Member Profile - Maggie Allan

In brief:

• Member of Leith Rotary since: July 1990
• Rotary Hall of Fame: the first woman member of Rotary in Scotland, and leading the organisation of the successful Tall Ships Pageant in July 1995 with Cron Mackay.
• Special interest / skill: spotting and nurturing talent in others, through the Club and the wider network of Friends of Leith Rotary.

“I have greatly appreciated all the opportunities that Rotary has given me and all the friends I have made both locally and internationally”

Maggie was introduced to Leith Rotary Club in 1990 and was Scotland’s first female member, a position which she navigated with her quiet diplomacy and determination. She describes the first women members in Scotland as meeting “some resistance” but believes all Rotary women have since amply justified the decision by making significant contributions to their Clubs. As for Leith Rotary, she describes being the only woman at that time as being “that lucky person.”

Lucky for Leith Rotary too, since within five years of joining, Maggie was club President (1995-6) and has serviced on most committees over the last 34 years.

Maggie holds special memories of working with Rotarian Cron Mackay to make the Leith Pageant, which Leith Rotary had been running for some time, into something “extra special” in 1995 when the Tall Ships came to Leith.  The event raised £10,000 for a new lifeboat at Dunbar, and contributed to local charities.

As Chair of the International Committee for several of her years with the club, Maggie forged a close link with a charity in Ethiopia called BEKA (which means Enough in Amharic). BEKA works with street children in Addis Ababa, providing them with education, clothing, and a foster mother. Foster mothers are supported to earn a living for the family through weaving and cooking initiatives. Maggie visited the charity twice to pass on money raised through Leith Rotary charity concerts and got to see and understand their work first-hand. “Their smiling happy faces were a great reward for the work we put into organising the concerts.”

Maggie has also been the Speakers’ Secretary and Chair of the Membership Committee in her time. She has exemplified the Rotary spirit of team work, and service before self.