Welcome to the website of the Rotary Club of Shawbury & Mid Shropshire
Rotary Club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire
July 2010. Out with the old and in with the new.
‘JUST DO IT’ PRESIDENT TELLS ROTARIANS
Shawbury and Mid Shropshire Rotary club’s 24th president Iain Gilmour (left) receives the chain of office from outgoing president Mike Mortimer.
Our president’s motto for the year is ‘Just do it!’
Iain Gilmour, the 24th president of the Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire, has told members: “If you have an idea follow it through.
“Just get on and do it. I look forward to a very pleasant year kicked off with some good ideas.”
He has taken over the presidency from Mike Mortimer and his vice president is Willie Strachen.
The club’s biggest fundraiser, said the president, would again be the Rotary Tree of Light, though Shawbury and Mid Shropshire has appointed a new joint activities and fundraising committee to research and recommend ideas for raising money for Rotary and local charities.
Left to right Tony Pugh, president Iain, Gareth Watkins and vice president Willie.
The club’s ‘Rotarian of the year’ is Gareth Watkins and the ‘Attendance of the year’ award has gone to Tony Pugh.
Welcome to our incoming President Iain Gilmour (Left) and ADG Greg Watson
DON’T BE AFRAID OF CHANGE – ROTARIANS TOLD
The advice of Rotary’s assistant district governor Greg Watson to members of the Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire was coupled with ‘enjoy Rotary – it’s there to be enjoyed.”
ADG Greg Watson was visiting the club on the occasion of its presentation to the Rotary district of Shropshire and Staffordshire of what it plans for the Rotary year 2010-11.
Said Rotarian Watson: “You know what you are good at and how best to deliver your service locally and internationally.
“Rotary should be enjoyable. It should be fun. It is there for us to enjoy, to have projects and to raise money. Please enjoy it.”
He said he particularly liked the idea of the three Rotary clubs that meet locally, Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury Darwin and Shawbury and Mid Shropshire, having good co-operation which boded well for the future of the organisation in Shropshire.
The club’s newly elected officers for the forthcoming Rotary year outlined their individual committee’s objectives. Again prominent for the year was the Tree of Light and the Santa sleigh.
The club’s membership services committee said it would be considering the idea of introducing ‘Friends of Rotary’ and after a period of time inviting those people to become members.
“It is a concept we need to debate,” said committee chairman and junior vice president Willie Strachen.
ROTARY CLUB SPONSORS FOURTH STUDENT
From left to right Joe’s father Roger, Joe, Rotary club president Mike Mortimer and Miriam Turner, Shropshire youth worker.
June 19 2010
The Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire is sponsoring its fourth consecutive student to a Rotary youth leadership training camp.
Joe Mansfield, 16, of Shawbury, will be spending a week at RYLA – Rotary Youth Leadership Award – at Kibblestone Scout Camp, near Stone, next month.
Joe, who is studying GCSE’s at Thomas Adams School, said the course would help him develop his leadership and communication skills and improve his self-confidence to pursue a career in child care.
He plans to study child care at Radbrook College next year.
Said club president Mike Mortimer: “Enjoy your time at RYLA and come back and tell us about it.”
Joe has promised to return to outline his experience.
ROTARY CLUBS OF SHREWSBURY, SHREWSBURY DARWIN & SHAWBURY AND MID SHROPSHIRE
ROTARY BOOST of £1500 FOR HOPE HOUSE
June 19 2010. Rotary presidents Mike Mortimer, left (Shawbury and Mid Shropshire), Colin Foot (Shrewsbury) and Tom James (Shrewsbury Darwin) with Vanessa Thomas of Hope House.
At a time when all charities are facing a fundraising challenge, Hope House has been given a boost by Rotary.
Three Rotary clubs, Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury Darwin and Shawbury and Mid Shropshire, have donated the proceeds of a recent ball to Hope House.
After receiving a cheque today for £1,510.85, Vanessa Thomas, Hope House appeals manager, said it was a ‘fantastic amount’.
“At the present time we are relying more and more on our regular supporters like Rotary and they do not let us down. We are really grateful for their financial support in these challenging times.”
Said Tom James, president of Shrewsbury Darwin Rotary club: “The reason we were keen to make this financial contribution to Hope House is because their local government funding only amounts to eight percent and the three clubs are delighted to support this very worthwhile organisation.”
ABSEILING ROTARIANS RAISE MONEY FOR PUMP
June 16 2010 Mike Mortimer’s abseil down The Tower at Hawkstone Park Follies.
Two principal officers of a local Rotary club have raised money to support a young woman’s charity project – by abseiling.
Mike Mortimer, president of the Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire, and the club’s secretary Philip Gillings, both abseiled 200ft down a folly at Hawkstone Park.
Their bold effort – both men are over 50 – helped organiser Emma Davis to raise approximately £500 to purchase an elephant pump for Africa.
