News
EVENTS WE SUPPORTED
30th May 2026 - Supporting Cranford Hospice Fundraising Efforts
Marine Parade | 5.30pm start
Walk, jog or dance to support compassionate care.
Join us for a Glow Orange Night Walk and light up Marine Parade for the 258 families who need specialist hospice care each day.
Two course options—3.5km and 6km starting at Perfume Point and finishing at the iconic Napier Soundshell and is suitable for all ages and abilities. Be part of something meaningful and make a difference. We will be there to give out prizes!
Pride of Workmanship Awards 2025 a success for Participants
Wow!!! What a great night, enjoyed by everyone present and greatly appreciated by those giving and receiving the awards.
Our Mayor, nominees, family, friends and our club members came together to celebrate with a dinner, speeches and presentations.
Awardees
- Enliven Disability
- Gracelands Village
- Pursuit NZ
- City Assist Team from Hastings District Council - Read more
Changeover 2025-26 - Outstanding achievements recognised
We are grateful for our presidents, board and committees to take on the leadership each year. Stuart Knauf has taken over from Stewart Brodie. We also nominated 2 members who have shown outstanding achievements, Brian McClay and Ken Hines who received the Paul Harris Fellowship Medal. Congratulations!
Recognition
Our club was recognised with the District Environmental Award for all the hard work the team did this year to replace the boardwalk and other remedial work in Pekapeka Wetland. Particular involvement of Brian McLay, Stew Brodie, Brian Kelsey, Peter Mackie and John Ellingham. Ken Haines was presented with “Rotarian of the Year 2024-2025 Award” which was gratefully received.
Rotary International Convention - Calgary - June 21-25
Ken Haines joined the Convention and stated that it was clearly directed at younger people and with looking at the ages of attendees he could understand why. ‘It is a MUST that we target younger people and take whatever steps we need to do to rejuvenate our organisation to ensure we survive and flourish in order to be able to look after future generations.’
'I was really proud to be representing our great country and I can't count the number of Americans who have visited NZ with every one of them saying how much they loved it.'
Shipping Office Furniture to Samoa Schools
A Hastings law firm has donated an office full of office furniture to Rotary which will be shipped to Samoa for use in schools throughout Western Samoa. Stortford Lodge Rotary Club has been shipping school desks and books to Western Samoa for a number of years . This office furniture will be put to good use in their schools where good quality furniture is hard to come by. The hard working team needed to dismantle the desks and pack them onto trailers and take them to a local storage facility where they will be packed into a container for shipment. Without the support of local businesses such as this firm and local schools who donate old school desks and books, along with transport firms who assist with shipping costs, Rotary would be unable to send this equipment to Samoa.
A new Library for Omahu School with a financial contribution from our club
Ōmāhu School was badly flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle.
The Ministry of Education had no plans or funding for a dedicated building, so Hastings District Libraries and the project team stepped in again, connecting with Council funding specialists and community groups like Stortford Lodge Rotary Club and Lions International.
Their combined efforts raised enough to fund a stand-alone, fully-fitted library building, complete with ramp access, air conditioning, carpet, and shelving. The building is now owned by the Ōmāhu School Board of Trustees and will serve generations of learners.
“The support from Rotary, Lions, and our wider community has been incredible,” said local kaiako (teacher) Kate Crawford. “This was about more than books—it was about hope, recovery, and the future of our tamariki.”
Creating Tomorrow
Regionalisation Project South Pacific
Learn more about how Rotary will be looking in the near future. The world is changing and so are we as a club and Region.
One of Rotary’s strategic goals is to increase our ability to adapt. What current and future members need and want from Rotary changes quickly and, so far, we have not been able to keep up. Today, people want to be a part of an organisation that welcomes diverse perspectives and provides value. They want opportunities to serve, lead, and network, but not necessarily within a rigid hierarchy.
Our current governance structure is 70 years old. It has not adapted to the needs of today or tomorrow. In 2018, the Rotary Board of Directors tasked the Shaping Rotary’s Future (SRF) Committee with developing an innovative plan to enhance the current membership experience, improve our ability to adapt, and create an organisational structure that attracts and engages new participants for generations to come.
Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, a member of the Rotary Club of Trans Amadi, Nigeria, has been selected to become Rotary International's president for 2026-27.
The president of Rotary International serves a one-year term, presiding over the Board of Directors and providing inspirational leadership for the organization. As the spokesperson for the global network, the president visits clubs around the world to promote Rotary's values and represent the organization at major events. Rotary chooses its president from members who have demonstrated extensive leadership experience within Rotary, including service as a club president, district governor, and member of the Board.
Mário César Martins de Camargo, a member of the Rotary Club of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil, has been selected to become Rotary International President for 2025-26.
