Peter Morgan was at the door, Paul Seymour was Chairman of the day. We had apologies from Angus Miller, Simon Brook, Geoff Croad, Mitch Brown, Gerald East, Ashleigh Symes and Mark Twyford.
President Doug Lipp welcomed all members and visitors Rowan Johnstone (RC of Gold Coast), Asspciate Member Ann O'Connor and Thomas Robinson (who will be inducted as a new member at next week's meeting), and of course, our guest speaker, Vanessa Jansen (see separate report above). Doug mentioned that, on a recent visit to Yepoon, he came across a bright yellow wheelchair that was manufactured by our fellow Rotarians in Western Australia, Wheelchairs for Kids. He also mentioned the recent wake and memorial service held in honour of our former member Richard Smith which was held the day before. Sue Smith and two of the family read out Richard's "eulogy", totally based on his "Rotarian behind the Badge" presentation he gave to the club when he joined in 2016. Is there better proof of how a man feels about his membership in Rotary? It was very sad that Richard had to resign a couple of years ago due to ill health.
Following Vanessa Jansen's presentation, Mario Fairlie brought us up to date on the Pentecost Island project: three people will travel there again (with travel expenses borne by our club) to finish the project, and so will Dr Graham Sivyer and three medical professionals to train local personnel in the operation of the X-Ray equipment. We expect the project to be fully completed by the end of October 2023. Peter Morgan, who is a Trustee of the Wheelchair Trust, advised that a formal agreement between the parties had been finalised.
Andy Bell indicated that he will organise a social function in the near future, details to be advised, and Trent Belling advised that we are looking for both a major corporate sponsor for our Golf Day as well as for raffle prizes.