Speakers report 2021-2022

The speakers' programme this year has been varied and challenging. The pandemic allowed us opportunities to open up to ask speakers from further afield to deliver a wide array of topics. It also brought about its own challenges when we moved back to hybrid meetings, with members watching and listening from home whilst others attended in person at the Keavil.

We have had talks that allowed us to hear about ensuring the environment stayed high on the agenda for Rotarians and also allowed us as a group to get involved in local projects, Limekilns Beach Clean, The Great Nerdle Hunt and the Lyneburn corridor project to name a few. We learned about the Forth Village eco project and the challenges of siting and building Wind Turbines along with the obvious (and not so obvious)  benefits that they bring.

We heard from our local emergency services, the Fire Brigade and a really interesting talk from the local police terrorism officer, who gave us a sanitised version of his role and how the government manages threats.

We had talks that took us from the wilds of Alaska to deepest darkest Valleyfield. From meeting a Gold medallist Paralympian and team mate, to a former Olympic Committee member who delivered his talk from America, but hailed from deepest darkest Ayrshire. We also heard from a recently retired professional sportsman on his journey through sport into the next chapter of his life after retiring from full time sport.

We heard from charities that again were wide and varied, through looking after Scotlands forests to how a local charity can help those that have sight issues, and how also the lesser known Carnegie charities are benefitting people around the world.

We have had talks from local businesses and how they have managed to be started and continued to develop through the pandemic.

Finally my thanks to the members who have stepped in and assisted when there has been gaps, Stuart and his boat building, Robert with his Fife coast geology, Grace, Janice & Ian for their Magnus Magnussonesque grilling from Greig.

More importantly thanks to all the members who continued to come along and listen to the talks that I have organised, because it is talks that I wanted to hear.