ROTARY CLUB OF TAMWORTH INC.
ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE ROTARY YEAR 2009 - 2010


PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Bruce McCorkell


Fellow Rotarians and Guests,


This is my last report as president of the Tamworth Rotary Club and, while I have no regrets about accepting this position as president, I look forward to being able to lose myself in biometrical issues that almost nobody understands, or in my garden, without having to attend another meeting, or write another report. As a Rotarian, I look forward to enjoying meetings again as an ordinary member.


As president I have been ably assisted by the efforts of the club board and many club members who have stepped forward for a variety of jobs, when required. In particular I need to draw attention to the contributions of secretary Wayne Woods and Treasurer Peter Godden. Both have been essential to the continued successful operation of this club. There are many important and necessary things that have had to be done during the year, and many of us remain unaware of them because Wayne and Peter have been so successful.


As a club, our contributions to the Tamworth community, other organisations outside our local community and Rotary International are largely made possible with the funds raised from the Book Sale and the Garden Expo.
The Book Sale continues to be our largest fundraiser and, despite the misgivings of some members about the influence of the Lions book sale, continues to be successful, raising about $36000 this year. I think the existence of the Lions book sale probably serves as a reminder that we cannot afford complacency and need to continue to provide a service and product, through our book sale, that this community will continue to support.


The 2009 Garden Expo was held on what was probably the worst weekend in recent years. The dust storm reduced visibility at one stage to something less than 500m. I feel fairly confident in predicting a much more successful event in 2010. At this time, and for the past few years, I am concerned that the Garden Expo, as an event, lacks focus – a clear reason, or reasons, for people to go to that event at the Botanic Gardens. The 2010 organising committee might consider that issue.


This year, following discussion with the club, the board has reviewed the list of donations from 2008-09, removed many smaller donations and retained many of the large donations, increasing the amounts in some cases. This year we are also adding Tamworth Youth Care to our list of recipients, and we’ve made sure there is plenty left for the Hilltop Lodge garden project.
During the 2009-10 year, the presidents of the Zone 6 Rotary Clubs met regularly with ADG Phil Crossing, once a month to discuss items and organise events of common interest. Joint activities with which this club has been involved include the Rotary float in the Country Music Cavalcade, involvement in the Group Study Exchange from District 5440 (Colorado and Wyoming), the annual Bowelscan project, the Pride of Workmanship Awards, interclub debating, and the chartering of the Rotary Club of Tamworth Sunrise.


The 2010 Pride of Workmanship Awards was an event coordinated by the Tamworth Rotary Club through the efforts of Di Hall. It was the most successful of these awards nights I can remember in recent years.


A project that has been on the agenda for the joint president's meeting for some years, and is now almost complete, thanks largely to the efforts of Ken Hall, is the updating of the Rotary community information signs located on the approaches to Tamworth. The new plaques will soon be printed and, shortly after his induction as president, Ken Hall will undoubtedly be organising a working bee for the community information sign in Armidale Rd, for which this Rotary Club is responsible. One of the joint projects that did not happen during this Rotary year was the internal renovation of Rotary Lodge at TRRH. The future of Rotary Lodge was questionable in some of the hospital redevelopment plans and, not knowing whether it was to be bulldozed or not, we have shelved those plans until its future is clearer.

Club activities:
The new, purple club shirts were ordered and available in time for the Book Sale. During this year, following brief discussion at a board meeting, the practice of toasting an international Rotary club, as a gesture of international goodwill, was resumed. Its implementation has been sporadic, because of things like the Book Sale and other activities that have taken us away from the Services Club and, to some extent, because of low attendances at our club meetings. I hope President Ken will persist with this practice.
Issues for the future:

