As her last duty as 2020-21 Club President, Vicki Coleman presented several awards to community and club members. (Pictured above: Jonathan Palmer receives a Paul Harris recognition.)
Vocational Award – Nienke Lucas
Nienke joined the Capital Region Farmers Market (CRFM) as the Assistant Market Manager.
She has workplace ethics and integrity of the highest order. Her values of honesty, service above self and integrity align with those of Rotary. Nienke performs her responsibilities with enthusiasm and takes on all tasks regardless of the level of distaste, grot or unpleasantness. She is an exemplar for thoroughness and for not shirking unpleasant tasks.
Community Award – Hall Museum and Heritage Centre Volunteers
The village of Hall has existed since the 1850s, long before the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was proclaimed in 1913 and when the village was included within the ACT boundary. The Hall village public school started in 1911 and continued until its closure in 2006.
After the closure, a community-minded band of 15 people formed the Friends of Hall School Museum with the vision of retaining and maintaining its abundant history. The museum was later renamed the Hall Museum and Heritage Centre as the scope expanded to include the history of the local area, family history, an education programme and the extensive indigenous history of the region.
There are now thirty-two active volunteers, together with many Friends of the Centre. The volunteers have worked tirelessly over thousands of hours undertaking research projects, restoring and displaying precious artefacts, and producing exhibitions annually. They also provide information and education to visitors young and older.
The Rotary Club of Hall wishes to formally recognise how much we appreciate the volunteers by presenting them with this Community Award.
Community Service Award – Shaun Robson, Jacquie Robson and Mark Howard
The CRFM COVID volunteers extraordinaire!
We saw them week after week on the early morning Saturday shifts at CRFM, shuffling people through the appropriate entry and exists, counting numbers and pushing sanitiser. Their selfless contribution in all weathers was greatly appreciated by the Rotary Club of Hall and stallholders and helped the Market to keep going in those difficult days.
For their voluntary contribution, the Rotary Club of Hall is pleased to present Jacquie, Mark and Shaun with a Community Service Award.
Community Service Award – Craig Starr & Gold Creek Station
Throughout the darkest days of the COVID ‘social distancing’ period, Rotary Club of Hall has been privileged to partner with Craig Starr, John Starr and all the staff at Gold Creek Station.
Their assistance has enabled and continues to enable, the Club to meet fortnightly and conduct the business of assisting projects across the wider community. At the same time, of course, the Club has been able to enjoy the conviviality of membership and a good steak.
The Rotary Club of Hall thanks you for your contribution, which we hope will be a long-term commitment, and is very pleased to award Craig Starr and Gold Creek Station a Community Service Award.
Club members recognised with Paul Harris Fellowship
Yvonne Robson
Yvonne Robson has been a tireless Deputy Director of the Capital Region Farmers Market for the past 18 months. The COVID era has made extraordinary new organisational demands to keep the Market operating every Saturday and consequently, it has been necessary to introduce wide-ranging initiatives such as organising volunteers as counters, COVID marshals and provide support for Market Director John Kenworthy, Market Manager Sarah Power and Assistant Manager Nienke Lucas.
These have been troubling times and Yvonne has put enormous effort into supporting the Club’s major income-producing enterprise.
Most recently, she has been heavily involved with others in the Club in developing the Capital Region Farmers Market world bee-day into a major Market event, building the Rotary Club of Hall’s expertise and credentials in the movement for a more bee-friendly world at a local and national level.
Yvonne has acted within the highest standards of Rotary’s mantra of “service above self” and the club is pleased to present Yvonne with her second sapphire Paul Harris pin.
Jonathan Palmer
Making the world a more friendly place for local wildlife and beautifying our villages is a great objective that most people aspire to. However, few have the capacity to push the boundaries and to make it happen.
If you visited the Village of Hall recently you will notice the ‘bee friendly’ notices on most garden gates and the reconstructed and revived garden beds along Victoria Street. There was also the great Floriade display late last year.
This was all pulled together by one of our members, Jonathan Palmer, ably assisted by other members of the RCH Community Service Committee and Hall residents. Jonathan has put enormous effort into advancing the amenity of the Village of Hall for Bees and Humans.
For his effort in achieving a Bee-friendly village of Hall, the club recognises Johnathan Palmer with a Paul Harris Fellow.
Fiona Hamer
Past president Fiona Hamer has been a strong advocate for the Club’s major projects. We are all aware that this is a complex field. The Club entered many major projects at their embryonic stage, where sometimes the project has not been fully formed but our involvement and endorsement have enabled it to evolve into something significant. An example, perhaps, is the GO Foundation.
For her exemplary leadership as president during the dark COVID days, looking after our major projects during the past year and attending endless meetings on projects, the club recognises Fiona Hamer with a Paul Harris Fellow.
Chris Edwards
The Rotary Aussie Peace Walk was a multi-club project envisioned and made a reality by Chris and the management team of Rotarians he pulled together from other Canberra clubs.
The Club got briefings about the progress of the project and as the event approached, members gallantly supported the project. It was a major event beset with COVID hurdles, yet all were surmounted.
The term ‘event’ is arguably a poor description, as it involved so many activities from a major dinner, development of international teams, vice-regal bell ringing and a range of different walks over two days and, not least, persuading, cajoling, coordinating and organising many Rotarians and Clubs to assist in organising and helping throughout the events.
The Club is pleased to present Chris Edwards with a sapphire Paul Harris Fellow.
Janine Linklater
Too often behind every successful project, there is an exhausted person who may get a ‘thank you’ but fails to get a level of accolade that their contribution so richly deserves.
We are sure she got thanks from Chris, but the Club knows that the Rotary Peace Walk would never have been the success it was without the strongest possible support from Janine.
The club is pleased to present Janine Linklater with her second sapphire Paul Harris Fellow.
