Les Fraser the Community Partnership Coordinator for Corrective Service, NSW, was for the second time, the guest speaker at last week’s Rotary Club of Nowra meeting. Les gave Nowra Rotarians an update on the Community Partnership program that he launched in the Shoalhaven last year in conjunction with the establishment of the South Nowra Correctional facility.

If you enjoy social or vocational networking at local, district, national or international levels, would like to be more proactive in humanitarian care at a local or international community level and are looking for a great opportunity for self-development, then Rotary is your vehicle for that journey.

At a community service level, the Nowra Club invited Hollea Elley and Jack Rodda, the innovative School Captains of Shoalhaven High School, to be its guest speakers at last week’s meeting. Hollea and Jack had heard on the grapevine that Rotary and the Men’s Shed organisations would be able to assist them with their planning and building of 10 additional outdoor tables and seating arrangements to accommodate the large number of students trying to use the existing two for ‘out of classroom’ study and project work.

The Rotary Club of Nowra, supported by Rotarians from other Shoalhaven Rotary Clubs, hosted the annual District 9710 Rotary Assembly last weekend. 200 Rotarians, partners and friends representing the 50 Rotary Clubs in District 9710 spent the weekend in Shoalhaven and attended the Assembly in the auditorium of the Nowra High School.

Andrew Medenis, International Service Director of the Rotary Club of Gerringong Sunrise was the guest speaker at last week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Nowra. Before his presentation Andrew advised us of a trivia night that his club is hosting on Friday 3rd June at the Gerroa Boat Fisherman’s Club to raise money for Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for underprivileged children. The ROMAC Trivia Challenge between Rotary clubs on the Gold Coast has been a very successful event for the past 6 years and if Andrews’s enthusiasm while explaining the preparation for the night is any indication, the inaugural event for his club will be a great night of fun and social networking. Andrew has invited all Rotary clubs in the District to get together tables of a maximum of ten people. Nowra is considering making the night its alternative meeting night for that week.

The secretary of the Bomaderry RSL Sub-branch and Rotary volunteer Ben Link was the guest speaker at last week’s meeting that was dedicated to Seniors Week. Ben, who was accompanied by his wife Bronwyn, spoke about his Korean War experiences.

Unlike its formal 75^th anniversary last year, the Rotary Club of Nowra celebrated its 76^th anniversary in barbecue mode. Rotarian Keith Masson, his wife Gloria, daughter Lana and her fiancé, Luke Bowden, hosted a great night at their home with the majority of the Rotarians, their partners and guests attending.

If Shoalhaven gets a new International Airport in the future some of the credit or blame will be traced back to the Rotary Club of South Nowra.  The 3^rd Annual debate, titled “Nowra should be the alternate site for the Sydney International Airport” between the Rotary Clubs of Nowra and South Nowra was played infront of a packed house out at a combined meeting at the Bomaderry Bowling Club last week.  South Nowra argued the affirmative and Nowra the negative.

Those SCR readers who have attended the Nowra High School over the many years since it opened in the mid 1950’s will recall their encounters with and in the bike sheds. These days the sheds are used as weather shelters for the students. The sheds are arguably the only original structures that were there when the first students arrived at the school. The three sheds had been deteriorating before the Rotary Club of Nowra, that has a close affinity with the school, undertook the task of restoring the heritage structures

Last week’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Nowra was the busiest one for a long time and President Arthur Moorhouse did a great job in getting through the agenda in the allocated time. District Governor Elect (DGE), Rob Woolley, and Past District Governor (PDG) Bernie Rodgers, who were in town to check on the progress of the preparation for the District 9710 Assembly to be held at the Nowra High School on the 30^th April and 1^st May, attended the meeting. After briefing the fellows on the Assembly preparations Rob and Burnie listened to our club’s planning for a hectic program of service and fund-raising projects over the next few months and the three guest speakers attending the meeting.