17th annual report - rotary club of port macquarie sunrise ... report 2015.pdf · 17th annual...
TRANSCRIPT
17th Annual Report
2014 - 2015 Changeover Dinner
Saturday 20 June 2015
At
Outgoing Board: President Robert Clarke Secretary Julie Garland Treasurer Bob Higham Club Service Les Murray & Lyndon Bartholomew Community Service Ivana Agapiou & Melissa Stramlic International Service Carolyn Ireland & Paul Haynes Vocational Service Jenny Sinclair New Generations Sue Jogever & Peter Grob Foundation Alec Brown Past President Rod Smith President Elect Peter Vane Outgoing Officers: Membership Bethmay Jones Public Relations Sue Jogever, Michael Jacobs, Ivana Agapiou & Joy Raisborough Bulletin Lyn McNeil & Deb Roach Program Malcolm McNeil Attendance Les Murray Sergeant Mark Wilson Corporal Rachel Varady & Deb Roach Historian Peter Newman Welfare Officer Joy Griffin & Sherryl Robinson Public Officer Michael Jacobs STAR Pam Foye & Trish Affleck-‐Mooney Sports Awards Di Hicks & Sandra Hollins Facebook Page Joy Raisborough & Ivana Agapiou Rotary Lodge Alec Brown, Malcolm McNeil & Tony Thomas (Associate) Rotary Community Hall David Currey & Mike Vegter YEP Counsellor Peter Grob (In Bounder) Steven Bruce (Out Bounder) District Representatives: YEP District Counsellors Jan Crombie (President) – Bob Crombie (Secretary) Interact Jan Crombie MUNA Jan Crombie District Youth Director Ivana Agapiou RYLA John Carroll – facilitator
Incoming Board: President Peter Vane Secretary Michael Jacobs Treasurer Pam Foye Club Service Les Murray & Mark Wilson Community Service Melissa Stramlic International Service Paul Haynes Vocational Service Jenny Sinclair & Robert Brangwin New Generations Peter Grob & John Carroll Foundation Alec Brown Past President Robert Clarke President Elect Trish Affleck-‐Mooney Incoming Officers: Membership Trish Affleck-‐Mooney, Bethmay Jones & Alec Brown Public Relations Sue Jogever, Michael Jacobs & Ivana Agapoiou Bulletin Lyn McNeil & Deb Roach Program Malcolm McNeil Attendance Lyndon Bartholomew Sergeant Peter Coulon Corporal Deb Roach Historian Peter Newman Welfare Officer Joy Griffin & Sherryl Robinson Public Officer Michael Jacobs Mentoring Officer Bethmay Jones STAR Pam Foye & Trish Affleck-‐Mooney Sports Awards Di Hicks & Neil Black Facebook Joy Raisborough & Ivana Agapiou Rotary Lodge Alec Brown, Malcolm McNeil & Tony Thomas (Associate) Rotary Community Hall Mike Vegter & David Currey YEP Counsellor Janice Donnelly & Pam Foye (Inbound) Steven Bruce (Outbound) District Representatives RAWCS Kerrie Wood RAMS George Mills (Chairperson) RYLA John Carroll (Facilitator) National Representatives RYEA Bob Crombie (Treasurer)
Our Presidents:
Charter Year 1998-‐1999 Ron Craggs 2010-‐2011 Nik Sandeman-‐Allen 1999-‐2000 David Sork 2011-‐2012 Pam Foye 2000-‐2001 Lesley Cleaver 2012-‐2013 Peter Grob 2001-‐2002 Susan Wade 2013-‐2014 Rodney Smith 2002-‐2003 Ian Nettle 2014-‐2015 Robert Clarke 2003-‐2004 Justin Levido 2004-‐2005 Ann-‐Maree Crowe 2005-‐2006 Neville Ramm 2006-‐2007 Aub Polden 2007-‐2008 Alec Brown 2008-‐2009 Kerry Green 2009-‐2010 Ivana Agapiou
Paul Harris Fellows:
1999 Tommy Jeffs 2011 Bob Crombie, Kerry Green & 2000 Ian Nettle & Keith Murray Kami Rinjin Sherpa 2001 Ron Craggs & Peter Pike 2012 Dr David Malikoff & 2002 Joy Griffin & Greg Laws Kerrie Wood* 2004 Lesley Cleaver & Mary McLaren 2013 Neil Black, Pam Foye & 2005 Alec Brown, Jack Griffin & Ivana Agapiou*
Desiree Craggs (by nomination R Craggs) 2014 Lyndon Bartholomew, 2006 Neville Ramm~ & Bernie Fitzpatrick Peter Grob*, Neil Black* & 2007 Peter Newman & Janine Buesnel Neville Ramm~ 2008 Jan Crombie, Anne Currey & 2015 Bob Higham, Sandra Hollins,
Graham Keena Neil Black**, Barry Searle 2009 David (and Lyn) Brown, David Currey, & Leanne Goggin
Peter Grob & Kerrie Wood 2010 Ivana Agapiou, John Carroll, Alec Brown*,
Andrew Campbell, Geoff McNeill, Betty Allman, Jack Griffin* & Janine Buesnel*
* Sapphire Pin ** Double Sapphire Pin ~ Self-‐funded Sapphire Pin via annual donations to Rotary Foundation
Sunrise Rotarian of the Year Award:
2004 Peter Newman 2011 Neil Black 2005 Janine Buesnel 2012 Lyndon Bartholomew 2006 Kerrie Wood 2013 Joy Raisborough 2007 David Currey 2014 Jeremy Rogers 2008 Bethmay Jones 2015 Geoff Denyer 2009 Pam Foye 2010 Rodney Smith
Club Presidential Citation:
2000-‐2001 President Lesley Cleaver 2006-‐2007 President Neville Ramm 2008-‐2009 President Kerry Green 2009-‐2010 President Ivana Agapiou 2010-‐2011 President Nik Sandeman-‐Allen 2012-‐2013 President Peter Grob & President Gaby Biltris – Interact Club
Rotary Foundation Educational Award:
2004 Lesley Cleaver
Rotary Foundation Service Award:
2005 Lesley Cleaver
District Awards:
2005 Public Relations Award 2006 District Bulletin Award 2007 Annual Report Award 2009 Most New Member Attendance at District Conference Award 2009 Innovation Award for Chargepoint 2012 Most Members of the Centurion Club 2014 PDG Gordon Fisher International Service Trophy 2015 Vocational Leadership Award – John Carroll 2015 Community Services Award
Rotary Four Avenues of Service Citation
2002 Neville Ramm 2002 Alec Brown
The Government of New South Wales Premier’s Award
2015 Outstanding Community Work Excellence of Service
Community Services Lyn McNeil Club Services Trish Affleck-‐Mooney International Services Kerrie Wood Vocational Services Robert Brangwin Youth Services Jan Crombie 100% Attendance
Alec Brown Peter Coulon Geoff Denyer Julie Garland Lyn McNeil Malcolm McNeil
SUNRISE MEMBERS as @ 20 June 2015
First Name Surname Partner Date Joined
Alec Brown Irene 30/06/1999 Barry Searle Sonia 17/10/2003 Bethmay Jones Scott 21/10/2004 Bob Crombie Jan 18/02/2011 Bob Higham Kelly 21/02/2003 Brett Gallagher Alison 14/05/2010 Carolyn Ireland Chris 06/07/2012 David Currey Anne 01/01/2003 Deb Roach Don 10/01/2014 Di Hicks 11/04/2014 Emilie Cooper 28/01/2011 Eric Elsey 30/06/2000 Fiona Wicks Gordon 31/03/2000 Geoff Denyer Jannie 17/09/2010 Geoff Moore 17/08/2007 George Mills 01/07/2011 Helen Ross John 03/04/2009 Ivana Agapiou Tony 01/04/2002 Jan Crombie Bob 01/03/2002 Janice Donnelly 20/08/2010 Jeff Smith Kaye Lee 01/03/2006 Jenny Sinclair Mark 01/03/2013 John Carroll Sue 20/08/2010 Joy Griffin 11/03/1998 Joy Raisborough John 07/08/2009 Julie Garland Peter 25/01/2013 Justin Levido Elizabeth 07/08/2009 Kerrie Wood David 11/03/1998 Les Murray Kendra 26/09/2008 Lyn McNeil Malcolm 02/05/2014 Lyndon Bartholomew 05/12/2008 Lynn Moore 10/04/2015 Margaret Chant 03/04/2009 Malcolm McNeil Lyn 02/05/2014 Mark Wilson Jodie 09/10/2009 Melissa Stramlic Frank 08/03/2013
First Name Surname Partner Date Joined Michael Jacobs Anneke 09/02/2001 Neil Black Pauline 16/10/2009 Neville Ramm 11/03/1998 Nicole Oates Rob 10/04/2015 Pam Foye Terry 21/09/2007 Paul Haynes Sandra 12/04/2013 Peter Coulon Liz 26/07/2014 Peter Grob Sandra 30/06/2005 Peter Newman Anne-‐Marie 31/03/2000 Peter Vane Julie 25/01/2013 Phil Dixon Gay 03/04/2009 Rachel Varady 05/07/2013 Robert Brangwin Sue 20/08/2010 Robert Clarke Sue 17/09/2004 Rodney Smith Denise 11/03/1998 Ross Smith Clara 12/06/2015 Sandra Hollins Derek 27/11/2009 Sherryl Robinson 05/07/2013 Steven Bruce Ann-‐Maree 30/06/2000 Sue Jogever Paul 17/08/2012 Ted Campbell Jan 07/03/2008 Tony Thomas Jan 20/08/2010 Trish Affleck-‐Mooney Mick 18/01/2013
2014/2015 PRESIDENT’S REPORT It has been a bumper year for Sunrise. It has been a year full of many successful projects. Successful, due to the many hard working, inspired and inspiring members. In our Club it’s hard to sit still and do nothing. We had:
• The Do It For Cancer 6 hour Endurance • The Lighthouse Signage Unveiling Ceremony • Luminosity • The Karikhola Greenhouse Erection project which was presented at the R.I. Conference • Fun playing golf • Helped the Ironmen and Ironwomen • The Hastings Sports Awards • The Sunrise Vocational Award • Progress on Rotary Lodge • The Azaming Tour • The Premiers Award for Community Service • Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Project completed which won a District Award • The Happy Hoarders • OOSH working bee • The Big Dig • Beyond the Stars night for the Science Centre and Observatory Project • Nepal rebuilding project and many more.
Projects are the tangible manifestations of a club. It’s the intangibles that determine the true health of any club. The cohesion, mutual encouragement and enjoyment of life are the intangibles that are required to do so much. Every year needs mostly the same but some things new. Many new ideas arose from assemblies and strategic meetings to better prepare us for the future. Disseminating strategic thinking to all members is the strength of any plan as it is ultimately the members that will make a plan work. I would like to thank all members of the Board for collectively providing the right decisions to enhance our Club’s future. I would also like to thank all our office bearers, project managers and project committee members and the very few members not included above, who have contributed their positive presence at our Club events and regular meetings. Lastly I would like to thank the previous Board for handing over the Club in such good shape and wish the next Board as much success as we have had this year. Robert Clarke President
2014/2015 TREASURER’S REPORT Once again The Club has had a very busy and rewarding year, which typifies the hard and loyal work of our members. Firstly I would like to thank Pam Foye, Rod Smith and Alec Brown for their ongoing support and assistance in keeping the Club's finances in order. It has definitely been a challenge and I am forever thankful for their support, particularly Pam who has managed the Xero Accounting system and kept it up to date at all times. The Club will be in good hands with Pam taking over the Treasurers role next year. The annual financial statements will cover the full position of the Club. Various committees have ensured our major fundraiser projects -‐ The Hastings Sports Awards, The Big Dig, Beyond The Stars and the monthly Cassegrain Artist Markets (despite 2 washouts) have been successful. Other activities have included Ironman Marshalling $410.00, Battery Drive $1,200.00, Movie Premiere (for Polio Plus), October Garage Sale $1,553.25 and Peter Grob's Bonfire Night $520.00. The club also received additional donations from the Men’s Catholic Club $1,200 which went towards the cost of 3 RYLA participants, our sister Club Kinghorn & Burtisland in Scotland $1,724.91 which went towards the cost of Mera School Garden Project as did the District Grant of $3,631.20. Consequently we have been able to provide financial assistance, now and in the near future to various local and international organisations as follows: • Mera School (Nepal) – support existing projects plus recent earthquake • Polio Plus • Rotary Foundation • RAWCS (Vanuatu – Cyclone Pam) • Shelterbox Australia • St Columba Anglican School (Youth Science Forum, Annual Awards) • Newman College – Student Awards • RYLA Attendees • Rotary Youth Exchange (Inbound & Outbound students) • Lighthouse Project – Stage 4 (Walkway) • MUNA Attendees • Port Macquarie RSL (Youth Anzac Essay Competition) • Rotary Club of Tamworth West (Xmas Dinner in Walgett) • Guest Speaker Donations to Life Education, Hope Shop, Jenny Brown (Destiny Rescue),
Womens Refuge, St Thomas Soup Kitchen, Ecumenical Care (St Agnes) • Marine Rescue NSW • Port Macquarie Men’s Shed
• Hastings Education Fund • Rotary Against Malaria • Astronomical Society • Luminosity
May always seems to be our busiest month for fundraising activities and there could be further donations prior to the end of the financial year, once the outcomes of the Beyond The Stars and Big Dig are finalised. The Audit of our accounts will be arranged as soon as possible with a comprehensive set of financial reports issued for our Annual General Meeting in December. Bob Higham Treasurer
2014-‐2015 CLUB SERVICE REPORT A huge thank you to the dedicated Club Service committee members whose help ensures the Club runs along without a fuss and meetings are organised, run smooth with variety to make them enjoyable. From Lyndon and Les, a big thanks to our team: Trish Affleck-‐Mooney, Michael Jacobs, Rachel Varady, Bethmay Jones, Mark Wilson, Peter Coulon, Rod Smith, Julie Garland and Margaret Chant. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. It would be remiss of me not to thank Pam Foye for the quality of the handover of the reigns to us this year with fantastic organisation it was easy to pick it up and move on. Pam your help in the early part of the year was appreciated – thank you.
Attendance: Thanks to all members for the respect shown to RSVP’s this year – which has made a huge difference to the accuracy for the catering and cost to the Club. The following six members have achieved 100% attendance, they are: • Alec Brown • Pete Coulon • Geoff Denyer • Julie Garland • Lyn McNeil • Malcolm McNeil. Fines Sessions: We were entertained again all year by Mark Wilson who has been a huge contributor in this role and now takes a break after a number of years. Total fines for the year will exceed $1500.00. Well Done Mark. Cents on the Table: The Club’s generosity continues to amaze, we throw what Mark doesn’t take from us in to the centre of the table and this year what has been collected will exceed $2100.00. This goes towards our annual donation to Rotary Foundation. Also a huge thanks to those members whose roles and responsibilities fit hand in glove with the Club Service Committee and make life easy, Deb Roach and Lyn McNeil for the Bulletin, Malcolm McNeil for the Program and the guest greeting role every week and Michael Jacobs and Jeremy Rogers for the Website communications.
Social: Earlier this year the annual Bonfire at Peter Grob’s raised $520, we managed to have a few social gatherings with first Friday drinks, etc. The Club Committee has resolved to make this a primary focus for the coming year. Fundraising: The annual Quaich Games had a few false starts this year but eventually was contested in March by a large group of hopefuls at the outdoor arena of McInerney Park. District Assembly: We again were asked to assist hosting of the District Assembly and cater for 120 attendees. This was a huge show of the support the Club can muster at short notice. The day allowed us to showcase our Club to others and in the bargain we raised over $2000 for the Club’s projects. Recognition of how pleased District is with our team, we have already been asked to do this again next year. Thanks to Trish for leading us so well and to those members who provided the home-‐cooked delicacies. Car parking: The Club has continued to support this important source of fundraising and it would not be a success without the team who have shared the responsibility for ensuring the roster is full, Mark, Trish and Rod. It has been fully supported by the wider Club members and this year we have raised over $6500.00. Well done Sunrise. Finally, Club Service this year has been instrumental, with the support of the Board, in introducing the inaugural “Excellence in Service” Awards. These awards are designed to celebrate and recognise the contributions made by our members throughout the year in each avenue of service with recipients nominated by their peers. It is hoped the awards will recognise those members who give so freely and consistently of their time and resources towards club projects as distinct from attendance at meetings. Well done to those who receive these Awards this year – you have truly earned them. Les Murray & Lyndon Bartholomew Co-‐Directors of Club Service
2014-‐2015 COMMUNITY SERVICES REPORT
Introduction The Community Service Committee has exceeded most of the objectives and targets agreed to at the beginning of the Rotary Year. The Hastings Sports Awards, the BIG DIG and the DO IT For Cancer Cure 6 Hour Mountain Bike Enduro; Happy Hoarders as well as the on-‐going hands-‐on construction, maintenance and gardening at OOSH are just a few achievements. A new event this year was the Volunteer Festival where we represented Rotary. The Lighthouse Project continues to be the Club’s primary community service project. Neil Black continued to record the number of on-‐site volunteer hours contributed by Sunrise members and their partners and friends to community service projects and events. A total of 602 onsite volunteer hours were recorded. In addition, members have contributed several hundred off-‐site hours planning for, organising and managing the above projects, as well as the 2014 Sports Awards for which we don't record any on-‐site hours. When the on-‐site volunteer hours contributed to activities organised by other Avenues of Service committees, such as: car-‐parking at the Artist Markets each month; the Mera School project in Nepal; and working bees for Rotary Lodge and Rotary Community Hall, the total number of on-‐site volunteer hours contributed during this Rotary Year exceeds 1,150. 2014 Hastings Sports Awards The Sports Awards Committee under the excellent leadership of Sandra Hollins and Di Hicks. The 2014 Rotary Sunrise Hastings Sports Awards saw over 45 local sportspeople and teams nominate/be nominated for one of the nine independently judged awards. The winners were: Sportsperson of the Year: Shelley Watts Junior Sportsperson (12 and under): Lleyton Wall Junior Sportsperson (18 and under): Claire Coelho and Paige Leonhardt Junior Team: MacKillop Senior College Boys Triathlon Senior Team: Port Macquarie Senior Men's Oztag Sportsperson with a Disability (Physical): Janel Manns Sportsperson with a Disability (Intellectual): Morgan Jean Services to Sport: Ken Little Excellence Awards: Jessica Rayner, Justin McIntyre, Hastings Public School Kilometre Club. This was the first year the Awards had Rotary Sunrise as the naming rights sponsor. In addition, other major prize donors, media partners and sponsors were; The Stihl Shop Port Macquarie, Donovan Oates Hannaford, Laing and Simmons Port Macquarie, Sports and Spinal, Port Macquarie News, NBN, Harvey Norman, QantasLink, Super Amart, Rydges Port Macquarie, 2MC FM and Langham Hotel Sydney. Other raffle prize donations were received from The Observatory Port Macquarie, Macquarie Waters, Tonic Beauty Therapy, The Stunned Mullet, Cassegrain Wines. Media partners provided approximately $30,000 value in print and television advertising. Super AMart Sport (Rebel) provided $500 in gift vouchers for the Excellence awards.
The judges for 2014 were Mark Strachan (2MC), Matt McLennan (Port News), Sue Reid and Riley Batt. The 2014 Rotary Sunrise Hastings Sports Awards Presentation Breakfast was held at Rydges Port Macquarie on Friday 31 October 2014. It was another well attended awards, with over 190 people attending the Awards presentation. The Hastings Sports Awards achieved its objective thanks to the active participation of a large number of members. Proactive feedback was received from the breakfast attendees regarding the positive atmosphere and strong “Club Feel” at this year’s awards. Many comments related to the energy and visible enjoyment of the club members, with the conclusion that it “must be a great club to be part of”. The Awards raised approximately $500 in proceeds to be donated back to the community. Financials
Income Expense
Sponsorship 2,500
Breakfast 3,100 4,393
Awards 4,200
Raffle 3,500
Profit/Loss 507
The Sports Awards for 2014 were yet again managed in the excellent hands of Sandra Hollins, in her last year as Chair of the Committee. Sandra will mentor Diane Hicks as new Chair for the 2015 Awards, which will see a number of new committee members, as well as collaboration with the Port Macquarie Hastings Council. BIG DIG 2014 Fourth Annual BIG DIG was on Sunday 17th May 2015. The date was distanced from Iron Man and this proved to be a good move. What went well:
• Generous sponsorship from Port City Bowling Club as the Major sponsor • Sponsorship from Greenmeadows Medical; Northcorp Accountants; Sthil Shop Port
Macquarie and Big W • Many volunteers to cover the work! And pirate theme was again highly popular • Good coverage by print and social media • All accommodation covered; all schools; and many outlets with posters • Council provided free electronic billboard on Gordon street • 400 children tickets and 50 adult dig tickets – all sold! • The community is generally very aware of the Annual event and has kudos
• Despite damp weather all 3 mascots were there! Big Dog; Healthy Harold and Ditto • The digging went faster than previous 3 years! All over in 25 minutes! • Dunk the Mayor was extremely popular – plenty of balloons this year! • Dunking machine has enquiries for hiring out!! • Wrist bands worked well this year with no one sneaking in for free digs • The identification of the “sample” tokens at all touch points was very useful • Happy customers despite the wet weather
Inclusion of Healthy Harold and Life education this year Port City & OOSH had some great activities Solid sponsorship gathered early prior to the event Doppio or Nothing did not charge for the volunteer coffees and donated $50 $7,055.50 was raised with donations going to: $3,500 to Mera School, Nepal $2,000 for Lighthouse restoration $500 to Headspace Port Macquarie $500 to Life Education Mid North Coast $500 to Bravehearts Mid North Coast A new date has been set for Sunday 15 May 2016 on Town Beach for the 5th Annual BIG DIG. Tacking Point Lighthouse Project Over the past Rotary year significant progress has continued to be made with the Tacking Point Lighthouse Project – a Sunrise Rotary community service project adopted in 2010. In August 2014, six interpretive signs installed on the Lighthouse headland were unveiled by Mayor Peter Besseling and Sunrise President Dr Robert Clarke. All signs were sponsored by Club members or members’ businesses and have been extremely well received by both tourists and locals. The content of the signs along with the respective sponsor are: History of the Lighthouse (Greenmeadows Health Centre); History and layout of the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage (McNeil Architects); Significance of the Three Brothers mountains (Port Macquarie Skin Cancer Clinic); Whale migration and associated information (Priest Legal); Cultural significance of the site to the Birpai Aboriginal people (Helen & John Ross OAM); Information about significant local Shipwrecks (Port Macquarie News). The other major development during the past year has been the implementation of Stage 4 of the restoration and construction components of the Lighthouse Project. This stage involved the construction of 125m of walkway, connecting to the walkway constructed during Stage 3 and running back along Lighthouse Road away from the Lighthouse towards the residential area. This new walkway provides greatly improved safety for pedestrians and includes a 50m cantilevered boardwalk, 45m of concrete path and 30m of compacted gravel path. The funds for Stage 4 design and construction comprised: a $28,400 State Government Community Building Partnership Program grant obtained by Sunrise Rotary; a cash contribution of $2,800 by
Sunrise Rotary; and a cash contribution by Port Macquarie-‐Hastings Council of $51,000. Sunrise Rotary members contributed 245 on-‐job volunteer hours as well as project managing the project and undertaking all the administration and organisation tasks in a voluntary capacity. Stage 4 was officially opened by local State Member of Parliament Leslie Williams on the 20 April 2015 with Mayor Peter Besseling and Sunrise President Dr Robert Clarke participating in the official proceedings. The Sunrise media team facilitated excellent media coverage of the event. Due to this major project and the benefits to the community, Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise was awarded the “Premier’s Award for Community service”. This award was formally presented by MP Leslie Williams. Happy Hoarder’s Heaven The objective was to raise money through the sale of various items from a Hoarder who had amassed a few sheds of old wares in Yarrahappini. It was more of a PR event as we barely broke even. Highlighted the need for more prior assessment before committing to a project. On a positive note, many members went home with treasured, albeit useless items! Sadly we may have created more Hoarders! Do It For Cancer Cure 6 Hour Mountain Bike Enduro
The Do It For Cancer Enduro event was held on Sunday 20th July 2014 at the Bago Vineyard mountain bike track in conjunction with the Hastings Valley Mountain Bike Riders Club (HVMBR) and the Cancer Council of NSW. The organising committee consisted of: Peter Vane (Chair), John Carroll, Neil Black, Ivana Agapiou, Sherryl Robinson, Peter Newman, Rachel Varady all from Sunrise plus Jamie Vogele, Jason Dragos, Belinda Green from HVMBR and Sarah Rogers from Cancer Council of NSW. There were over 110 registrations and $9400 was raised for Cancer Council NSW through donations, race entry fees and food sales. The event was promoted by our Club and by HVMBR on Facebook and in the media. There were many riders from outside the Hastings Valley. This was the first competitive event held at the track so many came to see what it was like. The volunteers from our Club were dedicated throughout the day with marshalling, timing, food preparation, food serving and setting up and pulling down. It is a great Club and once again confirmed just how good we are as a team. Also we ran the Old Farts Chariot Race with hilarious results and additional donations. It was planned to hold the event again in 2015 however the President of Hastings Valley Mountain Bike Riders Club reported that the HVMBR Club has continuing issues with membership and their track locations. This is putting a lot of pressure on only a few individuals in their Club.
It was concluded that it would be better to defer the event until 2016 when the HVMBR will be in better shape to help hold the event. Port Macquarie Volunteer Festival It was decided to support a display stand at the Port Macquarie Volunteer Festival held at the Maritime Museum on Saturday 16th May. The day was a celebration of volunteering in the Hastings region and culminated in the presentation of Volunteer of the Year Awards. Club member, Neil Black was present to receive a certificate as a finalist in Senior Volunteer of the Year Award. A hardy band of Club members attended in shifts to man the stand in intermittent rain showers. The construction theme – representing Rotary at work – was enthusiastically taken up by our volunteers. Special note should be made of non-‐member Deb Murray whose son James is currently in Taiwan as our outbound Youth Exchange student. Deb dressed for the construction theme and worked the house down selling raffle tickets and promoting Rotary to all and sundry. It was great to see someone who is a non-‐Rotarian truly valuing what Rotary gives to the community. Realistically, there were very few people attending the festival who were not other volunteers and in fact Club members only held discussions with a handful of people who were sufficiently interested in what Rotary does. Wet weather did not help of course but the general promotion was low key. Club members enjoyed the day and there was fellowship and it was great to support Neil. A Cluster approach may be better with a larger stand but we would need to see just what promotion will be done in the lead up next year.
OOSH (Out of School Hours & Vacation Care – Port Macquarie Neighbourhood Centre Children’s Services)
Over the past year Sunrise Rotary has continued to provide support to the Port Macquarie Neighbourhood Centre Children’s Services (commonly known as OOSH), which is a not-‐for-‐profit organisation providing a valuable service to the community.
Working Bees are scheduled twice a year, the last one was a great success with many building and upgrades of the facilities and gardens. This year we held a working bee on 12 April 2015. The merry band of 12 workers had a list of 18 projects to achieve and almost all were achieved, with a little extra painting thrown in for good measure. There were a total of 53 volunteer hours contributed to this project. The tasks included rubbish removal (where we carefully separated the steel to be delivered for recycling), fixing latches, repainting the dirt pit cover, removing disintegrating blinds, weed control, fence repair, pressure cleaning, tree pruning, paving repairs, and more. On Friday April 24, 2015 we did manage to get Dimity (Director of OOSH) along to breakfast to give us an update on what OOSH does, and to receive a cheque for $1,000 towards the running of OOSH.
One project that Dimity has let slip that she would dearly like is a shelter under which to park the OOSH bus after hours. Geoff and Malcolm have come up with an idea in this regard and will work through the feasibility of achieving. After all we would like to help protect our investment – Sunrise helped OOSH to obtain their own bus. The next working bee to be scheduled during August where there will, no doubt, be a new list to help keep the facility from falling into disrepair.
OOSH staff assisted again with the BIG DIG event by arranging a number of supplementary activities for the children.
Plug n Go
This program is currently in hibernation as we have had very little uptake on the idea either from potential users or businesses prepared to make their premises available as charging points. Based on the fact that we had a large windfall on the "charge point" name, and since selling it has been noted that the name is being used at some service stations, we have decided to keep the names registered. It is envisaged that there is the possibility of a repeat scenario for the small cost of continuing registration. Headland Park Benches (new project) At the time of going to press we had just lodged an application with Port Macquarie Hastings Council for a $5,000 Placemaking Micro Grant that is proposed to be used to provide bench seats on the headland in Stewart Street opposite Rotary Park. Discussions with Council on this project were very encouraging and we look forward to being able to get this project off the ground, with the potential link in with the memorial plaques on benches program and possibly even kick start our "Walk of Stars" project. This is envisaged as being at no cost to the club with great potential to even be a fundraiser. This is seen as a great project for our community and one where our club could gain significant exposure. HOT OFF PRESS! Application for a $5,000 Micro-‐Grant was accepted on June 9th 2015 for implementation of Park Benches on the headland in Stewart Street, opposite Rotary Park. Historic Cemetery Upgrade (new project) We are currently discussing with Port Macquarie Hastings Council, the possibility of providing our volunteer efforts to upgrade the Gordon Street presentation of the Cemetery with rejuvenation of the gates, the "Port Macquarie 1821" signage, and a total revamp of the landscaping. Council have allocated a preliminary budget of $120,000 and we are proposing to break the project down into stages for readily achievable milestones to keep up the enthusiasm of what is potentially a large and significant project. Ultimately we would want to see this project completed and looking like a million dollars prior to the Bi-‐Centenary of Port Macquarie in 6 years time. Again, this is seen as a great project for our community and one where our club could gain significant exposure.
Shade over Playgrounds (new project) With the redevelopment of "Sails by Rydges" a new entry structure is proposed. As such the existing entry structure is available free of charge to a good home. We have commenced discussions in regard to our club taking possession of this structure around May 2016 for re-‐erection over a children's playground. At this stage Livvi's Place (in Westport Park) and Town Beach Park (near the skate park) are being considered. The Project Manager for "Sails by Rydges" is keen and the initial discussion with a Council's Landscape Architect is all positive. So, hopefully in next year’s report, we will be able to report that this project has commenced or is about to commence. End Obesity Now (EON) This project got off to a flying start but has floundered of late with the realisation that there are currently so many projects out there with similar objectives. Nonetheless we are commencing discussions with "Life Education" and "NSW Cancer Council" program to see if we can enhance their programs for younger children, where we feel we have the best chance of influencing lifestyle choices to the betterment of health in the whole community. Conclusion In conclusion, 2014-‐15 has been very busy indeed for our Community Service team with ongoing projects (Lighthouse Project & OOSH) and annual events (Sports Awards, Big Dig, Mountain Bike Ride) as well as the Volunteer Festival and the Hoarder event.
Finally, Community Services is in need of a replacement for co-‐chair as Ivana is stepping down during 2015/16 – could this be you?
Mel Stramlic and Ivana Agapiou Co-‐Directors
2014-‐15 INTERNATIONAL SERVICES REPORT This year was one of reflection, re-‐defining and recovery. This club does not stand on our laurels; we stood back and reflected on the tremendous amount of work done in 2013-‐2014. This year's International Committee's focus continues with supporting the Kharikhola community and now more recently with the recovery process after the devastating earthquakes in Kathmandu and widespread areas of Nepal. All our thoughts are with this community as they reconstruct their homes and their lives. Fortunately the Greenhouse and The Mera School were not initially damaged. To assist in the recovery process, direct funding channels have been set up to allow individual donations to be directed specifically to this community's reconstruction, the prevention of disease and a speedy return to adequate shelter before the rainy season arrives. After the visit, as part of our continual improvement strategy, the following two documents were generated: 1 -‐ Evaluation Document During the March 2014 visit of the Sunrise Rotarian team to construct the Greenhouse at Kharikhola, discussions and interviews were conducted with many members of the Kharikhola community, with the outcome of an overall Evaluation Document being produced by a Rotarian sub-‐committee to the International Committee, which included 3 members of the Rotarian overseas team. The outcome was to re-‐define the community needs, as a result of direct community communication. The compilation of this document coincided with the ending of the Memorandum of Understanding spanning the 5 years (2010-‐2014) that was set up between Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise and Rotary Club of South Patan, Nepal. The outcome was the creation of a list of Project priorities. Project Priorities for 2015-‐2016 As a result of a Sub-‐Committee of the Sunrise Rotary International Committee, comprising Trish Affleck-‐Mooney, Alec Brown, Ted Campbell, Joy Raisborough and Kerrie Wood, development of a document recommending courses of actions which have been accepted in principle by the Board: 1. To increase the number of outlying children attending the Mera school. 2. To extend the Mera school curriculum to introduce English language teaching. 3. To provide a limited number of school scholarships for selected students. 4. To introduce a system of bio-‐organic toilets with a prime objective of improving the living standards of the community. 2 -‐ Overseas Project Guidelines A template was created for Conducting of an Overseas Sunrise Rotary Projects to be used for all future projects. Our thanks go primarily to Rotarian Ted Campbell along with the Mera School Project Sub Committee members.
