Rotary Club of Wahroonga Annual Report

Transcription

1 Rotary Club of Wahroonga Annual Report Designed and compiled by Steve McGregor Printed by McGregor Promotions and Publications 46 Alvona Avenue, St. Ives, NSW 2075 Australia Contact: Steve McGregor by post or by or (02) for publishing or printing needs. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The Rotary Club of Wahroonga. See web site Front cover: This photo shows the meeting where Dick Smith presented a million dollar cheque. This page: Members of the Board and Committee Chairs from left front: PP John Cameron, President Elect Sue Owen, President Neil McWhannell, PP Marlene Carty. Back Row from left: Helen Clarke, Hugh Burne, Anne Prescott and PP Bob Howe.

2

3 Table of Contents Office Bearers and General Information President s Report Neil McWhannell Treasurer s Report John Cameron Membership Report Helen Clarke Public Relations and Marketing Report Janelle Speight Web Master and Facebook Report Ian Cameron Rotary Foundation Report John Cameron Partnerships and Fund Raising Report Peter Smith Community Report Ron Wainberg Vocational Services Report Angus M Robinson and Hugh Burne International Committee Report Anne Prescott Youth Committee Report Bob Howe The Wahroongler Bulletin Report Kerrin McCormack Speaker Program Report Helen Clarke Functions and Events - Paul Harris Fellowship Awards Club Photo Album a selection of photos

4 ROTARY CLUB OF WAHROONGA INC Annual Report (ABN RI No 18050, District 9685) New South Wales, Australia The McWhannell Clan Office Bearer s and General Information Board Board President Past President President-elect Secretary Neil McWhannell Marlene Carty Sue Owen Sue Owen Office Bearers Treasurer Sergeant Archivist/Historian Badge Collection Child Protection Insurance Officer Mailbox Key Holder New Badges Public Officer Public Relations Risk Mgt & Insurance Roster & Attendance Rotary Foundation Chair Speaker Program Wahroongler Editor Webmaster Welfare Officer Year Book and Banking John Cameron John Collins Ken Broadhead John Julius Sue Owen, Kerrin McCormack Phil Easton Sue Owen Phil Comfort Judith Kaine Janelle Speight John Collins Len Stanley Chris de Zylva Helen Clarke, John Cameron, Philip Easton Kerrin McCormack Ian Cameron Rob Ferguson Steve McGregor

5 Committees Community Co-ordinator - Ron Wainberg Team - Daksh Baweja, Leon Clark, Helen Clarke, John Collins, Barry Edmundson, Brett Goods, John Julius, Max Lake, Doug Reid, Janelle Speight International Chair - Anne Prescott Team - Jim Fulton, Janet Grundy, Richard Jackson, Jo Karaolis, Richard Pitt, Abhi Poudel, David Russell Membership Chair - Helen Clarke Team - John Collins, Phillip Comfort, Rob Ferguson, Carol Johnson, Jenetta Russell, Margaret Sachs, Alfreda White Partnerships & Fund-Raising Chair - Peter Smith Team - Stuart Armstrong, Terry Hodge, Jenetta Russell, Barbara Ward, Dick Webb, Garry Webb The Ministry of Fun Chair - Rochelle Wiley Team - Phil Comfort, Kerri Hodge, Sandy van Dijk Vocational Chair - Angus M Robinson Team - Ken Broadhead, Hugh Burne, Jo Karaolis, John Welch Youth Chair - Bob Howe Team - Phil Comfort, Philip Easton, Ian Faulks, Ross Grant, Kerrin McCormack, Barbara Salisch, Greg Starr, Jim Verco Weekly Club Meetings Timing: 7.00am for 7.15am 8.30am Wednesday at Warrawee Bowling Club, 1479 Pacific Highway, Warrawee, NSW 2074 Monthly Board Meetings 6.00 pm 2nd Tuesday in month Club Postal Address PO Box 13, Wahroonga 2076 NSW Club Website Novus Foundation Information Website Foundation Board John Collins, Rochelle Wiley, David Russell and Terry Hodge

6 President s Report Neil McWhannell Serving as the 42 nd President of the Rotary Club of Wahroonga has been an incredible honour. From the day of my induction in late June 2016, I have been proud to contribute to the extraordinary history of our great Club and what a year it has been! As I reviewed the events of the past year, I was overwhelmed by the breadth of service that our small Club has offered communities across the globe. The contents of the following Annual Report should provide a great sense of pride and satisfaction to all members, as it has been through your collective efforts that we have been able to achieve so much. Our Club is also unique in that we have developed a treasured community of friendship that is the envy of many. Our weekly meetings are filled with joy and companionship that play a significant part in the current strength of our Club. After the Strategic Planning meeting that began our Rotary year, we have also worked to ensure that meetings are interesting and that we intertwine these with fun activities. This resulted in the formation of our Ministry of Fun who organised a variety of events which included such events as a Melbourne Cup breakfast, Soup Night and Christmas Party. We also adjusted some of our rituals to make them more current and relevant. The year has however not just been about fun and friendship. All Club members have worked to support a myriad of projects which include: Community Service: We have helped a wide range of local community projects including: Hornsby PCYC, KYDS, Lifeline, Women s Shelter, Shelterbox, Cube Rider, Streetwork, Our Kids Our Mob (indigenous program) ABBOX (indigenous program) Hornsby Ku-ring gai Youth Network (HKYN) Mental Health Youth Forum, MUNA, NOVUS Dinner, St Lucy s School Scholarship, St Edmund s School Scholarship, Hornsby Connect. We supported a wide range of Community service projects and activities including: Wahroonga Fair, Clean up Australia, BOBBO Cycle Classic, SAN Run for Life, Red Shield Appeal, Cancer Council Daffodil Day, Welcome to Refugees Lunch, Mental Health Hat Day, SAN Christmas Carols Our International works includes: four major projects in Nepal. To support these we held a Nepali Cultural Evening in conjunction with the Ku-ring-gai Council s International Women s Day initiative. More than 150 people enjoyed Nepali dancing and music while enjoying Nepali food. A total of $9,800 was raised for Days for Girls, the BRAVE Centre and the rebuilding of the hostel at Bhawani School. We have also supported the funding of equipment and medicines for Rarotonga Hospital. This has already had a tangible local benefit, saving a young boy s life. To ensure our funds achieve the maximum result, we have partnered with Baxter Health for the actual supply of wholesale equipment and medicines. Over 30 Club Members and partners volunteered at the SAN Run for Life event. This raised funds for numerous International Projects supported by the SAN including the Open Heart Program which assists children with congenital heart defects throughout the Pacific and Asia. We held a fundraising evening at St Lucy s School in aide of support for the Kopenang Community in South Africa. Over $30,000 has been raised to date.

7 Our Youth Committee has once again been incredibly busy. During the year we have supported numerous schools to enable them to be part of the International Space Station project Cuberunner. We organised and ran a highly successful School Debating program on the 4 Way Test. This so impressed the District, that it was replicated in the District Conference. For the eleventh year, our Club has been an integral part of the NOVUS Fundraising Dinner. Since its inception, this event has raised over 1.5 million dollars. We also supported the highly successful National Youth Science Forum along with sending five representatives to RYLA. Our Club has funded a large variety of Youth Projects including 2 x full scholarships to St Lucy s and St Edmund s Schools for the disabled, the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai PCYC, KYDS, Streetwork, Our Kids Our Mob (indigenous program) ABBOX (indigenous program) Hornsby Ku-ring -gai Youth Network (HKYN) Mental Health Youth Forum, MUNA. We also run an Apprentice/Trainee Awards program to acknowledge leading practice for local apprentices. Our Vocational Service Committee has also been incredibly busy. It has run and supported a wide range of vocational services. These include the Bill Leventhal Awards given to workers at the SAN hospital who display excellence in their respective fields, the Apprentice/Trainee Awards program to acknowledge leading practice for local apprentices. We organised and ran a Better Business Partnerships program with the Ku ring- gai Council which acknowledged leading businesses in the area and presented a number of Pride of Workmanship Awards We organised and ran the annual Rotary Club of Wahroonga Vocational Teaching Awards which acknowledged 8 of the finest local teachers from both Government and Independent Schools. Our Club members have also been generous with the personal resources. We were presented with 100 Sustainability and 100% Giving Banners in recognition of our Club s support of the Rotary Foundation and during the year we have presented numerous Paul Harris Pins for continued donations to the Foundation. Members to receive PHF Pins include: Marlene Carty, David Russell, Richard Jackson, Angus M Robinson, Lynne Webb, Gregg Starr, Rob Ferguson, Peter Smith and Mike Brownlow. I am most grateful to all those who have served our Club in a leadership role. These include the Board Directors: John Cameron, Sue Owen & Marlene Carty. In particular Past President Marlene, who has been incredibly supportive in assisting me gain a full knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the President s position. I wish President elect Sue all the best as she takes on this exciting, but challenging role and look forward to assisting her. Special thanks also to: the Committee Chairs: Anne Prescott, Angus M Robinson/Hugh Burne, Bob Howe, Peter Smith, Rochelle Wylie, Helen Clarke and Ron Wainberg. Those who work to support our weekly meetings: Sergeant - John Collins, Speaker Manager - Helen Clarke, Badges - John Julius, Banking and Annual Report - Steve McGregor, Rosters and Attendance - Len Stanley, Wahroongler Editor - Kerrin McCormack, Webmaster- Ian Cameron, Publicity - Janelle Speight, and Welfare Officer - Rob Ferguson, New Badges - Phil Comfort, plus a long list of other who serve in other minor roles. As members have seen, we are an incredibly active Club (possibly a little too busy at times) but our achievements are ones that we should all be immensely proud of. I wish to thank members for the opportunity they have given me to lead our Club. It has been a most enjoyable and incredibly rewarding year for me.

8 Treasurer s Report John Cameron As at 30th April 2017 the Club holds total funds of $56.5 ( 000 s), these being $15.2 in Administration accounts and $26.2 in Projects, with a Term Deposit of $11.6 and the Club s Foundation at $3.0. The Club s Administration Account remains healthy. Subscriptions remained at $300 per members for the year; Breakfasts and fines have yielded +$5.6 YTD; one Government Grant provided +$1.5; and Social Events +$0.6. The Club and individual members have contributed $8.3 YTD to the Rotary Foundation, thus maintaining a 100% Sustaining Member donation level of USD$100 and ipso facto making all members Centurions in the process. A further USD$3.0 will be received from member donations prior to year-end. The Projects account income has been derived from a wide range of fund raising ventures. These included a District Grant for the Brave Centre, Nepal of $6.0; Christmas Raffle $5.8; Indigenous Student Support $1.0; St Lucy s Bursary $6.0; St Edmund s Bursary $5.1; RYLA $3.4; Kopanang $7.6; Share of NOVUS earnings $36.5; ShelterBox (member donations $2.1); proceeds of Carols $1.8; as well as reasonable earnings from sales of wine. This income has enabled the Club to support Ku-Ring-Gai Meals on Wheels with $1.0; Direct Donations to Kopanang $3.95; the Nepal Brave Centre YTD $6.0 ($12.0 being the total project value); a number of smaller donations of community support was given including $1.3 for the Vocational Dinner, $0.5 for ABBOX and $0.5 for BlowFly Cricket; CubeRider $2.3; Gibberagong Indigenous Youth $3.0; Hornsby PCYC $5.0; and KYDS $7.0. A Nepal fund raising dinner is yet to be settled with surplus likely to exceed $9.0. A significant quantum of funds are raised and recorded outside the Club s books of account, and these funds stand at credit for three specific projects in the Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) books of account. Management Training for the Women of Kopanang, Geluksdal, South Africa $ 16,245 Dharapani Lower Secondary School, Gorkha District, Nepal $ 39,811 Support of Jeevananda Orphanage, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka $ 5,546 Note that the Hornsby Women s Shelter received approx. $13,000 direct form the Bobbin Head Cycle Classic being our Club s share of the proceeds. A summary of the funds position at 30th April, 2017 is as follows: Account Available Current balance RCW Admin #1 AccountBSB: Account number: $5, $5, RCW Admin Cash ReserveBSB: Account number: $9, $9, RCW Foundation Trust AccountBSB: Account number: $2, $2, RCW Projects #1 AccountBSB: Account number: $4, $4, RCW Projects Cash ReserveBSB: Account number: $21, $21, RCW Projects Term DepositBSB: Account number: $11, Available Funds TOTAL $44, TOTAL FUNDS $56, $ 61,601 Particular thanks go to Steve McGregor and to all members who so willingly assist in the associated treasurer tasks from time to time. Many members spend much time raising funds and without those amazing people and their efforts the club could not support the vast array of projects it does.

9 Membership Report Helen Clarke The membership committee consists of: Helen Clarke (Chair) Phil Comfort; John Collins; Margaret Sachs; Alfreda White, Rob Ferguson (Welfare), Jenetta Russell and Carol Johnston. We have had many prospective members in our focus and have offered friendship and the opportunity to attend a breakfast. The Committee has been proactive in asking others to join, attend a meeting or help attend a meeting. We have taken on board the Rotary International Presidents advice: Rotary membership and fellowship as "we need more willing hands, more caring hearts and more bright minds to move our work forward. But those hands, hearts and minds won't magically appear in our clubs. We have to ask them to join." New members This year we have seen the addition of new members Barb Harvison and Jim Fulton and a transfer from the UK, Stuart Armstrong. All new members have made a significant contribution to their appointed committees and have been particularly proactive offering insights, ideas and initiatives. Gordon Fuller and his wife Margaret have moved north and are no longer members Challenges We have a busy committee who have work, travel and personal commitments Many possible members have notes that they cannot commit to a weekly meeting and/or unable to attend. However, one ever knows when someone may accept a membership offering some are considering, waiting for anther invite, presume that they must attend every meeting; don t know the scope of what Rotary is and can do, so it is essential that we speak about Rotary widely and in all contexts to demystify the acronyms and how progressive, active, inclusive, friendly our club is We are encouraging possible members to come along to a breakfast and have a sense of our Club and also to social functions; volunteer at events like BOBO and Novus in order to give them a taste of Rotary Positives - The Committee is a designated group who seek and co-ordinate membership and actively encourage and ask others to join our club. - There are always people to follow up and we need to be vigilant in this and keep in touch with those who show interest. Rotary is a great organisation and the focus is to highlight how we as a Club, live Rotary values and initiatives.

10 New Member - Stuart Armstrong here being inducted by his friend PP Peter Smith and President Neil reading out the four way test. Stuart has been visiting our Club since 1998, when he visited Australia on business. He has at last cut the cord and has moved from the UK, having also moved his membership over from his UK Club, Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St. Peter. New Member Barbara Harvison President Neil welcomes new member Barbara to the Club at her Induction Ceremony.

11 Public Relations and Marketing Janelle Speight The Rotary Club of Wahroonga has modernised their PR and Marketing over the last 12 months with the Clubs willingness to adopted new technologies and embrace change in electronic media. This obvious change kicked off in 2016 and has been progressing ever since with the keen support of the Committee, Club Members and District. Facebook, has become a regular tool of communication to promote events within our Club and within the wider Community. In collaboration with our electronic newsletter, twitter account and Club Runner we have been able to extend our news in our community. Following on from the previous Marketing Chair who laid the foundation of the media connections, the website and Facebook page we have been able to build community connections to all age groups. Most recently involving younger groups like Rotaract, local Schools, and Students from Universities like Macquarie, attending and volunteering at our events. We still continue to be successful in working with local newspapers and radio to promote our Club s service and events. Working with our District 9685, other local Rotary Clubs, Hornsby Council and Ku-ring-gai Councils, Schools like Knox, Abbotsleigh, Turramurra High School, St.Lucys, St. Edmunds, Universities, Foundations Novus and the San, Charities and organisations like Streetwork, KYDS, WomensShelter, Lifeline, PCYC and many more including International communities like Nepal. Our PR and Marketing, has become more than a person reporting events, it has developed into a group of people sharing news to help the greater good of the Rotary Club of Wahroonga within District 9685 and part of the larger world community of Rotary International. Promoting the goodwill of Rotary to help those in need and encourage a brighter future for the world through our service, this role is an honour. KYDS receives a donation - This article appeared in the Norths Shore Times when the Club presented a $53,500 cheque from the Club s Novus Foundation to KYDS. Some examples of the public relations for our Club and some marketing initiatives are shown on the following pages.

12 Welcome Packs get acknowledged - The Welcome Packs were a great success given out to new members of the community from overseas. Here the then Mayor of Kuringai Cheryl Szatow is shown with some of the Club members receiving acknowledgement for their work.

13 Web Master and Facebook Report Ian Cameron The Club utilises the Club Runner facilities for both its Administration and Website capability and the RSVP attendance module to determine Meeting attendance numbers and apologies and track visitor details. Several enhancements have been implemented during the year introduced by the Club Runner Corporate team. One such feature is the availability of an Application (App) to use on mobile devices to access club member/director details and story postings on the Club Website. Another task is to maintain an extensive database in the Club Runner system utilised for Club communications. I have also been building a volunteer database for future Club use. One of the most interesting parts of the job is to apply weekly updates to the Facebook and Club Website news section with internal and third party Rotary stories. I invite all members to have a look at this as I am sure you will enjoy it. You may not know but we issue, on a weekly basis, a copy of the Club Bulletin, The Wahroongler together with up to date news events, to over one hundred 100 members of the community who are not members of the Rotary Club of Wahroonga. Below: an example of a popular entry on our Facebook page is shown below. Ex PM Tony Abbott and his wife Margie at our BOBBO Cycle Event. I look forward to maintaining support for the 2017/18 Management Team.

14 Rotary Foundation Report John Cameron The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Rotary Foundation helps fund our humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives. Wahroonga can apply for grants from the Foundation to invest in projects and provide scholarships. The Foundation also leads the charge on worldwide Rotary campaigns such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Rotarians and friends of Rotary support the Foundation s work through voluntary contributions. The Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Club of Wahroonga... The local and international work of the Rotary Club of Wahroonga has been greatly enhanced over the years by the contributions from the Rotary Foundation made in support of so many of the club s projects. Wahroonga s contributions over the past five years are set out in the table below. Total Contributions USD$ $ 9,578 YTD $11, $13, $24, $18,748 Wahroonga is a 100% Sustaining Member Club, paying USD$100 annually for each member to the Rotary Foundation, and ipso facto the club is a 100% Centurion Member Club. Three members contribute USD$ 1,000 annually and a growing number of members contribute occasional donations to the Foundation. Every dollar is greatly appreciated. Much of the excellent work done by the club is made possible by the Rotary Foundation, and includes:- Grants supported from District 9685 Designated Fund which is comprised of fifty percent of the aggregate contributions made by all district clubs three years earlier. Wahroonga s District Grant this year is supporting: The work at a disability centre in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Rotary Foundation contributed $6,000 of the $12,000 project. Global Grant - The club is currently preparing an application for a Global Grant in favour of the Kopanang Women s Co-operative in South Africa. Grants not seeking District 9685 support of the District Designated Fund, niil. Rotary Foundation Educational programmes - Peace Fellow Programme. Applicants are sorely needed. Applications can be made online. Polio - National Immunization Days for Polio dates available for those interested. The Club Budget for Polio support of USD$2,650 for F16 has been paid. World Polio Day was celebrated on October 24 th, At the time of writing five cases had been reported year to date.

15 Partnership and Fundraising Report Peter Smith This year the Club has undertaken its normal range of fundraising activities. The most significant have been BOBBO and Novus. BOBBO had a terrific year, raising over $200000, of which approximately half goes to Lifeline. The balance is distributed amongst the four organizing Rotary Clubs - Wahroonga uses its share to help fund the Hornsby Women's Shelter. The Novus Fundraising Dinner proved more difficult to market this year resulting in around 200 less attending than previously. Nevertheless the surplus to be distributed to the beneficiaries was an excellent $120000, of which around $25000 will fund the Club's Youth Projects next year. This result was a magnificent outcome and our Board Members are to be congratulated for a job very well done. Both of these Projects were very well supported by club members as volunteers. Another fundraising highlight this year was organized by the International Service Committee, a huge Nepalese Dinner and cultural evening raising funds for the Club's projects in Nepal. The function raised close to $9000 to which is added a Rotary District Grant of $6000. We have run a Wine Sale for several years to provide non-specific funds which enables us to respond to unexpected need in the community. This year was the most difficult year so far, it taking the whole year to sell 50 dozen cases of wine, raising around $6,000. The final 20 dozen were provided to the International Committee which resulted in a useful top up for the Nepalese fundraising project. Other funds were raised by the Club as follows, The Kopanang project in South Africa - $7600 The Christmas Raffle. - $5800 Carols at the SAN - $1800 Similarly the Club has maintained its many partners in good order. These include the Sydney Adventist Hospital, McCarroll Automotive Group, QBE Insurance Group, Abbotsleigh, Knox, St. Lucy's, St Edmund's and a partnership of Rotary Clubs working together on BOBBO. The NOVUS Gala Dinner Garry Webb, Vice Chairman The 11 th NOVUS Dinner was again held this year on Saturday night May 6, 2017 at the spectacular Miramare Gardens.. Everyone who attended had a great night and it was a tremendous success, with proceeds still being counted, but expected to be around $120,000. The beneficiaries this year were Australasian Research Institute, the Research arm of the SAN - Open Heart International SAN Teams travelling 3 rd world delivering 1 st world solutions to people who would not even be able to dream of the outcomes. - KYDS, providing counselling and professional guidance to Youth - Streetworks, working with kids on the Street. - Rotary Club of Wahroonga, Youth Programs. Our numbers were down, but this, and a brilliant MC and Comedian, seemed to ignite the room into action. This was the best year ever for funds raised per attendee.

16 The Live Auctions brought in $43,850, and to date, the Silent Auction has raised $23,170, though David Russell will not stop until he has found a bidder for every item. Karen Fawcett-McEwan did her usual brilliant job in managing the night, and it all went like clockwork. It was disappointing that the Rotary numbers were down significantly, but the organising Committee have taken this on board and have already started to try and understand the cause, and work on what can be done to change what needs to be changed. Thank you to the many volunteers who made the night the success it was. Managing the Parking, organising and determining the best way to show the 116 Silent Auction items. Managing the payments, managing the wine lucky dip, and working the room to encourage people to buy tickets for the 2 Open Auction items. GREAT JOB DONE Special thanks must go to Terry Hodge who has been working the numbers for many months in his quiet and unemotional way. NOVUS as now raised over $1.5million. Everyone should take a bow. Thank you for the tireless contributions made by the NOVUS Board. Current Novus Board Chairman: Phil McCarroll Treasurer: Terry Hodge Secretary: John Cameron Directors: Simon McCarroll, Rochelle Wiley, Garry Webb, Phil Currie, Steve Rivers, David Russell and John Collins. The Novus Board from left: PP Garry Webb, PP David Russell, PP John Collins, Terry Hodge, Rochelle Wiley, Hon Member Phil McCarroll, Steve Rivers General Manager, CTP & Motor Trades at QBE Insurance and Philip Currie Chief Executive Officer Adventist HealthCare

17 Dick Smith visits our Club for breakfast Here is a very happy Dick Smith giving away a million dollars. From left: President Neil, Pip and Dick Smith, Rotary Australia World Community Service chair Michael Perkins and World Scout Foundation representative John Leece. Funds are going to Rotary Australia Benevolent Society - The program will provide support for individuals suffering personal hardship. It will be up to Rotary Clubs to identify those recognised by the local community who need support, and be willing to match the requested grant on a 50/50 basis. Above: Phil McCarroll (Honorary member), presents a cheque for $40,000 to Rot Dr. Ross Grant (of the San Hospital) as President Neil looks on.

18 The NOVUS Team with DG Bruce Lakin from left PP Garry Webb, PP Rob Howe, PP Peter Smith, President Neil McWhannell, Barbara Ward, Phil McCarroll, PP John Cameron, PP Richard Pitt, Dr. Leon Clark, DG Bruce Lakin and San Hospital CEO Phil Currie. Some honoured guests: Jonathan O'Day Member for Davidson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Treasurer, Glenn Townend Chairman Adventist HealthCare, Phil Currie CEO Adventist HealthCare, Neil McWhannell President Rotary Club of Wahroonga, Barbara Ward Managing Director San Foundation, Brett Goods General Manager San, Phil McCarroll, Matt Kean Member for Hornsby & Minister for Innovation & Better Regulations, Dr Leon Clark Chairman Sab Foundation.

19 Community Service Report Ron Wainberg Committee Members This year the committee included 11 club members: Daksh Baweja, Leon Clarke, Helen Clarke, John Collins, Barry Edmundson, Brett Goods, John Julius, Max Lake, Doug Reid, Janelle Speight, Ron Wainberg (Coordinator). Activities Managed by the Committee There were many events and activities held during the year. Thanks to all the members who helped out. Highlights include: LifeLine Book Fair: This was the first Community activity for the Rotary year. Once again John Collins arranged for volunteers to help Lifeline on 17 th July 2016 as we have been doing for over 20 years. HKWS: On 14 th August 2016, members joined up for the City 2 Surf run organised by HKWS to raise funds. Well done!! Cancer Council: On 26 th August 2016, Jenetta Russell and a team of Rotarians successfully raised funds for the Cancer Council. St John s Uniting Church: On 30 th October 2016 we helped St John s present the Sydney Welsh Choir in an All Saints Concert to raise funds for St Lucy s, St Edmunds and The School of St Jude in Tanzania. Thanks to Jim Verco and Rob Ferguson for organising. Raffle Tickets: Rob Giacometti rose to the challenge and led the annual Christmas Raffle ticket sales to support St Lucy s and St Edmunds. A job well done by all ticket sellers. We sold tickets before and during the Fair, as well as at the Kuring-Gai Wine and Food Festival on 30 th October, and raised around $6,000 to fund bursaries at these special schools. San Run for Life: Barbara Ward and Abhi Poudel assisted in the planning of the event held on 13 th November Rotary volunteers helped with registration of runners, marshalling them, through the course, and (of course) with the BBQ at the end. Not a financial success, but great fellowship! San Christmas Carols: Barry Edmundson organised the annual Christmas Carol Collection at the San on 11 th December Clean Up Australia Day: Ron Wainberg and Doug Reid organised a large team of Rotarians and Abbotsleigh girls to clean-up at Wahroonga Village and Cliff Oval on 5 th March Bobbin Head Cycle Classic: This fund raising event is run by the Rotary Clubs of Turramurra, Kuring-gai, St Ives and Wahroonga. This year s event took place on 26th March Doug Reid and David Russell put in a huge effort in helping to organise the event which was once again a huge success. Thanks to all Rotarians who gave up some time to help on the day around $200,000 was raised for our charities. Red Shield Appeal: Barry Club members helped with the Salvation Army collections in St Ives shopping village on 27 th and 28 th May 2017.

20 The San Fun Run - Some of the team who assisted in making the San Fun Run so successful. From left: PP Dick Webb, PP Garry Webb, PP George Richards, President Neil McWhannell, PP Marlene Carty, Phil Comfort, PP John Collins, PP Rob Giacometti and Jonathon Wiley. Below: Are shown some of the characters who turned up to complete the run. On the left PP Rob Giacometti and PP Marlene Carty with their new superhero, the Red Flash. On the right ex PM Tony Abbott doing his community proud.

21 Daffodil Day for the Cancer Council - It looks rather cold here - Everybody seems to have turned out on a chilly winter s day to sell Daffodils at Wahroonga Station. From left PP David Russell, Joyce Collins, Freddie Collins (with yellow bandana), President Neil McWhannell and Jenetta Russell with yellow sash. Lifelines Book Fair The team from our Club were there bright and early to start unloading thousands of books for the book sale at Knox Grammar. From left PP John Collins, Abhi Poudel, PP Ian Cameron, Greg Starr, Len Stanley in fedora, PP Jim Verco, PP David Russell.

22 Syrian refugees Rotarians Helen Clarke and Rochelle Wiley speaking to one of the newly arrive Syrian refugees at the welcome lunch at the Waratah Gardens. The BOBBO Cycle Classic A dramatic shot here showing the hundreds of riders waiting for the start of the Classic. Organised by four Rotary Clubs. A maximum effort.

23 Supporting lifeline Rotarian Stuart Armstrong here is shown with one of the promotion aids publicising the BOBBO Cycle Classic. Cleaning up Australia Doug Reid here takes a breather while he encourages the other members of the Club to get cracking! Woman of the Year Rotarian Barbara Ward receives an acknowledgment for all her work from Pru Goward MP and Alistair Henskins SC MP.

24 YMCA Swimathon from left President Neil, Alistair Henskins SC MP, Rortarians Janelle Speight and Abhi Proudhal. Kuringai Council Refugee Welcome Pack and PP Marlene Carty left, Janelle Speight in the white coat and PP Ian Cameron right. The Lady Mayor Cheryl Szatow, thanks Rotary for the Refugee Packs initiative and all the work involved.

25 Vocational Services Report By Angus M. Robinson, left and Hugh Burne, right Vocational Services Team (VST) Hugh Burne, Chair 1/1/17-30/6/17 Angus M Robinson, Chair 1/7 to 31/12/16 Ken Broadhead, John Welch VST Committee member s shortfall VST has notified WRC Board that the Committee is seriously short on members. Although VST has assessed it can manage existing projects in their current various stages of maturity, it will need at least 2 further dedicated active VST members with relevant experience to sustain VST projects into maturity. With Angus on leave, VST was unable to drive the Vocational Teaching Awards in cal Contribution acknowledgements David Russell (Member International Committee and kindly, although not VST Committee member, assumed the heavy task of arranging the SAN Awards event 12/4/17 which falls under VST) Jo Karaolis (Member International Committee, kindly contributes to VST on education matters. Notwithstanding this ongoing VST involvement, Jo is fully committed to International Committee and is unable, understandably, to function as an active VST Committee member) Number VST (WRC) meetings 2016/17: VST Awards Program VST reviews and selects awardees from the list of nominations The Vocational Service team has successfully categorised VST awards, supported by WRC Board, as follows: -Vocational Teaching Awards (nominations are from within the education sector) - Community Service and Pride of Workmanship Awards (nominations sourced through the Better Business Partnership and Local Government) - Quiet Achiever and Trainee Awards (nominations sourced by the WRC membership) - Bill Leventhal Awards in partnership with the Sydney Adventist Hospital (nominations sourced by their San peers)

26 1.2 Vocational Teaching Awards 2016/17 (Angus) To build on the success of the program commenced last year, VST invited the principals of 42 North Shore schools to nominate a staff member who best met our designated Vocational Teaching Awards criteria: Conscientious, ethical, and high performing classroom practitioner Commitment to acquiring new skills and encouraging colleagues Involvement in community activities This program is designed to support the National Professional Standards for Teachers (LEAD Teachers). Special WRC VST awards dinner, 17/8/16, at the Pymble Golf Club with Brian Wexham, Chair of WorldSkills Australia presenting 8 awardees [there were 14 nominations received from 10 schools; 15 schools failed to respond by the deadline]. This event was well supported by club members, teaching colleagues and families of the awardees. Eleanor (Ellie) Meagher, Turramurra High School student, provided some light entertainment. The role of WRC PR team in promoting our successful event was highly appreciated. There is an awardee pool of 55 schools on the upper north shore for this highly sought after program. With VST Committee short on members and Angus on leave, VST is unable to drive the Vocational Teaching Awards in cal 2017, but will reactivate for cal VST activities- other Vocational Service Awards 2016/17 VST organised two club breakfast functions: a) For one Quiet Achiever Award, two Pride of Workmanship Awards, and one Community Service Award in association with the Better Business Partnership program (9/11/16) b) For two Bill Leventhal, two Community Service, and four Pride of Workmanship Awards, at the Sydney Adventist Hospital (12/4/17), As a pilot of what is hoped may prove a long-term engagement with local government, the Better Business Partnership project enabled the delivery of three key Club awards in association with a local government backed organisation which has a stakeholder base of some 500 north-shore located businesses, and to be hosted by Ku-ring-gai Municipal Council at Pymble Golf Club. This event was addressed by the Mayor of Ku-ring-gai, Jennifer Anderson. 2.1 Four Way Test Speaking Debate for Secondary Schools (Ken Broadhead) Originally conceived and championed by PDG John Cameron as a District project to be convened at the District Conference, this project has been reactivated at the Club level to involve students from year 10 students of invited local secondary schools. The aim of the debate is: a. To encourage and foster excellence in the art of public speaking. b. To develop the confidence and self-esteem of Year 10 students. c. To provide an opportunity for students to test their skills before an audience. d. To develop relationships between Rotary and schools. e. To promote the ideals of Rotary. The participating students were Melissa Li from Abbotsleigh, Chantelle Brown from Turramurra High School and Brandon Yoon from Barker College, all of whom were the speakers nominated by their respective schools. Noel Cislowski AM from Chatswood Rotary, was the adjudicator for the day and gave a superb summary of each of the contestant s speeches. The event was narrowly won by Chantelle Brown

27 from Turramurra High School. The Club was honoured to have Peter Ward, District Governor elect, in attendance along with Bobby Redman, District Vocational Chair. District Conference presentation (11/3/17) Ken Broadhead conducted a highly informative demonstration of his successful Four Way test debate ("Ethics Debating Program") at the District Conference at Penrith, with the aim of encouraging Clubs to conduct their own such debates with their local schools. The debaters were Chantelle Brown of Turramurra High School and Melissa Li of Abbotsleigh; adjudicator was again Noel Cislowski AM of Chatswood Rotary Club. The debate was held in a well-attended Vocational Service Breakout session which followed a sobering talk on post-secondary vocational training by Brian Wexham. The debate was very well received and the participants and their accompanying mothers enjoyed the experience. One of the participants has since joined her school s Interact Club. Ken was asked by District VS Director Bobby Redman to prepare guidance for District clubs on conducting their own Four Way test debates with participants from their local schools. Ken has prepared this material and will send it to Bobby Redman when guidance about Risk Management, Insurance and Child Protection is sorted. Ken's informative presentation at the District 9685 Assembly (23/4/17) included guidance on his exceptionally successful School Ethics Debating program for other Rotary Clubs to engage in. i) Ken involved Bobby Redman (RC Woy Woy and District Vocational Service Director) for facilitating distribution of Ken's material. ii) Ken has been in touch with John Collins (WRC) regarding Risk Management and use of photos/video of youth/ child protection. Bobby Redman would like to be invited to key WRC VST events. 3.1 RYLA, NYSF, Science (John Welch) a) RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) John W has 2 candidates though World Skills Australia; W Rotary funds $800/candidate). Next Jan JW preparing funding application. b) NYSF (National Youth Science Forum), next Jan 2018, applications close 30/5/17; total cost $3000 (W Rotary $1000, last year Knox funded their candidate's $2000 but this was exceptional); JW approaching schools for yr 11 candidates- specifically Hannah Loh, Abbotsleigh has submitted her funding application (JW proposes WRC funds $1000, and school/parents/friends $2000). JW advises the proposed project with Doonside THS/ Blacktown RC is not proceeding. c) ConocoPhillips Science Experience (John Welch): active during school summer holidays, next Jan 2018 (about $120/student for 2 students funded by our Club). Hugh Burne met his colleague on AmCham Australia Board, Wendy King, President Australia Business Unit East, Conoco Phillips Australia P/L on 11/5/17. Wendy would like to talk to Hugh further on our Rotary connections with ConocoPhillips (CP) and she mentioned other CP programs which may be of interest to Rotary. 4.1 Cuberider Project (Youth Committee project under Bob Howe)- Hugh Burne VST Hugh Burne (representing VST) is now an integral part of this project providing the key sponsorships funding role on the Rotary side. - Hugh provided backup in Bob Howe's Youth presentation at the District 9685 Assembly (23/4/17) on WRC participation in the Cuberider project, an incredible youth motivational program involving experiments created by Australian school students launched by NASA to the International Space Station. Cuberider initially gave a presentation to WRC 9/16 which sparked our intense interest. - Hugh represented WRC VST alongside Bob Howe and Doug Reid at a meeting with Cuberider at their Sydney City office 15/5/17, where a strategic plan was developed with timelines for WRC (and appropriate corporate sponsors, viz technology-based, sought out by VST), Cuberider and schools connections/briefings leading to a fresh batch of students in the program for 2018 launch. - Hugh's executive colleagues at 3M indicated potential sponsorship interest and an application will be submitted to 3M Science and Education community funding program 9/17 for calendar year

28 2018. Possible WRC matching funds are under discussion with WRC Board through Bob Howe (Youth). 5.1 VTT Project- AmCham Australia (American Chamber of Commerce in Australia) a) Hugh B met 23/12/2016 with AmCham Australia CEO and NSW State Manager which has expressed keen desire to look at this project through their new Human Capital Committee [HCC] with key corporate CEO's as members (preparing for the future of the workforce and the transitioning already occurring). b) AmCham priorities cal 2017 influenced by Trump Presidential executive pronouncements but this HCC mission remains a serious AmCham priority. c) Hugh B discussed Rotary International funding conceptually with John Cameron 10/2/17 d) Hugh B currently researching for appropriate content for the program embracing both Rotary and AmCham missions crucially for the benefit of members of each and with roughly equal, albeit complementary, contributions; Hugh B updated AmCham 27/3/17 and met again 11/5/17 (very keen interest at this meeting). e) Hugh B/AmCham then to outline a proposed joint project strategy and timeline. This concept would only work on national or even international basis (both AmCham and Rotary are both). Wahroonga Rotary (a local club) would be the initiator and facilitator. Hugh has a long term connection with AmCham to this day joining the Board 1972 (also Member of the Council of Governors) and Chairing several committees, Hon Treasurer/ Chairman Finance Committee for 14 years, and Directors of several independent offshoots. 6.1 Guest speakers arranged by VST a) Hugh Burne arranged his colleague Dick Warburton as the keynote speaker for the first club meeting of the 2016/2017 Rotary year on 6/7/16. His most timely topic was Ethics in Business. It was well received. Dick is one of Australia's most prominent businessmen spanning 54 high profile public company, government (including Reserve Bank) and other advisory boards, and charities (Chairman on 27 of them) including San Foundation. b) Hugh has invited Maureen Dougherty, President Boeing Australia and has a number of other high profile speakers in the wings mainly colleagues who are major corporate CEO's and/or Directors. Hugh has shared names of these prospects with the WRC Board. c) Hugh B is guest speaker at WRC Breakfast 31/5/17 on Busting Myths of Nutrition and Health (upto-date science-based evidence). Hugh has authored 10,000 pages (6 manuscripts) on these topics and is on guest speaker circuits. His work is known here and in the US and has attracted high profile attention.

29 Better Business Partnership Awards Event - The meeting at the Pymble Golf Club. 'Matt Potter, Partnership Officer, addressing the Better Business Partnership/Rotary/Vocational and Community Service Awards breakfast meeting, 9th November 2016, Pymble Golf Club. Wahroonga Rotary Club and Better Business Partnership Awards Event - jointly presented by Ku-ring-gai Council Mayor Jennifer Anderson and Club President Neil McWhannell. Vocational Awards - L to R: Angus M Robinson, Pres Neil McWhannell, Mayor Jennifer Anderson, Matt Potter of Better Business Partnership, Quiet Achiever Awardee Maree Ryan, Pride of Workmanship Awardees Alex McManus and Michelle Tan, and Community Service Awardee Rachel Wilson.

30 Vocational Teacher s Award Presentation - Wednesday 17 August 2016, Pymble Golf Club. Pictured L to R: Eva Southern (St Lucy's School), Peter Kirkwood (Rotary District Vocational Support), Brian Wexham (Chair, WorldSkills Australia and guest speaker), Heather Hansby (Pymble Ladies' College), Brianne Balfoort (Turramurra High School), Nikki Grauman (Masada College), President Neil McWhannell, Bobby Redman (Rotary District Chair), Rose Raward (Wahroonga Prep School), Susan Filan (Abbotsleigh Senior School), John Diamond (Knox Grammar), Angus M Robinson (Vocational Service Chair), and Heba Oweis (Abbotsleigh Junior School). The San Annual Bill Levanthal Awards from left: President Neil McWhannel, Debbie Marcellino, Elizabeth Barbour, San Hospital CEO Phil Currie and Patrina McLean.

