91st. Charter Celebration

A call on members to intensify their efforts to attract new recruits to the Rotary movement was made at the 91st anniversary celebration at Faenol Fawr of the founding of North Wales oldest club, Rhyl. District Governor Molly Youd, of Yale Wrexham, the first woman Rotarian to hold this top office, praised the long and distinguished contribution Rhyl had given to Rotary throughout its proud existence and urged every individual member to continue to commit themselves to proclaim the wonderful opportunities to enjoy the service and fun by becoming part of this international organisation of 35,000 clubs and 1.2 million members world-wide. The potential of creating a local satellite club was well worth pursuing she said, adding that no club could afford to stand aside from the need for change and innovation and expect to survive for very long. Congratulating Rhyl, a widely recognized centre of strong community, national and international charitable endeavour, in particular for its focused support for Rotary’s monumental campaign to eradicate the killer disease polio from the face of the earth, she believed that this year could see that incredible objective become a reality. “When this remarkable aspiration was first launched over 20 years ago, there were 1000 new cases of polio being reported every day, but now so far this year that number has dwindled to just seven,” she revealed. “Not a single new case has been identified for several weeks now, so 2017 could see our amazing dream finally accomplished.” Earlier President Rod Brocklehurst, in a comprehensive summary of a year of diverse charitable and social events, thanked all members for their various contributions and loyal support, and especially acclaimed the outstanding work of secretary Gordon Marshall. Despite taking on the additional and extremely arduous twin duties of District Secretary, he had still managed to maintain his key role as a crucial figure in the running of the Rhyl club, added the appreciative President. An impressive link between childhood misconceptions about people of different nationalities and backgrounds from our own, through the wider perspective and enlightened appreciation acquired by life experience, was drawn by Reverend Brian Kay, in his effective and relevant toast to Rotary International. The President concluded the evening with grateful thanks to the capacity attendance, drawn from numerous parts of the district, including representatives from neighbouring clubs Abergele, St Asaph, Ruthin, Prestatyn and Colwyn Bay, for their support and encouragement.