RAMS In February 2015 the Board agreed to give RAMS $1,000 to purchase mosquito nets. Shelter Box and/or Disaster Aid Box In July 2015 the Board agreed to give $1000. Pink Umbrella Organisation Donation of $1000 – Thank you to Kerrie Wood for her submission and continued skilled endeavours to acquire finances. RAWCS donation – May 2015 In confirming their recognition of the ongoing Mera school project as a RAWCS model project, our Club received a District 9650 Funding Grant to build a support wall next to our Greenhouse and to extend the Mera School playground. Thank you Alec Brown for your continued efforts and skills in applying for these Rotary grants. Sheets from Jetz Commercial Laundry We were able to obtain bedding and linen from Jetz Commercial Laundry to an organisation that delivered the sheets, etc, to Outback Australian communities. A huge thank you to the Jetz Commercial Laundry. The International Committee has maintained communication with the Scottish Rotary Club of Burntisland & Kinghorn, following their very generous contribution financially to the Kharikhola Greenhouse costs early in 2014. This club remains interested in the ongoing Nepal projects, and has expressed their concerns for the Kharikhola community in the light of the April/May Earthquake/s in Katmandu. Rotarian Peter Grob is planning a trip to UK later this year and to visit our fellow Scottish Rotary club. World Polio As a fund raiser for Polio Plus, a premier screening of ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2’ film was attended by 80 Rotarians and friends on 26 February 2015 for World Polio Awareness Day. Both Carolyn and I would sincerely like to thank in particular our fellow International Club members for all their time – a true gift, their patience and persistence along with our fellow Club members whom without their generosity, many of these projects may not have started. We would also like to thank the Board for its support. Carolyn Ireland & Paul Haynes Co-‐Directors
2014-‐2015 YOUTH REPORT On behalf of the Youth committee we would like to thank all our members for their ongoing support of our youth portfolio and welcome another exciting year ahead of us with Peter Grob and John Carroll sharing the role of Youth Director. We are extremely proud of our youth initiatives with Rotary Port Macquarie Sunrise as it is crucial to continue to have a strong link with the youth programmes to educate and increase awareness of the local community work Rotary provides and encourage membership to our club. YOUTH EXCHANGE a) Inbound We again hosted an inbound student this year, Nico Muhmenthaler from Switzerland, who arrived in July 2014 for his 12-‐month exchange programme. We have received very positive reports from St Columba Anglican School with regard to his integration into the school education system. His first host family were Sandra and Peter Grob, he then moved to the Woodwards, Bensons and finished his time staying with Sandra and Paul Haynes. Our strong ties with our school community at St Columba Anglican School has been extremely positive for assisting with our inbound exchange programme. This year we also provided the school the opportunity to review the inbound candidates who worked extremely well to have them involved in the selection process. Our next inbound exchange student is Anna Theresa Schauss born 29/10/1999 from Velden, Austria. Anna will be arriving on 3 August. b) Outbound Jade Conway returned after her 12-‐month outbound exchange student experience to Austria. Jade gave an informative overview of her exchange programme to Rotary Sunrise Members. Our two current outbound exchange students – Kathryn Puchert from St. Pauls High School and James Mitchell from St. Columba, are settling in well with their cultural exchange programme to Austria and Taiwan respectively. RYLA RYLA was held at Mt Yarrahappini again this year in late March with 28 young people participating and 4 returning RYLARIANS who returned as leaders for the teams. Our club had 3 participants Ellie Pitkin, Brice Haywood and Cody Morris. Brice and Cody gave us a presentation and shared some of their experiences and highlights from their week at RYLA with us. A special thanks to both Ivana Agapiou and John Carroll for the effort they both put into organising and running the event. The programme again proved to be a huge success.
