Visit to the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills
President Chris & Hazel paid a visit to the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills.
President Chris & Hazel visited the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills which meets at the "star's hotel" - The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard - yikes! how posh is that? There's a good chance you might bump into someone famous in the lobby but, on this particular day, the stars were all taking lunch elsewhere!
A warm welcome was received from President "AJ" Willmer and the 95 members present. There were other Brits on our table: A visitor from the Rotary Club of Truro and a brand-new member of the Beverly Hills Club, Freddie Windsor (married to the actress Sophie Winkleman and son of the Duke & Duchess of Kent) I said it was posh!
As you might expect at such a prestigious venue, the lunch and the service were outstanding (if a little expensive at $35 each) but this high standard was replicated by the flow of the meeting.
There were two extraordinary speakers;
First the Youth Opportunities Officer introduced a 17 year old High School student and spoke about an amazing programme which the Rotary Club is sponsoring to reduce the number of fatalities caused by drink-driving, drugged-driving and text-message driving. A team goes into local High Schools and does a drama workshop in which a fatal road accident has occurred. The "fatalities" are hidden away and the rest of the students are led to feel what it is like to learn that their friends have died. Then there's more to come; The "Fatalities" write letters from "beyond the grave" to their mothers and friends explaining how sorry they are that they were stupid enough to ride in a car when the driver was drunk, drugged or sending text messages when the accident happened. By the time our 17 year old visitor had read out her "Letter to Mum" nearly everyone in the room was in tears. Hard-hitting or what?! The programme is having a really positive effect and the number of youth fatalities is dropping rapidly.
The second speaker was Robert Gupta, a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. After playing a Bach violin sonata beautifully he introduced the charity he has founded - Street Symphony - http://www.streetsymphony.org - which brings music therapy to the mentally ill living on "Skid Row" in Los Angeles (80,000 people!!!). Groups from the orchestra go down to Skid Row and play to the homeless; Apparently the positive effect on their well-being and happiness is extraordinary. They are about to extend their activities to offer music therapy to Dementia sufferers - an exact parallel with the work of "Sing For Your Life", one of our nominated charities. Robert Gupta then played some more Bach to wind up his talk. What a treat!
The final impression of the meeting? The $8 Valet Parking!! As 95 Rotarians and a further 200 lady delegates from another meeting in the hotel all left at almost the same moment, we only had to wait 90 seconds for our car to be brought to the front entrance of the hotel!
Now that's Beverly Hills service!
'What We Do' Main Pages:
The Foundation Committee seeks to raise awareness of Rotary's own Charity, THE ROTARY FOUNDATION, and organise events to raise funds for the projects undertaken by the Rotary Foundation.
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Westgate and Birchington Rotary Club Funds Improvements at Christ Church Community Hall in Westgate
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Mike O'Toole is our Sergeant-at-Arms
moreThe International Committee is responsible for coordinating the Contact Club arrangements with the Rotary Club of Poitiers Futuroscope and the Rotary Club of Darmstadt Kranichstein. The Committee also seeks to support overseas charities with fundraising
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Successful RYLA candidates,Elizabeth Irvine and Emily Robertson report on their experiences at the Arethusa Venture Centre
moreWe are always delighted to welcome guests to our meetings who may be considering joining the Rotary Family. Please contact our Secretary, Dave Alker to enquire about booking in.
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President Chris & Hazel Hedges paid a visit to the Rotary Club of Westwood Village, Los Angeles
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A "Sing For Your Life" "MUSIC BOX" has been handed over to East Kent Independent Dementia Support (EKIDS). From left: Adrian Bawtree, Tessa Read, Roger Newman MBE, Chris Hedges, Derek Brown & Richard Parkin
moreCommunity Service Committee is responsible for organising fund-raising and social events, community service projects and recommending payments to external charities.
moreThe Rotary Clubs of Thanet are committed to providing opportunities and support for young people.
moreMick Stokes is our Dining Steward and is charge of arranging our venues and gourmet refreshment.
moreHere is an archive of news and activities over the last 10 years
moreThe Inner Wheel Club of Westgate & Birchington is a close member of our Rotary family. Its members are predominently relations of Rotarians but membership is open to any lady who is sponsored by an exisiting member.
moreClub Council normally meets on the last Monday of every month at Church House, Birchington at 7.00 pm.
moreIn recent years we have supported a wide range of local, national and international charities
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The "Strictly Come Rotary" Dance Competition was staged on Saturday 13th April 2013 at The Winter Gardens in aid of "Alfie's Trust"
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The winners of the Young Photographer Competition were presented with their awards by the Editor of The Isle of Thanet Gazette, Rebecca Smith
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An excellent portfolio of entries was received from competitors in the 2014 Young Photographer Competition. Very well done!
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A Musical Soiree was held in the Chapel at St Augustine's to raise funds for the charity "Sing For Your Life"
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The good news is YOU ARE ON OUR WEBSITE!! Please visit it regularly to find news of our latest efforts to serve our community. MEMBERS - PLEASE CHECK THE HOME PAGE EACH WEEK!!!
moreMemebers enjoyed a comprehensive wine tasting experience and dined in style.
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RIBI President John Minhinick and his wife Sheila attended a Dinner and Presentations for Rotarians in East Kent on Tuesday 4th September 2012
moreSanta's coming!! He'll be coming to a street near you in December" PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY TO SUPPORT OUR CHARITIES!!
moreThe Joint Rotary Clubs of Thanet together with Kent Music presented the seventh annual Schools Prom at The Winter Gardens, Margate
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A party of Club Members and their partners travelled to Leipzig for the annual Contact Club Reunion with the Rotary Clubs of Darmstadt-Kranichstein and Poitiers-Futuroscope
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Chris Hedges's President's Night Dinner Dance was held on Friday 7th June 2013 at St Augustine's, Westgate-on-Sea
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Members constructed a raised garden area for the students at the Hearing-Impaired Unit with matched funding gained from a District Grant of $1000.
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Following the successful bid for a District Grant, a Sensory Garden, adjacent to the Hearing Impaired Unit at Hartsdown Academy, was constructed by Rotarians. The "Oasis" was formally opened by Past President Chris Hedges on Friday 27th September
moreThe Club enjoys a number of sporting activities in conjunction with other Rotary Clubs, including Bowls and Golf competitions. The Sports Coordinator is John Hawkins.
moreRotarian Allan Harris is our Club shop manager and arranges for members to purchase Rotary regalia, clothing and jewellery.
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A large gathering of Rotarians and guests enjoyed the annual Christmas Dinner which was made more special by the induction of Christine Laming and the award of the Moulsdale Trophy to Eddie Doody
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A party of Rotarians and members of Inner Wheel attended Evensong "Celebrating Rotary" in Rochester Cathedral on Sunday 17th February 2013
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