The NoticeBoard 3 July 2018 (Jul 04, 2018)

What a fantastic start to the new Rotary Year! We kicked off our changeover celebration with 80 guests in true “All That Jazz” fashion with a gala dinner at the Rydges Hotel on the 30^thJune – dancing to the smooth (and upbeat swing) tunes of entertainer and MC Aaron Bloomfield.

The spirit of the evening was captured and immortalized by our own Susanne Loesser (who was recognized by Gill for her Outstanding Contribution as a New Member). Photos of members & guests are available for $25 (digital) through this online e-gallery link(password= Rotary) where you can view, order/pay and download your photos. Please forward this Noticeboard to your guests who attended so they can also view/order. Printed photos are available for $35 each by email request to Susanne@stillandmoving.co.nz. $10 from each photo will be donated to KiwiHarvest. Thank you Susanne!

After our delicious meal, Gill gave a heartfelt thank you speech and we surprised her with a well-deserved Paul Harris Fellow to recognize her leadership and dedication to our Club as well as her contribution to our community.

During my introductory speech, I shared my personal story about “why Rotary is important to me” and “how Rotary brought Hope, Opportunity and Transformation to my life.” As an introvert, it was challenging to share so much about myself. However, I believe through the exchange of stories we gain a deeper appreciation for who we are, and for how critical Rotary is in transforming lives.

Our new Directors and Champions were then called onto the stage before we continued the celebration with a best-dressed competition (congrats to Warwick and Jan) and dance off.

Introducing you to our New Board & Champions:

President Elect	Byran Theunisen
Immed Past President & Membership Director	Gill Johnston
Secretary & Edmund Hilary Primary School Champion	Jan Malcolm
Club Treasurer	Grant Hally
Service Projects Director	Steven Briggs
Fundraising Director	David Graham
PR/Marketing Director	Christine Fenby
Foundation Director	Wayne Dyer
Fellowship Co-Directors	Kat Trevor & Gareth Juddery
Ak City Mission Champion	James Langton
KiwiHarvest Champion	Keith Robinson
Ak Girls Grammar School Champion	Heather Robinson
Trees for Survival Champion	Kenneth Winstone
Ronald McDonald House Champion	Mark Jenkins
District Youth Program Champion	Gaye Harford
SPBD Microfinancing Loan Champion	John Boscawen

Our 2018-19 Board Directors and Champions

It’s been an exhilarating start to the New Rotary year.

Thank you all for your awesome support. I look forward to a great year ahead!

All the best,

Lucy

First Meeting of the New Rotary Year

Our guest speaker for the first meeting of our Rotary year was Cam Calkoen and he literally brought us to tears with his compelling personal story. He shared with us the challenges he had to face being born with cerebral palsy and how he overcame adversity. With the support of family and loved ones and the sheer determination to defy what doctors had diagnosed as an inability to walk or talk, Cam persevered to have a truly AWESOME life. Cam exceeded expectations to become an athlete and international professional speaker by living his motto “DREAM BIG and ACHIEVE MORE”. He is a true inspiration to us all!

Cam Calkoen (seated center)and Downtowners

Auckland Girls Grammar School- Team Universal Fundraiser

A BIG THANK YOU to all the members who bought raffle tickets (especially those who bought more than 1!). The girls are very happy to report they raised the $350 needed to print the Mindfulness Journals as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Competition. A special thank you to Rob Wills for buying the gift basket in the end for $60 and to winner Peter Wilson for auctioning off the prize.

RYE Student_Hanna Schwarzmann

I am Hannah Sidonie Schwarzmann and I am a Rotary Youth Exchange student in District 9920 in Auckland 2017/18. I was hosted by the Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland.

During my Exchange I lived with several host families and went to St Cuthberts College in Epsom.

I arrived in New Zealand on the 30th of July 2017.

My first month I lived in Mission Bay. I had the most wonderful time there and luckily I didn’t suffer from any jetlag. I dived straight into my busy kiwi life with Rotary meetings, school, especially my school ball, and hiking in the Waitakeres. I was really lucky in school that I made friends very quickly. I settled into St Cuthberts seamlessly and enjoyed the subjects I took.
Auckland, as well as St Cuthberts, seemed massive to me. I am from a village in Austria with only 1060 people. So Newmarket, the Sky Tower, all the parks and the little villages within the city were just like a massive maze to me. But I figured out how to use Auckland transport and find my way around. I even made some friends in school just from asking for the way.

As I moved to Herne Bay and later to Parnell I started loving life in a busy city more and more. I enjoyed the many events that were going on, having shops available and just going to the cinema whenever I wanted. I should have counted the amount of money I spent on brunches and ice coffee as I completely fell in love with the cafes.
Rotary took all of us students on a few big trips that were absolutely amazing. We went on the South Island trip, which was a two week trip, Tongariro Crossing, Challenge Camp and a lot of other weekend trips to Motuihe Island or Dargaville. Besides that my host family took me to many places as well. My absolute favourite places were Russell, Wellington, Dunedin and Nelson.

A few highlights of my year were also my trip with Rotarians like my weekend in Otago with Gill and Christine, my weekend on Waiheke with Lucy, Rotorua with Andy and Lee, Rugby with James, Queenstown with Greg and Penny, horse riding with Kat and many many more.
The relationships I built with my families, friends and especially with my Rotary Club are really special and important to me. It shows me that I managed to build up a life within a year and I had to put the effort in myself.

Several times during my exchange I was overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness of the Rotarians, host families and in general the people surrounding me. I learned lessons for life and gained, not only a lot of weight but also a lot of confidence and energy. I learnt how to be thankful and how much spending time with someone can mean to me.

I want to thank every single person who was a part of my exchange and making my year here in New Zealand the most amazing year in my life. It has changed my future and my view on things. It made me interested in the world around me and I got to a whole new level of understanding and acceptance for people and cultures.
I hope I can come back to New Zealand very soon. And I will definitely keep in touch with all the amazing people I have met.

I am very sad to leave but I am excited to create my future and walk forward in life! I am willing to work hard in order to achieve my goals and make my big dreams become reality.