Home Page | Rotary Club of Cessnock

WHAT OUR CLUB IS DOING

Our Club is now entering a period of "lasts" Last meeting of the year on 13th December, Last board meeting of the year on the 6th December which is also our annual General Meeting, last Putt Putt BBQ on the 2nd December and the last roadside cleanup of the year on the 1st December. We have our continued commitment to HVG Christmas Lights during the rest of November and the early part of December and our last vocational night of the year on the 29th November at the Binnorie Dairy. At the AGM, President Elect John Rosee will finalise his Board for the 2019-20 Rotary year. PDG Steve Jackson has kindly invited members to a function which will count as the first meeting of the year on the 10th January at their home at Ellalong. We will also be hosting an Australia Day BBQ on the 26th January which will count as an official Rotary make-up. I am inviting all of our sponsors and Friends of Rotary to our Christmas party at Twine Restaurant for them to enjoy the fellowship of our Rotary Club.

Kind regards

President David

President

President Elect

Treasurer

Secretary

Club Service/Fundraising

Rotary Foundation

Vice President

Membership

Public Relations

Rotary Training

Public Officer

Club Administration

Service Projects

Youth Protection Officer

Johanna Rosee

Youth Counsellor

Stephen Jackson

Youth

George Koncz

Clubrunner administrator

Dave Owens

Sergeant At Arms

Graham Lidbury

Member Birthdays:

Sharon Waite

December 11

Spouse/Partner Birthdays:

Wesley

December 29

The following are the dates our club has committed to, for the Rotary Roadside Cleanup along Maitland Road. This is our signature Community Service project and gives us broad recognition.

Saturday 8th December

Saturday 2nd February 2019

Please keep free as many of these dates as possible as there will be a requirement for a minimum of 5 personnel on each day.

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THE ROTARY CLUB OF CESSNOCK

The Rotary Club of Cessnock formally began in 1937. There have been many changes in membership

and the Rules under which we operate in that time, however our reasons for being are basically unchanged.

We are here to enhance the well-being of our local and international communities. Cessnock club is local, Rotary is international.

Copy of Merry Christmas

To all our members, friends and our local community, have a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year in 2019.

Vocational Visit Binnorie Dairy

Posted by Dave Owens

VOCATIONAL NIGHT

On Thursday 29th the club visited the Binnorie Dairy situated at 25 Lodge Road Lovedale. We were hosted by the owners Simon and Sally (Pictured below with President David) who made sure we had a most interesting and enjoyable evening. The Dairy has its own cheesemaking factory on site and although it wasn't operating during our visit Simon was able to give us a very detailed and informative explanation on the cheese makers art and the type of product they manufacture at Binnorie. We were then treated to a wonderful meal finished off with an enormous cheese platter accompanied by some excellent wine. The Binnorie Dairy is a relatively new business and deserves to be a great success and we would encourage people to support this local business as they support our local community. At the end of the evening our hosts were thanked by President David who presented them with a Certificate of Appreciation for their support of our Vocational Night.

Help the Farmers Golf Day

Posted by Dave Owens

Thursday 15^th November was a very important night for the Cessnock Rotary Club. Two presentations were made which go to the very heart of why this Rotary Club exists, that is to support our local Community.

Help the Farmers Golf Day.

Earlier in the year our club was approached by two former Rotary Club members who are members of the Vintage Golf Club. They asked us to join with them in organising a Charity Golf Day in aid of the drought affected farmers in the upper Hunter Valley. Our club readily agreed to this and an organising committee comprising John Retallick and Tom Hannah from the Vintage and President David , Graham Lidbury and Sharon Waite from the Rotary Club set about preparing for the day.

On Monday 24^th September the Golf Day went ahead with 96 players. The weather stayed fine for the playing time and following on from the golf a magnificent lunch was provided by the Vintage Golf Club. The day raised $15,330.05 for the farmers from the golf and the auction of donated items. Many thanks to all the sponsors and prize donors.

On the 15^th November District Governor Brian Coffey was present to receive the BIG Cheque from John Retallick and Tom Hannah from the Vintage on behalf of Cessnock Rotary Club. Photo below shows Left to right John Retallick from The Vintage, DG Brian Coffey, David Owens President Cessnock Rotary Club and Tom Hannah from The Vintage making the presentation.

DG Brian was given the cheque to pass on to the Rotary Help the Farmers appeal.

James Johnstone Award

Posted by Dave Owens

James Johnstone Memorial Award.

