Sparkle 44 #37 16 April 2024 (Apr. 16, 2024)

This Week's Meeting

Handover of Cheque to the Monash Children's Hospital Cancer Research Unit

Opening Remarks by Pres. Sangeeta:

We extend our deepest appreciation to the devoted team at the Monash Children's Hospital Cancer Centre for their invaluable work. Your unwavering commitment and tireless efforts serve as a constant source of inspiration as we strive to achieve even greater impact in our mission to better the world.

To Puffing Billy Railway and our sponsors, I express heartfelt gratitude for your generosity and compassion to this wonderful cause. And to our Club members, what can I say, from the original inspiration from a past member and PHF Heather Nielsen and our original team to get the great project up and running, to the members and their families and friends that have given countless hours over the 21 years our Club has run this event, and your constant commitment to service has been remarkable and outstanding having raised nearly $775,000 to children’s causes including Starlight Foundation, Monash Health, Angliss Hospital and the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre with the last few years focussed on the Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre where in total we have raised nearly $200,000

Together, we influence the ability to have transformed lives and created a legacy of support and positive change for generations to come.

Thank you so very much.

Now it’s my great pleasure to introduce our guests tonight…

From Puffing Billy Railway

Peter Abbott - CEO and Partner Amanda
Emma Hutchinson – Marketing Manager
Katie Hall – Events Coordinator

From Barry Plant Emerald

Justin Barrot & Riley Nicholas – Directors

From Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre

John Heath – Director Monash Children’s Cancer Centre
Ron Fairchild – Director Monash Health Foundation
Beth Allan – Corporate & Community Partnership Manager

Special Guests

Heather Neilsen, Originator of Kids Fun Run in 2002 and past Rotarian and PHF Russ Neilsen

Apologies have been received from

Mitre 10 - Len O’Donnell
Ferntree Gully Nissan - Petrina Llyod – Marketing Manager
TC Boxes Team
Patrick Tessier our MC.

Now please put your hands together for our chairperson tonight and former chairperson of the Kids Fun Run John Henderson.

A video was played produced by Rotarian Sid Umesh.

PP PHF John Henderson thanked the KFRWPB Committee Chaired by PP PHF John Shaw. John got involved the first year when Heather ran the committee (John and Marcus Adams only 2 from the original committee) and has took over the committee last year from PHF John Henderson who had managed the event for the previous 5 years.

PP PHF John Shaw thanked the heroes of the run as follows:

Members of the RC of Emerald – everyone gets involved and all are there on the day as well as members of their families – need close to 100 volunteers
Neighbouring Rotary Clubs
Sponsors – who sponsor a run.
The biggest sponsor is Puffing Billy who provide the train and staff - we wouldn’t have an event without Puffing Billy. Special mention was made of:
- Peter Abbott CEO – acknowledged John’s 61-year contribution to Puffing Billy
- PB has always had a commitment to the event – staff start early and staff and volunteers enjoy assisting with the event
- Emma and Katie and Nicolletta who really assisted in driving the event especially getting PR
Monash Medical Centre - $775k has been raised over the years.We have had a number of different recipients – the biggest recipient has been the Monash Medical Centre with $407,500 raised for them including funds for research and the childrens' wards. They have been a fabulous organisation to work with and we know the funds are well spent

John Shaw

Puffing Billy CEO - Peter Abbott

John Heath, Director of Children’s Cancer Research Centre said a few words:

An open invitation was extended to the club members to visit the hospital and see the facilities especially in the research area
John noted that community level generosity allows world best practice to be acheived
Patrick Tessier has been a huge supporter of the unit assisting Assoc. Prof Peter Downie. The research area has grown from small beginnings into over 100 staff, now including allied health and nursing staff. The development of the unit has been due to contribution from fundraisers over the years, such as the Kids Fun Run with Puffing Billy
Survival rate of childhood cancer has improved.Some cancers we haven’t made the strides we are hoping for.Some children survive and have lifelong issues
John outlined how the donation will impact:
- Precision medicine – not chemo, that causes side effects, work out specifically what tumour it is and target without collateral damage.Samples go through high tech lab processes.Some of your funding will assist this
- Immunotherapy – laboratory methods or natural response to tumours - Car T cells being used and introduced into Australia. There is a need to harvest healthy cells and teach them how to kill off the cancer cells. The research area requires a special machine to progress further with this research

John thanked the club for all the effort into the event and for the funds raised and stressed our support is not taken for granted.

John Heath - Director, Children's Cancer Research Centre

PP PHF John Henderson Spoke about our wonderful sponsors of the event:

Funding comes from registration and also the kids raising funds. The real difference is made by the sponsors –

Mitre 10 and Emerald Coop has been with us since the start
Barry Plant Emerald's sponsorship has been appreciated for many year and thank you Justin and Riley for the support this year. Justin and Riley are here this evening
Coop/Barry Plant has provided over $100k throughout the time of the event
Ferntree Gully Nissan has supported a lot of years as well – over $100k
Thats Life Bookkeeping – Sangeeta’s company been contributing for 4 years now – thank you
New sponsor TC Boxes – great to have them on board over the last couple of years
Patrick Tessier – lost son, Bailey 20 years ago and he has supported the oncology unit but has been MC since the 5^th Kids Fun Run – he has been a fabulous MC over the years.He is part of the inspiration we have
Thank you to the members of the club who have supported throughout the years

A message from Patrick Tessier was read out:

I love being with you guys on a very special day. He has done this for 18 years and loved them all and even had hair when I started – looking forward to being at his post in November.

