Bally Barker Blog

A large and special meeting that was attended by representatives of all Northern Beaches Clubs (Balgowlah, Warringah, Manly, Upper Northern Beaches and Rotaract) was held on Tuesday March 21, 2023. Approximately 35-40 people attended. The subject was membership:   a concern with many clubs. The retention and increasing of membership have been a long problem with many clubs as numbers drop and remaining members become older. Sue Terry in introducing our speaker , Antonio (Tony) Butera , from Upper Northern Beaches club said, “The more active members we have the more we can make the world a better place; but how?”.    Tony Butera - helping clubs formulate the membership plan. Amongst the Northern Beaches clubs, Upper Northern Beaches (UNB) stands out:   Membership has nearly doubled in the last two and a half years. Tony Butera was deeply involved with this achievement at UNB - his experience and knowledge was most apparent as he led the audience on a workshop an

The Rotary District 9685 Annual Conference was held in Cowra, a small town located in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was both a relaxing and invigorating program: everyone who attended said it was a great conference and returning to out of district venues post Covid was so pleasing. Catering and accommodation were well planned and executed.   The conference theme was Cowra Breakout - being out of district always gives Rotarians, partners, and guests an opportunity to experience the hospitality and friendship of rural Australia. Four club members attended; Di Hart, Sue Terry, Lindy Myers and Michael Mead. Ted Kobel and Diane Mead accompanied us at most functions and at other times used the opportunity to  appreciate Cowra and its environs.   Moreover, being held in a place made famous for an event in 1944 also gave the local Rotary Club, historians, and many from the community the opportunity present and showcase the unique and bonding relati

  The Flower Power Fun Day was held on Sunday March 12 at their Terrey Hills Superstore. Rotary Balgowlah accepted the challenge of cooking about 1,000 sausages (beef, lamb and rosemary, chicken, and vegetable) plus onions (using 55 loaves of bread) and serving soft drinks on the day. Keep them snags moving....   Flower Power provided 2 BBQs, sausages, bread, condiments, soft drinks, coolers for drinks & food, utensils, gloves, dishes for cooked food and paid an honorarium for the club. No cash was involved but our begging bucket and square card payment system was set up for donations.    The queues moved steadily and efficiently under the capable hands of Michael Brent, Michael Mead, Lindy Myers and Heather Sare - the morning team, who were then relieved by the afternoon crew of Di Hart, John O’Brien, Sue Terry and Bev Yakich.        Sue Terry wrote the following: “Wow.....well done team, that's a wonderful result, lots & lots of happy