We are delighted to welcome our guest speaker Dr Matt Wheeler.
Matt and his family went to Canada in last August, to study haematology, assisted by a Rotary International scholarship. Covid 19 has interrupted his study his study at McMaster University in Toronto and he has returned to New Zealand continuing in medical practice in Tauranga. The University is looking forward to Matt’s return to Canada.
Marion Eades, a Past President of the Rotary Club of Wellington chairs the District 9940 RI Scholarship Committee and both Marion and Immediate Past Governor, John Mohi advanced Matt’s successful nomination to Rotary International. Our Club was delighted to learn midway through last year that Matt had been granted this prestigious award in medicine to undertake study at McMaster.
Partners are welcome, and encouraged, to attend this meeting but please be sure to advise Doug Langford of extra numbers for catering.
This is going to be a busy meeting, including the induction of Lynda Murray.
We also anticipate a "raid" from members of the Rotary Club Of Wellington as part of their centennial celebrations.
Even though we had a small attendance, there was a good sharing of ideas for our forward Rotary programme.
President Phil outlined our achievements in the year to date. Despite the significant period of covid lockdown, we have achieved a growth in membership, assisted the promotion of the booklet on epilepsy education aid, our support for the Sunshine Club to Schools, and support to the Rotary vaccine project ahead in the Pacific. We also had support for upcoming events such as our business breakfast programme and General Election meeting.
Krystle Crimmins gave the meeting thoughts from a meeting of our recent induction of new women members. Her presentation contained new ideas to take to the board emphasizing greater flexibility in Rotary for members.
Members also raised some ideas that had worked well for the Club in the past including getting to know other members and partners well through the Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner programme and building up interest in associate membership in the Club as a way for some to consider full membership in Rotary. Allan Frazer suggested he would take up an almoner role to keep in touch with past members.
After months of not being able to run our breakfast programme, we were delighted to be back at Level 1 to host former Gisborne Mayor, and now Race Relations Commissioner, Meng Foon, at our business breakfast event at Karori Park Café on 24 September.
Meng delighted us with his down to earth approach to life, his “humble” beginnings as a son of well-known Chinese market gardeners in Gisborne, his early schooling at Makaraka just outside of Gisborne city, and education at Gisborne Boys High before he took up various business interests working in the city. From two terms on the Gisborne District Council Meng became Mayor and served six terms from 2001-2019 when he was appointed Race Relations Commissioner in August last, succeeding Dame Susan Devoy. He and his wife Ying still maintain their family home in Gisborne.
Meng gave us a taste of issues coming across his desk and working through strategies to try and reduce amongst other big social issues a high and unacceptable level of bullying prevalent in schools and in the work place in New Zealand. He said he enjoys face to face meetings with people to try and build respect to work together with other agencies in the country for some better and more sustainable outcomes in behaviour patterns.
Meng was well received by an audience of 50, with quite a number of our regular attendees not able to attend this event.
Once again we had one of the biggest elections meetings in this triennial cycle of meet the candidates for Wellington Central. Close to 180 people attended at the Karori Baptist Church on 1 October.
Ten candidates across a broad spectrum of party and individual stances gave us their platforms. The seriousness of their planned addresses was mixed with good humour and lots of light hearted moments for the audience to join in.
Michael Appleby, a lawyer and leader of the Aotearoa New Zealand Cannabis Party said that finally after campaigning for close on 20 years to get into Parliament and to get on the Wellington City Council he believed had achieved his objective of an acceptance of cannabis as shown through of a referendum at this general election on cannabis which he believed would be carried and passed in to law by Parliament. Other candidates were quick to tell him, not so fast Michael. This would not have been the first time Michael has stood up on this issue in 2020 as all the candidates would have met several times in the capital to this point. Michael in his impish humour took the sting from other candidates including sitting MP for Wellington Central Hon Grant Robertson that the outcome on cannabis was far from over at this stage. There was lots of laughter for the audience when Michael got all candidates to indicate if they had ever tried out cannabis in their lives. Most indicated they had, but pushing it back to their younger years of life.
In all it was a good night and a well run meeting by chairman Doug Langford, to give the sizeable audience time to weigh up candidates and their platforms on growth as a country, numerous social issues, housing being a major topic, and economic recovery.
Last year the District 9940 Ride The Train project raised $30,000 to help end polio. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched this 2 for 1 meaning that $90,000 went to help end Polio. Africa has now been declared free of Polio in the wild leaving only Afghanistan and Pakistan where the disease persists.
You can help by supporting Ride The Train. Buy a tee shirt and cover the 62 stations between Palmerston North and Masterton or sponsor someone who will. A suggested donation of 50 cents per station will raise $31. Wearing the tee shirt means you can ride for free.
If you can't ride the train, there will be a stall selling bacon butties at Wellington Station. Sign up for a couple of hours at
By the way, Polio only exists in human populations. When eradicated it will be only the 3rd disease eliminated from earth, after Smallpox and Rinderpest (a cattle disease).