One of the quieter but very valuable traditions in our club is the “member’s profile” talk. With 45 active members in the club, it’s easy to know faces but not really know stories. These profiles give us a glimpse behind the curtain, and sometimes what we hear can surprise us.
On Thursday, Peter H shared his story - including some very real health challenges. The emotion was plain to see, and I know many of us walked away with a deep respect for his strength. At the same time, we’ve got other members bravely bouncing back from new hips and prostate surgery. It’s a reminder that none of us are bulletproof, much as we’d like to think otherwise!
We are something of a rarity these days: an all-male Rotary club. While that raises a smile (or an eyebrow) in the modern world, I believe there’s an important truth here. Blokes need other blokes. Whether it’s a chat over a meal or a drink, a laugh at our own expense (something we are very good at), or the chance to share a tough story, it does us good. Our partners will often tell us the same thing - we come home better for it. From a mental health perspective, that’s no small thing.
Rotary gives us the perfect excuse to gather, connect, and look out for each other. It’s not just about service projects and fundraising — it’s about mateship, which is something we all value deeply.
We had a potential new club mate, Ian McGowan, join us for lunch at Thursday’s meeting. I’ve known Ian for a number of years through rugby. He was made welcome and enjoyed himself. He is keen to come along to our next evening meeting.
A reminder we have an opportunity to share mateship at a club social at Jeff and Sandy Martin’s place next Friday, 22nd. Details in the Easterly. Bring a mate. Gili and I look forward to seeing you there.
A fee will apply to any member late with an apology regardless of whether the number attending on the meeting day of the meeting is over, under or equal to what the Club Secretary submitted to the Downs Club. This fee will only apply to meetings at the Downs Club or any other club meeting where attendance numbers have to be stipulated prior to the meeting.
A Club member will be charged a meal fee of $20 if they
fail to submit any apology before 11am on Tuesday for the meeting the following Thursday (48 hrs later)
need to submit a late apology due to changed circumstance.
Fail to show up after indicating they would be present.
The members owing a fee of $20 will notified by the Club Secretary and Club Treasurer via an emailed
Late apology fee notice.
The fee can be paid by direct credit into the RCTE Club account or by adding $20 to the $35 meal fee at the next club meeting
Apologies 14.08.2025
Wayne Barnett, Dave Birrell, Adrian Bonica, Rod Brilliant, Pete Burrows, Phillip Charles, Jim Charlton, Bob Cheesman, Col Davidson, Shane Fisher, Phil Gillam, David Groves, Geoff Kapernick, Roger Klaassen, Andrew Kratzmann, Russell Manns, Craig Mathieson, Peter McLoughlin, Peter Nalder, Toby Sandell, Doc Smith, Mark Winter
