Our Activities: 17th December Meeting

Chair
Helen

International Toast
We drank to Norm’s toast to the Durham Country Club. Never did figure out whether we were in North Carolina, or the north of England, or both, or even if there was a Rotary Club involved, but they were big in cricket in North Carolina.

Visitors
Welcome to Rick & Neryl Petersen, and Jan from Darwin Sunrise
(Neryl - I hope this is the correct spelling of your name)

Apologies
Deborah, Darryl, Ron Lauren, & Pam,

Makeups
Merv attended the ambulance committee, and Golden Beach presentations.
Mark & Helen attended District Board.
Stuart did the presentation at Talara

Helen gave a report on Trevor Taylor
His chest infection is reduced but he has a long long way to go in his recovery
PDG Dai Mason would take over his District Governor’s role.
Roger has left a message on the Facebook Recovery diary giving our best wishes.

Presidents Report
Roger stood in to do the President’s Report.
He seemed very confident that, as predicted, it would get a good write up in the Reel.
(even though the attached raw material wasn’t much to work with)

Roger
Encourage members, partners, family to come along for our Christmas breakup brekky all welcome. Must bring gift up to the value of $10.00 the wackier the better
    •    Lovely lunch with the inbound & outbound exchange students (Lauren will expand upon this if she is there)
    •    I attended the Caloundra Primary Schools' Awards Presentation on Thursday afternoon. Lovely afternoon with many of the grade 7's winning awards. I presented our awards.
    •    I attended Calpac's Thursday night dinner meeting - the meeting featured Nick Anning Dux of Meridan State College and NYSF recipient.
Thanks
Deb

Yes, thanks Deb - it may not have been a standing ovation, but I’m fairly sure no one fell asleep.

Speaker
Alf introduced Rick, who was to speak about his life and Father & Son trekking in Sumatra. Rick was originally from Tasmania, and has spent 11 years in the military. He has been a tour guide in the Northern Territory and worked in Perth with a garden design company. He moved to Currimundi two years ago and works as a horticulturalist with the Council. Rick and Neryl have two boys, Tasman aged 14 & Arnhem 17.

Rick thanked the Club for his reception by Club members.

Life for Rick started as the son of a lighthouse keeper on Tasman Island in SE Tasmania. He can remember being nearly blown off the island in the wind. They were often trapped inside and lost three watertanks on one occasion.

The family moved to Rosbury for the mining, but one day, his dad packed up his EH holden and left. With his mother taking to drink, he and his twin siblings were fostered to various families around NW Tasmania. He started work in a nursery at 14 but saw the army as the way to turn his life around. He spent three years at Townsville but was selected for the SAS where he spent nine years.

Returning to civilian life, he proposed to Neryl on Table Mountain in Tasmania, and later became a tour guide in the Northern Territory. The family then went to Perth to be closer to Neryl’s mother.

Currently Rick has been involved in NYSF leadership treks, and Urban Descents, which involves abseiling off skyscrapers. He does father & son survival workshops in Kenilworth, and the Sumatra treks through Men of Change. Rick showed a video of Sumatra. See
www.experiencesumatra.com Men of Change are doing a charity fundraiser - no doubt we will be kept posted.

Screenshot from the website

Questions - Why Sumatra? “It found me” Interesting to see Christians & Muslums working together in harmony. Costs $2,700pp for seven days. Contacts mainly through social media. Following up. Sons age 13-17. Success stories. Looking for sponsors.

Directors
Alan re carols by Candlelight - we will be in the carpark on the northern side
John - USC BBQs in Feb - Three days in a row, 1000 meals per day They are off to Melbourne for Christmas
Helen asked for a “show of hands” for next week