Wolverhampton Rotaract on the way back.

By Richard Green

Our 100th potential Rotoractor!

In a joint venture involving 4 of the 5 Wolverhampton Rotary Clubs, we spent 3 days at the Wolverhampton and Walsall campus’ of the university, talking to new and returning students about our plans to re-start the Wolverhampton Rotaract club.

This is Rotary International’s great club for 18 – 30 year old men and women. There are 190,000 Rotaractors in over 7000 clubs worldwide, giving the opportunity for young people to enjoy fun and fellowship, and getting involved in Rotary service projects at the same time.

The results during freshers week look encouraging. Nearly 200 students expressed some interest and the next step will be to arrange an interest meeting to see if we can carry the initiative forward.

It follows the highly successful launch of a Rotaract club at Keele university last year and we were encouraged by the fact that some of the students we spoke to had already been Interactors at their secondary schools both in the UK and abroad.

Richard Green.

By Past District Governor Richard Green

I was invited to be a guest at the District 1145 Conference in Bournemouth to meet up with a great friend of the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton – Jenny Seagrove, who was a speaker there. 

We heard the national winning vocalist of this year’s Rotary Young Musician Competition, Eyra Norman who had been sponsored by the Rotary Club of Godalming.  

Past President, the Rotary Club of Godalming Vivien Gillman with Eyra Norman and Jenny Seagrove – proudly showing their support for the End Polio campaign with the Polio bear mascot.

16 year old Eyra is a delightful young lady with a stunning voice, and she will certainly achieve her aim of becoming as professional opera singer. She will probably be offered a choice of world famous music schools to pursue her studies including the Mozarteum in Salzberg or the Juilliard in New York. 

I suggested that Eyra might sing at Jenny’s annual carol concert which takes place on Sunday, December 10^th at the church of St Peter and St.Paul in Godalming and, after hearing her performance, Jenny was very keen for this to happen.  

The concert is one of many fund raisers organised in support of the Mane Chance Horse Sanctuary near Guildford. Club members may remember Jenny’s talk when she visited us and it was the subject of her presentation at the conference. The sanctuary is going from strength to strength and there are visits by children from deprived backgrounds and the local hospice, because these children gain tremendous benefit from interacting with the horses. 

During her talk, Jenny told the audience of 600 that her father and grandfather had both been Rotarians, but she had drifted away from the Rotary family until her visit to us at Wolverhampton and our own District conference, after which she has become a great supporter of Rotary causes – including the End Polio campaign. She is also now a patron of the Rotary Jaipur Limb committee.

She is busy rehearsing for a new West End play ‘The Exorcist,’ which is due to open at the end of October, but she has fond memories of her visit to us and asked to be remembered to all her friends at the Rotary club of Wolverhampton.

We say a grateful thanks to the Express and Star for their support of our event and the coverage that they gave it on the day, and also on the presentation of the cheques to the charities involved hed recently at the Mayors Parlour.

Also, we thank them for their kind words in the Editorial section of the newspaper on the same day where they acknowledge the good works of not only our Rotary Club but also, the many other service organisations who help communities both near and far.

Thank you.

Click on the link here to read the article.

Express and Star Editorial

There was a good representation of the Patrons whose donations provided the “Treasure Chest”, which was released for the Charities by the laps logged on the day.  Also present were DG Carol Reilly, Cosford Station Commander, Group Captain Tone Baker, the Editor of the Express & Star, the Deputy MD of the Council and Trustees of The James Beattie Charitable Trust.

Acting President Paul with William Hughes.

Mayor Elias Mattu and AP Paul with a Centurion Guard of Honour (+ William).

Wolverhampton & Bilston Centurions – Kellie Green; Tina Smith; Fred Smith; Brian Slater; Ian Cresswell; Martha Cummings and Todd Green. £1,110 released from the Treasure Chest.

This was the fifth staging of the event and lifted the total sum from which charities, predominantly local, have benefitted to over £98,000. Of this £58,00 has be provided as the Treasure Chest by the Patrons, and the other £40,000 by charities and groups who have hitched a ride on the back of BFF, to raise funds for their own needs

.The occasion was a powerful showcase for what Rotary is and does in our community.

Win, Win!Geoff Lowndes – Best Foot Forward

On 20th August four of us went a’rescueing tents at Weston Park. The scene was messy as ever, as though the 70 000 youngsters had just upped sticks and left left their tents, sleeping bags, chairs, packets of biscuits.

We found nothing incriminating although there had been some forty arrests mainly for drug offences. We did mange to salvage about ten tents…..all of which will be put to good use somewhere in the World by our friends at International Aid Trust. Tiring but worthwhile.

IPP Stuart Williams

The lunchtime meeting was concluded with another presentation by the acting President with another bouquet of flowers given to Melanie on her leaving Linden House and offered thanks for the many years of service during meetings. President Elect and the entire Club Paul wished her well in her future career.

Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Elias Masih Mattu was inducted into the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton as an honorary member by acting President Paul Lockley on Tuesday 25th July. Councillor Mattu spoke of his immense pride of being elected Mayor of such a vibrant city.

 The Mayor was accompanied by his wife Mayoress Asha. Acting President Paul presented the Mayor and Mayoress with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the club in celebration of their 30th Wedding Anniversary.