Meet the member is a new feature for our Bulletin designed to get to know our members.  First up is Mr Tony Flack - Club Secretary 2022/23

I was born and raised in Casino.  Moved to Brisbane when I was 17 where I studied, worked and raised a family.  I moved to the Clarence Valley (Maclean and Swan Creek) in 2015.

Fishing, especially the Mighty Clarence River; playing guitar and accompanying the singing of my beautiful Leanne.  I am also an avid reader - particularly biographies and non-fiction.

I spent most of my time working with disadvantaged and unemployed people.  This included 13 years with the Commonwealth Employment Service, 11 years with Boystown (now YourTown) 5 years with Centacare and 9 years with Tursa.  I particularly liked working with young people to overcome barriers and fulfill their potential.

For me - I really enjoy the friendships that I'm building and camaraderie, but the highlight of every meeting is Mark's (not so) funny jokes.

Grafton Rotary Club will be celebrating their 90th Anniversary at the GDSC for dinner on Saturday 6 May 2023.  All are invited.  

The long awaited Mann River Social Drive will be held on Sunday 23 April 2023.  Don Cardow has organised this event to visit many of the outstanding landmarks in our own backyard.  Of course there will be many stories and a lot of history of the areas including Fineflower, Cangi, the copper mine, Hanging Rock and Jackadgery to be gleaned from Don as we travel through the day.  Meeting for lunch at 11:30 at Copmanhurst pub for lunch.  A day certainly not to be missed.  

This month Changing Lanes Changing Lives will meet on Friday 21 April, 2023 and is open to all cars or bikes.  The event was created to bring together like minded people to showcase their vehicles whether JDM, Euro, hot Rod or Aussie.  All age groups are included and the event is gathering momentum every month.  Grafton Midday Rotary attends monthly to cook and serve a free barbecue and create exposure for the club in the community.  This month we will be barbequing for the masses again:  sausage sandwiches, egg and bacon rolls and pizza.    If you would like to assist with the barbeque, please contact Tony.

 

      

 

 

On Thursday 20 April 2023 Clarence Valley Library will be hosting another Live n Loud.  Over thirty youth bands and performers will be appearing on the night.  Grafton Midday Rotary will be running a barbeque from 4:30 to 9:30pm.  Volunteers required.  Please contact Tony if you are able to assist.  

On Thursday 13 April 2023, there will be a Clarence Cluster Social Night at the Lawrence Tavern.  This will also be a farewell to District Governor Anne Farrell.  Please RSVP to Robert Blanchard if you would like to attend.  

The District Conference was held in Yamba recently.  Robert Blanchard attended his second Rotary Conference where there were sessions which had over 300 attendees bringing together many Rotarians to learn more about the Rotarian experience.  Some wonderful keynote speakers were listened to.  Curtis McGraw, a double amputee having fought in Afghanistan, spoke about his experience of becoming a double amputee whilst trying to find land mines in Afghanistan.  The main thing he learned from this experience was never to say "what if"  only to focus on "what's next" moving forward.  He went on to become a Gold medalist at the Japanese Olympics.  He was exceptionally motivating.  Curtis was one of many wonderful speakers. 

 

District President Elect members 2023

What do you call a can opener that doesn’t work? A can’t opener
I can’t tell if I like my blender or not… It keeps giving me mixed results

How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together

What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta
Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9

What do you call a cold dog? A chili dog
What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus