THE RANGE" Vol. 65 No.5
APOLOGIES
Apologies please to Bernice before noon on Tuesday.
DUTY ROSTER
7thSep 21stSep 5thOct
Duty Officer Michael G Craig S Ric T
Assist DO Keith R Alan W Fran T
Registration Peter McQ Roly N Jim A
Fellowship Jared A Rick V John McL
WOOLWORTH SAUSAGE SIZZLE ROSTER
01 Oct 0730 - 1030 John McL Peter McQ Fran T
26 Nov 0730 - 1030 Phillip S Sherryl G Des C
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
It’s been a big couple of weeks with every Wednesday night involving Rotary. Last week, we had the annual RUSCCF (Rotary & USC Community Fund) dinner which had been delayed from May due to, of course, the weather!! Maleny Rotary Club ran the bar as usual, albeit minus Chris Brooker at the helm: however we did a good job and satisfied some thirsty people. A big thanks to Rick V and Jeff C for picking everything up from the RSL and taking it all back again at the end of the night. Rick, Jeff and myself ran the bar and Alan helped out when he arrived and let me tell you it was pretty hectic there for a while. The night had the usual three scholarships of $4,500 each handed out and this year there was an extra one of $5,500 in honour of the 100th Anniversary of Rotary in Australia. Some amazing theses being written and research is going on that could benefit many in years to come.
The guest speaker for the evening was fascinating, even though she was on video and not in person. Professor Kathy Townsend is based up at the university’s Hervey Bay campus where she’s doing research on sea turtles. An illuminating talk and a sad one as she spoke about the amount of plastic in the ocean caused by us here in Australia; this is decimating the population of all types of sea turtles. The ongoing floods are also creating problems as the mud from them is acting like a cover over the seagrass and, as a result, there’s only 1% of it available for the turtles to eat. So that will cause starvation. The professor is trying to fund a recovery and research centre in the area as currently all sick turtles have to be transported to either Gladstone or down here to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital for treatment. The Wildlife Hospital has had numbers increase from an average of around 20 turtles a year to 80 in 2021 and at May 2022 numbers were at 40.
On Wednesday night this week the Pride of Workmanship Awards Dinner was held at the RSL - and what a night it was!! We had a total of 16 recipients this year with 13 being present to receive their awards with their businesses, organizations and families present. Amongst the numerous employees, we had a few volunteers and a business owner also represented. It’s great to see this acknowledgment of people regardless if they are paid or unpaid. I’m not too sure of the final numbers present, however it was around 75, and the RSL hall was filled with a bright, happy and almost festive atmosphere. Jared Ashcroft did a fantastic job as MC, especially considering this was his first time in such a role. Not only did he fill the MC role, he also put together the PowerPoint presentation and arranged with Melissa from a local floral business to decorate the tables with cyclamen in pots which were available for purchase at the end of the night and there was a beautiful display she’d made up of flowers from Jared’s own garden.
We had our own two photographers on the night, Neil A with his professional camera gear and Renee H using her iPhone camera. Unfortunately, the memory card Neil used ended up being corrupted so there are no photos from him however with Renee’s 400+ photos, we certainly have some great memories of the night.
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The food and service by the RSL was excellent so we are appreciative of their contribution to our fabulous night. Of course, I have to express my gratitude to Greg W and Alan W who once again joined myself walking around the town approaching as many local businesses and organizations talking to everyone about the Pride of Workmanship awards and how to nominate people. And to Craig S for his behind the scenes role fielding emails and phone calls with the various nominators and nominees. It takes a while to go around and speak with as many as we can however it’s definitely worth it. We have to be the only organization in town that takes the time to do so. In the process, we find out about who has sold and who is new - this is definitely beneficial and appreciated by many.
Lastly, as we’ve mentioned now for a while, we as a club have one vote on 15 September as to whether we want the Regionalisation Pilot Project to go ahead or not. If you weren’t at the last dinner meeting when Michael G gave us an excellent understanding and background on it, there is information available at www.creatingtomorrowrotary.org for you to review. As well, you can check out this latest video: https://vimeo.com/737422555. There are also another 2 dates to see the webinar if you missed the previous ones. These are at 3.00pm on Thursday 8 September and 5.00pm on Monday 12 September. You have to register prior to them - contact me for the links and I’ll forward them to you.
BIRTHDAYS FOR SEPTEMBER
29th Mia Schouteten
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