Our meeting

Team: OIC: Andy Irvine; Doug Sutton; Ken Taylor (late blow-in to help shake down stall-holders); Pat Ingram; Bruce Willis’ brother Bob; James Ross; Greg O’Hare; Geoff Bruest; Geoff Hamilton; Michael Knight; Rob Pearson; Malcolm Robertson and Jeremy Reithmuller. May have been quicker to read out club members who didn’t attend! Very able team who did a fantastic job.

 

And Clive at the end (I have no idea what that means so I apologise).

 

There were 42 stalls plus Art on the Levee have been brought in and occupied the middle of the U-shaped lawn area. Two stalls were double sites; the BBQ was a paying stall-holder now that Apex were running it; they sold out of 144 bacon & egg rolls at $10 a pop plus 3 dozen sausages so I’m guessing they were pretty happy.

 

Seven stalls were pre-paid so you can factor that in to your mental tally of what we got on the day.

 

Andy juggled the layout a bit and put a few stalls into the middle which I thought worked really well, though if he’d suggested it I would have said don’t do it. Wrong again, Taylor. The stalls were varied and interesting and the presentation was appreciated by punters and stall-holders alike. The art folk looked really good there even though it was only one member exhibiting, but others are now jealous and will join her next month.

 

Patronage was a bit on the light side with several other markets operating but regulars like the pistachios, Coffee, Adelong Fresh, Junee Licorice did very well while some might be getting a bit tired after 15 years.

 

This market was actually the 15^th anniversary market by the way! Most stall-holders were happy with the relaunch though one chap said he was finished with us.

 

Andy recommends: we have Facebook page, SMS list, website and advertising in the public notices in the DA last week, but we need to figure out how to encourage patronage, and any help would be appreciated.

 

MONEY!               Stalls:                    $1835

                                Donations:          $107.10

For:                        total:                     $1942.10

 

 

 

 

Today's Sergeant was John Gray and he was in his usual scintillating form extracting money from all and sundry. Michael Georgiou was his firs target and so carried the fine box. Daniel Burns and Ken Taylor were quickly targeted as was Jim Gibson for being a wuss and not playing cricket, he had only one injury compare to the multiple injuries carried by most of the players. Craig Bromley was fined for turning up and Pat Ingram and Wal Paton for our barbecue not being as excellent as the one at Sprout and About. Col Duff, David Benn, Paul Milde were fined for being Rotaractors. John Egan and Paul Murray for being in the Australian American Association.

 

The rest of us were fined for laughing at the Chinese philosopher Lao Chiu's observation that problems can be solved without violence if one has the will. For example imagine a mosquito landing on a testicle.

 

 

 

Nick Leywood is urging members to seek sponsorships for the Food and Wine Festival. He placed forms on the tables for members to respond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deidre and Philip Tome From Kooringal Rotary receiving a cheque from PP John Ferguson

So impressed was PP John Ferguson with the Youth Project undertaken by Deidre and Philip that he decided to donate to their club, the interest proceeds from our Community Account for his year as President.

 

The project was to support a young indigenous student at Mt Austin High school who had to overcome the most difficult family circumstances to further her education. With the assistance of Kooringal Rotary and Phil and Deidre in particular, she was able to achieve a student exchange to Belgium. While in Belgium she won an essay competition which enabled her to deliver a speech at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres on Anzac day in front of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and the New Zealand Foreign Minister. Her name is Courtney Smith  and I am sure we will hear more of her when she returns to further her studies. A nursing career via CSU is her aim.

 

This is one of the best stories that I have heard this year.

 

 

 

 

Called on late in the meeting, Gerry did a good job to bring us up to date in a short space of time.

 

Gerry told us that he came to Wagga with his wife Angie just eight years ago and joined our Club almost immediately. He had spent the previous 15 years in Sydney as a Business Consultant. He and Angie had had enough of the rat race in Sydney and settled on Wagga as a good regional centre to break into business. He loves Wagga and has no intention of leaving.

 

Born in 1949 in Holland, Gerry shares a birthday with Adolf Hitler. He is a twin and one of four children. His mother was an Adelaide socialite who met his father in 1940 while his father was in the Dutch Navy. They returned to Holland but decided to migrate to Australia in 1950.

 

Gerry met Angie at a Picnic Race Meeting and it was love at first sight. They have been married for almost forty years and have three children who all live in Sydney. Gerry likes to play golf and is a regular at the Country Club and participates with Wollundry in the Twomey Patterson summer comp.

 

 

 

Kathy Wallace, Thea Bowen, Darren Wallace, Kat Janzon, Tayla Crevatin

Andrew Schmetzer (Guest of Travis Downie)