With today’s news of ZERO new or active Covid-19 cases, it is with happy relief that we move to Level 1 from midnight tonight and can RESUME our physical meetings this week, bright and early from 7:00 AM !!!
Meeting via Zoom had some unexpected benefits as displayed last week with a great turnout of members, partners and visiting Rotarian's from other clubs listening to our local politicians Chloe and Paul. Of the 12 Zoom ‘Club’ meets I have hosted, it was heartening to maintain a strong attendance and for many of those 12 meetings we also enjoyed the bonus-Zoom-In of Honorary members (Andy, MaryAnn, Alex M, David S, Ainie) scattered across the country; Oscar popped in from London; and many ‘evening-only’ members also managed to juggle joining us into their morning work schedules. So, big thumbs up 👍 to all members who plunged into the world of Zoom and stayed connected to the best Rotary Club ever!
We are now exploring the technicalities of continuing to offer a Zoom option to join us, at our physical meets. The logistics of filming and following club chat; notices; Sergeants session; speakers presentations; question time etc is somewhat daunting – but we will certainly give it a go for a few weeks to see if the concept is workable. (The link will be emailed out in the usual way).
I am really looking forward to greeting you all back to our home base on Thursday morning. Come and join us for a hearty buffet breakfast, lots of catch-up chat and a fun in-house post-lockdown meeting featuring four of our fantastic members as speakers.
As good as "Zoom" has been by keeping us in-touch with each other and Rotary activity over the last 2 months, hopefully this was the last Zoom Meeting that we will hold!! A face to face real meeting on June the 11th is eagerly looked forward too.
Our meeting last week attracted 41 Zoomer's, certainly a good size crowd keen for some political electioneering. Our first guest speaker was Chloe Swarbrick. Chloe was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23 in 2017 and is the Green Party Spokesperson for Mental Health, Drug Law Reform, Education, Arts and Heritage, Tertiary Education, Small Business, Broadcasting, Youth and Local Government.
Unfortunately Chloe had a flight to catch so she was limited with the time she had, however, she spoke quickly and covered a lot of ground including the impact on New Zealand of COVID-19, Marijuana Reform, and what and how we provide for Future Generations. Chloe spoke to our club around 3 years ago and it appeared that most of those present enjoyed the talk which captured her wit, her passion and her knowledge.
The second speaker up was the Hon Paul Goldsmith. Paul first entered Parliament following the 2014 General Election. Today he is a List Member for the National Party and their spokesperson for Finance and the Earthquake Commission. Paul's talk covered his background, personal and family, the cost to the economy of COVID-19, and what needs to be done to ensure that the debt being incurred by the country is minimised, and how we can reduce the debt as soon as possible. Paul said that it is important that the recovery plan focuses on reducing unemployment and business failures need to be kept as low as possible. He says the Government must also encourage spending and investment, both local and from offshore.
Following the guest speakers, President Robyn covered off Club Notices and reminded members of the first face to face weekly meeting on the 11th of June, the GI Reserve cleanup on Sunday the 7th and Change-over on June 26th.
THURSDAY JUNE 11th - Breakfast Meeting Remuera Golf Club 7.00 am: Lockdown - Let me out of here!
Join us for a shared experience of Lockdown and what it meant for four of our members, Leslie, Penny, Graham and Simon. More importantly what the near future looks like. This debate is an opportunity to have fun together as this is the 1st time the club will be back at Remuera physically.
THURSDAY JUNE 18th - Breakfast Meeting Remuera Golf Club 7 am:
Club Project Planning Forum. An opportunity to be updated on club projects and plan for new.
FRIDAY JUNE 26th - Change-over Dinner Meeting Remuera Golf Club 6 pm:
This event is one of the most important dates in the Rotary Calendar. Please see invitation below - diary and RSVP NOW! Note: Our regular Dinner Meeting on Thursday June 25th has been cancelled.
The club's first opportunity to do good in the Community, following months of Lockdown and restricted activity, came by way of a Clean-up of Maybury Reserve and Creek in Glen Innes.
The Clean-up organised by Cheri was held yesterday at short notice and regrettably this probably had an impact on the number of helpers (6) who turned up to assist. However, despite the small number of volunteers the clean-up reaped a dozen bags of rubbish plus other bits and pieces as seen in the photos.
