This week Tamar Sunrisers were treated to a very special vocational visit to the new upgraded facility of St Giles. Danielle Blewitt was our welcoming and informative host who told us a little of the history of ST Giles then took us on a guided tour of the new specifically buildings which were completed in 2015.

St Giles first opened its doors on March 8th 1939, its primary objective was too look after the victims of the poliomyelitis epidemic. From these very humble beginnings the organisation has continued to grow and prosper into Tasmania's major provider of paediatric multidisciplinary allied health services supporting children with a disability and their families to ensure that families stay together in their own homes.
St Giles relies heavily on three major fundraisers to raise revenue for their many programs. They are The Balfour Burn, The Black Diamond Dinner event at St Johns church and the Niche Market. St Giles employs over 70 therapists and helps over 6,000 children each year.
Danielle was justifiably proud of her work over the past five years and spoke about the need for continual fundraising to run its programs. I urge all at Tamar Sunrise to get behind this great facility and support their fundraising by either entering the Balfour Burn, buying an item at the Niche Market or going to the Black Diamond dinner. Or you could simply make a donation. All information is on their website: stgiles.org.au
Speaking of fundraisers, work continues on The International Women's Day Breakfast and I urge you  all to buy your tickets quickly.

On Wednesday 3rd of February members of Tamar Sunrise welcomed as our guest Paul Thomas from the Black Dog Institute, a not for profit organisation that raises awareness of Depression in our community- the causes, symptoms and cures, as well as debunking a lot of myths often associated with this disease. Paul was a very passionate speaker and spoke from the heart about his family's experiences and how there is hope and help at the end of every tunnel. Later in the year Paul and his committee will be holding a fund raiser for this cause and I urge all Tamar Sunrisers to help if they are able.

Last Wednesday the 10th of February , our Captain Dave organised John Dent from the Launceston Historical Society to come and speak about his latest project which is the archeological dig at Kerry Lodge ,  just South of Franklin Village. John who is a fellow Rotarian from Central Launceston explained the history behind the project and how later in the year world renown archaeologist Ellen Casella will lead a dig in this area. John explained that a lot of mystery still surrounds the site and hopefully the latest dig would provide them with some answers to exactly what the buildings were designed for , who resided there and what their life was like. As a history buff, I really enjoyed the presentation and wish John and his team well with their future exploits. 

Another event celebrated this week was the Annual Rotary Family Day held at Woolmers in Longford. This was a great opportunity for all Rotarians and their families to meet, catch up and enjoy the beautiful country side. It was my pleasure to attend along with Danny our treasurer, and the club was able to present our pledge to the Rotary Organisation. Total pledges from all the clubs was over $77.000  which was a great effort. All clubs also received information about the upcoming conference to be held in Deloraine. I again urge all Tamar Sunrisers to attend this fun filled and enlightening weekend in April.

This week we were very lucky to have three very special guests. Our guest speakers Besta Peter and and Kerryal Willis from Bright Star Dream Foundation and Dale Luck, Assistant Governor .
Dale spoke about the upcoming Group 5 & 6 Forum to be held on November 25th at the Grand Chancellor, the guest speaker will be d'Arcy Lunn who is an expert in Polio and has won the Rotary Peace Fellowship award. Dale urged all at the meeting to attend this event.