Club Meeting — Presidential Handover

Outgoing president Bill Jones welcomed eleven other members and one guest, the Rev Dr Whit Malone from Hickory, North Carolina, who is currently here on a pastoral exchange with the minister of Helensburgh Parish Church, the Rev David Young, and who was a guest of Gordon Burgess.

After lunch Dr Malone, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and a pastor for 33 years, spoke about his work in Hickory, which has four rotary clubs which often work together on projects to help the community and were part of its fabric.

Originally a Southern Baptist living in the Bible Belt in southern America, he became a Presbyterian in college. He said that Hickory was famous worldwide for its furniture and hosiery manufacturing.

Dr Malone, who was presented with a club banner by president Bill, made the draw for the monthly raffle, this time for a bottle of The McAllan, and the winner was Dave Campbell. He also made the weekly draw for a whisky miniature — and won it himself as guest no.1!

The presidential handover then followed, with Bill Jones investing his successor, Gordon Burgess, with the chain of office and in turn receiving a past president's jewel and badge. The new president then presented the vice-president's badge of office to Mike Jane.

Gordon, who previously served as president in 1980-81 and is only the second member to serve a second term, proposed that the club should write to Scottish Government Health Minister Shona Robison and the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board to join other local protests about the proposed withdrawal of out of hours GP services at the Vale of Leven Hospital. This was agreed unanimously.