The 2025-26 presidential message, announced at the 2025 Rotary International Assembly in February, will remain Unite for Good, which calls on Rotary members to be a force for unity in a world increasingly divided by politics, geography, and ideology. Through service projects, Rotary brings together people of every background — across races, religions, and professions — in a shared mission to do good in their communities. Learn more
SangKoo Yun, a consummate Rotary leader and businessman who had been selected to be Rotary International's president for 2026-27, died on 5 September 2025
A member of the Rotary Club of Sae Hanyang, Seoul, Korea, Yun resigned as president-elect in August to focus on his medical treatment.
"SangKoo's passing is a great loss to the global Rotary family," says RI President Francesco Arezzo. "Yun's vision and contributions to Rotary will continue to inspire and motivate me and others. His legacy lives on in the hearts of Rotary friends and those whose lives were touched by his dedication to Rotary service."
Stuart and Isobel visited Matamata Rotary Club
President Stuart and Membership Director Isobel took a trip to visit one of the best clubs in District 9930 and came back full of good ideas on how we can break the mould and increase our membership at the same time as reducing the average age. These are being discussed by our club directors and will be put to for consideration as the year progresses.
Members of our Club attended Anzac Day Service
Stuart Knauf wore his medals from his 24 years of service with the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserves, alongside his father’s medals.
“He served in the Second World War in Guadalcanal as an army nurse and he was a conscientious objector, but he served as a non-combatant,” Knauf said.
“He didn’t take any weapons, but he served in the frontlines.”
Stuart was thinking of the people “a lot younger” than himself who went to war and never came home. “I’ve always been thinking about them and the sacrifices they made for us.”
Ken Haines laid a wreath on behalf of the club, and proudly wore his father’s medals.
“Dad fought from Holland right through to Germany and then demobbed after the end of the war and came to New Zealand” “It’s very moving to be here, it always is.”
Changeover 2025-2026
We are grateful for our presidents, board and committees to take on the leadership each year. Stuart Knauf has taken over from Stewart Brodie.
Brian McClay received the Paul Harris Fellowship Medal
Ken Haines received the Paul Harris Fellowship Medal and was honoured to be the local Rotarian of the year.
Scooter challenge raised funds for Mental Health and our guys participated!
The Napier to Wellington 50cc Scooter Challenge has been back for its fourth year and some of our members joined this event to support mental health in the Hawke's Bay community.
$179000.00 was raised. Congratulation!
Out and about at the Art Deco Festival
At Rotary one never needs to be alone - just get a group of members together and have fun.
Art Deco Festival Napier has grown into one of the great festivals of the world. But more than that, it's an acknowledgement of the resilience and spirit of the Hawke's Bay Communities who, in the aftermath of the 1931 earthquake, rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt Napier City, creating the magnificent Art Deco Capital that we celebrate today.
Multicultural Association Hawke's Bay International Cultures Day
Out and about to promote Rotary Stortford Lodge. We set up our gazebo and sold raffle tickets for a load of firewood. A very deserving family from Flaxmere won. Proceeds went back to MCA.
Hello and a HUGE thank you to all you wonderful volunteers who helped with Daffodil Day activities!
It was a great success, with over 200 people giving around 720 hours of time to help us on the day, leading up to it and afterwards. It will be some time before we know the final financial results, but I can tell that you that about $36,000 was raised on the street appeal alone.
Other funds still to be totaled include online donations, counter boxes at businesses, preordered daffodils, proceeds from the Daffodil Raceday event tomorrow, the Central Hawke's Bay shop and all the fundraising activities run by schools and businesses across the region. None of these could take place without the help of countless volunteers.
I hope you enjoyed your volunteering and that we can call upon you again in the future. If you have any suggestions for improvement based on your experience, please don't hesitate to let us know. Regards Anne
Xmas gifts to theChange Change Flaxmere Baptist Church
This year we distributed our gifts through the community organisation Resource. The unwrapped gifts are put into bright red fabric bags produced by Resource volunteers hence the advice not to waste money / time on wrapping.
The Church maintains a database which shares basic family address detail. This sharing of information ensures that gifts are not sent from multiple community agencies to the one family.
This year 1100 children under 15, and 1200 teenagers 15 and older will receive gifts through the coordinated plan.
A total success for Cranford Hospice fundraising efforts
"With the support of over 200 volunteers, both young and old, the appeal was a resounding success and served as a testament to the kinness and compassion that defines our region'
Our club supported the street collection with four of our Rotarians collecting in Hastings. A total of $33932.40 was raised.
Support for HDC Event
The Osmanthus Gardens Lantern Festival in Cornwall Park is an annual event which celebrates Hastings' sister-city relationship with Guilin, in China. Our members collated donations and counted visitors. A beautiful event worth supporting.
Dictionaries for Schools
We visited Twyford School to present 52 Usborne Dictionaries to year 4-6 students. It was a pleasure to give these to the students as they will be useful in their learning and at home. We were impressed by the politeness of the students and their good behaviour. Great to see!
Pride of Workmanship Awards Celebration 2024
The aim of the awards is to encourage a much-needed pride in personal performance in the work-place, and promote vocational services, providing employers with an opportunity to recognise Employees who display those qualities which are worthy of an award. To encourage favourable employer/employee relationships and a sense of community pride in individual achievement. To provide an opportunity for Rotary to be involved in the community.
