Handover Meeting

Tom Jones hands over to New President Don Walters on 30th June

Presidents address

First of all I give my thanks to my mends, the Rotarians of the Rotary Club of Droitwich Spa, for electing me as President of the Club for the Rotary Year 2009-10. I will do my best to serve the Club effectively and to the best of my ability, acknowledging, that, despite the recession, I know that you, my fellow Rotarian friends and colleagues, will pull their weight as they always do to fulfil the aims and objectives of Rotary during my year of office. As the majority of you have already been president of this club and some of other clubs too, I will be able to rely on your considerable experience being what we used to call, in the Army, Sprog President Don Walters!
We certainly have not had a sprog president for the last twelve months in Tom Jones, he has done an excellent job and has been responsible for an enjoyable and impressive programme of events over his period of office. He has been ably supported by our committee chairmen, Jim Gillespie, David Street and John Bodger, our Secretary John Phillips, our Treasurer, Laurie Evans and our other Council members. I am absolutely delighted that they are all keeping these jobs during my Presidential year, thank you again! I would also like to thank Tom's wife Shirley for backing Tom so effectively during his second year as president. Fortunately I also benefit from Jill's backing. I look forward to liaising with Lynda Gillespie, the new President of Inner Wheel. We have already jointly arranged our Rotary/Inner Wheel annual joint service at Hanbury Church on Sunday 18th October at 11.15am. Please make a note of this date in your club diaries as it was not arranged in time for it's inclusion. We will also be inviting Inner Wheel and other guests to our annual festive Christmas Dinner at St Andrew's House Hotel on Tuesday 8th December, which is the turn of Rotary to arrange this year.
Rotary are introducing two innovations this year, namely a Race Night at the Community Centre on Friday 23rd October to be organised by Laurie Evans and David Pangbourne, and a Winslow night on 22 September to be organised by, I believe, Edgar Harwood; both occasions will be under the umbrella of the relevant Rotary Club committee. We are also looking forward to our regular favourites: a Burn's Night on 26th January, and St. George's Dinner on 27th April.
I have decided that my Charity for the year will be the Severn Freewheelers Medical Delivery Service, which, you will recall, was Inner Wheel President Margaret Tanner's Charity last year and the subject of a meeting to which Rotary were invited earlier this year. This is a very valuable service to our local community. It is a motorcycle medical courier service, manned by sixty volunteers, all with Advanced Motorcycling Certificates. They deliver tissue samples, blood and medical equipment to and between hospitals in the Severn Region. This is an out of hours delivery service operating overnight and at weekends at a great cost saving to the NHS. All volunteer motorcyclists are of proven and tested high standards, and the courier services three powerful BMW bikes operate in the areas of W orcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and North Wiltshire. Other motorcycle courier services in London and elsewhere often co-operate when necessary. They offer a speedy response being able to cut through heavy traffic and help improve deliveries to the NHS, literally life saving in a worst case senario. The service is free to hospitals, all riders give their time tree of charge, so the main running costs are the motorcycles, which are owned by the charity, and petrol and insurance. All drivers are trained up to the Institute of Advanced Motorists standards and are over the age of 25. Thanks again for your support and may we have a successful Rotary year. Don Walters - 30 June 2009