South Wairarapa Rotary

The month of July marks the end of one year and the start of the next in Rotary Clubs around the world. For the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa this was marked by a great afternoon recently at Longwood, the historic country lodge just outside Featherston. Celebrated was the achievements of the club under the guidance of out-going president Griff Page, and welcomed was incoming president Andy Corrigan. Entertainment was provided by the Featherston Gentlemen Singers under the guidance of Marguerite Tait-Jamieson, they sang a great selection of songs from the great war and even had the Rotarians and their guests joining in on a couple of the more well-known tunes.

With the changing of the President there is also a changing of the officers in the club which brings a new start and a new direction. A recent exercise undertaken by the club looked at where the club should be heading, including more involvement with the youth in the community. It was quite timely then that we recently got to hear from three girls who through Rotary had experienced opportunities that they may not normally have had.

Zoe Thurston spoke about her attendance at a National Science Forum held in Auckland early this year. She described the various aspects of science that she was able to investigate and helped her to decide on what direction she wanted to pursue in her studies. Alex McPherson from Australia and Makayla Field spoke about their reciprocal exchange that they were having. Makayla had spent three months in Australia with Alex and now Alex was spending time with Makayla. Both students had gained a lot of confidence in their time spent exploring each other’s country. Through these experiences these girls have a great chance to go on and become leaders in our communities.

The Rotary club will be looking to give other students similar experiences as opportunities arise. These will be listed on the club’s web-site at www.swrotary.org.nz and their Facebook page (SouthWairarapa.Rotary).