After the welcome rain of last week, we woke this morning to beautiful, blue sky and sunshine. Just what the doctor ordered for our visit to Ben Bennett Park for Breakfast.
Special thanks must go to Mark Ward for organising the Breakfast. He and Ian Belcher did a wonderful job cooking up our bacon and eggs on a toasted bun, very tasty. We even had our own Espresso Coffee van, taking orders for cappuccinos, flat whites, espresso's and even a long macchiatto (from some typical lawyer in the crowd).
Thanks to our money man for the morning, Stephen, who I noticed, improvised by using a plastic cup for a money drawer. Several guests were present, Mark's wife, Lorelle, Tim Hindley our guest speaker and former Club Member and our latest guest and recent arrival from the UK, Chris Rees. Already, Chris has shown a keen interest in joining our Club, as he feels the need to give back to the community, which is as we know what Rotary is all about. A very warm Rotary welcome to you once again, Chris. I saw you conversing with a number of our Members. Friends are easy to find amongst our Club.
Tim spoke to us about his involvement in the creation and Rotary involvement with Ben Bennett Park. He is a wealth of knowledge on the area and has some very interesting ideas. One that grabbed my attention was the suggestion that we as a Rotary Club take ownership of the Park. This would mean liaising with Council, and most importantly having a say in the future of the Park and ensuring it's sustainability as a green zone for the future.
I intend to take this further and will be asking for interested Members to come on Board for this Project.
For those of you who weren't able to be at our Breakfast, I've 'copied' this article that was printed in the Sunshine Coast Daily. See the article here or here. Thanks to our PR Director, Les Walsh for his tireless work in getting the Rotary Club of Caloundra's name out there.
An Item of trivia regarding Ben Bennett Park which brings back very fond memories for me. My wife and I were married in the Park on the 4th November 1989 (28 years ago).
Today also marked a very important day on the Rotary Calendar, being "Purple Pinkie Day". All of us, men included, succumbed to having our pinkie's painted with purple nail polish. This was to signify World Polio Day, celebrating the fantastic job Rotary has done in almost eradicating this horrible disease. Click here to read more about this initiative.
Members were then reminded of some of the items our Club is involved with
- Bunnings BBQ on Wednesday 25 October. James' prayer for one extra helper was answered with a nod from Anne B.
- Final proceeds for our successful Hat Day Promotion come to almost $1600. However, we are still to receive a generous donation from the Pelican Waters Golf Club and the Donation Buckets that are scattered around town will be collected (full of money, of course), next week. Stay tuned for the Grand Total, which will be available soon.
- Melbourne Cup Day is fast approaching (Tues 7 Nov). Let Judy know if you're coming as there are not many tickets left. It will be a memorable occasion, so don't miss out.
- Our Melbourne Cup Trifecta Tickets need to be sold. Deb has sent an invitation to all Members to help sell these. The sale of these tickets are a major part of our fundraising for the Cup. Please offer some of your time to help with the sales. If you are able to assist please contact Deb asap
- Our October Club Social Night is this Friday the 27th. We will be meeting at Moffat Beach Park (opposite Bryce St) from 600pm, to watch the sun go down. The evening will be very informal. It's BYO everything ie Food, Chair, Drinks and Good Company. Unfortunately, I will be at the Warwick Rodeo for the weekend, thinking of you all.
- An early reminder for our November Club Social Evening. It will be held on Saturday 18 Nov at the home of Arnaldo and Trish. Our host's will be delighted to have your company to participate in a Portuguese Banquet. Be sure not to miss this one. More details will follow as time gets closer.
- I'd like to remind everyone that this year we will be conducting an Annual General Meeting. That's right, members are encouraged to nominate candidates for positions on the Executive for the next Rotary year. If you feel inclined to become more involved with the running of our Club or you know someone who you think would do a good job, now is the time to start thinking. The AGM will be held before our Christmas Break.
- At this time of year, our Club is very busy spending some of the money we have raised throughout the year with our various fundraising events. We support quite a number of the primary and secondary schools in the Caloundra area by way of presenting Bursaries to worthy students.
In closing, I'd like to ask all of you the question, have you spoken to your buddy lately? Remember, if you haven't seen him or her at any of our Club gatherings, please extend the hand of friendship and drop a line or give them a call. The bond of friendship this creates ensures our Club remains vibrant and strong.
Until next week, and many bull rides, bare back and saddle bronc rides and the odd bit of steer wrestling thrown in, I look forward to seeing you all at our Tuesday morning Breakfast.