Our First Decade - 1990 - 2000

here's a summary of our Past Presidents and what happened in their years. Not a complete record as this was created retrospectively.

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1989 -1991 Rob Gray was the founder President of the Vale of Belvoir Rotary and including Rob there was a total of 24 Rotarians in the newly formed Club. Rob served for 18 months as President and it was significant that the theme pfor our first year as a Club was “Enjoy Rotary”. I think we still do…

The founder members of the Club were: Denis Bacon, Bill Banner, Jas Bilkhu, Mike Cox, Neil Dexter, Derek Goodacre, John Gray, Bill Handbury, Stephen Hardy, Maurice Hill, Alan Jones, Alan Keen, Mike Morris, Chris Netherwood, Barry Newman, Clive Rees, Allen Richmond, Terry Salmon, John Spence, Geoff Sumner, Philip Taylor, Ian Torr, Mike Twells.

1991 - 92 Clive Rees was a founder member of our Club and given the onerous duty of being our second Club President. Clive secured a major sponsorship with BT to enable club to launch its partnership with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra and a significant donation to ChildLine. Clive left the Club in 2008 to spend most of his time in France, although he never lost contact with us. In 2014 he returned to England and rejoined the Vale of Belvoir Rotary.

1992- 1993 Mike Twells was a founder member of our Club and started off life in the club as Secretary but was delighted to take over the reins as our third Club President.

1993 - 1994 Mike Cox was a founder member of our Club and in his year as President we formed a twinning relationship with Douai in Northern France. We visited them in February 1994 to celebrate our twinning on French soil. In May of the same year we welcomed them back to a “Grand Dinner and Dance” at Belvoir Castle. We also committed to a partnership with The Nottingham Youth Orchestra seeing us put on several concerts at the Royal Concert Hall over many years.

1994 -1995 Bill Banner was a founder member of our Club and was the first of our Club to be awarded the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow for his work with the Rotary District Project Life Education, which, with Rotarian Stephen Kitch, he helped to found in Nottinghamshire in 1995.It was in Bill’s Year that we began a six-year relationship with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra helping raise funds for both our organisations, by holding sponsored concerts in the Royal Concert Hall. The year’s highlight was the Club’s visit to our Twinned Club, Douai Val de Scarp, for the “Grand” Twinning Celebrations in Douai where Bill had to make his after dinner speech using his best school boy French. At the Celebration of the 21st Anniversary of Life Education in Nottinghamshire in 2015, Bill was surprised to receive a Rotary GB&I Service Recognition Award. District Governor, Steve Lawes, made the presentation having recommended the award to Rotary GB&I’s President, Peter King.

1995 - 1996 Rob Whiteman, joined Rotary in 1992 and was with us until 2010 when he decided to travel extensively. We occasionally see him when he returns for his annual visit to England.

1996 - 1997 Michael Morris was a founder member of our Club and had taken over the role as Secretary when Mike Twells had become Senior Vice President. During his Presidential year we continued our relationship with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra and were able to make sizeable donations to a Nottinghamshire Hospice and help a homeless charity undertake support work in Rushcliffe. Michael continued Club’s work with the fitting of smoke alarms with housebound elderly and disabled throughout the Club’s catchment area. Michael and Gordon Oldham prepared the programme for the annual concert with the Nottingham Youth Orchestra and in recent years Michael has assumed responsibility for the programmes for the Vale’s Got Talent “live shows” and the set up and maintenance of the Club’s website.

1997 -1998 Derek Goodacre was a founder member of our Club. He was the first chairman of our Community Services Committee holding office from 1990 until 1995 and then again from 2011 -14. In his presidential year we continued fitting Smoke Alarms for the housebound elderly and disabled residents in our area.

1998 - 1999 Chris Netherwood was a founder member of our Club and was instrumental, when he was Community Services Chairman (2006), in forming the Club’s Community Fund. Chris became chair of our Youth Committee in 2014 and introduced, in 2015, our first Art Competition for Primary School Children. It seemed to inspire some of our budding artists and perhaps this is another of Chris’ ideas that will be part of our club for many years into the future. Chris has become famous for “photo bombing” which he now has down to a fine art! He also likes to spice up some his photographic opportunities with his own personal slant…

1999 - 2000 Steve Lawes was introduced to Rotary by Rob Whiteman and welcomed into club, when Mike Twells was President, in February 1993. At the turn of the century, in our 10th year, he became our Club President. Steve served on District Council for many years: 2002-05 Conference Registration Officer; 2005-07 International Committee; 2007/8 International Chairman; 2008-11 Assistant Governor Trent Group; 2012 Extension Officer; 2013 District Governor Nominee; 2014 Distric t Governor Elect; 2015 District Governor. In Steve’s Presidential year we started to raise funds for the ambitious plan to purchase a vehicle to enable Dove Hospice in collecting people to attend their day unit.

Steve went on to serve on District Committees before taking on one of the top Rotary job’s as District Governor. He remembers telling John Bendall, when he toolk over as DG, that he would be interested in working at District level. He thought nothing about it.but a few months later he received a phone call reminding him of his offer and the next thing he knew he was appointed as District Conference Registration Officer – a simple job to bring the registration into the 21st century and computerise it. This he did for the next 3 years – and he became a fully fledged member of the District Team. Steve remembers that it was on a trip to see the Blackpool lights following conference and that he was sitting with John Kirkland & Roy Parsons. He was asked if he’d ever stand as DG and replied “no way I’m happy just doing what he am doing” Little did he know but the grooming had started!

A couple of years later he was asked to join the District International Committee and then he took over as Chairman in 2007-08. it was towards the end of this year that events changed and his Rotary career took another step forward. He was asked to stand as an Assistant Governor for the Trent Group – just after taking on the task of International Chair. He was initially reluctant to do so but there are many persuasive Rotarians and soon he was nominated for the position. He was successfully elected and promoted to the dizzy heights as an Assistant Governor in the year 2008-09. He was unsuccessful when he first stood as District Governor but in 2011 he was successful in becoming District Governor Nominee for District 1220, becoming District Governor two years later.

Our First Decade - 1990 - 2000 sub-pages:

Related pages...

Our Fourth Decade, 2019 onwards

more here's the summaries of our activities in the 4th Decade

Our Third Decade 2010 - 2019

more 10 More Presidents - 2010 - 2019

Our Second Decade 2000 - 2009

more Ten more Presidents lead Vale of Belvoir Club

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Our meetings over the years

back Here you can read about the many meetings we've had during our formation as a Rotary Club. The early years are a little short on detail...