Kia ora fellow Rotarians,
This year seems to be whizzing by, and as we near the middle of August we are getting closer to the end of winter.
I am certainly looking forward to longer days and warmer weather and being able to get out and about and into action with Rotary projects.
Murray and Trish have been working to organise our visit to the newly refurbished, multi-million dollar, environmentally sustainable Murihiku Marae.
The visit date has changed to Thursday, August 31, 2023.
The visit is open to all Rotarians and their partners, and we must register for the event for catering purposes and will need to learn a popular waiata Te Aroha that we will need to sing once we are in the marae. Please RSVP to Trish Lindsay on: bill.trish.lindsay@xtra.co.nz
As visitors to the marae there are protocols we need to be aware of and follow:
- We will be welcomed on to the marae – we cannot move into this space prior to the welcome.
- Please remove shoes before entering the wharenui (meeting space).
- Switch of all mobile phones during the pōwhiri.
- We will sing our waiata once our speaker has finished his speech on our behalf.
- We will hongi with our elbows, as opposed to pressing noses as is the tradition.
- Lunch/finger food will be served in the wharekai (dining hall)
- There will be a karakia (prayer) before we start eating.
This is a very special and unique meeting, as it is not often that members of the public get an opportunity to visit a marae.
Since we do have some additional costs associated with this visit, we have had to increase the meal cost to $35 per head. Please do share the details of the visit with other Rotarians. I will be passing on invitations to the other clubs in Invercargill, via their Presidents as well.
On a final note, I'm looking forward to next week's meeting as we have District Governor Phil Gully and his wife Anna along with District Governor Elect Dave McKissock coming as our special guests at our formal lunch meeting.
I look forward to seeing you all there.
- Chami