  • There are ARH scholarship holders in Tamworth who, we have discovered, are keen to get involved in community service work. They are not involved with any Rotary Club because ARH does not release information about them to Rotary clubs. We are not usually aware they are in Tamworth and cannot invite them to join us in any of our service activities. That doesn’t seem right.
  • A garden for Hilltop Lodge – the dementia assessment unit at TRRH. Following a recent club meeting and all-in discussion, this Rotary club has decided to allot the proceeds from the 2010 Garden Expo, and such other funds as are required, to the development of a garden at Hilltop Lodge. Details of this project will be available after the changeover.
  • Attendance at meetings, except for book sorting prior to the Book Sale, has been irregular. I thought we were having interesting programs; thanks to the efforts of Scott Simmons, Alec Noble and Bill Warburton; but that doesn’t seem to be sufficient to get members to come to all our meetings. I suggested, at one time, that we could program one night a month as a night off, but that suggestion was not well received. I am unsure what to do about our low attendances.
  • Membership continues to be an issue of concern. This year I have inducted four new members, but there have been more resignations, for a variety of reasons, mainly associated with work, age, health, and our decision to admit female members. Breakfast clubs like First Light and Sunrise appear to attract large numbers of younger members. Should we reconsider our evening meetings?
  • Ken Hall is a Rotarian with a broad knowledge and experience of Rotary at club, district and international levels. He will be supported by a capable board. I commend these issues to them, for their consideration, and wish them well for the
    2010-11 year.

Following now are my Individual Board members reports for the year.         

Donations and Project Support:

It is with pleasure that the Board announces the following donations:

DONATIONS and PROJECT SUPPORT  
Ronald McDonald House, Tamworth $2,250
Ronald McDonald House, Newcastle $2,000
School of St Jude, Tanzania $2312.60
Hilltop Lodge, Tamworth Hospital (funds to be set aside)  
Lifeline $1000
2YOU-FM $ 500
Billabong Clubhouse $1000
Children’s Cancer Institute $ 500
District 9650 Adopt a Village $1000
District 9650 RAWCS $1220
Guide Dogs $ 500
College of Counselling Studies $1000
Legacy Tamworth $ 500
Mercy Ships $100
Northcott Society $1000
National Youth Science Forum $1010
Tamworth High School $ 50
Somerton Public School $ 50
Polio Plus $2000
Pride of Workmanship $1458.40
Breakfast Cafe $1000
Shelter Box $1200
Conservatorium of Music $2000
Tamworth Eisteddfod $1100
Meals on Wheels $2000
Rotary Foundation $2037.60
Salvation Army $2000
Westpac Rescue Helicopter $1000
Youth Encouragement Award $ 440.95
Youth Exchange Program $1771.96
Tamworth Youth Care (refuge) $1000
Youth Insearch $1000

TOTAL $36000 - Donations to local groups: $22348 plus funding for Hilltop Lodge project.

CLUB SERVICE REPORT - Michael de Groot

From the angle of Club Service, this year has been somewhat less successful. While attendance rates have been good, actual numbers at meetings have been disappointing. As the number of alternatives to coming to club meetings in person has increased, the fellowship at meetings has dropped. Perhaps, as a club, we have lost sight of the early history of Paul Harris and why he founded Rotary.


We have had some excellent programs but here too there have been gaps. Our bulletins have been of good quality and I think a special mention must be made of President Bruce’s regular and informative reports.


We won the debates this year. Congratulations team – and it befalls our lot to organise next year’s debates.


Our Sergeant-at-arms, Rob Dorrington, works hard and works well to keep our spirits up and our bank balances down. Taking in fines, this year, came to $881.05.


This year saw the introduction of lady Rotarians to our club. Hopefully we shall be seeing more of them in the coming year.


In conclusion it must be faced that we are an aging club and must cut our cloth accordingly. We did, at one stage, look as though we were gaining younger members but sadly, for various reasons, many of them have moved on.

Thank you to all who helped during the year.

COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT - Denis Woolaston


I think it would be unfair to single out individuals for their hard work and countless hours given freely to projects undertaken by the Rotary Club of Tamworth. We all know who you are and rest assured, the directors of your club appreciate the effort individuals put in. We all contribute to these projects in our own way and to the best of our ability.


