Club Handover, Welland Park

Market Harborough Rotary Club is pioneering an innovative way to share responsibilities in the club. Rather than have a single President leading the club for a whole year, as is normally done, the club has 6 former club presidents who will each reprise the role for 2 months. The six share all the normal presidential roles as a team throughout the year. Other rotary clubs are keen to find out how this plan works.

The new rotary year started on July 1st and the club met for an outdoor meeting at the bandstand in Welland Park, Market Harborough to handover to the new presidents. The meeting was attended by Rotary Area Governor Parvez Bhatty. The first President is Rotarian Hilary Hearnshaw. She thanked immediate past President Led Dodd for his leadership for the past year. She commended his commitment to the club in being caring, reliable, supportive, willing, self-effacing, active and present.

The major events in the last year included the Rotary SwiMarathon in March, from which 20 local organisations received grants towards their work. Also, the club planted over 100 trees in Welland Park in May, the monthly Carers'Cafe, served mulled wine and mince pies in St Dionysius church at the town's Christmas Fair and helped with the East Midlands Rotary Disability Games in April. They also held street collections for emergency packs for the earthquakes in Morocco and Libya, and to support the Matt Hampson Trust and Home Start.