Our History

Erskine & District Rotary Club 

A History Begun..................

On 15^th August 2001 a group of people were invited to attend an exploratory meeting about Rotary with a view to starting a Rotary Club in Erskine encompassing Bishopton and Inchinnan.

There were approximately 16 people at the first meeting and it was agreed to meet every fortnight on a Wednesday to further explore the viability of a club in this area. Fortnightly meetings continued until January 2002 when it was decided to meet weekly. The membership grew and diminished over this period with sometimes as little as five people at the meeting: of the original sixteen attendees six have continued with the club.

Much of the effort focused on the framework of Rotary and gaining an understanding of Rotary, the rules and the purpose. Members of the District Executive visited to advise us on different areas of activities. There was a considerable sense of well-being and, with the club being the first newly created club in the District for 6 years, there was a lot of interest. Although Donald McNeil kept reminding us of the fun that was Rotary, it was a shade remote in these first 'serious' inputs. Richard Norris took us through the procedures and protocols that enables Rotary to function efficiently in individual clubs and as a worldwide entity. The club began to develop with the club members taking more responsibility and introducing new members: it began to be obvious we were becoming viable. The club at this time agreed to change to a Monday evening since Wednesday was proving difficult for many members. This again created a problem for some attendees and we lost some interested people.

The Club now had 22 people coming regularly who were ready to commit to continuing and it was decided to go forward for Inauguration. The Club was Inaugurated on 8th April 2002 leading to becoming Chartered and therefore a fully established Club on 20 May 2002.

An Inauguration Dinner was organised on 8th April and attended by many of the local clubs. District Governor Jim Moulson chaired the event.

 The Charter Dinner, which took place on 20 May 2002, was the first major event mounted by club members and was a great success. It was attended by approximately 140 people from clubs throughout the District. District Governor Jim Moulson chaired the event with David Liddiad, President of Rotary GB&I in attendance. The main speaker was James Wardrop, Depute Lieutenant of Renfrewshire.  

On behalf of the Club Susan McLean, President, received the chain of Office from the sponsoring club of Renfrew, President Jonathan Parkin.

Rotary history notes:
The gifts we were given on our charter were
1. A personal gift of the Bell and Stand from the then District Governor and his wife Jim and Fiona Moulson.
2. The Lectern was given to us from the Rotary Club of Paisley - President at the time Alan MacDonald.
3. The gavel and stand were given by the Rotary Club of Irvine Seagate. The President at the time was Donald Watson and it was presented at our first International evening.
4. The chain of office was given by the 'Mother' Club - the Rotary Club of Renfrew - President at the time Jonathan Parkins.

First Club Officials

President                                       Susan McLean

Senior Vice President                  John Paton

Junior Vice President                   Duncan Boyd

Secretary                                       Lindsay Cunningham

Treasurer                                       Graham Stevenson

Committee Conveners

International                                 Roberta Gaitan

Youth Activities                            Anne Docherty

Community                                    Sam Mullin

Membership                                   Susan Thomson

Foundation                                     John Whitefield

Speaker Secretary                      Susan Andrews

The fun, fellowship and purposeful work began.

The story goes on..........................