Bulletin Support 11 Nov 24

President's Report

Monday 4 November 2024

President’s update:

Thank you to the 15 members/partners who attended the Rotary Club Hills-Kellyville Melbourne Cup meeting tonight at Joey’s. What a great social time we had. As we had no night reporter I have included the highlights here.

The night was similar to those we have held in the past but with some, new to us features.
Three Rotary Picnic Races were run. The Saints Plate, (Unsuccessful protest by David that the dice were weighted in favour of Hills-Kellyville) The Hills Maiden Handicap (won by Tony Makin riding Madam Mare) and Rotary Cup (won by Colin Sharpe riding Old Vet). The Stewards cancelled the fourth race – The Club Stakes due to unfavourable track conditions.

Jill Turnbull and Neville Hansen won the best “Fashion in the Field“.
Neil Campton (jockey) gave a talk about becoming a leading jockey in the 60s – 80s. His career started riding bull calves on a farm near Wingham and becoming a jockey at age 15 and lasted for 28 years including being a jockey for TJ Smith. Very proud of being the last rider of Tulloch at the horse’s retirement. Never won the Melbourne Cup but did win many other premier races. Told about a serious fall (one of many) putting him in hospital on Saturday then riding 2 winners the following Monday.

As we had no Directors reports or night reporter I will include relevant information in my report.

Anne sent an email to the whole club thanking those attended a community service and social event at our place on Friday night and at the same time managed to stick the messages on the Tree of Joy tags. The tree was put up at Westleigh last Friday and ~ 100 tags added.

Anne also sent an email to the whole club thanking the 4 members who joined her at the Helping Heart Survive community service project for some fun de-nailing boards and putting up shelves.

Thank you to Carol and her team for running the Club Satisfaction Survey we received 24 responses. Presumably those who did not respond are satisfied. It has been summarised (albeit no information has been discarded) for the Board to consider this month and then to present to the club. In general, the club is in good health although there are some areas for improvement. A minority of members are dissatisfied with some aspects. If you have concerns, please speak to a Board member or me.

The Kenthurst Club has another house close to the other two. They have asked if we can do the lawns. However, we will have to decline this community service as not enough members are prepared to volunteer an hour of their time once a month.

Looking forward:

I would urge you to consider going to The Magic of Rotary Gala on Nov 20 to hear Naomie Fox (Olympic Canoeist Gold Medallist) speak. The details are in the Bulletin.
Norwest Sunrise Rotary is holding an International Men’s Day Breakfast on Nov 15 at the Hills Shire Café at 7 am. Keynote speakers will help shine a spotlight on both the problems of men's health and the people delivering the solutions, with the help of four sub-themes: Building healthy communities! Look out for your mates! Take Action, Stay Healthy!. Full details are in the Bulletin.
For those how are not Board members Theatre for a Cause at Pavilion Theatre, Castle Hill - raising funds for North Rocks Rural Fire Service. Please let Fay Kitto ([email protected]) know by this Thursday.

The recipient of proceeds NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) is the lead combat agency for bush fires in NSW. For over 100 years we have been a significant part of the history and landscape of NSW. Working closely with other agencies we respond to a range of emergencies including structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and storms that occur within rural fire districts.

4) Now is the time to consider taking a leadership role in the Club. At least three of the current Board are retiring and we also need a President Elect. Without a President Elect the club has to relinquish it’s Charter. Nominations will be called for in time for the Dec 2 AGM.

Closing Remarks

Duty Stewards: We will return to duty stewards to set up the Vicar room with Club gear and the top table. Also, the IT person is to ask the Vicar room manager to turn off the music in the room and the corridor outside.

Directors – Please ensure you hold regular committee meetings, even if it is only a coffee gathering.
District Conference – Penrith 21-22 March. Early bird Registrations - early bird = $250 until 31 Dec after that $280 - now open ourbetterworld2025.wordpress.com Accommodation packages for Friday night open at Pullman and nearby. There is 3 min video on the Conference and Venue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aObH7mRi63Q&t=30s

Don’t forget you can see the Club Directory, “What’s On” and “Calendar” on your phone. If it is not working for you, let me know and it will be fixed for you.

Don’t forget to let Sandra know if you are travelling or are not attending meetings so you do not get rostered on for meeting duties. All members are eligible for the duty roster and are assigned a role by Sandra. If you have a problem doing any of the duty roles let Sandra know as she is the only person who has control of duties. Your role is posted in the Bulletin and the Bulletin email 6 weeks in advance.

Rotary Learning Institute. Please consider attending this very worthwhile training.
- Level 1 for those who have just joined Rotary. A 4-hour programme – no dates yet
- Level 2 for those who have been in Rotary for up to 1 year. A 6-hour programme on two consecutive Saturdays 16 and 23 Nov 2025
- Level 3 Graduate Program is coming in 2025.

Don’t forget next Monday’s meeting is at the Vicar and is our International Night. The Flores travellers will tell about their adventures. Janelle as Sargeant has a surprise in store.

So, Let’s stay safe look after each other and create some magic.

For those of English heritage who remember the 1950’s.

Eating in the 50s
Pasta was not commonly eaten.
Curry was a surname.
A takeaway was a mathematical problem.
A pizza was associated with a leaning tower.
Crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to add salt or not.
Rice was only served as a milk pudding.
A raincoat was what we wore when it rained.
Brown bread was considered food only for the poor.
Oil was for lubricating; fat was for cooking.
Tea was brewed in a teapot using tea leaves, and green tea was unheard of.
Sugar was highly regarded, considered "white gold," and cubed sugar was seen as luxurious.
Fish didn’t have fingers.
Eating raw fish was seen as poverty, not sushi.
None of us had ever heard of yogurt.
Healthy food consisted of anything edible.
People who didn’t peel potatoes were viewed as lazy.
Indian restaurants existed only in India.
Cooking outdoors was called camping.
Seaweed was not recognized as food.
"Kebab" wasn’t even a word, let alone a type of food.
Prunes were considered medicinal.
Surprisingly, muesli was available, but it was called cattle feed.
Water came straight from the tap; if someone had suggested bottling it and charging more than petrol, they would have been laughed at!
And the things we never, ever had on our table in the 50s and 60s: elbows or phones.

So, Let’s stay safe look after each other and create magic.

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