Club Chronicle

4 June 2026: Business Meeting

Ten members attended this Business Meeting on Zoom, although only eight had logged in by the time this screenshot was taken. The rest of us could not see or hear one member but he could hear us and send us messages via Chat.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed by the President as a true record. The Treasurer reported that there had been little movement on the Club’s bank accounts the previous month, although we did pay the lunch costs for two speakers.

The End Polio Now badges for Club members should be received shortly. Peter Kemp mentioned that a friend had given him a cheque for £50 for the End Polio Now fund; he will pass this to the Treasurer.

The closing date for bookings for the President’s lunch on 25 June is 13 June. Twenty-two bookings have been received so far.

We have provided for up to 25 people to accept our invitations to the Senior Citizens’ Party at the Chapter House. To date we have acceptances from 20. We need to update the risk assessment. The Cathedral requires any electrical equipment we use to be battery-operated. We should check whether they allow the use of equipment that has been PAT tested. The lift is currently out of action, which could cause problems for the less mobile as the only toilets are upstairs. We have agreed that this year we should have bingo instead of a quiz during the interval.

President Graham reported that plans for next year’s Centenary of Rotary in Chelmsford celebrations, in conjunction with the other Chelmsford Clubs, were progressing. Warwick Aldham said he had been impressed when he attended the recent Chelmsford “Vol Fest”; we agreed to consider taking part next year.

Farleigh Hospice has agreed that the memorial bench for late member George Harris can be placed in their garden. Peter Kemp will order a suitable bench and arrange for a plaque.

President Graham said he had been contacted by the new owners of The Hare in Roxwell about a Rotary collection box they found there containing money. The box is labelled “Rotary Club of Rochford”; Graham will arrange to collect it. He was asked to consider The Hare as a possible venue for future meetings.

Rotary Young Musician District Final

Report by Anne Moriaty

The District Final took place in Brentwood Cathedral on Saturday 28 February in the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Chelmsford, Cllr Smita Rajesh, and her consort.

The audience were treated to a lovely concert with high standard performances from five vocalists and six instrumentalists. Sadly there could only be two winners going through to the Regional Final and after lengthy deliberations the accolades went to pianist Tailin Liu sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bishops Stortford and vocalist Harry Sunderland sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dunmow.

Our Chelmsford winners, Henrietta Lawrence and Chloe Mahler were worthy runners-up.

I had the honour of giving out the certificates and the Deputy Mayoress presented the winner and runner-up trophies.

Collection for Marie Curie

On 25 February 2026 President Graham, Francis Whitbread, Keith Dabbs, Anne Moriety and Steve, worked as a team at Morrisons Supermarket to collect monies on behalf of the Marie Curie charity. We collected a handsome sum, of which £80 was collected via card payment through the “SumUp” device. We enjoyed the day and special thanks to Francis who made the arrangements and remained all day throughout others’ slots. A photo opportunity could not go amiss.