Calpac Meeting 17th September 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Barefoot Bowls at Kawana Bowls Club
As the Powerboat Club Club is not available on 1st October,
there is a social get together at the Kawana Bowls Club
- play if you wish or just come along and eat and watch.
The invitation will go out as usual, please RSVP
Chair MC, Mike Healy welcomed 18 of us to the meeting, especially Guest Speaker Dennis Evan and Special Spouse Wendy Hoskins.
President Peter welcomed Malou and Ross back from their adventures. He advised us that the club and some generous individual members provided 14 Shelterbags, which Peter delivered to the Salvation Army. Peter also saw the Orange Sky laundry people while at the Salvos and suggested that James Condon could be a future guest speaker for us. Greig Lee-Archer was away, which saved him a fine for going to the wrong Salvo premises. Next time, Greig...
Four Directors spoke briefly:
Barb Bailey (Vocational) asked for all Christmas boxes to be returned by absolutely no later than 1st October, preferably earlier. Barb advised that Sandy Stephens had made 30 soft toys for the Christmas boxes and that 92 boxes are in kitty. Barb is aiming for 100 this year, so dig deep!
Bruce Radford (Youth) congratulated Neville Woodforth for being a finalist in Kendall Hatcher MP's 2026 Community Awards. Bruce added that the event was good publicity for Rotary.
Eve McCorkell (Club Service) advised that Graeme Bowden is now in rehab at Selangor. No visitors yet.
Ross Harrison (International) reminded us that he and Malou will be presenting on the successful Philippines school project next week.
Member Moments included Les Pontin on the 2026 Community Awards and Tony Long on - what else? - the 9 October Golf Day. Tony still seeks raffle prizes, and he recognised Peter Hovey's generous donation of two nights in Peter's and Sylvia's Bunya Mountains property as a major prize. 30 teams are lined up for this year's event. Please sign up for tasks on the day.
Ray Capps introduced Guest Speaker Dennis Evan from Night Eyes, an active community group with 84 financial members (and four life members) with its origins in the 1980s. Dennis said that boat thefts were the groups initial concerns, with patrols conducted as a countermeasure. The motto then was, "You Snooze - We Cruise."
When thefts reduced, Night Eyes morphed into cleaning up waterways, including canals. And now not just waterways - Night Eyes recently cleaned up the Beerwah footy ground, with 30kg of rubbish collected in two hours.
Illegal dumping in forests has been in the news lately and Dennis reported that 500kg were cleared in conjunction with council's Illegal Dumping Team - with two fines of $4,000 each.
Other cleanups include Bribie Island and local waterways (rubbish, fishing line, rope, straws, shopping trolleys and a fridge in Bells Creek) as well as cigarette butts in Pelican Waters and elsewhere. Bottle tops and the wooden cutlery that replaced plastic are also a significant issue. Ten Night Eyes members recently did a 'spring clean' in Nambour.
Night Eyes was nominated for Andrew Wallace's awards in 2025 (winners) and 2026. Members work closely with the Coast Guard, Sunshine Coast Council and a number of local businesses, and assist local disabled kids as well.
Night Eyes usually meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with about 20 members gathering each time for an hour to 'Walk, Talk, and Tidy'. Our Mark Paton is an active member. New members are welcome - call 0402 229 640.
Will Waterford conducted Rikki-Tikki so effectively that it was all over in very few questions; Evelyn McCorkell won it again.
Sergeant Peter Asher and Corporal Les Pontin collected thousands of dollars in fines from each table. Or they would have liked to!
The raffle was a major disappointment to your note taker. Ticket B33 did not win.
Mike Healy closed the meeting with a reminder that Malou and Ross will be talking next week on our major Philippines project. Be there!
