Welcome back to the second half of this Rotary year and as I said at last Mondays meeting just what is ahead of us is not clear but there will inevitably be some challenges. In this bulletin we have set out the program for the next 3 months but we all know that can change quickly. I encourage you to watch your emails and the website to keep up to date. Your directors are scheduled to meet next week and confirm our Covid plan but rest assured we won’t be doing anything that puts any of us at risk.

Adrienne and I woke up this morning (Saturday) to learn a close mate in Christchurch passed away overnight. Not unexpected but sooner than expected and as you know expected or not there is a finality to deal with. We will spend the back half of this week in Christchurch which in itself might be a bit challenging...but he was a good mate. It is times like these that we take time to reflect on what really matters in life and to ensure we squeeze the most out of the limited time we are here. RIP David.

At our Monday meeting last week Pam reported that the summer book sale was the best yet both financially and in developing processes to move and sort books. Well done to all concerned. We also heard of the cancellation of the Warbirds over Wanaka weekend which has been a good fund raiser for us over time. We are proceeding with a collection for an Emergency Response Kit (ERK) for Tonga and Jackie will circulate a list. Again I stress if people are uncomfortable doing this we will not proceed.

Our guest speaker last Monday was Megan Foster who we helped attend Outward Bound. I learnt plenty from her presentation and the discussion around the topic. I knew Rotary was a founder of the program but I did not know Sandy Black's dad was a driver in the establishment of the course. I attended in 1971 so the program has stood the test of time. Two takeaways from the presentation for me were Megan's quotes “Gratitude is the best attitude” and the way she described finding her “comfort zone....stretch zone and panic zone” The presentation was a nice reminder why we have such an emphasis on youth in our club.

Finally I did remind everyone that next couple of months is likely to be the time we need to really be looking out for our friends. Do we need to take a trip to the supermarket or make a phone call just to check in on neighbours and or friends. Self-isolation will be lonely and tough for a lot of us. Please take care and keep safe.