President’s Message
July 2023
A Message from Felix Collins, our President for 2023 – 2024
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Malling, now in its 64th year of existence!
I took over the role as President from Tony Williamson on the 1st July, followed by an informal, low-key handover ceremony on Sunday, 16th July in the pleasant surroundings of William and Rosemary Pierce’s garden, where we were entertained with local strawberries, cream, and Rosemary Casswell’s delectable meringues; all the while serenaded by Clive, alternating between one of three saxophones, his guitar, and excellent singing. After receiving the ‘badge of office’ from Tony, I was greatly relieved to pass the President Elect badge to Zamir Ahmed, who tells me that he is determined to keep me on the straight and narrow Rotary path. But it was also sad to be saying ‘adieu’ to several of our members, who for a variety of reasons have decided to bring their many years service to an end.
And what of the coming year?
For me, I am firmly of the view that the Primary role of clubs such as ours is to help those less fortunate than ourselves who are in need, locally, nationally, and internationally. For Malling Rotary, this help can mean members working on a particular project together, or raising funds for specific purposes and charities, and this in turn leads to personal satisfaction in working together, and achieving a common aim. To start us off, we have planned some low key events over the coming months, being a BBQ, a Quiz Night, a Race Night, and our traditional ‘bucket shaking’ outside a local supermarket just before Christmas.
Like so many clubs, ‘natural wastage’ has left us with only a handful of members, and in order to fulfil our need to help others, we are relying on a band of enthusiastic volunteers to provide the support that we will need, and hopefully a pool of potential new members for the future.
If you would like to become a Member, or be a Friend of Rotary, and help us to help our community, we would love to hear from you!
Felix