Car club gives the gift of light
Warragul and District Garden Club
The first meeting of 2019 will be on Monday at the Warragul Senior Citizens’ Centre at 9.45am.
Two club members will detail their overseas trips during 2018.
Henry Cotton will introduce a professional video of the beautiful Bouchart Gardens of Canada covering 55 acres with 900 plant species, 22 greenhouses and 50 gardeners. The gardens have been 100 years in existence.
Ralph Slaughter will describe, with colour slides, several gardens of stately homes in East Anglia, England including the Queen’s Christmas retreat at Sandringham.
The monthly competition will take place as usual with doors open at 9am. Exhibits must be complete for judging by 9.30am.
The next bus trip will be visit to the Yarra Valley, including the Blue Lotus Water Gardens which cover 14 acres.
At this time of year the gardens are a kaleidoscope of colour. There are likely to be a few spare seats available for non-members.
With the valued help of a recent Baw Baw Shire community grant, the club now has wheelchairs and walkers available on the bus. Anyone with mobility problems can now be included on trips.
A mobile defibrillator is also available, phone Howard on 0449 619 990.
Visitors and potential new members are always welcome at meetings. Come along or contact Judy on 5623 6180.
Full details of club activities can be found on the website www.warragulgardenclub.com..
Drouin Senior Citizens
The festive season is over and the weekly programs at the Drouin Senior Citizens Club are swinging back into action for the year.
Cards and indoor bowls are back again with sessions starting at 1 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays.
Bingo has also returned with the popular game on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and Fridays at 1 p.m. with 15 games on each of the days.
Chess is played on Mon day nights from 7 p.m.
The club avises that there will be at general meeting held at the clubrooms on Monday, February 11, at 10.30 a.m.
Further details about the club, its activities and how to join are available by ‘phoning 0439 536 837.
Warragul Rotary Club
In the first instalment of its monthly club notes for 2019, the Warragul Rotary Club explore the very beginnings of Rotary International.
Rotary began because of the public concern of a group of Chicago, businessmen.
On February 23, 1905, Paul P. Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Loehr’s office in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street in Chicago. So February 23, 1905 is the date for what would become known as the first Rotary club meeting.
Paul Harris’ desire for camaraderie among business associates brought together these four men and eventually led to the international organisation of service and fellowship.
Today Rotary is an international service club with some 1.2 million-members and this organisation all started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris.
It was Paul’s dream for a group where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships.
Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
One of Rotary founders was Paul Harris, and one of his quotes about Rotary is as follows:
“Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”
The Warragul Rotary Club will share details of its beginnings next month.
The Warragul-based Cruizers Rod and Custom Club have donated $1000 to help buy solar lights for children in the Hatolia district of East Timor.
The donation was the initiative of club member Carol Fletcher, who is a food services assistant at Pakenham and Berwick school Beaconhills College.
She was inspired after listening to Beaconhills’ head of citizenship and service Clare Tuohy talk at the College’s mid-year staff board dinner about the many charities the College supports.
One of those charities is Solar Buddy, which helps fights energy poverty by distributing solar-powered lights to children in developing countries like East Timor.
“I was so impressed listening to Clare speak of the many charities Beaconhills supports,” Carol said.
“Clare’s care, enthusiasm and passion just shone through.”
After approaching the club, Carol said the Cruizers were only too happy to donate proceeds from the annual swap meet to help buy solar lights. Year 10 students from the school’s Pakenham campus distributed the lights during their trip to East Timor in September.
“It was such a pleasure and so satisfying to hear how our donation has made life for these children so much easier,” Carol said.