We were very fortunate last week to have Peter Adams as our guest speaker. It was very pleasing that he commenced his talk by playing the piece illara and outlining his involvement with the local production of Out of Chaos Comes Beauty. Peter’s roots are in the country as he grew up in Sale and currently lives in Rutherglen. His first career opportunity – which he declined – was being offered a scholarship to teacher’s college. Instead, he commenced working as a radio announcer. After a few years doing this, Peter took on an off-air role as a producer, which led to him working with Bert Newton. Peter told us that Bert was an incredibly brave and gifted entertainer, who he went on to work with in TV and theatre. Peter then went on to work for Opera Australia, which brought him into contact with Dame Joan Sutherland. Peter eventually managed to get her on to the Mike Walsh Show. After his stint at OA, Peter worked extensively in the corporate sector as an Artistic Director. In the last few years, he has focussed on “An Evening With” type shows where he worked with people such as Julie Andrews, David Attenborough, Bear Grylls, Louis Theroux, Jane Fonda and many others. He described this as a challenging and enjoyable job that involves incredible amounts of research to get the shows on to the stage. Peter told us that he has been privileged to do 4 tours with David Attenborough, who he described as a rare creature who has great skills as a performer, producer and story teller. Earnings in main stage productions and other theatre presentations are forecast to reach $43.7B in the next year, making this type of entertainment a huge money spinner for Australia. He attributed the growth of this industry to creativity in the technical area through the establishment of new creative industries, which drive innovation in the sector. Peter pointed out that live entertainment will continue to be relevant because stories will always be told, and excellence will always find an audience. His catchcry is make ‘em laugh, make ‘em gasp, make ‘em cry.

Guest Speaker, Kristy McMahon, spoke about her personal story and of her journey with cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She told us that if there is a history of cancer in your family, it’s best to commence being screened for cancer around 10 years earlier than when your relatives were first diagnosed. After diagnosis, Kristy had hoped to avoid the need for a mastectomy and so went straight to chemotherapy.Unfortunately, this didn’t work, and in the end, she also needed a mastectomy and a lymphadenectomy, which is when the lymph nodes are removed. One thing that Kristy mentioned several times is the need to maintain your sense of humour when going through these treatments. She was very complimentary of the strength of the community at Howlong and was grateful for the support given to her and her family. As soon as Kristy was well enough (2014), she participated in a Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation Walk as a fundraiser for Cancer and raised $10,000. She followed up in 2015 and raised a further $50,000!Unfortunately for Kristy and her family, the cancer journey wasn’t yet done. After her daughter developed a sore leg, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. This is a type of cancer that produces immature bone. It is the most common type of cancer that arises in bones, and it is usually found at the end of long bones, often around the knee. Most people diagnosed with osteosarcoma are under the age of 25. After many operations and chemotherapy, her daughter’s bones are much softer than they would normally be, resulting in many fractures. This hasn’t stopped her from becoming a terrific swimmer and being chosen to compete at Riverina Rep swimming carnivals! What an inspiration Kristy and her daughter are for all of us. The good news for Kristy is that after 5 years, she has been given the all clear.

David Cooke is a member of the Rotary Club of Albury West, so he is certainly very familiar with our venue! He has been a Rotarian for 27 years, has been a member of 3 clubs in 2 districts as well as being a Past District Governor. David spoke about Rotary Foundation. He is the current Chair of Rotary Foundation for District 9790. He is passionate about Rotary Foundation and what it does for health, hunger and humanitarianism around the world. In terms of the receipt of Foundation funding, all districts are independent. When Rotary International sets fees, our District passes these on and then clubs set their own fees as they see fit. In turn, there are District fees that cover expenses for the District Governor, Assistant Governors and District Conference. Rotary Foundation has nothing directly to do with our District; rather, its central role is to raise funds for charities. All money raised is invested for 3 years with the interest then going to projects. In total, Rotary Foundation has spent over $3B on various projects. The original money was sourced from left over money after a conference. The first large donation was $1.3M, which was left to Rotary Foundation in the memory of Paul Harris. Paul Harris Fellowships are awarded to those who give $1,000 USD to Foundation. Anyone can donate to Rotary Foundation and David asked that we all consider giving to it. An advantage of giving to Foundation is that 100% of the donation goes to the cause – nothing goes to administration or any other expenses. Sadly, this isn’t true for most other charities. There will be a major fundraiser for Rotary Foundation at the Wangaratta PAC on 16 March and David asked if our Club can get a table of 10 together for the event. Let’s remember that Rotary Foundation helped us to fund the Brown’s Lagoon Reflection Area and for many years, our excellent River of Stories project. When you are paying your subs, please add $50 as requested and this will be donated to Rotary Foundation in your name.