Hello to my fellow Rotary Club of Stirling members (and any spouses / partners who may also read this bulletin).

 

Unbelievably, this is my final President’s Ponderings to you all.  It is a big one as my last so I ask you to read to the end as I have a lot to cover. In some ways the year has flown, in others it has been very slow.  Whether fast or slow there have been a number of devastating events that have rocked us and changed our perspective on life. 

 

Who could have imagined at changeover at Mt Osmond Golf Club a year ago just how many major events could happen, from drought that crippled so many farmers, then to the devastating bushfires including those very close to home in the Adelaide Hills?  Without having time to start to recover from those and the continuing fallout from them, 2020 brought us Covid-19 and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the '30s.  So much has changed in our world!

 

I trust that you are all going ok in these times.  Coupled with the above, other more serious illnesses have impacted many in our club.  My heart goes out to each of you and trust that progress to recovery for those people continues each day.

 

It has been a very challenging year to be President and many things have had to be modified or cancelled or changed.  Being part of those decisions was heart wrenching for me.  But as we know life must go on.

 

 

 

        

 

 

Another new thing we had thrust upon us and has had challenges of its own as we learn new skills, was Zoom.  Thank you, Dan, for your unending patience with me and with many club members in helping us to have the confidence to use it.  Now we almost feel like we do have a handle on it.

 

It was so exciting to see each club meeting gain more online members each time. To the most recent one at which PDG Dick Wilson was a great guest speaker, we had over 20 attendees, the highest number at an ordinary meeting.  How good is that!  What a great last online meeting before Changeover.  Dick’s incredible knowledge of the programmes of Rotary and in particularly Australian Rotary Health was a well worthwhile insight and talk.  Thank you, Dick for your knowledge and wisdom.

 

On Sunday 21^st June we held a very successful wine bottling at the shed with a large contingent to help with the well-oiled production line. Colin’s concept of a CV-19 vaccine was fun and we once again thank Colin Fraser for a job well done. It concluded with pizza and a glass of red.

 

Here are a couple of photos.

 

     

The best thing was that there was a profit of over $4000!  A jolly time was had by all.

 

I attended the in-person changeovers of John Rowley for Blakiston a week or so ago.  A great breakfast and I was also invited to the changeover at Lobethal on Sunday evening of Onkaparinga Rotary Club.  Both were great evenings and lovely to be in company of fellow Rotarians.

 

For my own changeover event, in consultation with the board, we chose to have a compromise of a short official formal ceremony from 7 to about 7.45pm part of which was pre recorded and 4 lovely dinners at the homes of PDG Dick Wilson and Liz, Pauline Annear and Ken Jeffery, Stephen Blacketer and Sharon Moreton and David and Shelley Hogan.  From all reports each group of between 6 and 10 shared a wonderful and delicious dinner and evening after participating in the Zoom meeting.  My personal thanks to each person who was able to host or attend. 

 

     

We did not have a recording of the whole event but we do have my pre-recorded video of the formal change from myself to Neil Wickens. Click on the link to see that.

 

I was delighted to be able to award the Scott Hosking Trophy to Pauline Annear and a Paul Harris Fellow to Greg Russell. Congratulations to you both in going well above and beyond in so many ways!!

 

We have also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to the Imagine Uraidla group for their many years of effort in helping to revive Uraidla.  The second certificate of Appreciation to be awarded (these are both yet to be delivered) is to Julie Peter for her imagination and energy in helping to make both the Crafers Hotel and the Uraidla Hotel special places to visit.

 

And I could not let this go without another mention of my Secretary for 2019-2020 Dan Edmonds for his fundraiser and awareness raising for Shelter Box by sleeping in a Shelter Box tent on his front lawn on a very cold weekend. 

 

               

He managed to raise $3,200 from family, friends and Rotary members. Congratulations.

 

Because it is a year for doing things differently and because not all were on Zoom, I take this opportunity to thank the wonderful team work shown by my Board of Directors in the past year. 

 

To Pauline, who as both Treasurer and Community Service Director, has done an outstanding job and to Dan who has not only been Secretary but also Bulletin Editor supreme, Shelter Box Coordinator for Rotary and Website guru and much more above and beyond, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

 

Then also to Club Service director John Osborne, International and Vocational Service Director, Robert Koehne, Youth Director Mark Ramsey and Immediate Past President and Chair of the SAFD, Greg Russell, I thank you all for the wonderful team work shown.

 

There is so much more I want to say.  May I refer you to the Annual Report of our club which is normally a printed document for more information. I have chosen this year to make it an emailed document and I would love you to read it to be reminded of all the wonderful activities and achievements of the past year.

 

I thank you all for the privilege of being your President for the past tumultuous year and now hand you over to

 

                      

                                  your new President Neil Wickens.

 

Yours in Rotary

Susanne Marie   President