31 International Report Anne Prescott products in October, Kopanang Women s Co-Operative Report This financial year saw the completion of one stage of our Club s commitment to the Women of Kopanang, an impoverished township 20 minutes from Johannesburg, and the launch of a second stage. The first stage was in essence a succession plan to train up leaders from the Co-operative to take over management from Sister Sheila Flynn when she retired as Executive Director of the Project. Our Club funded the leadership and management training as well as essential skills such as driving lessons and computer use. Sister Sheila retired in December, 2016 and has been replaced by members of the Cooperative. Refilwe Mogane has become the Project Co-ordinator, Samantha Jones her Deputy Coordinator and Slindile Twala is responsible for HR and training. The whole leadership team has been trained in public relations and public speaking so that they can represent the Co-operative to potential markets and supporters. Jabulile Ndaba travelled to USA and Australia with Sister Sheila to promote Kopanang A second part of the succession plan was to strengthen the Kopanang Board of Trustees and in this our Club s connection with the Benoni Aurora Club has proved invaluable. The former President of the Benoni Club now chairs the Board of Kopanang and other members of Benoni provide support as the new Board actively builds its membership to develop competencies in every level of the Project. A member of the Board is responsible for education and is providing on-going mentoring of the new management team at the Co-operative. On 26th August, with the support of our Club, we held a fundraiser for Kopanang at St Lucy s which raised a total of $21,000. This money will be used as the basis for an application for a global grant which is currently in preparation with the assistance of John Cameron. The objective of this new project is to establish an Education Circle in the Kopanang Community with three sectors: advanced skills in management for the leadership team; social and welfare training for all members of the Kopanang community and thirdly, tutoring for the children of the community. In addition, money was raised at our August function to support two volunteers to travel to Kopanang and organise support from local businesses to train Kopanang community members in basic house repairs, including essential plumbing, electrical and safety skills. The team went over to Kopanang in April of this year and achieved more than they had hoped, thanks to the enthusiasm of the community members for the new skills and tools made available to them through the generosity of local firms. Nepal - Drinking Water Supply Project The Rotary Club of Wahroonga which provided $7,500 and the Rotary Club of Chatswood which provided $10,000 successfully applied for District Simplified Grants of $5,000 each, for a total of $27,000 to fund earthquake reconstruction and aid projects in Nepal. The funds were applied to a Drinking Water Supply Project in Dharapani School & Village and Katunje, Ratamate, Khahare, Siraan and Lamagaun Villages Gorkha, Nepal. Local tradesmen used locally available labour and materials to undertake the construction work. For example the only local source of sand to mix with cement was to hire local labourers to carry sacks of sand from the Budi Gandaki River up to the construction site. Our Nepalese partner Sambhav Nepal co-ordinated the construction work under the supervision of a professional engineer.

32 Bhawani School hostel Bhawani Secondary School in Manbu village serves its surrounding villages including some beyond a sensible day return walk to school, so 72 students aged between 8 and 20 years board during the week at the hostel. Manbu is towards the upper limit of the habitable zone in the Himalayas and is cold at night in winter, very cold for students trying to sleep during a snow storm in a room with no heating, no insulation, no ceiling, no glass in the windows and hard stone walls. The hostel was all but demolished in the earthquake but everything takes time and the students are still living in tents. One 8 room building is under construction with plans and money raising underway so we can build another. We are also raising money for furnishing the rooms, especially bedding and floor coverings. Teacher Training Teacher training has grown to become a key focus for our work in Nepal. Each January since 2011, a group of teachers has worked in one or two schools to give professional development classes to the primary and secondary teachers. Last January a group of 6, including 4 teachers, travelled to Bhairabi and Manbu. Primary teachers do not receive any teacher education they simply move from the classroom to being the teacher. This used to occur when the student/teacher finished Year 8 but has recently been raised to Year 12. We conduct two sessions each day covering classroom management (to reduce the amount of shouting and hitting in class), ways to teach particular topics like measurement, fractions and decimals, learning activities outside the classroom, making resources. Many teachers walk more than 2 hour each way so they can attend. Rebuilding schools. Even though all the schools in the region were badly damaged in the earthquakes, the government has only recently decided on the construction techniques to be used in rebuilding them. Classes are still being held in tents, half demolished buildings and even buildings that are so damaged they should be demolished. It is only now that we can use the money raised immediately after the earthquake to complete the refurbishment/rebuild. On March the Rotary Club of Wahroonga held a Nepali Cultural Evening in conjunction with the Ku-ring-gai Council s International Women s Day initiative. More than 150 people enjoyed Nepali dancing and music while enjoying Nepali food. A total of $9,800 was raised for Days for Girls, the BRAVE Centre and the rebuilding of the hostel at Bhawani School. All in all, our projects have made an enormous difference over a number of years. We now have villages with drinking water, one Bhawani hostel building is under construction with another to start soon, teachers are gaining professional development to help student learning, the BRAVE centre is assisting those with disabilities, and schools are being rebuilt this is a consistent project of the Rotary Club of Wahroonga. Personal Visits: In December/January 2017, Associate Professor Anne Prescott led a team of Wahroonga Rotarians to Nepal to offer their personal support and manpower to assist with rebuilding and with the teaching English program. This was Anne s seventh visit to the area!! Jeevananda Ashram, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka Some background for the numerous members who have joined our Club since the Jeevananda Ashram was opened in The ashram was constructed in the wake of the 2005 Tsunami after the tsunami destroyed their original building using funding from our Club, District and various other clubs and donors. The Ashram houses approximately 60 girls. Since construction our Club has:

33 Installed a well to ensure safe drinking water. Supplied 40 beds and mattresses. Supplied a computer and organised connection. Supplied six sewing machines to enable skills training. Supplied stationery to assist with education. Funded English lessons. Assisted with building maintenance. We are currently exploring with Sr (Sister) Joseph of the Ashram the most appropriate use of the funds that we hold in the projects designated RAWCS account. Photo: above, is the Jeevananda Ashram and below: lessons in the Ashram.

34 Nepalese School Projects From left, Assistant Governor Birendra Raj Pandey, his wife Pooja, Rotarians Richard Jackson and Anne Prescott. Birendra is Assistant Governor for District 3292 Nepal and Bhutan. Kopanang Project South Africa - Rotarian Jo Karaolis signs her book for an eager buyer at the Club's Vocational Awards Dinner for Exceptional Teachers on 17th August Jo also read excerpts from her book entitled, 'With Enough Love.

35 The Rotary/Kopanang Fundraiser - Sister Sheila Flynn (on the right) with two of the 150 guests at the Fundraiser for the South African Women's Co-operative, held on 26th August 2016 From left: Sister Sheila, PP David Russell (officiating in the absence of President Neil), PP Marlene Carty and Jo Karaolis who does so much to help the women at Kopanang. While addressing the Club Sister Sheila announced that she would be retiring.

36 Off to Nepal from left; Bronwyn Holmes (Jan Cameron s sister), Jan Cameron and David Russell at the airport ready to head off to Nepal to help out at the school, which our Club supports. Phot right: David rugged up against the cold in Nepal with one of the students. Rotary Welcome Packs are appreciated by many. And on the right Welcome Packs - Project Rotary Club of Wahroonga partnering with Ku-ring-gai Municipal Council and assisted by Lifeline, KYDS & CMRC delivers first load of packs in May Left Mayor Cheryl Szatow Left, back row left Uma Menon (CMRC) Connie Therkildsen (lifeline) Janelle Speight (Rotary Club of Wahroonga), Ian Cameron (Rotary Club of Wahroonga) far Right front row and Eve Ismaiel (Welcome Pack Coordinator Ku-ring-gai Council) 2016.

37 The Nepal Night attended by many Rotarians this function was designed to show the Nepalese appreciation for all the Club s work. Here we have on the left Club Secretary Sue Owen and President Neil McWhannell with some vivacious performers who entertained.

