As I write this bulletin from Christchurch I’m amazed we are already one month through 2023.
Many of you appeared to have had a great New Year and Christmas break and it was marvellous to have 38 of us at our first Monday meet on the 23rd.
I am aware the small group involved in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner will have enjoyed a meal together at Stoakers on Monday 30th. We were planning to put some proceeds of that towards breakfast in schools. However, it may be we can continue to ensure this cause can be supported from the excellent funds raised by our record summer book sale that raised much more than envisaged.
Monday the 30th also saw Rotary and Lions collaborate and run the ‘Meet the Candidates’ meeting for the by-election coming up. Many thanks to Peter Mead for agreeing to MC the meeting, as well as Pete Moen from Lions for organising this event.
In eight weeks’ time Rotarians from the whole of the South Island will be gathering in Oamaru for the FIRST Conference for the new Rotary District 9999.
District Governor Jan and the Conference team have for the past two years been busy planning an entertaining and informative conference for you all and can assure you that the programme has something for everyone. It is an opportunity to meet with fellow Rotarians from all around the South Island, be inspired by a variety of speakers, share successful ideas and projects, and generally network with like-minded people.
In keeping with Oamaru’s reputation as the “Steampunk” capital of New Zealand, the theme for Saturday night’s function is “Steaming in Oamaru”.
We will keep this front of mind and let you know who from Cromwell is going to ensure we have a great time. Any questions on this please reach out to myself or Sue Svensson who are going through.
Our candidate, Adam, sponsored by Doreen Evans’ law firm, will gain a lot from the RYLA experience this month and will present later in the year regarding his experience. It was great to hear from Emily Stewart of Central Otago Pharmacy on Monday and we will be needing to finalise our speakers for the second half of the year. If you have any thoughts please contact Sue.
The Melbourne Conference Early Bird Discount Registrations closed on the 15thDecember. If you are still thinking of Conference in Melbourne, please chat with Adrienne and remember the inaugural District 9999 Conference dates of 24-26th March 2023 in Oamaru. We will get a small working team in place for these fun events in the new year. I plan to have short meetings in both these conferences after Rotary once a month from now to share plans and ideas.