This award is presented annually by our club to a Kurri Kurri TAFE mining student and is to commemorate the Cessnock Rotary Club’s Charter President and founding member, James Johnstone, who was responsible for the formation of the Club in 1937. James Johnstone migrated to Australia from Scotland and became a mining engineer and rose to be the General Superintendent of JA Brown and Abermain Seeham Collieries. The award named after him was first presented at the Club’s 50^th Anniversary in 1987 and is awarded to the highest achieving mining student at the Kurri Kurri TAFE. This years award was presented to Michael Millgate who was accompanied by his wife Katie and who spoke of his life and his achievements in the mining industry. Also present was Garry Evans who was Michael’s teacher at Kurri Kurri TAFE.

They are pictured below with President David, Past President Ross Lidbury who organised the night and Past District Governor Greg Bevan who gave a detailed history of the award.

Rotary Hat Day

Posted by Dave Owens

Join us tomorrow, Friday 19th October at Bunnings Cessnock for a BBQ in aid of Australian Rotary Health and Lift the Lid on Mental Illness. It is a crazy hat day and every one is

encouraged to wear the craziest hat they can find to help emphasise the importance of research into the scourge of mental illness.

Spring Cruze-in and CMRL BBQ

Posted by Dave Owens

On Sunday 16th September Cessnock Rotary Club and the Cessnock Girl Guides combined to provide catering support at the Spring Cruize-in event held at the Hunter Valley Gardens.
The event is hosted by the ANSMA Australian National Street Machine Association and proudly supported by Hunter Valley Gardens. At the same time members of the Rotary Club provided a BBQ for the Cessnock Minor Rugby League Club at Mount View Park (The Basin). Our brand new Rotary Catering Trailer got a real workout but everything worked perfectly and was such a vast improvement over the old trailer. Even so it was only through the generous loan of equipment from the Rotary Club of Kurri Kurri that we were able to have such a successful day. Many thanks to all our members Friends and Volunteers who worked tirelessly during the day, the success is due to you.

Update on Rotary Drought Relief

Posted by Dave Owens

Dear District Governors and Rotarians,

The Drought Relief for Australian Farming Families campaign continues to raise much needed dollars, surpassing $4.2million with the hope of reaching $10million by the end of the month. This will be given a considerable boost by Channel 9 who are conducting a special telethon commencing at 6:30am on Monday 20^th August 2018 on the Today Show with a direct telecast from Dubbo. A number of Corporates including Westpac, Optus and Carlton United Breweries are making significant contributions which will be announced during the telethon.

Rotary continues to play a key role for the project with many Clubs and Districts making their own contributions both in dollars and hands on activities. A huge thank you to all who have embraced this very needy initiative.

How is the 2018 Drought Relief for Australian Farming Families distributing support?

The 2018 Drought Relief for Australian Farming Families is not providing direct financial support to farm businesses. Instead, we are working with trusted partners to amplify their existing relief efforts on the ground.

RAWCS (as the custodian of the funds) is working with the ‘National Farmers’ Federation’ (NFF) to direct funding to organisations and projects that meet strict criteria. These include: full transparency and accountability; strong and established governance structures; low (if not nil) administration costs; and proven networks within affected communities.

Funding will be released in regular tranches, with new organisations and programs assessed in each round.

As of Round One, $1 million has been released via the ‘Country Women’s Association’ and the ‘Need for Feed’ initiative. This initial funding will help farmers access donated fodder to feed livestock, plus financial support for household expenses.

Farmers can register to access this support by contacting those organisations directly.

For contact details of those organisations, plus other active relief agencies, visit https://farmers.org.au/campaign/drought-2018/

Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)

RAWCS and Rotary Clubs in Australia have been invaluable to this process, and the ‘National Farmers Federation’ realise we can do more to help by delivering effective projects on the ground.

Therefore, after RAWCS has approved it, $100,000 will be allocated to each of the three existing Rotary projects, registered with RAWCS, that are assisting farmers. Other Rotary Clubs are encouraged to apply for funding with a proposal on how the funds will be used and what impact they will have. 70% of the funds raised will address immediate relief and 30% will be allocated to long-term investment on farms and in the community.