MUNA Rotary Club Sunrise works in close partnership with St Columba Anglican School and in 2013 the school hosted the venue for the MUNA assembly. This year the MUNA event was held in Inverell and SCAS sent 2 teams to participate. One of the teams finished runner up at the assembly. Luminosity Youth Summit The inaugural Luminosity Youth Summit was launched in July 2013 with over 250 youth aged 15-‐25 years attending the summit at The Glasshouse. Rotary Sunrise sponsored 4 candidates last year and will be again sponsoring 4 candidates for scholarships in July 2015. This year we’re a Platinum sponsor of the Luminosity Youth Summit. Car Observation Drive The “azaming mystery tour” was held in February with 21 cars registered. Besides our loyal members, we had neighbours, visiting Rotarian from England and members of the MX5 club attending. It was a very pleasant social event that ended at Roses Winery with Steven and Ann-‐Maree Bruce as the winners. Interact Interact at St Columba continues to attract the interest from many students. A big thank you to Jan Crombie for her input and guidance to the students. They continue to promote the Rotary ideals and contribute to worthy charities with funds they raise at events throughout the year. This year, many students from St Columba volunteered at the iron man event and received $700.00 for their effort. They have agreed to donate the money towards the Mera school project, to help restore the school building after the earthquake. Port Macquarie Sunrise has had a strong involvement in youth programmes and this is intended to continue in the years ahead. This involvement is due to the hard work and dedication of the Youth Committee, individual club members and the club as a whole. I would like to thank everyone who has assisted or contributed to any of the youth programmes, as without that assistance then we would not be able to give these students and young adults the opportunities and experiences these programmes present. A mention of thanks must also be given to the senior staff and administration of St Columba Anglican School for their support of Rotary and its youth programs. Sue Jogever and Peter Grob Co-‐Directors
2014-‐2015 ROTARY FOUNDATION REPORT
The Rotary Foundation
We have had a good year with Rotary Foundation District grants from District 9650 for the Mera School green house support wall and the playground extension totalling $3,631.20 Our Rotary Foundation Global Grant application for DDF Funding part (District designated funding) for our sanitation, health and hygiene project for Kharikhola village (which includes the Bio-‐organic toilets and solar showers, etc) was well received by the District and in principle they have agreed to our request for $15,000.00. The Rotary Foundation will give us dollar for dollar for DDF funding. We have also received in donations (in our RAWCS account) of approx. $8,000.00 for which the Rotary Foundation will give us $0.50 for our dollars. So we are well towards funding our $50,000 project cost. We will be sending experts to the Kharikhola Village in the next 6 months to carry out a feasibility study on the Biogas production part of the project. Kerrie and Trish are hoping to visit the village during that time period.
We have increased the Club membership of the Rotary Centurion Club but we are still way off 100% membership – it is less than the cost of 26 coffees per year!!
Rotary Lodge
2015 has been a Good News/Bad News year for Rotary Lodge. We have received many small grants for purchasing sofas for our long stay rooms and for the addition of another 25 kW of solar PV panels. Our Wotif payments over the Christmas period (when the Lodge is empty) have allowed us to complete the air conditioning of all our rooms. The bad news part was that our application for Federal Government funding for the building of our new wing from their National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF) for $1.335 million was not successful. We have received useful feedback and we will be applying for round two of the funding. We are still waiting for the Cancer Council NSW to decide the grant they will provide we are hopeful for $800,000.00. We will be commencing the building of the new wing infrastructure (i.e laying of the new ductile iron water main and the building of the new car park including the concreting of car park surface) in the middle of June 2015. Alec Brown Director
2014-‐15 VOCATIONAL SERVICES REPORT Members: Robert Brangwin, Emilie Cooper, Eric Elsey, Barry Searle, Lynn Moore, George Mills, Jeff Smith, Neville Ramm, Sheryl Robinson and Jenny Sinclair. During the year the Vocational Services Committee welcomed two new members, Barry and Lynn. Both have added immensely to the committee’s discussions, planning, organisation and implementation. It has been a year which included recognising vocational excellence including:
• The awarding of $200 Excellence in Vocational Studies prize to two Year 12 students – one at St Columba Anglican School and one at Newmans Senior Technical College at their End of School Year Awards
• Rotarian, John Carroll receiving the Vocational Service Award at the District Conference in Inverell
The biggest commitment this year has been our Beyond the Stars @ Rydges event which we organised in May to support the Port Macquarie Astronomical Association and their vision of a new Science Education Centre and Planetarium incorporating an Observatory at Town Beach. Billed as a musical extravaganza, it certainly delivered, as 180 guests were entertained by a musical extravaganza with John ‘Elvis’ Collins, Di Solomon and band. During the night the Astronomical Association and McNeil Architects presented their 3D vision for the Centre. The night proved a fantastic launching point for the next stage of the project netting approx. $5500 from the night. The club undertook four (4) Vocational Visits this year to very diverse organisations. In early August, 41 members and guests of the club visited the new fourth pod of the Port Macquarie Base Hospital. We were given a very informative and interesting tour by the Nurse Educator of the new surrounds which included viewing the new ER area, theatres, children’s ward and play area, etc, and an in-‐depth commentary on the day-‐to-‐day workings, the history and the building of the new pod. We then enjoyed a breakfast in the hospital cafeteria. October saw 43 Rotarians and guests visit Billabong Zoo – a spectacular spot especially with the animals just waking up! Vocational members served up a great breakfast and we were then guided around the Zoo by owner Mark and his team with the tour providing many insights to the workings of the Zoo and its future plans. A visit to Marine Rescue headquarters in February was a real eye opener for our 38 members and guests who joined us for the morning. Many of us were unaware of the lack of Government funding for this vital service and the costs involved in keeping it going. Watching dawn break across the water, enjoying a BBQ brekkie and learning more about the operations of the service proved a great start to the day. To tie in with our Beyond the Stars event, a night vocational visit to the Town’s Observatory was next on the agenda in mid-‐May. 35 Rotarians and guests enjoyed a smorgasboard dinner at Port City Bowling Club (who are also major sponsors of the Big Dig – it is great to be able to patronise
businesses in town that support our endeavours) and then off to the Observatory for a talk of future plans for the site by the Astronomical Association. We also got a bit of stargazing in too! The Vocational Services Committee catered and served two breakfasts of the four visits and in doing so made for the club approximately $1,200. A great effort. Thank you to those of the Committee who donated food and other expenses. Several vocational and member’s talks have been given throughout the year as part of normal club breakfasts, all well delivered and giving members new perspectives on other members and their occupations. Finally, thank you to ALL members of the Vocational Services team for their time, assistance, whole-‐hearted help, invaluable ideas and discussion. Jenny Sinclair Director