A relativity small number of enthusiastic members and guests enjoyed a delicious BBQ meal, good fellowship and an excellent guest speaker,   Co President Gary welcomed our guest speaker and several "lovely partners" and then called on Directors and others, to update all on upcoming activity. Golf Tournament March 17th - Dave H. reported that it is a sellout and once again extended the Clubs sincere thanks to New World - Lunn Ave, New World - Remuera and New World Eastridge. Without the very generous support from these wonderful businesses, there would be no tournament and access to funds by the club to continue our good work in the community would be severely impacted. Co-President Gary once again extended the Club's thanks to Dave for all his work. Coopers Creek Outing - Unfortunately this was cancelled due to a bad weather forecast, which turned out to be a false alarm. Penny is now looking at a new date. Apirana Reserve remains a very active project and Peter B. will share more details regarding the next working bee shortly. The Rotary International Student Exchange Programme, suspended during Covid, is back up and running. There is a slim possibility that St. Johns will be participating in the year commencing July, and if this is to be the case, full details will be discussed with members. Guest Speaker - Mike Potter CEO of Disability Connect: Disability Connect is an organisation formed to help people with disabilities and their families to lead the lives they want. Their mission is to empower disabled people and their families through leading social change. Mike is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the Not-for-Profit Sector. Prior to a motor vehicle accident in 2008 that left him with a spinal cord impairment he was a competitive international runner and a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at AUT. Mike is a reflective thinker whose upbringing, vocation, life experience and understanding of the disability paradigms are helping him to advocate for an inclusive world for people with disabilities and their families. He is a proud husband and Dad to two teenage daughters, and is an advisor for The Cookie Project. He has an MCom (Hons) in Marketing and International Business from the University of Auckland. Mike was a key resource in the instigation of the "Breaking Barriers Disability Day" which Ainie Kwok ran. He was very appreciative of the support extended by St. Johns and hopes that we will again support his efforts at the 2023 Breaking Barriers Expo.  
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THURSDAY MARCH 9th - BREAKFAST MEETING - GUEST SPEAKER - TROY ELLIOT. Troy is CEO of I Am Hope. I AM HOPE has one goal - positive societal attitudinal change. We know our youth struggle with distressing self-talk and overthinking, leaving them feeling isolated and alone. When we show them these thoughts are universal, we can give our kids a better life.
THURSDAY MARCH 16th - MEETING CANCELLED - In Lieu members have been invited to the Rotary Club of Auckland East - Guest Speaker Simon Bridges. Details below.
