“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway!!”
Our 2021-22 Board of Directors
Tonight’s meeting was started off by Sergeant Job. After a very nice meal, we went into the usual Fine session with Maz admitting to losing her car in hospital carpark after long stint at A&E only to find that she had her father's car all along!
Alice advised she and Ashley are expecting their first child in January, congratulations to them both...
President Presents...
Robert advised that today is World Lazy Day....I think I must have known that! He recapped over some of the highlights of the Olympics; noting that Englishman Tom Daley had done some knitting during downtime at the Games. When Robert was a wee laddie his mother taught him to knit, her method of getting him to remember was Stab! Throttle! Pull its head off! Guaranteed to appeal to a young boy.
Harry gave update on his grandson's efforts at the Olympics. Malcolm Hicks started the race with a hamstring injury but still managed to beat his previous best time.
Members Announcements...
Members committees were to be held tonight.
Sheryl asked for helpers for Daffodil Day Friday 27th.
Peter V advised that the hosting of Lincoln students was sorted for 30th August.
Dave Keenan
Bill Ewen
Guest Speakers
Stew Wadey introduced our speakers Dave Keenan and Bill Ewen, Matamata Vet Services .
Dave ran us through it's history starting with the inception as a private enterprise in 1947; however MVS as its known today, was established 20 years later. It comprises of services to equine, farm and small animals, with 65 staff, of which 35 are vets. Technology advancements have been mammoth in their industry and this has helped them in developing further; adding an equine hospital, surgical theatre, the purchase of a scintigraphy machine (this allows them to scan for stress fractures using radioactive dye to ‘hotspot’ the area) amongst many others. However the latest jewel in the crown was the purchase of Marks Ewen & Associates in 2019.
MVS currently care for over 2500 horses, with reproductive work being a major interest. Whilst A.I. (artificial insemination) is permitted for most animals, with Thoroughbreds it is not. The level of care and attention in the Thoroughbred breeding industry is huge so as Dave put it “you need to get the most bang for your buck”. They are literally involved from go to woe. He also recommended going to the sales at Karaka, as it can be exhilarating. NZ may not the best in the world, but has a remarkable success internationally mainly due to the human and environmental factors: mild climate, quality pastures and the love of horses in this country.
MVS pride themselves on supporting their community, providing charitable donations and grants to various community groups including: Pohlen Palliative Care, Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Matamata College Ace Awards and both UMS and Hinuera sports clubs. MVS also offer two fixed contract internships annually.
Dave J thanked our guest speakers for coming and all their support for the community, he noted he was possibly asked to do this due to his large involvement with horses over the years.
Note from the Editor:
As mentioned at the meeting my mother took a nasty fall recently so in light of that....
"one way to find out if you are old is to fall down in front of a lot of people. If they laugh you are still young, if they panic and come running to you, you are old!"
Meeting responsibilities
Speaker: Prasad Talathi
24-Aug
7-Sept
Reception:
Beth
Taylor
David
Wheadon
Reception:
Peter
Thissen
Murray
Wills
Club Host:
Leonie
Tisch
Nayankumar
Ahir
Speaker Intro/ Top Table:
Carl
Tookey
Fred
Barrett
Speaker thanks/ Top table:
Chris
Webb
Ross
Bay
Parting thought:
Owen
Westlake
Jane
Belton
PLEASE NOTE:
No meeting
31-Aug
Rotary Matamata account numbers
Administration: 03-0363-0018584-000
Charitable Trust: 03-0363-0010566-000
Please ensure you include your NAME and WHAT the money is for as the reference.
