Friday 30th June 2023

Valedictory Address 30th June 2023 

Fellow Rotarians, Honoured Guests. I want to start this Valediction by thanking all my fellow club members for the help, support and encouragement they have given me during my Presidential Year. It has been a very busy and enjoyable year and the speed at which it has passed is worrying – I believe there is a theory that, the more you do, the faster time goes. So, I find myself here at the last meeting of my year in office with the first meeting of the year almost 12 months ago, still fresh in my memory. Well, that is just not true is it Tina, as at that first meeting, I was 200 miles away in London. Thanks, for standing in for me. 

I hope you have enjoyed our meetings and events during the past 12 months. I am determined not to just read out a chronological list of things we have done through the year, that would just put you all to sleep. I do, however want to recall what the club has achieved this past 12 months. 

It is in the DNA of this club to have a healthy social element to what we do. We have often been seen entering Fish and Chip establishments, journeying on a steam heritage railway or cruising on a canal. We do also use “Shanks’s Pony” occasionally, with a Christmas Walk. Afternoon Teas, Quiz Nights, an annual club visit to RC Keighley, our Carol Service, a joint Christmas lunch with RC Bingley and our, dare I say, legendary social evenings. I will never, ever forget the evenings with the two lads who rowed the Atlantic and the talk by Debs on Interrogation Resistance, both of which were extremely enjoyable and very well attended. They raised a lot of money for our Charity Fund or more specifically, for my Charities, not just from our own club members but from Family and Friends, Rotarians from other clubs and from golf club members. Now you may just have noticed that these events all involved food. Well, you do have to keep your strength up, don’t you. (The more observant of you will remember that comment from my Address in 2014). 

How am I ever going to lose weight if all this continues! However, I digress. 

Thinking about community, I recall the photo shoot in the grounds of Cartwright Hall to celebrate the flowering of our Rotary Wheel, [photo] I laid a wreath on behalf of all the Bradford and District Rotary Clubs at the Remembrance Services at Undercliffe Cemetery and on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in Bradford. Also, the litter picking at Undercliffe Cemetery, the Carol Service in Bradford Cathedral, the Lord Mayor’s reception for the G10 group and in helping with the RC of Bradford West’s Shoebox Appeal. The one regret I have though, is that I have not inducted any new members. This was however, tempered by the induction of Ed Anderson, the LordLieutenant of West Yorkshire as an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Bradford at a ceremony at Bowcliffe Hall. While Ed may not be able to attend our meetings, hopefully as an Honorary Rotarian, he will be able to promote Rotary and it’s aims. 

Continuing on the theme of membership, it has been a disappointment to me that we have some members who have not attended a meeting during my year. I do not take this personally, as I know that they have busy lives, have families, run businesses and to some, Friday is a Holy Day. Having said this, I believe that without interacting with fellow Rotarians and joining in the fellowship of our meetings, they are missing an essential part of being a Rotarian. I sincerely hope that, in the new Rotary Year, we will welcome some of these members at our meetings. 

Our Interact Club at Bradford Grammar School is flourishing and I, along with Caroline Murie attended their Charter Party recently. We had visits from Tayfun Sakici, from the RC of Gaziantep Yesemek in Turkey with his family and Erik Avetisov from the RC of Kharkiv International in the Ukraine, who is now living in Aberdeen, affiliated to the RC of Ythan Valley. 

Our New Year’s message was given by the Rev Rob Savage and we had an unforgettable talk from Emilia Merenmies on her visits to the Ukraine to deliver humanitarian aid. Our 101st charter lunch eventually went ahead after being postponed due to “the copious amount of white fluffy stuff” (I could have just said snow) and our 100 Club Draw continues >>> to add funds to our Charity Account. 

Jane and myself have attended four charter events with other members attending Charters when we could not, we attended the 1040 Conference in Scarborough and I have Zoomed into various G10, District Council and District Foundation meetings and I along with Martin and Mike, attended the recent District Assembly in person. 

We have sadly lost members during the year. The death of Alan Rogers was to me personally a hugely sad event and also a blow to the club, as before he became ill, he was so involved in everything that we did. We also mourned the passing of our Queen and we lost Geoff Nixon, an Honorary member of the club and recently, Julia Bentham, the wife of past member Eric. 

I also attended, along with other members of the club, the Headstone Unveiling Ceremony of our much-missed past member, Paul Moss. 

Raising money for good causes is something the club has always done. This year we have distributed over £10,000 to a variety of charities. We successfully applied and received a District Matching Grant which enabled the club to present £2000 to HealthCare 4 All International. This charity was founded by Tariq Shah, a member of this club. This money is being used to train a radiographer which will offer improved health care to rural and remote communities at their clinic in the Mirpur district of Kashmir in Pakistan. 

It also gave me a lot of pleasure to present £1200 to Sue Scarborough [pictured] and Mary Seal for The Children’s Charity Circle – Bradford & District, which helps needy children and the same amount to John Tempest [pictured] for The Bradford Soup Run. John gave us what I think could be described as “a florid and detailed account” of his work with the homeless in Bradford – he is quite a character. I chose these two Charities before I became President and I have not regretted my choice. 

We have had some very good speakers at our meetings (that does not include me) so many thanks to our speaker finder Chris who along with John Parker, always came up trumps when the speaker had to cancel. I apologise if this has turned into a list but I could not think of a different way to reflect on the life of this club over the last twelve months. 

I finish by thanking you all for being involved in the life of the club, especially the officers who work hard on our behalf. I cannot list here all that you have done for the club but you know who you are and what you have done and I thank you for your help and your commitment to this club. 

I now ask you all, in the year to come, to support Martin just as you have supported me. 

If I have missed anything or anyone, I apologise but that’s what getting old does to you 

Thank you for listening and for staying awake. 

Yours in Rotary, 

John.