38 Youth Report Bob Howe All the members of the Youth Committee (Barbara Salisch, Barb Harvison, Phillip Comfort, Philip Easton, Ross Grant, Greg Starr, Ian Faulks and Jim Verco) were responsible for at least one major project and I am delighted to say how well the year went with such an enthusiastic crew. We met bi-monthly in one of our member s home and our meetings were, thank goodness, reasonably swift but more importantly, they were very effective and we all had a lot of fun working together. Strategically, we wanted a KYDS and Streetwork presence in Hornsby along with a regenerated PCYC DONE! The Novus Foundation again provided the bulk of our funding ($27,000 this year of the $34,353 we spent on Youth Projects). Their continued success has ensured we have lots to do. The two Bursaries our Club has supported for a number of years for St Lucy s and St Edmunds were added to the Youth activities this year. These were funded from Club members selling raffle tickets supporting the organiser Rob Giacometti with our Christmas Raffle ($5,785) and a wonderful Concert ($2,600) by the Sydney Welsh Choir with two of our members as part of the Choir. You will see that we did not spend all the funds earned this year as some funds are being held over until next year when we believe they can be used more effectively. We supported a number of Youth activities and spent a total of $34,353 of Club funds: Youth Community Programs ($14,000) Membership of Streetwork s Hornsby Local Area Committee establishing Streetwork s activities locally at Hornsby in addition to its work at Manly and Chatswood $5,000 KYDS Counselling Service to assist them with a Hornsby outlet $5,000 PCYC Youth at Risk using the new PCYC building project to assist by training a number of young people to get their White Card to work on building projects $4,000 North Shore Indigenous programs: assisting a young person to go to the UN and providing seed funds to establish a cultural program for North Shore indigenous young people Youth Leadership Programs ($2,220) $1,700 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) incl; a Cuberider member $ 520 Model United Nations (MUNA) including a team from Knox Schools ($16,133) $6,000 St Lucy s Bursary $5,186 St Edmunds Bursary $2,000 Assistance with Two Youth Mental Health Forums run by Hornsby K gai Youth Network plus a member on their Steering Committee $3,772 Establishing a Cuberider activity (STEM) for Doonside Technical High 2016 and then again in 2017 $ 475 Providing a BBQ for Abbotsleigh/Knox ABBOX Fun for children with various handicaps $ 200 Turramurra High Science Awards for the top girl and boy in Year 11 Science Other Youth Activities ($500) $ 500 Blowfly Cricket for children with various handicaps to enjoy sport

39 Photo: The pupils of St Edmunds put on a thumping good show at our Annual meeting where the Club visits the school and presented a cheque for $ 4,905 to fund the Bursary for a student s fees in The celebrated debate with the subject of the Rotary 4 WayTest. From left Chantelle, Brown Brandon Yoon, President Neil, PP Ken-Broadhead, District s Bobby Redman, Melissa Li and Noel Cislowski adjudicator.

40 Members of Rotaract joined the Club for one of our Wednesday breakfast meetings. Left: One of the students at St Lucy s says a big thank you to the Club in this charming photo.

41 Graphic Arts Project Studio ARTES. Who said you cannot have a good time here! ABBOX, Hard at it The ABBOX function has the Club s sausage sizzle in full burn. Here we have from left; Rotarians PP George Richards in background, Abhi Poudel, Greg Starr, PP Garry Webb and PP Rob Ferguson cooking up a storm.

42 The Wahroongler Bulletin Report Kerrin McCormack As the Editor for the WRC since August last year, I cannot hope to match George s dedication in serving 20 years as its previous Editor. He deserves great praise in bringing the Wahroongler up to the standard that I inherited. George and his wife Liz took a well-earned overseas trip, which necessitated finding other volunteers to produce the weekly bulletin and a few brave souls stepped up to help. Having been involved in previous similar voluntary and work roles, I could see that there needed to be one brain that finally put it all together and so took on the role with some trepidation: first for the weekly commitment; then the use of the Club s laptop and the Publisher software. Ian Cameron proved a most patient tutor and coach and I valued his help and encouragement over the phone, or s and in our weekly Monday afternoon check-ups for many weeks. My trepidation carried over from creating the bulletin, to then launching it onto the Club Runner and sending it out to members. It s not a problem once you get the hang of it, were Ian s encouraging words. For several more weeks, Ian sent it out, till I had mastered it. Then there were the hyperlinks and the logic here proved trickier to master and to ensure they were there and stuck to the relevant items. Photo right: Kerrin McCormack and President Neil after he said was supporting a nomination for her work at the District Changeover Dinner. The weekly bulletins could not have been done without the huge contributions from a range of helpers: George, continued on as roving photographer; Janelle, with topical items and more pics; a range of other contributors from the various committees and activities and details of speakers from Helen; Len with the weekly stats for meetings and last, but by no means least, my three proof readers Neil, Sue and Ian. What one did not pick up others did and led to more amendments and occasional slips as some little details were missed by the four of us. Once dispatched to the 62 members and 10 friends, I then printed up and stapled a dozen hard copies of the A5 booklet that has 8p back to back and burst up to 12p for the Christmas edition and several others this year, due to the wonderful range of events our members organised and ran, like the Bobbo Cycle Classic and NOVUS Dinner. Since August 2016 there have been a wonderful array of interesting and challenging speakers and fun times. Notable amongst them were the young people involved in the Cuberider project sending experiments into space; Vinney Kumar from Knox and WRC supporting him to attend the National Science Forum and then

43 USA; the work of PCYC and young people engaging in meaningful work at their new site; acknowledging the excellent work of SAN staff at the Staff Excellence breakfast there and going to St Eddies and St Lucy s to see the work of students with such challenges and their dedicated staff. Having family and friends help out with the Bobbo Cycle Classic and the Novus Dinner raising large sums helps enable the Club to provide for the projects and range of needs that we support. On the International scene our Club has helped the Nepalese projects with Anne Prescott, Richard Pitt and Abhi Poudel, to help those who have already faced so much and then the earthquake and the need to start again after that devastation. In Africa, Kopanang and Sister Sheila s work supported by Jo Karaolis, then the work of Gemma Sisia at the School of St Jude s. Dick and Pip Smith s visit and donation of $1m for welfare projects in Rotary clubs, was certainly momentous. Documenting this history of service is a privilege. Photo: and where would we be without the expertise of Past Editor and current photographer PP George Richards, see here hiding behind his Nikon..

44 Speaker s Program Report Helen Clarke The speaker program continues with many diverse speakers to inform, entertain, stimulate and challenge our understanding of any topic from Susan Rammage s moving exploration of her work on the Kokoda Track to the entertaining Dr Leon Cohen; Anne Preston s sharing the latest update on The Rotary club of Wahroonga s challenging work in Nepal, the intricacies of the NorthConnect tunnel. The speaker program is an integral part of our weekly meetings and it is the opportunity for the Club to invite guests, explore local and broader issues and also Five Star Fellowship is a new feature of the calendar to enable our members to get to know each other and their interesting lives. Members have been diligent in their invitations to speakers from work, social connections and community groups. Some of our speakers are our partners in the community and we celebrate that partnership and hear the successes and challenges of their work and how we can further help and support them as Rotarians. We want to continue this program and invite members to continue inviting people in their circle to share their expertise, interests and passions with the Club. Solange Cunin speaking about Student s learning about space. On the right, Simone Kiprioti, from St Edmunds School speaks about the students.

45 Children s Books - Max Lake introduced an author, his Mum, Peggy Lake who spoke on her new career started at the age of 90, writing children s books. Our members do a good job thanking guest speakers Here we have Jenetta Russell in full flight giving a thanks you to our speaker for that week.

46 Abhi speaks on Nepal Rotarians from left Anne Prescott thanks Abhi Poudel for his interesting talk. And on the right, Stand in Sergeant Steve McGregor and PP Peter Smith spruik the sale of Rotary wine. Bushwalker s Wilderness Rescue Squad Two of the Squad s members presented a most interesting talk on their adventures and the like. On the left is Rotarian Janelle Speight s husband and on the right Paul Campbell-Allen.

