Being away on holiday (or business) gives the opportunity for another dimension to the benefits of being a Rotarian – meeting with members of other clubs in their own environment. Joan and I have been travelling – first to the Bahamas and now in Fort Myers, Florida, an area we know well, having been here every year since 2004 and which we like enough to have bought a house here.In Nassau (Monday August 10th) we visited the Rotary Club of New Providence, a thriving and dynamic club with 40 members. In many ways, this club epitomises what Rotary should be – a representative selection of the professions in the community – lawyers, accountants, police officers for example, working members giving of their free time to serve. At any Rotary meeting you hear of the minutiae of what makes the club tick, the way the members respond to each other, the upcoming works in which they are involved – New Providence were looking for members to join in the project to renew the roof on a community building that weekend.
We were, as always, made most welcome by President Warren and his fellow members – in Rotary tradition we handed over a memento of our own club – a map of the area we cover (see picture of me with the club officers).
And so to Fort Myers, where we visited The Rotary Club of Fort Myers South on Monday 17th & 24th August. A regular visit for us, we’ve been visiting the club since 2005 when Joan was President of our club. This year our friend Victor Mayeron (proprietor of The Mucky Duck - Captiva's Dining Must!) is President of the club - leading almost 130 members in significant efforts for their community and beyond. On our visit on Monday August 17th they recognised the nine students at Berry University, Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison State College who will receive scholarships this year, variously funded by current Rotary members, in memory of past members and from the club’s own Foundation (as distinct from The Rotary Foundation). It is abundantly clear that the club is contributing massively in helping these disadvantaged students for whom a college education would otherwise be beyond reach.
It’s great to see how other Rotarians are helping those around them – great for us to see what ideas we might take on as well!!