Proposals will be accepted on the following:

Relief type:

· Fodder

· Water

· Household expenses

· Mental Health

· Other

Criteria:

· Governance structure

· No admin fees

· Ability to reach drought affected areas

· Ability to deliver on the ground

· Good process for determining eligibility

· Collaboration

Allocating these funds is a huge task for RAWCS and the NFF, with the need to provide immediate relief whilst also planning for long-term impact. The first tranche is going to those programs already running via organisations who have an existing relationship on the ground, with others to follow after proposals are submitted and vetting process ensues. The approved programs include:

- $250,000 for fodder vouchers and payment of household bills or store credits: administered by CWA QLD

- $250,000 for water and cash grants for immediate and overdue bills: administered by CWA NSW

- $250,000 to provide fodder for stock and other animals; administered by 'Need for Feed' Program

A big thank you to Mike Whitehouse, Michael Perkins, Belinda Griffen, Pauline Lane and the wider RAWCS team for their amazing work.

Further details including FAQ’s can be found at the following website link: https://southbank.org.au/farmers

District Governors could you please consider asking your Clubs to register the details of their projects related to Drought Relief for Australian Farming Families by sending a brief account of their project to Stephen Los (stephen@tradecreative.com.au) and Kelly Kayne (kellykayne@me.com) who will update our project page. This enable us to keep track of the Australia wide activity involving Rotarians.

We will update you again soon. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kindest regards,

Philip Archer

* District Governor Nominee

* Director – Rotary Foundation Australia Limited

Tel: +61 448 999 555

117 Queensbridge Street, Southbank Vic 3006

PO Box 212, South Melbourne Vic 3205

rotaryaustralia.org.au

rotarydistrict9800.org.au

Rotary Fighting for Farmers

Posted by Dave Owens on Aug 01, 2018

A partnership has been formed between Rotary Australia, Channel 9 and the National Farmers’ Federation to help our drought-stricken farmers. A fundraising appeal will be launched on Channel 9’s Today show, tomorrow morning, Thursday, 2^nd August.

In Australia, farmers are the lifeblood of our country and they are in crisis. Record breaking heat and lack of rain means farmers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle, and keep crops alive. Families on the land are suffering and they need our help. Channel 9 and Rotary Australia have partnered with the National Farmers’ Federation, launching an appeal to big business and everyday Australians, so we can provide some emergency relief. 100% of donations goes to the farmers and is tax deductible via Rotary and RAWCS. Every dollar counts.

The link for the donation page for the project is: https://donations.rawcs.com.au/17-2018-19

The RAWCS website home page has the link also: http://rawcs.org.au/

This effort was made possible by DGN Philip Archer and his team from District 9800.

Our new Exhange Student Arrives

Posted by Dave Owens

Two weeks after we farewelled our Finnish exchange student Ossi, we have welcomed our newest exchange student Emil Beyer Jensen who is from just around the corner from Ossi in Denmark. Pictured below 2nd from the left is Emil on his arrival at Sydney Airport with a group of Rotary Exchange students who arrived on the same flight. Emil will be staying with President David and Janette for the first few days to get all of the administrative details finalised. Emil is enrolled in St Phillips Christian School and has already had a personal guided tour by the Registrar Lindsay O'Reilly. He starts school proper on Thursday 26th July and will be in Year 10. In the short time he has been here he has visited the Newcastle foreshore, toured Fort Scratchley and has had his first Australian meat pie at Harry's Café De Wheels. He will be at our meeting on Thursday night to be welcomed to our club.

Roadside Cleanup

Posted by Dave Owens

As a community service, the Cessnock Rotary Club has undertaken to assist the Cessnock City Council by Adopting a section of Maitland Road between Quarry Street and Duffie Drive and keeping it as free of litter and rubbish as possible using our clubs resources of manpower and basic equipment. 8 of our club members braved the early morning chill last Saturday to do our monthly cleanup and in the process managed to collect 83 kilos of rubbish and roadside litter thereby enhancing the view of the approaches to our City.

2018-19 CHANGEOVER DINNER

David Clark Memorial

Posted by Dave Owens

Cessnock Rotary Club has planted a memorial tree dedicated to the memory of one of its hardest working members, Rotarian David Clark, who passed away recently. The tree is a Claret Ash and was donated by Hunter Valley Gardens. A memorial plaque has now been placed at the base of the tree as a fitting tribute to the amazing contribution to the local community made by David Clark during his lifetime. Volunteers from the Cessnock Rotary Club will look after the tree as it grows to maturity and members will gather at the tree on the 31st May for a special dedication meeting.

Ossi's Farewell

Posted by Dave Owens

Ossi's Farewell

It is time for Ossi to bid farewell to Australia. Come and help us celebrate his time here.

