New President John Keenan welcomed all members, their partners, and guests Marty and Keri Palmer to the meeting. Punctual and clear, thanks to our new mic system.
President's Time
President John asked us to stand in silence in respect of the passing of: John Gibson, Robyn Hewson and Judith Kearns
Funeral notices were given for Robyn Hewson and Judith Kearns.
Harley Smithson asked that the combined service clubs' Christmas Parade float be voted for in the upcoming BCEA ANZ People's Choice Award. President John said he would send a link to all members for access to the voting page. The link is added to this bulletin in case it hasn't been received: People's Choice Award - South Canterbury Regional Website
Three Minute Talk
Barrie Payne called his subject heading Cows.
He passed halters to each table and spoke on the use of these cow collars in today's farming. Time-saving was one of the major advantages, as feed area allocations for the stock were set on mobile phones/tablets as needed each day. He explained how grazing boundaries were set and how the halters reacted to these invisible boundaries. These halters were solar-powered and hired at a cost of $94 per year per cow. Time/expenses were saved where no fence mending or gates were required. This New Zealand-based idea is now being exported around the world.
Wines and Fines
Sargent Robbie Jackson and Corporal Harley Smithson circulated the room, cap in hand. The wine raffle was won (again) by Harley Smithson with number 50. Guest Keri Palmer drew the lucky number.
Guest Speaker
Peter Prader introduced his guest speaker, Marty Palmer, to the room.
Marty spoke about his work as a drill mechanic and shared his backstory of how he ended up in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Marty began his working life as an apprentice mechanic at Timaru Motors. Moving from there, he worked in Queenstown on ski fields with snowmaking and grooming of the fields until the end of the season, then on the Earnslaw as a stoker.
Marty spoke about his travels around the world, working on drilling rigs in Western Australia, Colorado (US), Tasmania, Vietnam, Borneo, Singapore, Russia, and Barrow Island, with intermittent forays back to New Zealand to work in various mechanical positions. He spoke about the process of drill mechanics, how some rigs were run, how different countries had different outlooks toward their employees, how politics influenced the search for and acquisition of oil/gas, and some of his personal experiences.
Marty is currently a tractor mechanic in Timaru.
Questions were asked at the end of Marty's talk, and the members expressed a desire to hear more of his story.
President John thanked Marty for his fascinating talk, joined by those present.
Meeting Close
President John listed the duties for the next meeting and finished with a quote from Winston Churchill
Success is not final; failure is not fatal.
Ken Wood
A message from Lindsay:
I was in Auckland last week and popped over to see Ken Wood, living on Waiheke Island with Sheena (Ken's daughter) & Jeff. Ken was in good form and looked well. We had lunch together; it was good to catch up with him.
I was in Auckland last week and popped over to see Ken Wood, living on Waiheke Island with Sheena (Ken's daughter) & Jeff. Ken was in good form and looked well. We had lunch together; it was good to catch up with him.
Duties
Chair: David Roundhill
Thanks: Harley Smithson
Three-minute speaker: Peter Prader
Sargeant: Adrian Gray
Corporal: Stephen Camkin
Scribe: Tony Brien
Regalia: Bill Weir
Thanks: Harley Smithson
Three-minute speaker: Peter Prader
Sargeant: Adrian Gray
Corporal: Stephen Camkin
Scribe: Tony Brien
Regalia: Bill Weir