Papanui Club Chat Snippets
26 Oct 2021
As we head into warmer weather and (yikes) mumblings of Christmas are beginning to be heard, I am left once again feeling that time seems to fly by with ever increasing speed as we continue through life’s journey.
We had the privileged of hearing from Amanaki Fakakovikaetau last week. What an interesting person he is and I was especially intrigued by the wide range of service roles he has been involved in and continues to undertake which includes having been in the President role multiple times with the Nuku'alofa Rotary Club.
Last week saw us attending the annual speech competitions at Heaton Intermediate which, as always, was well organised by Lois (including a great lunch) and resulted in the identification of a number of very talented students who will contest the finals this Thursday evening. I also got to catch up with Andrea Knight, the school’s principal, who I had the privilege of getting to know many years ago when we were both attending Otago University.
Thanks to the hard work of Verdi and Deryn, we are about to embark on our annual Raffle at Northlands Mall (see below) and I look forward to us supporting this well as we have done in the past. It is also a great opportunity to perhaps pair up with members we might not know as well and find out a bit more about each other.
Onwards and upwards:
President Grant
Greetings from Tonga: “Malo e lelei”
Amanaki Fakakovikaetau, Past president of the Rotary Club of Nuku ‘alofa Tonga and Vice president of the Tongan Olympic committee, was introduced to us by his long-time friend and associate Stuart Batty.
Amanaki, along with 4 of the Olympic athletes, has been stranded in Christchurch after managing the Tongan Olympic team to Tokyo due to Covid-19.
The Rotary Club of Nuku ‘alofa is the only Rotary Club in Tonga and combines with other clubs in the Pacific region to undertake many worthwhile projects.
Married with 4 children and 5 grandchildren, Amanaki is a qualified Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon and is Director of Oral Health Services in Tonga which involves him visiting every school in the country where he gives advice on oral hygiene to children.
While in Christchurch the Tongan athletes and Amanaki helped pack a container of supplies that will be going to Tonga from Rotary NZ World Community Service.
Amanaki appreciated the regular supply of Rotary Emergency Response Kits to Tonga as these give essential help to families devastated by cyclones and other weather-related events.
Keith Mitchell thanked Amanaki for his talk and wished him and the team well for their trip home in a few days’ time.
Malo ‘Aupito
Raffle Details
Deryn has advised members that tickets in this annual fundraiser go on sale from 6th November at our usual site in Northlands Mall. We are now filling the roster and would appreciate any assistance we can get, please.
This year's recipients are the Papanui RC Children in Need Trust, the Rotary Community Breast Milk Bank Charitable Trust, and the BrainTree Trust Community Health Garden, with each receiving one third of the profits. Tickets are the same price as other years i.e. $5 each ticket or a book of 5 for $20.
All Papanui Club members et al have been emailed the link here to view available times, plus all those interested in helping can contact Kathy (027) 455 7889 or Lois (021) 735 404 who are taking names so please contact either of them to discuss what times we have available that you can help with.
You can also ask your spouse or friends to help you. Some others will also receive an email but only those on our mailing lists.
Speech Contest Finals
Last week Lois thanked those that assisted with the preliminaries of this popular annual competition and reminded members that the Finals will be held at the Heaton Intermediate School Performing Arts Centre this Thursday (Oct the 18th) beginning at 7.00 pm sharp.
Please note that our meal this week at the Papanui Club beforehand will be served at the earlier time of 5.45 pm sharp to allow attending members to get to Heaton in time.
We look forward to a great night of speeches on the night. If there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Lois.
Papanui Bush
Further to the email sent out to you, this is a reminder that we are back at Papanui Bush this Wednesday the 27th starting at 9.30 am. If it is your 1st time joining us, we are on Langdons Road, just to the West of Papanui High School and the railway line.
We will be mainly focusing on releasing grass around the trees and some rubbish collection. We promise great fellowship and morning tea on the logs. Please bring a flask, clippers and gloves.
Denis
Vintage Fashion Event
Regrettably we have had to postpone the Vintage Fashion Parade for a 2nd time. Until we return to level 1 we cannot hold it safely. Hopefully we will have a date in the new year soon. It will definitely go ahead!
Those who have tickets are welcome to hold on to them and they will be valid for the show next year. If you have any queries please contact Lois at loisflanagan@gmail.com or phone her at (021) 735 404.
We will advise a new date as soon as possible. “The parade will be even better on its third schedule” promises Lois.
Lois
Halloween is Coming!
Thanks for forwarding this Liz … it was great to see an article in the Nor’West News about our joint venture with Ray White Papanui aimed at children twelve and under accompanied by a parent at St James Park.
In order to comply with Covid restrictions, there will be a contactless Scavenger Hunt for them to take part it. Halloween characters will be available for participants to find from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Friday the 29th of October.
To access the Scavenger Hunt Sheet either go to Ray White’s office at 7 Wilson Ave or email Papanui.nz@raywhite.com requesting one and they will send you a copy.
Lois and Liz gave out 4x $100 grocery vouchers to Ara Tupu last week. This will really help some struggling families before Xmas.
Food for Thought