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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-01 Daily Xml
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PLAYFORD ROTARY CLUB

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (15:32): I rise today to say a few words about the good people of the Rotary Club of Playford. Recently, I had the good fortune to attend the handover lunch of the Rotary Club of Playford and the Two Wells club at the Central Districts Football Club. I know that all members are very proud of these types of service organisations in their areas. They are relatively small groups of very active and very committed community members. They are sometimes not immediately visible, but their loss would be keenly felt in all of our communities. They really do amount to more than the sum of their parts.

It is testament to the high esteem in which the club is held in the community that so many of our community leaders came out for the handover lunch. These included the member for Taylor; the federal member for Wakefield, Nick Champion; the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the City of Playford and, of course, the larger business and Rotary community of Elizabeth and surrounds, including Lea Stevens and Mike Stevens who, this year, assumes the presidency of the club.

I have had some involvement with the Rotary Club of Playford over recent years, and I have always been impressed by its commitment to both the local area and to the various causes it supports both here and overseas. These include the ongoing campaign for the eradication of polio, shelter boxes to provide assistance for victims of storms and other natural disasters and, locally, the support of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program at my old school, the Elizabeth Downs Primary School. The Kitchen Garden Program, as most of us will know, involves establishing both garden and kitchen facilities at a local school to teach kids about healthy eating, cooking and educating them about where healthy food actually comes from.

The kitchen garden idea is important, because it has applications across the primary school curriculum. It is not simply a home economics course, nor is it simply an attempt to get kids eating more healthy, natural food, although this, of course, is an important aspect of it. The kitchen garden concept—and this has worked exceptionally well at Elizabeth Downs Primary School—is one which children can apply across the curriculum. It takes in sciences, it enhances concepts of hard work and commitment and it involves creative areas, such as English and visual arts. This is just one example of the excellent work done by Playford Rotary. Although it is a relatively small group of people, they are having a significant impact on the life of my local community.

Playford Rotary was born out of the Rotary Club of Elizabeth and was instigated by one of Elizabeth's great volunteers, Mr Bill Hall. Thirteen years ago, Bill saw the need for a breakfast Rotary club to reach out to more people, particularly people who work in the area but have families and are therefore unable to regularly attend the traditional evening dinner meetings. This year, sadly, for the first time in 13 years, Bill did not stand for the board of Playford Rotary. He indicated at the handover dinner that it was time to let go of the reins and let others guide the club into the future.

Mr Gardner: Great loss.

Mr ODENWALDER: Indeed, it was a great loss. He was duly honoured at this lunch, and I would like to add my personal congratulations to Bill and his wife Sheila for their service to the community. I know that commitment has not come to an end. I want to more broadly pay tribute to all members of the Rotary Club of Playford, including Lea and Mike Stevens who work so hard towards the club's objectives, particularly on the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Program.

Mr Venning: She was a good member.

Mr ODENWALDER: She was a good member. What are you implying?

Mrs Vlahos interjecting:

Mr ODENWALDER: Yes, I know—almost word for word. I beg your pardon, Madam Speaker, I was rudely interrupted. Bill was not only instrumental in forming the Rotary Club of Playford, however. He was also the inaugural chair of the management committee of Midway Road Community House, a post which I recently held. Midway Road Community House is an important feature of Elizabeth East and the surrounding areas, providing many important services: affordable child care, basic and continuing computer skills, adult literacy, counselling, training and many other voluntary community services.

In 1980, Bill and others saw the need for a child care service in the Elizabeth East area, to service young mothers and families. Over the years it has grown in leaps and bounds and is now a vital and professional service to our whole community. As an aside, having spoken about Bill Hall, I cannot let Midway House go by without mentioning its tireless long-term director, Glennys Lehmann. Along with her husband Ray, she goes way above and beyond to make sure that disadvantaged people in Elizabeth and the surrounding suburbs are helped and given chances which would otherwise be unavailable to them. As much as I am sure she would hate to be mentioned in this place, I want to put on record my admiration for her quiet and tireless work.

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