An elephant pump is a hand - or foot - driven system designed to raise clean water from a well in an overseas country and is sponsored by Rotary International
Emma, 15, of Shawbury, organised the abseil off The Tower at Hawkstone Park Follies. She chose the elephant pump as her challenge after spending a week at a Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) camp last year.
Both Mike Mortimer and Philip Gillings said afterwards the abseil had been their challenge.
CRUSE CALLS FOR SUPPORT ARE GROWING
January 17 2010 A Shropshire volunteer with Cruse Bereavement Care has told a Rotary club that the county has 1,500 calls a year for free of charge support – and the number is growing.
Anna Parkinson, a member and volunteer of Cruse Shropshire, was speaking at a meeting of the Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire whose members learned there was ‘always a waiting list’ for bereavement support.
Anna, Shropshire’s Cruse fundraiser, said sometimes the waiting list was six weeks because the county’s dedicated team of 60 unpaid volunteers had to fit bereavement support into their daily lives.
“Our service in Shropshire covers a large geographical area and we are short of volunteers,” she told Rotarians. “Telford and Wrekin, for instance, has grown very quickly over the years and it is difficult to keep up with the demand for our services. And we understand that.
“We have recently tried to address this through giving support by telephone as well as one to one counselling. We train people to volunteer to do counselling and Telford and Wrekin in particular has a shortfall – we need people to do counselling.”
She explained that it cost £260 to train a volunteer to do counselling and the PCT were supporting Cruse in Shropshire.
“We are independent,” said Anna. “Bereavement is a process which needs to be gone through. It is important for the bereaved person when making contact initially why they are being helped.
“We are not necessarily well known, but you can’t shout and scream about this. It is not something I can easily talk about. I have to be sensitive to people’s needs.”
The Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire will be looking to give Cruse some financial support from the Tree of Light appeal.
Said Anna: “The reason I got in contact with Rotary is because the Tree of Light appeal fits so well with what Cruse does in helping people through the process of bereavement.
“Often people want to do something for their loved ones. Rotary says on its website that the Tree of Light is a reminder that there is light and hope in the bleakest of circumstances.
“This enables sponsors to grieve in a positive way and help worthwhile causes,” she added.
RETIRED HEAD SPEAKS EMOTIONALLY OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN April 27 2010
A little Welsh pleasure for guest speaker Henry Dolphin accompanied by club president Mike Mortimer.
The retired head of a special school has spoken emotionally of the many children who didn’t survive their full school life.
Many other children, said Henry Dolphin, retired head of the former Catherine Elliott School, Shrewsbury, were always undergoing operations.
“But it was a great place to work in and we had fun galore. It was a sad day when it came to my retirement.”
Mr. Dolphin, who was speaking to members of the Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire, said he had moved to Shrewsbury as deputy head of the school with children who had ‘tremendous problems.’
“Unfortunately, there are still children with handicaps requiring a lot of help.
“There are children really in need and I ask myself how I would have coped as a child with their handicaps. They made life so wonderful despite their own problems.
“I have come from being an evacuee to living permanently here.”
Mr. Dophin, 70, told the club how he had been evacuated from his native Liverpool at the start of war and found himself in Tregaron, attending a little Welsh school and how he had picked up the Welsh language.
“If war hadn’t broken out I would still have been in Liverpool and life would have been different.”
Added Mr. Dolphin: “It is amazing how our lives can change.”
What a wonderful World
Thanks for Life Pictures by Keith Barnard-Jones.
Rotary International has nearly eliminated Polio.
These pictures are in gratitude for our wonderful world
Rotary in Action
ROTARY’S SUPPORT FOR BROWNIE PACK’S SHELTER BOX
Members of a local Brownie pack have raised half the cost of purchasing a shelter box to support an overseas disaster.
The Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire has added £250 to the £240 raised by the 2nd Shrewsbury United Reformed Church Brownie pack.
Rotary president Mike Mortimer presented the Brownie pack with a cheque on a visit to their fundraising event at the Hive Arts Centre, Belmont, Shrewsbury.
He said afterwards: “The Brownies, under their Guider Penny Lloyd, have done so well in raising half the cost of a shelter box which includes most things a family would need – including a tent – in the event of a disaster.
“We have seen so many in recent times that the Brownie pack’s shelter box could well go very shortly to one of the world’s worst hit disaster zones.
“The Rotary club of Shawbury and Mid Shropshire was unanimous in agreeing to assist the Brownie pack to raise the full amount needed for what will soon be a very worthy overseas cause.”
In the next 30 days..
07/09/2010 Club Weekly Meeting - Speaker. TBA14/09/2010 Club Weekly Meeting - Council and Business Meeting.
21/09/2010 Club Weekly Meeting - Fellowship. TBA
28/09/2010 Club Weekly Meeting - Speaker. TBA
Last Meeting
31/08/2010 Topic: No meetingBank Holiday
