Rotary members take this opportunity to support Nadeem in his hour of need. Special tapas menu, starting at 4pm.
Jo Clarke reported that Inbound Rotary Exchange Student Sofia Underland was in Sydney, leaving last Saturday and arriving home on Friday.
Geoff Wood - A reminder to bring a toy (gift) for 10 yo boy or girl to our Christmas function at Laurie Dines Ocean Air on Dec 18th. NB It is a night meeting starting at 5.30pm. Recipient of the toys is Chrysallis House . Same as last few years.
CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Each year at this time we collect and donate a gift to make a difference to a child's Christmas.
I am asking you to donate a gift $10 - $20 (boy /girl/unisex) and bring it to our final meeting of the year on the 18th December at Ocean Air.
If you are unable to attend you can deliver your gift to 7 Hakea Street, Tarcoola Beach and leave it on the back patio OR give it to a member to bring on the day.
Looking forward to your support.
WXL (Geoff Wood)
Hugh Lavery – If you are listed for 'clean up' duty at Rotary you are also rostered to contact our inbound exchange student Sofia Underland and arrange an activity for that week. – We need someone to co-ordinate our Australia Day morning tea. – We need someone to organise Rotary WADriver Education programme for next March. It won't be held at Towns Football Club.
Special guest Kirrilee Warr was introduced by Jim Dillon. Kirrilee, is the president of the Chapman Valley Shire and a candidate for the upcoming State election, representing the Nationals.
She outlined her life as a lifelong Chapman Valley resident who at one stage was an outbound Rotary Exchange Student, travelling to Mexia in Texas, USA, not far from Waco, which was in the news for all the wrong reasons at the time of her departure.
She is a Paul Harris Fellow and hopes one day to rejoin the fold. She stated that the trip to Texas as a youngster was “influential in shaping who I am today”. Her grandparents moved to Chapman Valley to become farmers and she did not appreciate what she had until she travelled overseas. With older sisters and a younger brother, she enjoyed the idyllic lifestyle of the farm pre mobile phones, riding horses and picnics on the rocks.
As her parents were on many committees and committed to golf and tennis, she followed their lead, although not good with sports. She said she lived a sheltered life in the 1980s and 1990s when there was high inflation and droughts, spending most of that time on the farm. She was a student leader in Year 12, which put her in good stead for the trip to USA, just south of Dallas. She said she had the best year and still keeps in touch with the host family, “showing just how deep the network is in Rotary International”.
While in Texas, she played on the tennis team “and was acing my chemistry”. “I came back with fresh eyes. I didn’t know what I had until I didn’t have it,” she said.
Her comment on Rotary is that it is a global citizenship. “We can make this world a better place.” She met husband Brett in their early 20s, although he was a Chapman Valley boy. She had further Rotary experience, travelling to Vancouver, Canada on an ambassadorial scholarship, loading containers of hospital equipment for South America.
She has put down roots in 18 years of marriage and she and husband Brett had the John Deere dealership in Geraldton, since 2020. (A video is available at https://www.afgri.com.au/agriculture) “I’m passionate about farming and producing food for the world. My passions are community, food and family,” she said. She thanked the club of Greater Geraldton for coming out to the Valley and feeding locals during the aftermath of Cyclone Seroja, helping people through the disaster — “the hardest thing is helping people rebuild.”
There were several questions or statements and Jim Dillon did the proverbial with the polio vaccines and certificate presentation.
Caption:Grant Woodhams with Kirrilee and Hugh
Discussion - Strategic Planning for Membership (Fit For Purpose) Topics include Venue. Engagement. Membership. Community Service Projects (Hugh wants one hands on project per month); Governance & Administration; By-Laws. Marketing & Outreach.
Conclusion: We need plans and goals! We need existing members to assist and we need people (who can be outside of Rotary) to run projects.
Ideas from discussion include -Evening Meetings, -Are we perceived by potential members as being too burdened with Rotary projects? -Present ourselves more frequently in public e.g at the Railway Station markets on Sundays and/or Sausage Sizzles at Bunnings. -When new members join get them to identify projects they are interested in.
Wine Tax: Jim Dillon with his “87”. Fines: Many shakes of the tin with very little in the way of anniversaries, etc. Hugh, however, was shaken with his misspelling of the name tag of the guest and calling Honourable Grant a Past President, which he ain’t.
Meeting closed bang on the dot of 8am.
Two Rotary video presentations.
1) Psalm Talamo our Outward Bound Exchange Student f(January 2025) from Warnbro High School.
Apologies for not presenting in person. Thanks for getting zoom working to enable the sharing of the incoming World President Stephanie Urchick's address:
Hugh's message echoes Stephanie's in making our meetings irresistible and engaging. Have conversation, connect, learn and get involved in the Community. It is important that we become a more diverse membership.
Rotary International has recently developed an Action Plan for the future and it includes the following
EXPAND OUR REACH
As Rotarians, we’re committed to embracing and exemplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in everything we do at Rotary. We have revised our DEI statement, which now reflects our stronger-than-ever commitment to being an organization that values, respects, and welcomes everyone who interacts with us. Now we’re developing a comprehensive plan of action with achievable, measurable, and meaningful DEI outcomes for Rotary. I strongly encourage you to read and follow Rotary’s new DEI Code of Conduct, which points the way to creating more just, open, and welcoming communities for all people.
In 1998 the Rotary Club of Geraldton (now Greater Geraldton) embarked on an ambitious journey to build a memorial on Mt Scott in Geraldton, dedicated to the 645 sailors lost at sea when the HMAS Sydney II was sunk off the Mid-West coast during World War II. The HMAS Sydney II Memorial is by far the largest and proudest project the RCG has undertaken.
Australia’s worst naval disaster occurred on 19 November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK KORMORAN, in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. Geraldton was the last port visited prior to her demise. The loss of the SYDNEY with its full war complement of 645 sailors remains etched in the nations psyche. The KORMORAN was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 survived. The fate of the Sydney remained one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries until the location of the wreck in 2008. “LEST WE FORGET”
’s notes:
Special guest Kirrilee Warr was introduced by Jim Dillon.
video is available at https://www.afgri.com.au/agriculture)
1) Psalm Talamo our Outward Bound Exchange Student f(January 2025) from Warnbro High School.
2) Jamie Bravington our Rotary Youth Leadership Award recipient (January 2025) from Tom Price.
report with Norway's Sofia Underland:
<-- Caption - Host Mother, Raelene Mariani, Sofia Underland (Norway) 
President's Report - Hugh Lavery:
Australia’s worst naval disaster occurred on 19 November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost following a battle with the German raider HSK KORMORAN, in the Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast. Geraldton was the last port visited prior to her demise. The loss of the SYDNEY with its full war complement of 645 sailors remains etched in the nations psyche. The KORMORAN was also sunk, but 317 of its crew of 397 survived. The fate of the Sydney remained one of Australia’s greatest wartime mysteries until the location of the wreck in 2008.
