Students at the Queen Victoria School (QVS) in Dunblane welcomed a special visitor last week when the current president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland John Minhinick came to meet some of the members of the recently-formed QVS Interact club (a Rotary initiative for students aged 14 to 19 years).
Together with his wife Sheila, Mr Minhinick was met by Wendy Bellars, head of QVS and Iain Smith, president of the Bridge of Allan and Dunblane Rotary club - who have sponsored the Interact club - before being shown around the school by the QVS Interact club president, Rebecca Johnson, Vice President Charlie Lynch, Treasurer, Tom King and Head Girl, Kelsey Swan.
Mr Minhinick, a retired meteorologist and a member of Burntisland and Kinghorn Rotary club, gave a short presentation about Rotary and Youth Activities, then took the opportunity to chat with other Interact club members from Lornshill Academy in Alloa and Inverkeithing; as well as Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) candidates from Alloa, Alva, Auchterarder, Callander and Stirling. He also met Euroscola candidates (another Rotary initiative for sixth-form students to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg), Kirsty Gordon McWhirter and Ross Henderson from Callander and Sarah Kelly from Dunblane.
Other Rotary guests included the District Governor, Cath Chorley and her husband Stephen, who is the chairman of the District membership committee - as well as club presidents and members from neighbouring clubs, who were then treated to an excellent lunch provided by the school.