Last Sunday week showed us all just how fragile we are when dealing with COVID19.  Hopefully now the vaccine is available we, as a country, can get on top of it.  It’s not time to get complacent – remember to sign in to record where you have been.

 

What a month February has been with our speakers. The calibre remains very high – thank you Richard.  Dan Olberg with his tale of mineral exploration and Duncan Holland and his rowing tales have enthralled us with their stories (ensuring no members nodded off!!!). It’s amazing who lives locally and has an interesting story to tell.

 

Clubrunner is our main means of communication. We use it for newsletters, notices, requests for help etc.  Please ensure you open and read these. Our Tech expert is able to monitor who opens and who doesn’t.  I am told that some of the recent messages have only been opened by 65% of members. With meetings twice a month we rely on members reading these messages to keep up to date.

 

 

Directors have approved the purchase of a Shelter Box ($1500).  Shelter boxes are stored nationally and used as equipped emergency shelters when disasters (eg storms, earthquakes etc) happen and people are affected through these events. We are supporting a District challenge from DG Dylan Murray for every club to support the Rotary national shelter box effort.

 

We have also set up a fund ($5000) to assist the school aged children of families whose employment /income has been affected by COVID. We will cover up to $200 for school children to cover such things as sports subs, cultural fees, school camps etc. The money will be paid directly to the organisation to ensure funds are used for their intended purpose. We are using Community House based agencies – mainly Budget Services – to recommend those needing assistance.

 

An application has also been prepared for a District Grant (max $2000) to aid the development of Poplar Grove reserve. If successful this will give an additional boost to get the project completed.

 

Thank you to all who have diligently attended to the allocated club duties for meeting nights. We are moving along very well in the Bridge Club venue and I think everyone is enjoying both the venue and the meals.

 

 

 

Another successful weekend at Aspiring Lodge on the 29^th to 31^st of January. A small crew but we achieved a lot.

 

Owen and Arnie built a small shed to park our auxiliary generator which was just purchased as we were having a few troubles with the old one. Needless to say, now that we have got the standby, the main generator has behaved.

 

Steve, John, Mark and Gordon cut up the timber from an old shed which had been dismantled by Wanaka Rotary. That was after removing all the nails!!

Mark and Gordon dealt to the lawns, while John Whitaker spent half a day with a weed eater and made a huge difference. See the steps which we had hardly seen for a year or two.

 

Russell and Barbara Lambeth were with us. Barbara has put 40 new pillows into the cases we had. Those who have been exposed to the old ones will notice the difference next time around. Russell spent his time organising and telling us where to find stuff.

 

 

Another group accompanied me for an overnight visit on the 17/18 February to do lawns etc. Didn’t get off to the greatest start as the tractor battery was flat. Had to have a new one bought up the following morning. Fortunately, Nev was able to cross with his ute so all was not lost.

 

Nev spent his time dealing to a couple of trees that had been blown over. Mike Rooney is now qualified to mow lawns. Stu Beattie and invited guest Dave Mitchell (son of a plumber) took on the task of replacing our upgraded inlet valve to the water supply.

 

It was a bit of a mystery about this job as it took all afternoon to place the fitting and get rid of the air bubbles, and then most of the following morning to check if it was working. Some story about a very large rock having landed on the pipe and hence flow difficulties. We also had some time to start on the removal of a pile of branches out to the bonfire site Nev has created.

 

All in all, a good day out as the river was low and the weather was perfect.

 

 

 

Thanks to Owen, the supreme hunter and gatherer, we will again have venison steaks and sausages supplied to us. Jean Bonsor is going to do the salads and our now expected desert

 

This year we have a venue fee but thanks to Owen and the meat we will be able to leave the price at $20 per head with any extra going into the club funds. Will be looking for numbers to be sorted by the 9^th of March.

 

 

 

So that will get us started for the year. Watch this space for updates!

 

Cheers