Business Meeting and SGM

At the Special General Meeting on Thursday evening, the following officers were elected for the Rotary year 2013-14: President, Colin Strachan; President Elect, Peter Farr; President Nominee, Mary Fraser; Treasurer, Russell Wheater; Assistant Treasurer, John Anderson and Secretary, Iain Fraser.

President Iain Smith presented a cheque to Eve Isles McLeerey and thanked her and the staff at the Westlands for looking after us so well over the year.

            As part of a monthly series of talks to fellow members about the many projects the various club committees are involved with every year, Community convenor John Kilby said that auditing 4,000 plastic ducks in preparation for the club's annual duck race is just one of the more intriguing jobs that club and his team will be undertaking. Although it is such a popular event, the duck race is probably the most challenging to organise, not least because once the ducks have been counted and numbered, they all have to be sold. We look for sponsors, approach retail outlets to allow us to sell the ducks to the public, then seek donations to prepare the hampers that are given out as prizes, he said. "It's a wonderful opportunity to engage with the public, who have always supported the event enthusiastically. As a result we have been able to donate several thousands of pounds to CHAS and ChildLine during the last few years."

            And there's never time for a breather after the race - which is part of The Dunblane Fling event in Dunblane - because the members then turn a hand to producing hundreds of crepes to sell to visitors. In fact their pancake prowess is almost legendary - as crepes are also enjoyed annually at the Doune & Dunblane Show and the .

            Mr Kilby said other highlights of the year included the senior citizens' Winter Treat, the Am-Am golf tournament (that sadly had to be cancelled this year because of bad weather) and the Beat Beethoven fun run which raised more than £9,000 for CHAS and Parkinson's .