A big thank you to Cheri for her organisation and to the volunteers, (Cheri, President Robyn, Murray, John, PP Peter B and Peter W), who donned gloves and Rotary high-viz vests on a cool, but clear Sunday morning to get the job done.
President Elect Hugh still has two, highly sought after openings on his team;
Club Photographer and
Deputy / Back-up Bulletin Editor
If you are interested, even if just a little bit, get in quick to ensure you don't miss out on securing one or both of these huge opportunities, please contact PE Hugh asap.
Don't all rush at once, but please seriously consider if you would like to be even more active in your club!
Herewith details of our club's June environmental challenge! Please do all you can to achieve this challenge and then make this a habit of yours and your family's going forward.
We have received the following message from the Principal of St. Pius X School;
"Hi Team,
Now that we are back at school, I thought I would send a couple of photos. We have already harvested other crops, but the five year old's were especially pleased with their Silverbeet that they grew from seeds in tiny pots in their classroom and then transplanted to the garden.
From – Paul Coakley, Principal of St Pius X"
Miles and his team of helpers should feel very satisfied with the result from the hard work put in a few months ago.
Did you know there are 100 or more Rotary recreational Fellowships you can join?
Rotary Fellowships are international groups sharing a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience. There are so many groups you can join to match you passion or just to start a new interest. Strong Fellowships in New Zealand include: Wine Appreciation, Caravanning, Flying, Yachting, Cricket, Home Hosting, and there are many more!
The following has been received from PDG - Leanne Jaggs:
What a way to finish the Rotary Year, with none other than a "Walk in the Park" START TIME is 9am, meeting at the Band rotunda by the cafe in Cornwall Park. Plenty of parking too.
For our last Public Image get together, we wanted to get back out there, now we can have groups of up to 100. We will of course practise our normal social distancing & all, but when you are walking & talking, you are usually doing just that.......
Please note this is for EVERYONE. Anyone keen to get out & about before our real Winter hits, giving you the opportunity to have a chat with members from other clubs & just a feel good morning.
Approx 5km & you just follow the Rotary Windmills. Ending up having a coffee or brunch at Cornwall Park Cafe. Or for some like myself, racing off for a Club Changeover brunch....
For more information please click on "Read More". Looking forward to seeing you there.
Three sisters, ages 82, 84 and 86, live in a house together.
One night the 86-year-old draws a bath. She puts one foot in and pauses. She yells down the stairs, “Was I getting in or out of the bath?”
The 84-year-old yells back, “I don’t know. I’ll come up and see.” She starts up the stairs and pauses. Then she yells out, “Was I going up the stairs or down?”
The 82-year-old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea and listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says, “I sure hope I never get that forgetful,” and she knocks on wood for good measure.
She then replies,“I’ll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who’s at the door.”
As good as "Zoom" has been by keeping us in-touch with each other and Rotary activity over the last 2 months, hopefully this was the last Zoom Meeting that we will hold!! A face to face real meeting on June the 11th is eagerly looked forward too. 
Our meeting last week attracted 41 Zoomer's, certainly a good size crowd keen for some political electioneering. Our first guest speaker was Chloe Swarbrick. Chloe was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23 in 2017 and is the Green Party Spokesperson for Mental Health, Drug Law Reform, Education, Arts and Heritage, Tertiary Education, Small Business, Broadcasting, Youth and Local Government. 
The second speaker up was the Hon Paul Goldsmith. Paul first entered Parliament following the 2014 General Election. Today he is a List Member for the National Party and their spokesperson for Finance and the Earthquake Commission. Paul's talk covered his background, personal and family, the cost to the economy of COVID-19, and what needs to be done to ensure that the debt being incurred by the country is minimised, and how we can reduce the debt as soon as possible. Paul said that it is important that the recovery plan focuses on reducing unemployment and business failures need to be kept as low as possible. He says the Government must also encourage spending and investment, both local and from offshore. 
The Clean-up organised by Cheri was held yesterday at short notice and regrettably this probably had an impact on the number of helpers (6) who turned up to assist. However, despite the small number of volunteers the clean-up reaped a dozen bags of rubbish plus other bits and pieces as seen in the photos.
Did you know there are 100 or more Rotary recreational Fellowships you can join?
