Club Meeting — Angela Pearson

PRESIDENT-ELECT Douglas Dow welcomed ten other members and guest Angela Pearson, chair of the Helensburgh and District ENABLE Volunteers Committee.

Community Service convener Bill Deans said that the previous day he and Derek Hall had decorated the club's entry in the annual Christmas Tree Festival in the United Reformed Church in West Princes Street. There are 40 Christmas trees and a number of supporting events during the festival, and he recommended that members should visit it.

Reay Mackay is planning to donate old tools to a good cause, and he invited any other members to contribute any tools they no longer needed.

Angela Pearson pointed out that there were two ENABLE organisations in the town, the paid support workers, and her group of volunteers who run Tuesday and Thursday clubs for local people with learning difficulties and also arrange and subsidise trips and holidays for them.

She said: "The people we help like to have volunteers helping them who are not paid, and we are always on the lookout for anyone who can help, especially with crafts. We have to do all our own fundraising, and we rely on other local organisations to help us."

Douglas presented her with a cheque for £620, the proceeds of the club's recent Wine Tasting in the Commodore Hotel organised by Bill Deans and his committee.

Gordon Burgess told members that his son Craig had told him that Bill Gates had just made an eight million dollar donation to the 'End Polio Now' campaign.

The weekly raffle for a whisky miniature was won by Bill Jones.