Download the Club Bulletin for meeting 999 here.
From President Kirsty Stark:
Exchange student Marie Hermanns attended our club meeting again this week and we were delighted to have Marie take on the role of Chair for the 999th meeting. For those of you who want to get their tongue around the number ‘99’ in German then click onto ‘Ninety-Nine Balloons’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LurSGl3uw8
Jeff Neale also attended as one of our regular guests.
What Makes You Tick?
Our speaker this morning was Immediate Past President Mina Ward, whose address was entitled, “What Makes You Tick?”; about her preparation for her planned English Channel swim earlier in the year. Mina asked us what our first thought is when we wake up in the morning. What is it that motivates us? For her, the past two years had been about training for the swim from Dover to Calais, approximately 42km (depending on tides) or 15 hours of swimming in 14-18-degree water.
Mina prepared by doing a 6km qualifying swim in water under 15 degrees in Tasmania, as well as several 10+ hour swims with sister Bridget when she arrived in the UK. They registered and paid their fees to the Channel Swimming Association, found their Pilots – a legal requirement to supervise their joint swim across the channel – and then sat back to wait for their approved date within their allocated swim period.
Unfortunately for Mina and Bridget, this year was one of the worst for Channel swims and only 50% of the swimmers made it to their window were able to swim. This was also the case for the sisters, who never had the opportunity to swim due to weather and the advice of their pilots. How heartbreaking, after all their work.
However, they still had the opportunity to make the most of their fundraising for Rotary, by participating in the Scilly Swim Challenge. The Scilly Islands are a collection of remote islands off the Cornish coast, and the challenge involved walking across and swimming between six islands, for a total of 20kms swimming and a 10km walk.
Overall, Mina and Bridget raised over $13,000 towards Rotary projects, including new shower and toilet facilities at a homeless shelter in Gloucester, and support of the Hutt Street Centre here in Adelaide. Congratulations, Mina! We’re all disappointed for you that you weren’t able to swim the Channel this time, but it’s great to see how much you achieved despite not meeting your original goal. All the best for your next attempt in 2019!
Tour Down Under
Thanks to everyone from the club who made the Tour Down Under marshalling a huge success by volunteering across the Wednesday and Friday in Campbelltown last week. Special thanks to Ian Coat for his tireless efforts in organising the marshalling and liaising with the council along the way.
Hutt Street Centre Meal Service
Thanks to everyone who is volunteering to serve meals at the Hutt Street Centre in early February. In celebration of our 1000th meeting, we will be providing 1000 meals to those in need. Click here to download the final roster and all the information you need for your shift.
Merger of Rotary Districts
Click here to read a letter from DG Sam Camporeale regarding the proposed merger of Rotary districts 9500 and 9520 as part of the worldwide restructure.
1000th Meeting and Weekly Challenge
Next week we will be celebrating our 1000th meeting with a morning of fun, fellowship and a few surprises! Please let me know of any additional attendees (e.g. partners and friends) by Sunday night.
This week’s challenge is to find something festive to wear to the celebration – whether it’s a fancy hat, something sparkly, a formal tie or an entire outfit is completely up to you, but I’m looking forward to seeing you all there.