March Roundup

From President Vaughn

First of all, thanks to all our members who were able to participate in our last number of events; marshalling at the Forster Triathlon/Fun Run, last Sunday's car boot sale and Op shop (as well as our daily Op Shop shifts), and the Gemma Sisia's presentation regarding the St Jude's School in Tanzania.

Gemma's presentation was very encouraging and inspirational; what started with a vision, a plot of land and $10 has become a school with three campuses catering for 1800 students from very disadvantaged backgrounds providing a comprehensive education with many students furthering their education through university. What an incredible feat. Thanks to those members who provided food and refreshments for the afternoon tea.

Lions Shed and Containers

The Mens Shed will be erecting a roof between containers on Saturday 14th March from 8:30am. It would be good if we had a few Lions members present to assist with construction and also tidy up and sort material in the containers.

Elite Energy Forster Fun Run / Triathlon Saturday and Sunday 21st and 22nd February:

Thanks to Michael Nibbs and Bert Gallagher who along with myself attended this event to act as marshals/ event officials. Michael participated on both days while Bert and I participated on Sunday. We were given roles guiding athletes along the various courses; not a very onerous task and we were on duty for a few hours and were provided with snacks. The benefit was that the club was paid for our participation $100 for the Saturday and $75 per person for Sunday. This was a great opportunity to raise funds for our Administration Account for not much effort.

Car Boot Sale and Op Shop on Sunday 1st March and 5th April:

Thanks for the great response we had from members in assisting with the car boot sale and Op Shop in March. With a number of members away we thought we may have been down on numbers but that wasn’t the case.

Our next Car Boot Sale will be 5th April. The proceeds from the BBQ will be going to Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation as part of the Biggest BBQ project.

Krambach Get-together:

On Tuesday3rd of March I attended the annual get-together of Zone Lions Clubs at Krambach Hotel together with other Lions from Forster-Tuncurry, Taree, Manning River, Harrington, Old Bar, Gloucester and Bulahdelah. A BBQ dinner and dessert was provided by the Krambach Hall Committee for $25 and Taree Lions provided raffle prizes. It was a good opportunity to meet with Lions from other clubs and socialise. The money raised went to the Krambach community.

Gemma Sisia St Jude’s School Tanzania visit:

Friday 6th March @ Black Head Surf Club we were inspired by what has been achieved by Gemma in providing education for children from the most impoverished backgrounds and now the school caters for 1800 children across three campuses. It was good to hear from Faith, one of the ex-students from St Jude’s School who has now qualified from University as a Civil Engineer and has also established a business selling hair products. See 1st VP’s report.

Thanks to Ray Piper and John Clucas for their organisation of this event and to all Lions who provided food for the afternoon tea. Also, thanks to Lions who assisted with the distribution of the leaflets advertising Gemma’s presentation. Special mention and thanks to Breck Muir who paid for the accommodation and also meals for our guests.

Coming up we have:

Tavern raffles: Fridays 13th and 20th March from 6:00 till 8:00pm.

Mens Shed erecting covering between containers from 8:30am with assistance from Lions.

The Fair Dinkum Aussie Dance Party: Saturday 14th March @ Black Head Surf Club from 6:30. Dance to some great Aussie classics.

Lions Dinner meeting: Thursday 26th March6:30 for 7:00@ Surf Club. Chitta Chatta catering.

Car Boot Sale and Op Shop: Sunday 5th April. Biggest BBQ; proceeds of BBQ going to Lions Childhood Cancer Research.

Board meeting: Thursday 9th April @ Hallidays Point Community Centre. 4:00pm

Changeover Dinner: Thursday 28th May @ Surf Club 6:30 for 7:00pm. Chitta Chatta catering (Last Dinner before leaving for South Australia)

Cheers Vaughn