This year we celebrated with Streetwise Coffee, Red Cross and Topline Contracting. The awards evening was well received with each participant showing their pride receiving the award. Thank you to Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst for participating for this very important event. Rotary Stortford is equally delighted to see the vast amount of workmanship shown in the community.
Appreciation Evening 2024
Thank you to all participants at our Appreciation evening who supported our projects throughout the year:
Cyclone Gabrielle - providing generators, diggers and utes.
Quiz Night - sponsors providing auction items to raise money for the community.
Samoa Project - support to send books, tables and chairs to Poutasi Pre-School with the collaboration of Rotary Apia.
Tony from Kelston Orchard Packhouse provided storage facilities for the Samoa project.
Stephen from Bay Ford Hastings facilitated the provision of 20 new Ford vehicles from Ford NZ in response to Cyclone Gabrielle.
International Student Laurenz -his last day in Hawke's Bay.....
We said good-bye to our extraordinary student Laurenz from Munich, Germany. He enjoyed many adventures with his host parents, hunting, biking, golfing, joining the Cambridge conference with other students, visiting parliament, etc. He gave a lot back to us too, showing his maturity and enthusiasm. We will miss him!
Go well Laurenz!
Our new Board and Committee for 2024-25 - Outstanding achievements recognised
Congratulations to our President Stewart Brodie, and Ken Haines, thank you for your successful leadership.
Rotary sends message of hope to Wairoa
Creating hope was the message behind a Rotary initiative that saw the delivery of dehumidifiers and other equipment to help Wairoa flood-impacted people.
The Stortford Lodge Rotary Club of Hastings, in conjunction with the Wairoa Rotary Club, wanted to support Wairoa and felt the dehumidifiers and associated equipment were the best way to help with Wairoa’s post-flood needs.
Stortford Lodge Rotary Club project lead Stuart Knauf said the club applied for funding for the equipment through Rotary International. “Effectively the club owns the equipment which can be leant to Wairoa people for as long as they need it, and in the future, to others as well.
“It has been great to have the Stortford Lodge and Wairoa Rotary clubs working together to help people. “It’s a privilege for us to be able to put our support where it is needed by providing a service to the community and helping the people of Wairoa.
Wairoa Rotary President Fenton Wilson said the loaning of the equipment demonstrates the reach of Rotary, which is an international service organisation. “Thank you to the Stortford Club for your work in sourcing this equipment and supporting the Wairoa community.”
If you need equipment to help dry your home, please apply for support by filling out a Wairoa District Council CSR (Customer Service Request) online via the WDC website:www.wairoadc.govt.nz/contact-us/customer-service-request, or phone the Council on 06 838 7309.
The Magic of Rotary
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick announced that the 2024-25 presidential theme is "The Magic of Rotary" and called on members to recognize and amplify the organisation’s power to save lives.
Stephanie Urchick, a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA, said she saw the magic of Rotary on display when she was helping install water filters in the Dominican Republic. Two boys were watching as dirty water entered the filter, then ran out clean at the other end.
“One of the boys grabbed my sleeve and said, ‘Show me the magic again,’” she said. “Obviously, the water filter wasn’t magic. We worked hard to transport those filters, install them, and work with community leaders in the area to maintain them. But those boys knew that easy access to clean water would change their lives. Knowing that I played a small part in that certainly changed my life.”
https://www.rotary.org/en/stephanie-urchick-celebrates-magic-rotary
PDG Grant Spackman updated members about the rapidly approaching Regionalisation pilot project, due to commence in July 24.
There will be no changes to clubs but there will be easier access to support where needed. There will be Rotary specialists available to support with membership, ideas etc.The Rotary Foundation will sit outside of the new structure.
The pilot will run for two years and then members will vote to continue as is or pick the parts that work well.The Rotary Foundation will sit outside of the new structure.
We will still continue to have a DG, a district board and some committees but the biggest change will the community groups. There will be four community leaders in D9930 and ADG’s will be phased out. Grant will be our local community leader. The emphasis will be on a Rotary community rather than on individual clubs.here
Winning the Trophy at the 9930 Conference in Cambridge
Nine of our members joined the annual conference in May 24.
The theme ' Good News Stories for an Optimistic Future ' explored various ideas about sustainability. Nicola Turner from Mainstream Green showed us how we can reduce waste, Rotary International Representative Johnny Yu talked about six steps of sustainability, Forsyth Barr showed us to invest sensibly. Miriama Kamo (we adored her personality and integrity) presented her ideas about the Zero Waste Movement, Adam Thompson from Restore Native and a group of Rotarians planted 250 trees to offset our Carbon Foot Print (very impressive).
Our incoming District Governor Nick Dangerfield presented us with the new model of regionalisation - governing Rotary in a new way to attract younger generations.
'This is a changing world, we must change with it.'
And the Trophy? Our group had travelled the most to get to the conference and we have new members....