(Baileys Day 20 years running – set up a charity and has a celebrity golf day and auction. In one day, he raised $345k. Over the last 20 years has raised $4.85m – well done Patrick that is a terrific result)!

All American Recognition

Greg Adams Chair of the All American presented the recognition awards.

He mentioned his parents June and Past DG Ray Adams would be proud of the club today

Sponsors of the event were presented with thank you gifts

Barry Plant Emerald - Jason and Riley
Thats Right Bookkeeping - Sangeeta Bajaj

Toast to the Elderly – Elaine Morris presented by PP PHF John Ritchie

I was born in Belgrave but have spent my entire life in Emerald. Growing up, I often felt like an only child as my older brothers and sister had already left home to join the forces, although they never served overseas. My family has deep roots in Emerald; my father was a Nobelius, a name well-known in the area thanks to my grandfather, Carl Axel Nobelius, who founded Gembrook Nurseries and became a renowned nursery proprietor in Australia. While my father worked at the nursery under his father and brothers, he faced challenges and wasn't treated well by his father, so he didn't progress within the family business.

Leaving school in grade 8, I started working at my brother and sister-in-law's café in Emerald. Later, my mother helped me secure a job at Kayser Stockings in Ferntree Gully, where I spent 8 years mending stockings. It was at a local dance in Emerald where I met my husband, Doug. We married when I was 19 and he was 24, choosing to wait to have children until we had our own home. After 5 years of marriage, during which Doug built our house, we welcomed our three children: Wendy, Jenny, and Ian.

As our children grew, I became a kindergarten assistant at Emerald Kinder, a role I enjoyed for nearly two decades. I also volunteered at the Emerald Heritage Museum. Doug and I later moved to a retirement village in Pakenham for a few years before returning to Emerald, where we feel relieved and joyful to be back among friends at Emerald Glades.

Closing Remarks Pres. Sangeeta

Thank you for chairing, John
Glad to have the whole club here as part of the cheque presentation celebration
Thank you to everyone who attended and who contributed to the fundraising success and a wonderful family day out this year
Thank you to Heather Nielsen for the initial idea – it’s amazing where the event has gone
Thank you to Greg Adams and the All American team for the hard work on that event earlier this year

Ahoy There - Youth Committee

An Opportunity of a Lifetime

Learning to crew an 1828 tall ship like the Enterprize is no small task. Yet a professional sailing crew together with sponsorship from Rotary Clubs enable groups of young people to push their limits and experience what they are capable of.

This is the first year that Emerald Rotary has had the opportunity to sponsor a young person who has been selected to experience the pride of accepting responsibility which leads to leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, and many other skills that will benefit them for years to come.

The 27-metre topsail schooner Enterprize is a replica of the tall ship that brought the first European settlers from Tasmania to found the city of Melbourne in 1835. The original schooner was eventually wrecked on a bar off the Richmond River in Northern N.S.W with the loss of two lives.

The successful Emerald applicant, Myra Incoll boarded Enterprize at Melbourne Dock 8.00am Saturday 6th April and will spend 4 days and nights doing 3-hour watches literally learning to sail and navigate Enterprize with 11 other young people under the experienced guidance of a professional crew.

Each participant has a mentor in support of their adventure, in Emerald Rotary’s case a club member and past commodore with years of experience at sea was available for this assignment, Roy Bowyer.

Roy and members of the club joined Myra last Saturday as they set sail.

Image: Past President Marcus Adams, President Sangeeta Bajaj, Mentor Roy Bowyer and Past President Shalini Penny in Port Melbourne on Saturday.

Some Housekeeping

Thoughts about helping with hearing the speaker in the room, which we all recognise has terrible acoustics, from the Editor (who struggles to hear and record the meeting notes every week)!!

If you are speaking, please pause to check that those at the back can hear you
If you are speaking, please hold the microphone near your mouth rather than keeping it connected to the podium - and if you are chairing the meeting after introducing guests please assist in giving them the mic to hold
If you are in the room, please give the speaker your full attention, it is often daunting for some to be at the mic and side conversations are not only rude and off-putting, but make it difficult for those around you to hear :)

This Week's Meeting

Handover of Cheque to the Monash Children's Hospital Cancer Research Unit

All American Recognition

Toast to the Elderly – Elaine Morris presented by PP PHF John Ritchie

Ahoy There - Youth Committee

Some Housekeeping

Vision Statement

Mission Statement

Jackpot - $248

Events

Emerald Village Community

Rotary Club of Emerald & District Committees