AGM and Club Assembly

The Rotary Club of St Andrews met virtually on Wednesday to hold its Annual General Meeting or Club Assembly.  Attended by 31 members, the meeting afforded the outgoing President, Hamish Tait, the opportunity to reflect on the past year, before demitting office in favour of the President Elect, Colin Mitchell.

The outgoing President described the previous twelve months as bizarre, with the majority of the proposals and activities that he had highlighted a year ago as having been put on hold.  One project that had been successful, however, was the Books Abroad initiative, which had benefitted greatly from donations from individuals and Madras College.  Despite the many restrictions, an impressive £14,363 has been made available to support a wide variety of causes during the year.

Ian Dochard then presented his last report as Treasurer and having taken the meeting through the annual accounts, he was thanked for the fantastic way in which he had managed the Club’s finances over the course of many years.

In offering his thoughts for the next twelve months, the President Elect said his message to everyone was to have fun!  Engagement with the local community was going to be important, as was the starting-up of many of the activities that are currently on hold.  He stressed, too, the importance of fellowship, fund raising and the ability to adapt to meet our obligations given the prevailing circumstances. 

Additionally, the Club was pleased to welcome to the meeting Ranald Barrie, the Assistant District Governor. He thanked the outgoing President and his Team for all that had been achieved during a very challenging year, particularly with regards to supporting the local community.  Whilst it remained difficult to predict what might lie ahead, he concluded his comments by asking the Club to look at ways of increasing its membership, especially by recruiting younger members.