47 Functions and Events - Rochelle Wiley The philosophy of Fun: enjoyment, amusement or lighthearted pleasure is an important one in an organisation whose principal raison d être is working towards the betterment of society through volunteering, hard work and, on occasion, sacrifice. Rotary events, whether purely for pleasure or for fundraising purposes, always have an element of fun. This is one of the reasons why we get just as many people helping at working events as we do at social functions. The Ministry of Fun, comprising Rotary Club members Phillip Comfort, Sandy Van Dijk, Kerri Hodge and Rochelle Wiley, organised a variety of activities to complement the regular events in the Rotary calendar. Christmas in July Soup and Dessert night at Kerri s house was warm in both atmosphere and the wonderful soups members brought to share. An amazing variety of delicious soups was consumed, and a this was a great night enjoyed by many. In September the (mostly) social cricket match at Karuah oval, Turramurra, saw sartorial elegance at its best in white cricket uniform, some of it one suspects, from yesteryear. Effort outranked skill as a rule, and Abhi Poudel s team were just a little stronger on the day. October rains deterred many, but a small and determined party headed to Mount Tomah Botanical gardens. The weather in the mountains was much better than flooding Sydney and the few who attended really had a lovely day. November s Melbourne Cup luncheon was a great success. The fashionistas of the race course (Neil s house) ate breakfast never seen in the Birdcage, drank cocktails and won and lost millions in the sweeps. Our Christmas party, always enjoyable, was held at President Neil s home. A wonderfully festive and convivial event, including amazing food, wine and even song! The first months of 2017 had several events that occur annually, combining the purely social with some fundraising events. The Bobbo Classic, Novus dinner, District conference and other evening events and dinners will be discussed in other reports. An informal gathering at a Wahroonga café after the 7am ANZAC service on the 25 th April embraced the camaraderie that we love so much in our club. In May Sandy van Dijk organised her annual booking of the Pymble Players and many members and friends attended the performance of Australia day. The Ministry of Fun has enjoyed working with Club members to facilitate activities which people enjoy and to which family and friends can be invited.

48 Wednesday mornings - The Sunrise Breakfast Meetings are always a hit. Having fun it is not all work at our Club. Occasionally we have time off to have a drink and fellowship. Photo above: left; Rochelle Wiley and Kerri Hodge. Photo on right: Marie and long-time Rotarian John Julius.

49 Past member - Mike Brownlow returns to have fun with the Club On the right, Phil Comfort gives a cheesy grin at the Club s Christmas Party. Phil is next year s sergeant at Arms, so we expect that we will live in Interesting Times. Christmas Party many members met for breakfast at President Neil McWhannell s lovely home.

50 Melbourne Cup Day On the left Alfreda White gets some support from Sandy van Dijk, after her horse came in seventeenth or something. They don t look too unhappy though. Hat Day to support Mental Health Many of our members show their style that they are famous for. Hollywood however, will not be calling any time soon.

51 Hat Day New member Jim Fulton, a Bonnie Scot himself, gained first place in the judging of best hat. There is a distinct possibility that we will never see Jim in his wee bonnet ever again. While on the right, PP Jim Verco, gives his best pirate look. Soup Night However, Max and Tanya Lake chose to sip on a good red wine instead. Smart fellow Max. And speaking of wine - Wine Sales - The sale of especially selected Rotary Club wine is always a success. Greg Starr and Jenetta Russell get ready some of the boxes for delivery. The profits are allocated to one of the Club s projects.

52 Basanta Shield Cricket Match in September. The Captain of our Club s cricket team, The Wahroonga Winners, Abhi Poudel, hangs onto the trophy reluctant to let it go to the victorious Captain Ashish Poudel from The Basanta Rhinos. The match was to raise funds for The Basanta Foundation, to support the charitable causes in Nepal, including the BRAVE Centre, which is a Rotary funded project. Photo on the right: The students and team of BRAVE Centre for people with disability in Nepal send their special message to RCW. BRAVE Centre is ran by Basanta Foundation and funded by Rotary Club of Wahroonga. The Melbourne Cup morning and the breakfast meeting was held at President Neil McWhannell s home. Some of our lady member contingent show off their snazzy hats. From Left: Sandy van Dijk, Frieda White, Margaret Sachs, Lynn Varvel, Shirley Comfort, Kerrin McCormack, Judith Kaine, Marlene Carty, Sue Owen, Janelle Speight and Janet Grundy. Max Lake is hovering in the back ground counting Margaret Sachs s polka dots, or something.

53 The boys at Melbourne Cup breakfast - Not to be outdone some of the boys show off their chapeaus. From left: Phil Comfort, PP David Russell and President Neil McWhannell. Abbox above - Abhi Poudel, PP Garry Webb, PP Marlene Carty, Greg Starr and PP Rob Ferguson 200 children were present while our Rotarian Team cooked up a storm.

54 It looks like fun Joan Giacometti and Helen Clarke with a funny looking friend Lulu the clown at the Abbox Christmas party. Abbox is the Knox / Abbotsleigh camp for the Sony Foundation Children's holiday camps for children with a disability. Out students and staff care fit the kids for 4 days and give parents respite care.

55 Paul Harris Fellowship Award Over 70% of our members are Paul Harris Fellows and the following members of the Club and others were presented with this award during the year. Above: Richard Jackson and President Neil. Richard Jackson, Angus M Robinson, Lynne Webb (wife of member), Gregg Starr, PP Rob Ferguson, PP Peter Smith, Mike Brownlow, PP Marlene Carty, PP David Russell When $US1000 is contributed to The Rotary Foundation, a request can be made for an individual to be recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow; that person can be a Rotarian or a member of the community who is not a Rotarian. When a person is recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow, they are presented with a Certificate signed by the Rotary International President and the Chairman of the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation, and a lapel pin and medallion. The contribution to The Rotary Foundation can be made in one sum or by cumulative giving over a number of years. Individuals can make a personal contribution or the contribution can be from a club, a company or business. When some members are presented with their second Paul Harris Fellow they receive a badge with a sapphire. Right: PP Marlene Carty with President Neil received her Sapphire pin.

56 Above: Lyn Webb, (wife of PP Garry Webb) received her Paul Harris fellowship in May 2017, from President Neil. Her work over many years in assisting the Club and its many projects were acknowledged. Below left: PP David Russell received his Sapphire Pin during the year and on the right PP Peter Smith also received his Sapphire pin.

57 Club Photograph Album Photographic triumphs shown in this report were submitted by PP George Richards, PP Ian Cameron, and Janelle Speight. The next few pages have a selection of photographs that we just could not leave out. Thanks fellows for the wonderful photographs. Left: Barry Edmundsen listening intently to the guest speaker at our Wednesday meeting. Below right: Sandy van Dijk makes a point at one of our meetings. While below left: Phil Comfort again, with his expressive face, looking innocent or possibly hearing the music of the angels. Doug Read, right: the man behind the BOBBO Bicycle Classic, is always a hard man to photograph, being one of those quiet achievers however, we have succeeded this year. Photo shows proud grandad Dougal with his son Michael and young grand daughter Sarah. -

58 Sydney Welsh Choir - PP Rob Ferguson and President Neil, The project is The All Saints Concert by the Sydney Welsh Choir at St John s Wahroonga on 30 October, in aid of the three schools, St Lucy s and St Edmund s in Wahroonga and The School of St Jude in Tanzania. President Neil had invited Rob to address the audience on the offer by an anonymous supporter to double any funds raised for St Jude s. At the result of Rob s address an additional was $1800 donated as people left the event! Lifelines Book Fair at Knox Richard Collins, Greg Starr, Len Stanley, Sergeant John Collins and Abhi Poudel with Knox students working on the boxes of books.

59 Left: Breakfast Meeting - Janelle Speight known for her sartorial splendour, especially with her fancy pants, is outshone here by PP Margaret Sachs. And below, our very own Leprechaun Len Stanley bids a temporary farewell to all as he embarks on yet another holiday to the Emerald Isle. Most probably to visit more Leprechauns. The Four Way Test School Debate with a beaming PP Ken Broadhead who organised this event in November, watching over the table of the students and parents.

60 PP George Richards not content with one drink, George does his best with two. The Christmas Raffle PP John Welch was out there doing his thing along with a couple of score fellow Rotarians.