District Governor visit

On Thursday 22nd August the Rotary Club of South Queensferry welcomed District Governor Jo Pawley to the weekly meeting in the Hawes Inn. Jo, who took office in June, congratulated the club for its recent success in achieving £1million for charity over ten years with the Forth Bridge Abseil. She said that this and many other worthwhile projects showed the club was one of the most active and enthusiastic in District 1020. Jo reminded members of the assistance available to Rotary Clubs through District. She also brought greetings from Daniel Maloney, President of Rotary International whose motto was 'Rotary Connects the World'.

Jo also highlighted the problems faced by Rotary. Though the organisation was expanding in many countries, particularly in the Far East and Asia, clubs in English- speaking countries were suffering from reduced membership owing to the age profile of members, many of whom were in retirement, and low recruitment figures. She emphasised that Rotary must change and adapt to suit the lifestyles and expectations of younger people and gave several examples of ways clubs had achieved this by making meetings less formal, changing frequency of meetings and co-operating with other clubs in joint projects. A club had been formed among staff members at St John's Hospital for example, concentrating on medical projects, and several satellite clubs had been formed in District 1020, becoming involved in Rotary on a project by project basis without the formality of a traditional club. Jo's presentation was well received by members and guests and gave rise to many questions from the floor. She was introduced by Vice President Irene Brownless. Junior Vice President Derek Clark proposed the vote of thanks.

ROTARY GIVES BOOST TO CHRISTMAS

In Other Business, President Jim McCulloch announced that the club had agreed to donate £1,500 to Christmas in Queensferry to go towards upgrading lamp standards to take Christmas decorations. He also announced a donation of £1,200 to Christmas in Kirkliston. David Buchanan thanked the club and explained that this will go to providing new Christmas lighting at the roundabout in Kirkliston.

SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE

The August-September issue of Spotlight Magazine carries the announcement of a Rotary Vintage and Classic Car Show at Hopetoun House on Sunday September 23rd. This was not submitted by Rotary and was an inadvertent repeat of last year's announcement by the magazine. There will be no Rotary Car Show at Hopetoun  House this year.