Annual Book Sale
Once again a change of venues and probably one of the most successful book sales to date. Many thanks to all those who gave up countless hours of their leisure time to move, unpack and sort the many thousands of books that were donated for the sale. The success of this project can only be judged by the tireless effort of many. Special thanks must go to the wives and partners of Rotarians for their help. I think we all enjoyed the fellowship that came with this project .
The purchase of the shipping container to store the books has proved to be a bonus and many thanks to Kensells Holden for allowing the Rotary Club of Tamworth to store the container on site.
Many thanks also to those business houses who allowed us to place collection bins on site. Terry Balla from Goodyear and The Staff at Soundies to mention a few.
With a gross income of over $34,000, I am pleased to say that the book sale still proves to be our major fundraiser for the year. Many organisations will once again benefit from this project.


Garden Expo
This is another project that the Rotary Club of Tamworth can be proud of. On this occasion Mother nature certainly proved a force to be reckoned with, what with dust storms and inclement weather. Not the sort of weather for gardening enthusiasts. Never the less, the tireless effort of club members once again turned the Garden Expo into a financial success. Many thanks must go to Joblink Plus for their generous contribution.


Breakfast Cafe
The Rotary Club of Tamworth can also be proud of their contribution towards the running and organisation of the Breakfast Cafe held at Tamworth High School throughout the school year. Many children have benefited from this worthwhile project and once again thanks to all those who gave up their mornings to help with this project.

It has been a very successful year for the Club in community service, distributing over $34,000 to various charity and volunteer organisations.

VOCATIONAL SERVICE REPORT - John Budden (Gene Maunder)

National Youth Science Forum (NYSF)
Two nominations have been received for the National Youth Science Forum and both have been forwarded on to the Rotary District Chairman in our District for consideration. Individual student interviews will be held towards the end of July.


Pride of Workmanship
Awards were held at West's Diggers on 26th May 2010. 14 of our members attended with a total attendance of 200 which made for a very successful evening run by Di Hall.


Youth Encouragement Award
The function was held at Futures TAFE Restaurant with 26 of our members attending and a further 8 Club guests.
Prize money of $250 which included cash and gifts was won by Paige Cameron from Glen Innes in the Hospitality section of TAFE.
This successful evening was organised by Keith Crapp.

I would like to thank all the members who assisted in making Vocational Service a successful year.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE REPORT - Ken Hall

Tamworth Rotary Club has over the years had a strong involvement with International Service. In this 2009-10 year we continued this tradition and strengthened all avenues of International Service.
It has been an honour and privilege to be your International Service Director in commemorating our Club’s activities in the following areas:

  • Rotary Australia and World Community Service (R.A.W.C.S.): Committee: Frank Dengate, Col Quast:
    Frank Dengate and Col Quast again in this year worked together to sell RAWCS stickers to all members successfully enabling the Club to make a reasonable donation to RAWCS District 9650.
  • The Rotary Foundation (TRF):
    Committee: Mal Soutar, Graham Stevens and Dick Howard:
    Ken Hall participated in a Rotary Polio Plus immunisation program in India as a Rotary volunteer in February 2010 to participate in an NID together with District 9640 and four other Rotarians from District 9650. It is planned that this group of volunteers from District 9650 will again participate in February 2011. It is pleasing to note that latest figures are that there have been no cases of Polio in India in the last six months.
    The Club continues to support The Rotary Foundation and the Polio plus program through annual donations.
  • Group Study Exchange (GSE): Committee: Warwick Bennet, Guy Barnier:
    No candidates were proposed for this GSE to Wyoming in USA in 2010. Nominations have been called for the next team to go to Canada in 2011 and members have been considering possible prospects..

My thanks to President Bruce, my International Service Committees and Club members for their assistance with these activities during the past year.

