Dancing the night away - Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance in Kiribati

Rotarian Natasha Pinto and her husband Rufus cut a dash on the dance floor with a lively jive.

The Rotary Club of Bariki in the Republic of Kiribati (located in the Pacific Ocean close to the Equator in District 9920) hosted its first fundraising Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance on February 14. The special event was held at the Fairprice Golden Chinese Restaurant and all 100 tickets were sold.

The MC for the evening was Rotary President Matirita Nabong. Entertainment was provided by the ANZ Kiribati Star Idols (2014), who performed individually and as a group, with songs in English, Kiribati and Hindi. Raffle prizes and items for the silent auction were generously donated by local businesses and individuals.

After dinner there was dancing and revelers, including Assistant Governor George Fraser, “conga-ed” their way around the restaurant and outside. Luckily the rain held off for the evening. Everyone enjoyed themselves and several businesses have expressed interest in sponsoring similar events.

Overall the Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance was a great success, raising almost AU$4000 to be shared between the Rotary International Global Eradication of Polio program and Kiribati’s ‘Te Meeria’ (Frangipani) Mental Health Service.

Thanks are due to the organisers, Natasha Pinto, Roger Norton, Lynne Hunt and Gillian Duffy, as well as the small army of volunteers who helped put up lights and decorations to create a night to remember. With the success of this first dinner dance, the Rotary Club of Bairiki hopes to make it an annual fixture on the Tarawa social calendar.

Age is no barrier - International Caravanning Fellowship of Rotarians (NZ)

ICFR (NZ) was formed in 1978 with the ideals of Rotary friendship through “a common interest in caravan touring and camping, to promote contacts with other Rotarians nationally and internationally and to promote the recreational enjoyment of the NZ environment.”

Membership is open to present or former members of a Rotary Club or any person who is, or was, the spouse or partner of a present or former Rotarian. Age is no barrier, as quite a number who are towing caravans or driving motorhomes are in their 80’s, and one member celebrated his 90^th birthday by skydiving and commented, "it keeps you young!”

Prospective members are encouraged to attend at least one rally prior to application for membership. If a prospective member has a contact who is already an ICFR member, attending a rally as their guest has its advantages. However, attending as a guest is not an essential requirement. The fellowship is a very social organisation and new members are quickly involved.

Presently the fellowship has around 150 members from Kerikeri in the north to Wellington in the south, including Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and the lower North Island. We do not yet have any members in the South Island. 

Weekend rallies are generally held from a Friday afternoon until the Sunday afternoon with many members choosing to arrive before or stay on after the rally. These rallies have traditionally been held in February, April, August and November. Over the past few years, prior to the February rally, a week-long Bush Rally has been arranged – these rallies are generally held at Department of Conservation or similar sites, off-power and with restricted facilities. They are great opportunities to really get to know fellow members.

Informal rallies, of two to three days are held in June and September. These events are held at hot pool areas Miranda and Omokoroa, and by holding them mid-week, they attract reduced camp site tariffs.

The general format of a weekend rally starts on Friday evening with a 5 pm get together with drinks and nibbles, then after the evening meal in your own motorhome or caravan, have supper with allocated members which is a chance to mix and get to know others at the rally.  Saturday is an outing – either a mystery bus tour or visit(s) to local attraction(s), and then dinner at a local hotel, club or similar. On the Sunday morning, we have a meeting of the fellowship at which we discuss any items of topical interest, decide on the venue for future meetings, have area reports on the health and wellbeing of absent members, have a sergeant’s session, wooden spoon etc. This is usually a pretty light hearted affair, so it is always well attended.  On Sunday afternoon, members are free to leave, although it has become somewhat of a tradition for rally organisers to arrange a delivery of fish and chips for another evening meal together.

There is no strict programme for a rally, so organisers are free to arrange the course of the weekend.  At most rallies attendance is around 35 to 50 vans (70 to 100 members).  A budget for each rally aims to break even.

The organisation does not aim to make a profit and the fellowship does not become involved in projects. Membership fees are currently $5 per couple or $3 for single members.

The website www.icfr.rotarysouthpacific.org includes ICFR information and copies of recent newsletters.

For further information, contact ICFR (NZ) Secretary Stewart Wright via email jandswright@xtra.co.nz / 027 244 7194. 

Included in May
Rotary Down Under
magazine

 

One club a great example of what Rotary clubs all achieve

It’s July, the traditional month for the Cromwell Rotary Club’s ‘changeover’. This annual event includes the appointment of a new president and new directors, to carry the club forward into 2015.

 

Some 80 Rotarians and guests attended the function, held this year, at The Nose Restaurant. Tony Quinn, creator of the Highlands MotorSport Park, was the guest speaker. Apart from the ‘formal’ handover, two members; John Angus and Murray Kennedy, were presented with the prestigious Rotary ‘Paul Harris Fellowship’ award. This award is given to those who have shown outstanding service to their local and wider communities.

 

Over $44,000 was raised by the club in the last 12 months, benefitting many local and international good-causes. This included over $12000 donated to local youth and activities projects. Rotarians spent over 1700 volunteer-hours fundraising. Cromwell Rotary is again grateful for the massive support received from local businesses and the wider community.

Use the Blog Search function to read about the other activities of this small, but extremely active Rotary club.

By Derek Whelan

Web: www.cromwell.rotarysouthpacific.org

Rotary 4WD

 

0n Sunday 5 January 2014, 21 trucks gathered at the Golden Gate for the annual Cromwell Rotary 4WD trip.

This year’s trip traversed both the Hawksburn and Cairnmuir Stations, allowing drivers access to some of the most beautiful scenery in the region. Along the way we learnt about ancient Moa hunting sites and had a picnic-lunch at an historic homestead (Hawksburn). The day ended with a bbq at Bannockburn inlet. Rotary thanks go to; DOC. Phillip McElroy (Hawksburn) and Alistair Hamilton (Cairnmuir), Webb’s Fruit, Murray Dennison and Bill Wilson (organisers) and all those who helped make this day great success.

Funds raised will assist Rotary with their local and international community works. We will do it all again next year; don’t miss it!