Bally Barker Blog

At our meeting held on Tuesday May 21st, we were very impressed by the interesting new member talk given by Denise HORAN. Denise has been attending a number of events and functions over the past few months, and was delighted to join the club and tell us a short account of her life. Denise was born in a small town in the Hunter Valley and spent her childhood years there. She loved riding horses, camping and excursions around the beautiful open countryside and the lifestyle. Several generations had lived in these parts, and she recounted that her a family member was granted 90 acres on the Broke Road and was one of the first European winemakers and had planted grapes; but unfortunately, he died young and didn’t make the wine. 30 acres of the land was later acquired by Tyrells wines.   After finishing school, Denise when to business college giving her a variety of office-based jobs.   She also played several sports including netball & tennis and was a member of

On May 7 we held an inspiring meeting with many people involved with many avenues of Rotary Youth. the meeting was entitled Rotaract & Interact Combined meeting & Rotary Exchange student program. Pres Roger welcomed members & guests and handed the meeting over to Pascal Grant. Pascal outlined the focus of the meeting – to increase the visibility to club members the many aspects of Youth programs and Youth clubs including Rotaract and Interact, plus explore ways of interaction and support with our club . The contributors to the evening that focused on Youth included: ·        2 visiting Rotarians – Barry Starr (Mosman) & Kos Psaltis (Belrose). Exchange Student from Japan – Kazushi Shimazu. NB Rotaract – Ivey Chedid (President), Sam Wilkins (Past President), Jacqueline Berthold (Member) Forest High Interact - Ben Argue (student support officer, Forest High), Ella Reeson (Interact, Forest High). Left to right: Ben Argue, Kos Psaltis, Elana A

A wonderful  " wine   appreciation & tasting" evening was organised by our Minister for fun on the 5th Tuesday of the month. Dear readers I was away and missed the evening, but that's life. So here is want I was told about it. On the evening of April 30, a team of wine affectionardos all all gathered at Casa del Diana Hart, el Presidente eleggere. A big thank you to Di from all members and guests who attended.  Ian Grayburn assisted by Warwick Waddell, described the wines; the districts their choice wines. Ian discussed the characteristics of several wines highlighting their colour, aroma  and taste characteristics. A keen audience of Rotarians, former members guests and neighbours  eagerly followed.   The event will occur next year at a bigger venue so that more non- members can attend. Thanks to John O'Brien for the photos.  

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of our oldest serving member, Alois Lechner; a wonderful long serving member who was passionate about Rotary and many of it causes- especially Rotary Health Alois joined Balgowlah Rotary in July 2004 and was awarded a Paul Harris fellow for his many achievements and strong and continued support of Rotary causes. Alois transferred to Balgowlah from Manly Rotary where he was president and made the club a strong force in the community. He regularly attended all fund-raising activities and his energy and drive was always the great envy of many younger members. During his 20 years at Balgowlah , Alois served on many committees and not only encouraged many people to join Rotary but also mentored them in their Rotary service. Alois turns 90 - May 2021  

Our 2024 Balgowlah Rotary Club Golf Day & Dinner was a success despite the Golf Day having to be cancelled due to over 100mm rain.   There was a great vibe at the dinner with lots of bidding for the live and silent auction items, and generous purchasing of raffle tickets. The guessing of the number of golf balls in the jar was a bit of fun too.     We welcomed the talks from Kerry Gwynne at Dalwood Spilstead and Sarah Grattan from Lifeline NB telling us about their organisation needs and how the Balgowlah Rotary Club supports them through our projects. The money raised on the night goes to the projects.    Our auctioneer Elliott Shoebridge did an exceptional job to help sell the live auction items.   A huge thank you to our Sponsors, many donors and especially to our supporters. Thanks to Lindy Myers for the report and John O’Brien for the Photos.