NEW GENERATIONS REPORT - Steve Simpfendorfer

  • Rotary Youth Exchange
    Inbound – Felix Frankenberg has been here from Sweden for 2009/10 and we have enjoyed his company. We shared Felix with Tamworth First Light Rotary Club and this sharing proved very successful for both Clubs and Felix.
    Thank you to our counsellors and to the host families who have supported this program.
  • Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA)
    We had no candidate for RYLA this year but with the other Tamworth Clubs have nominated with District 9650 to run RYLA here next year at Lake Keepit Sport and Recreation Camp. This will add a workload to the Club but members from all Tamworth Clubs are very keen to see this as a success.
  • Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA)
    Two teams were nominated from Calrossy School to attend MUNA in May 2010 at Woolgoolga. This is a very successful program which we have been conducting with Calrossy over a number of years and from the student’s reports was very successful again this year. Thanks must go to Sharon Draper of Calrossy for her valuable input into this program.
  • Rotary Youth in Agriculture (RYAG)
    The number of RYAG programs has grown considerably in the District over the last few years with quite a number of different specialties now being available. The Beef and Sheep programs have been accessed by students with support from the Club and we anticipate this to continue.
  • Australian Rotary Health Research Fund - Australian Rotary Health has now discontinued its program of scholarships for Rural doctors so we no longer have the contact with the University of Newcastle and the University of New England with their rural doctor’s program.
    The Club has been active throughout the year in sourcing students from our schools to attend a number of very good programs covering a range of topics and interests. This takes extensive coordination and time, and I thank those from my team who have assisted me with these tasks. Your efforts are appreciated especially by the students.

Thank you to all those who have assisted in this portfolio during some of my absences.

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Paul Cole

Membership has been difficult this year with the loss of many members. Kevin Haycock, Barry Smith and Fred Edwards are now members at Peel Rotary and First Light due to changes in membership and other personal issues.
But on a positive note, we now have 3 active ladies members i.e. Di Hall, Shirley Burke and Gene Maunder.


Five younger members have also resigned and left Rotary due to work commitments and other commitments Terry Balla, Jim Wilson, Wayne Turner, Peter Little, including Steve Simpfendorfer who has resigned due to extra family commitments. Steve did help greatly with this year’s book sale and will be sadly missed.


Also we have 3 members that are unable to attend due to ill health with Cec Baker, Jeff Lee and Sandy McGillivray.
Two other members have resigned due to ill health Mike Moroney and Lang Martin .


Some members are attending less due to health and driving issues Ted Carter, Dick Howard, Mal Suttor & Frank Dengate but are still contributing to the book sale.


On a brighter note we now have a new member in Max Hogg, and now have Keith Gates attending quite regularly.
All members should keep in mind, any prospective new members.

BARRIE'S BROOCH
Silver brooch with four bars on the right hand side, three pearls on the left hand side, and the badge of Rotary International in the centre. Barrie's Brooch, as the name suggests, was a gift to the Rotary Club of Tamworth from member Barrie Titcume. Barrie was President of this club for the 1965/1966 year and Governor of the then District 265, now District
9650, for the 1971/1972 year. Barrie attended the 1971 International Assembly in Lake Placid, Essex County, New York, USA, before taking office as District Governor. His return to Australia was via Hong Kong and it was there that the badge was purchased. Barrie considered the Club had been most supportive of him leading to his year as District Governor. He wished to acknowledge that situation knowing that there would be further demands on the Club and their Rotaryannes (the
partners of members) during his term as D.G. Indeed, the District Conference in Tamworth from 17th to 19th March, 1972 was organised by the Tamworth Club in conjunction with West and North Tamworth Clubs and was a tremendous success. In fact, it proved to be the largest ever held in this Rotary District with 1,150 registrations. Barrie's Brooch is a token of recognition and appreciation for what the President's wife does during her husband's year of office and for the contribution of all Partners during the term of their husband's membership of this Club. The badge was first presented in June 1972 to Hazel McKellar, wife of the late Norm McKellar, President of the Rotary Club of Tamworth for the 1971/1972 year. It is to be passed on each year to the wife/partner of the incoming President to wear on all official Club occasions during the ensuing term of office.

 

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