Werribee Rotary members, partners and friends celebrated their Christmas Dinner in fine style at the Chirnsides by the River function centre on 11th December. The event focused on fun and fellowship mixed with a bit of formality.

Highlights of the evening were:

• A wonderful debut singing performance by Charlotte Daddy, daughter of Therese and Jason. She received a standing ovation.

• A special appearance from Father Christmas who distributed Kris Kringle gifts to all attendees.

• Musical entertainment from the popular group The Barking Dogs.

• Some audience participation on the dance floor with the Progressive Barn Dance.

• Introduction of the 2018-19 Board by incoming President Brian Ahmed.

• Announcement of Carlo Vimercati as the club's President for 2018-19.

• A presentation of Paul Harris Fellows to two long-standing members, Ross Smith and Ian Hovey.

All in all it was a great night.

Click here to see many photos of the evening.

We are desperately seeking helpers for the BBQ at Thomas Chirnside School next Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 pm as part of their Carols by Candlelight event. We have participated in it for many years and, to keep the tradition going, your assistance would be very much appreciated.

The school is located on the corner of Walls Rd and Racecourse Rd in Werribee - near the Werribee Racecourse.

If you can help, please give Geoff Smith a call on 0419 235611. Here is an image of him waiting by the phone for your call.

Based on the picture above, you would be excused for thinking that there is more giggle in the Cut, Giggle and Sew sessions than cutting and sewing. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The group of ladies have been congregating at the home of Mary Macaulay and working hard to make little gift bags from colourful scrap fabric and filling them with soap, make-up, lip gloss or lip balm. They have completed 100 bags and have donated them to Werribee Support and Housing to support their Santa Drive.

But wait. That's not all. The group has been collecting other recyclable items such as bottle tops, mobile phones, eye glasses and doing something useful with the collections to support Rotary projects and, at the same time, helping to reduce land fill. For example, the bottle tops will be donated to a local Werribee community project called Helping Hands to enable them to melt the tops to make prosthetic limbs for kids in disadvantaged communities throughout Cambodia.

Chief organiser Lyn Fava is proud of the work done to date by the Cut Giggle and Sew team and is hopeful that they will go from strength to strength. Lyn said that each session contains a good balance of skills, teamwork, companionship, fun and a sense of community spirit.

Thanks to Mary Macaulay for hosting the sessions and for the wonderful work of Therese and Charlotte Daddy, Micki Hovey, Marilyn Jeffries, Glenyce Denys, Anne Smith, Barbara Purdy and Lyn Fava.

And, of course, all who donated materials, and products.

• Ian Knight can't seem to take a trick at the moment. He was in Yarrawonga last Tuesday for a funeral and became unwell. As a result, he was taken Wangaratta Hospital by ambulance for some tests. The results were inconclusive but the doctors said it was either a virus or food poisoning. Sadly, this meant that he and Genny couldn't attend our Christmas function. But the good news is that he now has a clean bill of health and he's ready to celebrate Christmas with his family and friends.

• Former member Roman Kozlovski has sent best wishes from Susie and himself to everyone for a wonderful Christmas. He is looking forward to catching up with most of us on our golf day.

• Congratulations to Ross Smith and Ian Hovey who were both presented with Paul Harris Fellows by President Graham at the Christmas function. They were recognised for their long-standing service to Rotary. Ross and Ian said they were grateful for the award but both expressed the point that they haven't served specifically to receive any honour. The important thing is that the club has contributed important funds to Rotary Foundation.

• Marty Vaina is still a kid at heart when it comes to Christmas. Here is a photo of him outside his home with all his Christmas friends.

• We extend our congratulations to Werribee Football Club CEO Mark Penaluna who was awarded the John Nicol Community Service Award at the Committee for Wyndham's gala dinner last week. The award is named in honour of our late long-serving member and former President of the football club, John Nicol, who was a strong advocate for improving the quality of life of all people in Wyndham. Here is a picture of Mark flanked by the two previous winners Peter Ross and Tino Ballan.

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