Tuesday 2nd September: David Goadby - NZ Bike Trails
Tuesday 16th September: Keith McIntosh Assistant Governor Central Otago Lakes.
"Where Rotary is at in the South Island and what we need to do to sustain Rotary in the future".
Previous Club Night Activities
Tuesday 26th August 2025: Richard Gray - Leprosy
Richard is involved with a group called Pacific Leprosy Foundation. This group was set up by Pat
Toomey in Christchurch and Pat was known to many as “The Leper Man”.
Initially cases were quarantined on Quail Island in Lyttleton Harbour but in the 1960s a dedicated hospital was built in Suva as Leprosy was rife in the Pacific Islands. Now, most cases are found in Brazil, India and South Africa.
Leprosy is a disease of poverty and stigma associated with this makes effective treatment difficult. Cases in New Zealand are almost all from seasonal workers from the pacific. Leprosy is curable with antibiotic therapy and interestingly 95% of people cannot be infected. It has a 3 to 5 year incubation period and because of the stigma infected people may not present for treatment. There is currently no vaccination available.
Kiribati has the most cases in the Pacific. The Island is densely populated and is very hot. PEP (Post exposure prophylaxis) is proving effective and it is hope to eliminate Leprosy from Samoa in 10 years. The Solomon Islands have 80 – 100 new cases every year and while treatment is available, the internal political issues there mean safety for medical personal is uncertain. The Pacific Leprosy Foundation assists with training specialist dermatology medical people in Suva and helps with rehabilitation, such as wheel chairs etc. Leprosy shows up in skin lesions and peripheral nerve damage, and this often leads to burnt hands and cut feet. The wounds are not felt.
A fascinating insight in to a disease that is 4000 years old and still present in our wider community.
Thanks to Rob Wilton for this comprehensive review of Richard's talk and the photograph
Tuesday 19th August 2025: Kelly Budd. New members Talk
Kelly was born and lived her early life in Whangarei. She was married to her builder husband Kyle in 1995after a seven-year courtship.
Kelly has two daughters. Hollie was born in 1997 and works in a managerial role in Melbourne. Georgia was born in 2001 and has completed an Arts degree in the USA and she is currently in Wanaka helping coach the Wanaka Ski team while saving to enable further travel.
Kelly’s first job out of high school was as a pastry chef in a bakery followed by working for Quotable Value New Zealand and then working for an eye specialist.
The move to Wanaka resulted from attending a builders’ conference in Queenstown and taking the opportunity for a brief trip over the hill and falling in love with what they found here.
Following employment in real estate and then as a legal executive, Kelly is about to start her next job as Personal Assistant to fellow Rotary member Chris Wright.
Kelly’s husband Kyle continues in his role as a builder targeting middle of the road family homes with clients being able to utilize their Kiwi-Saver funds with first home builds.
Their reward for hard work is to travel; visiting their daughters overseas and utilizing their caravan.
Their most recent venture is teaming up with the Australian building supply company Bunnings to build smaller homes at a more affordable cost.
Thanks to Ian Shore for the summary of Kelly’s presentation
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