Rotary donates $42,000 to PCAC building fund

AT THE 46th annual changeover night for the Rotary Club of Foster, held at the Foster Football Club on Monday of last week, club president Ian Griffiths reported on a very successful year.

A highlight was the handover of a cheque for $42,000 to the Prom Country Aged Care Building Fund. There to receive it was the president of Prom Country Aged Care, Sandy Bucello, along with the chair of the building fund, Julie Need, and the chief executive officer of Prom Country Aged Care, Clare Schmierer.

Ian said it was pleasing to be able to hand over such a large amount. He said $29,000 of the money was raised through a clearing sale held on the property of Dick and Judy Edwards of Waratah North. The efforts of the Wood Committee raised a further $13,500. Despite the average age of Wood Committee members being well in excess of seventy years, they set about cutting, splitting and marketing the wood, an achievement the club is very proud of.

Ian went on to say that none of this would have been possible without the generosity of businesses and the general public. The club received $4000 in sponsor ship for the clearing sale. Over 40 Rotarians and friends of Rotary worked on the day.

Many others benefited from the Foster Rotary Club’s distributions during the year, including: South Gippsland Hospital ($8800); Foster schools including the School for Student Leadership sponsorship ($2750); Foster Museum ($1000); Sandy Point Community Group (Hall) ($1000); Rotary Centenary House accommodation for cancer patients ($1000); Fred Hollows Foundation ($500); disability sports and recreation ($500); Foster Railway Station Project ($500); Disaster Aid, for two shelter kits which are stored in a warehouse in readiness for quick dispatch to anywhere in the world following a disaster ($2080); polio eradication ($2000); ‘Interplast’ plastic surgery program run by Rotary and Australian medical staff in third world countries ($1000); a Rotary program to provide training for midwives in Timor ($1200); shipping baby clothing knitted by local residents to a hospital in South Africa; $1500 was collected for the Salvation Army. Other organisations benefited, too.

Some of the activities involved in raising money included: parking motor bikes at the Grand Prix at Phillip Island; clearing sale; wood activities; Prom Market; Fish BBQ at Foster Traders Xmas promotion; Movember; Prom Country Challenge marshalling; Stony Creek Race Club (treasury services); BBQ at Historical Society; and many other club related social events. The Rotary Train is also a consistent earner with the proceeds going to children’s services at the South Gippsland Hospital.

Meals on Wheels, Walking Track, Rail Trail maintenance, help with the running of the Foster Show, and of course the Promontory and District Market were among some of the physical activities.

After dinner Allen Van Kuyk thanked the club for nominating him for the Group Study Exchange Team. After surviving the interview process Allan was selected as part of a team of four to visit Wisconsin in the USA as the guest of the Rotary International Foundation. Group Study Exchange is a vocational and cultural exchange experience for participants between ages 25 and 40 who have proven to be or showing signs that they will be leaders in their profession.

As Wisconsin is in the middle of dairying USA, Allan was able to visit dairy farms and factories and return with a better understanding of the global industry. As chairman of the Toora and Foster Community Bank he was also pleased to have the opportunity to gain information about community banking. It is quite an achievement to be selected on this prestigious team and the Rotary Club of Foster was proud to have him as its representative.

Cheryl Glowrey was inducted into the presidency of the Foster Rotary Club by District Governor Tony Spring. Tony congratulated Past President Ian on his record-breaking year and wished Cheryl all the best for the coming year.

Cheryl outlined her goals for the year and went on to introduce her board members who will help her run the club. They include: President Elect David Bligh, Secretary Richard Jones, Treasurer Bill Fuller, Geoff Eddy, Geoff Treloar, Margaret Haycroft, John Rice, and Ian Griffiths as Past President.

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