Rotary Club of Tamworth West

Quarterly Report

1 January to 31 March 2026

The first quarter of 2026 has been a wonderful example of what our club does best:

Hands‑on service;
Strong community partnerships; and
Having fun supporting our local community.

Thank you to every member who contributed their time, energy, and heart to our projects this quarter.

🎉 Community Service & Events

🎸 January – Tamworth Country Music Festival BBQ

Our year kicked off with two big nights at the Family Hotel BBQ during the Country Music Festival (19–20 January).

Members partnered with our host venue cooking late into the night, serving hundreds of festival‑goers. This provided visibility for our Club and was a community‑spirited project which also aided the Family Hotel during the Festival Period.

🏁 February – Oakburn Park Race Day Gate Crew

On 14 February, two teams of Rotarians staffed the gate for the Tamworth Sporting Car Club Race Day. From 8:30am to 4pm, members greeted spectators, collected entry fees, and supported the smooth running of a major local motorsport event.

🚒 March – Regional Firefighting Championships Catering

On 8 March, our club provided breakfast catering for the Regional Firefighting Championships. Members started cooking at 6 am in the morning to feed the participants. A big thankyou to fellow Rotarian and Club Member Bede Burke for donating the eggs.

Leftover food was donated to Billabong Clubhouse, ensuring nothing went to waste and supporting a vital local counseling and mental health service in Tamworth.

🏎️ March – Tamworth Tyre Torture Day

On 28 March, members again supported the Sporting Car Club by manning the gate at Oakburn Park for the Tyre Torture event.

A full day of drifting, dirt drags, and burnouts — and another great example of Rotary reliability and community partnership.

💰 Donations & Youth Support

👓 $500 Donation – Glasses for PNG

The club approved a $500 donation to support the provision of glasses for communities in Papua New Guinea, coordinated through Paul Sullivan.

🎭 $500 Donation – Tamworth Eisteddfod

Continuing our long-standing support of youth performing arts, the club contributed $500 to the 2026 Eisteddfod.

🌱 Youth Programs – RYPEN & RYLA

RYPEN candidate support was approved by the Board, with flexibility to assist students based on financial need.
RYLA and RYPEN candidates are being actively searched. If members are aware of any suitable candidates please pass them on to President Scott

💬 Youth Insearch

The club reaffirmed its ongoing annual support of Youth Insearch in its quarterly meetings.

🛠️ Ongoing Community Projects

🌿 Airport Park Vegetation Maintenance

The club continues to maintain vegetation at Airport Park as part of our ongoing service commitment.

🧰 BBQ Trailer Upgrade Project

Significant progress was made this quarter with plans to upgrade our BBQ Trailer. The Club's existing trailer has served our Club admirably but with more functionality and flexibility sought the Board have approved our member Chris Lang to source and acquire a mobile catering/coffee van which can be modified by the club to suit our ongoing catering needs.

This project seeks to make it easier for our Club to provide ongoing catering services. The Club is investigating Grants that may be available to assist with the cost of acquiring this vehicle.

🎖️ ANZAC DAY CEREMONY PLANNING

Preparations for this year’s ANZAC Day service on 25 April 2026 are well underway for this years 7 am ANZAC Day service at the Gipps St Memorial. Members Kevin Craggs and Peter Dillon have been working hard behind the scenes to co-ordinate this event.

A big thank you to our venue hosts Jemma and The Family Hotel who are assisting this year with the seating for the event. Also in conjunction with the Family Hotel, this year Tamworth West Rotary CLub will be cooking Bacon and Egg Rolls in the Family Hotel beer garden from 8:30 am pst the service.

This year’s service will continue our tradition of respectful remembrance and community involvement.

👥 Membership & Public Image

🌟 Membership Engagement

The club has been active in identifying and seeing prospective members:

Members have brought several potential new members along to our meetings;
Re‑engagement with past members who are interested in renewing their membership with our Club; and
Continuing a focus on building a welcoming pathway for new members.

If supporting and giving back to your local community, partnering with local charities and service organisations, learning new skills and making lifelong friendships interests you, why not contact our club today. We welcome people of all ages backgrounds and professions who want to help make a difference in our community.

📸 Public Image

Our Facebook Page and website are regularly updated with assistance of the strong photo contributions provided from members at events. These are utilised support our membership and visibility strategy for 2026.

🎂 Club Milestones & Administration

🎉 70th Anniversary Changeover Dinner – 14 June

Yes, believe it or not!! This year is Rotary Club of Tamworth West's 70th Anniversary. Planning is underway for our club’s 70th birthday celebration.

This will be held in conjunction with our Annual Changeover Dinner where we will celebrate a major milestone for our club and a chance to celebrate our legacy. More details to come as we get closer to the date.

GUEST SPEAKERS FOR THE QUARTER

This quarter we have hosted some very captivating guest speakers including:

Jim Humphreys - who spoke on growing up as child in East London during the second world war;
Alison McGaffin - Executive Director of Regional and Community Engagement at TAFE NSW who returned to share her reflections of her Group Study Exchange Experience to Argentina 35 years on;
Mark Austin - With the assistance of wife Wendy are the founders of the Tamworth Distillery and who shared the story behind their emerging craft spirits venture in Tamworth;
Paul Sullivan - Speaking on Micro Banking in Papua New Guinea and helping to develop small business's in the region;
Alice Mabin - a very well known and established professional photographer talking about her amazing artistic abilities and her passion for agriculture and outback storytelling;
Simon Camilleri - sharing the remarkable story behind the growth and development of Baiada, one of Australia's largest privately owned food companies established in our Tamworth region; and
Elissa Wesche - our new Volunteer Services Officer with the Tamworth Regional Council sharing her goals and passion for creating positive change in the volunteering and community initiatives space in our region.

Interested in finding out more about these speakers and their stories. Pop along to our Facebook Page and you can read them in full.

Alice Mabin - 16 March 2026 talking on her passion of bringing agriculture and the outback to life through her photography

Follow the link below to our Rotary Club of Tamworth West Facebook Page to find more about these speakers and our Club Activities. (Don't forget to like / follow our page).

QUARTERLY REPORT