When: Sunday 24^th June 2018

Where: Putt Putt Hunter Valley Gardens

Time: 1.00 pm for lunch 2 pm Putt Putt and Golf

Cost: Putt Putt will be $5.00 Aqua Golf will be $7.00

RSVP: 16^th June 2018

Graham on 0414842327

Due to catering requirements RSVP’s must be received by the above date. When you RSVP please advise if you will be coming for both or just Putt Putt and Golf.

If you would like to donate to a farewell present for Ossi we will be taking donations towards a present that he will truly enjoy. Due to luggage limitations please don’t bring individual presents.

ANZAC Day 2018

Posted by Dave Owens

ANZAC Day 2018 - Rotary Remembers

Very substantial crowds turned out at all three local ANZAC Day services remembering the sacrifices of our service men and women during all the conflicts involving Australian and New Zealand personnel namely the Dawn Service at Cessnock War memorial, the post World War 2 service at the Veterans Park at Aberdare and the main march and service through Cessnock to the Cessnock War Memorial in TAFE Park. Cessnock Rotarian Graham Lidbury laid a wreath on behalf of Rotary during the main service.

On Thursday the 26th April we were privileged to have the Vice President of the Cessnock RSL Sub-Branch, Mr Tom Rutherford, as our guest speaker. Tom's presentation of an ANZAC theme was on the very important but little known contribution of the Royal Australian Navy to that epic and tragic Gallipoli campaign. In particular he gave us an in depth account of the part played by the Australian submarine AE2 which forced a passage through the Dardanelles. Tom was thanked for his excellent presentation by David Lennon.

Vale David Clark

Posted by Dave Owens

It is with deep regret that we record the passing of our esteemed member, David Clark. David passed away unexpectedly on the 23rd February 2018. Our deepest sympathy is extended to his wife Judy and his family. David's funeral will be held at the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Vincent Street and Aberdare Road, Cessnock, at 11am on Monday 5th March 2018. David was a long serving member of the Cessnock Rotary Club and his wise counsel and boundless enthusiasm for the Rotary cause was an inspiration. David was passionate about Rotary projects that supported and enhanced the local Cessnock Community and his guidance and determination in that area will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace David.

Introduction to our new Exchange Student.

Posted by Dave Owens

On the 14th January 2018, Janette and I travelled to Dubbo to pick up our clubs exchange student who we will be hosting for the next 5 to 6 Months. His name is Ossi Lehtihuhta, he is 17 years old and he comes from Finland. Whilst in Dubbo Ossi was hosted by the South Dubbo Rotary Club and had some fabulous adventures both with the Club and with the various host families that he stayed with.

He is now with our club and is enrolled at Cessnock High School and I am sure, with what is planned for him during his stay here, he will experience some extraordinary and fulfilling adventures and take home with him some lifetime memories. He has already assisted at one of our Bunnings BBQs and has experienced the HVG Christmas lights and this coming weekend will be assisting in our roadside cleanup. During April he will going on the Capricorn Ramble so with that and his stays in Dubbo and Cessnock he will see and experience a great deal of this wonderful country of ours.

Ossi will be a regular attendee at our meetings and will be keeping the club updated on his adventures.

Merry Christmas

To all our members, friends and our local community, have a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

Donation - Cessnock RSL Sub-Branch

Posted by Dave Owens

DONATION TO OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

The Cessnock RSL Sub-Branch does a great job looking after the welfare of Returned, serving and ex-service personnel and their families in our local community. However, currently, because of circumstances beyond their control, their normal funding sources are not available to them. Our Rotary club decided that the work that the local RSL club does in our community is so essential that we should assist them with a donation to help carry them through this current period.

Accordingly the President of the local Sub-Branch, Mr Max Lewis, was a guest at our club on 30th November and was presented with a donation cheque and a Certificate of Appreciation by President Graham in recognition of the very valuable work they do.

Rotary Cessnock Bunnings BBQ

Posted by Dave Owens

Yesterday, 12th November, The Cessnock Rotary Club conducted a fundraising BBQ supported by Bunnings Cessnock. The Board of the Rotary Club had decided that the proceeds from this particular BBQ would be donated to the Cessnock RSL Sub-Branch who are currently prevented from fundraising on their own behalf which is having a serious negative affect on their ability to assist the veteran and ex-service community in the Cessnock Area. It turned out to be a very successful day with assistance provided by club members Graham Farish, Mark Simpson, Greg and Lorraine Bevan, Bev Hannay, David Clark, Val Calvey and the very welcome addition of Raylene Jackson from the Ladies Auxiliary of the RSL.. It was a fine example of Rotary doing good in the local community by helping another community group who, through no fault of their own, are currently unable to carry out their normal community support activities.