Amwell Rotary Club News

Christmas at Isabel Hospice

2009-12-08T22:15:00.001Z

As in previous years, Amwell Rotary Club are delighted to have presented a festive Christmas tree to the Day Care Centre at Isabel Hospice.

Beautifully decorated by the hospice staff and volunteers it looks splendid as it stands in reception.

Ware Dickensian Evening - December 4th 2009

2009-12-05T12:41:00.002Z

On a crisp winter evening the crowds turned out in force to say hello to Santa as he visited Ware to see his friends from Amwell Rotary Club. A choir of club members, wives and friends sang Christmas carols by his sleigh while children queued to say hello or to have their photos taken.

Amwell Rotary Club also ran a tombola stall and sold hot soup as well as delicious goodies from the chocolate fountain and hope to have raised a significant amount for local charities and other good causes.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who came along, to everyone who contributed items for the tombola and especially to our friends from The Roebuck Hotel who ran the chocolate fountain as well as to our photography team.

Thank you – and best wishes from all at Amwell Rotary Club for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Xmas Carol Service at Haileybury

2009-12-02T21:55:00.001Z

Wednesday 16th December 2009 - 7.45 pm for an 8:00 pm start

All are welcome to attend this service of readings and Christmas Carols in the beautiful setting of Haileybury College Chapel, Hertford Heath.

Retiring collection in aid of Isabel Hospice.

All welcome.

Mince pies and wine are available in the Attlee room afterwards, £5 per head.

Organised by the Rotary Club of Amwell.

Lucky Number 3672

2009-11-15T10:19:00.000Z

Does this match the number on the flyer given to you at the Ware Firework Extraganza? If so, you gave won a free overnight stay for two in the luxury Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel!

Call 01992 526640 to claim your prize

Visit by the 2009 Group Study Exchange Team

2009-10-29T11:50:00.004Z

For our meeting on October 26th we were joined by Rtn Roger Sharpe from the Rotary Club of Dunstable and the four members of the 2009 Group Study Exchange Team who visited Indiana in April.

Team Leader Roger introduced Charles, Atalie, Mark and Emma who each spoke for just a few minutes on their experiences and what the exchange had taught them, as well as how it would help them in their repective vocations.

It was an excellent evening and our thanks are due to Roger and his team, four fine ambassadors for their sponsoring Rotary Clubs.

Charter Member Honoured

2009-10-13T12:50:00.004+01:00

We were delighted to welcome back George Hill to our meeeting on October 12th.

One of the original Charter Members (Founders) of Amwell Rotary Club, George served Rotary as an active member for almost thirty years.

In recognition of his outstanding service George was formally inducted back into Rotary as an Honorary Member of Amwell Rotary Club by Club President Vernon Benjafield

Congratulations George on a thoroughly well deserved honour!

End Polio Now - Rotary Window Display

2009-10-13T12:44:00.005+01:00

To mark Polio Awareness Day on October 24th, Amwell Rotary Club have put up a window display in the former Woolwich Building Society premises in Hertford.

Our thanks to Hertford Tourist Information Centre for all of their help with this.

See our main web site for more details on the $200 Million Challenge to eradicate polio.

Cheque Presentation to Isabel Hospice

2009-09-09T12:32:00.003+01:00

We were also delighted to welcome Helen Dodd, Director of Nursing at Isabel Hospice to our meeting on September 7th.

On behalf of Amwell Rotary Club, Club president Vernon presented Helen with a cheque for £4,300.40. This magnificent sum represented the proceeds from the innaugural Tour d'Amwell sponsored cycle ride.

Visit from District Governor Sandy Aked-Walker

2009-09-09T12:25:00.004+01:00

We were delighted to welcome District Governor Sandy Aked-Walker to our meeting on September 7th

Sandy gave us a brief talk on the Thanks for Life project which will culminate on February 23rd next year, Rotary Day - the 105th Anniversary of the first ever Rotary Club meeting. You can find more details about Rotary Day and a link to the Thanks for Life web site HERE

Latest News from France

2009-08-07T21:13:00.010+01:00

Several of our members are currently enjoying a cycling trip through France. Travelling from Le Havre, along the Seinne, they have already visted some wonderful towns and villages, including one that shares its name with a certain Amwell Rotary Club President!

Many thanks for the photo Gentlemen.

Have a great time and see you all on the 17th when we have a great guest speaker lined up.

The Tour d'Amwell - Sponsored Cycle Ride

2009-08-02T22:36:00.003+01:00

A new event this year, the Tour d'Amwell saw 25 intrepid cyclists complete a sponsored, 20 mile bike ride through the Hertfordshire countryside on Sunday August 2nd. The final figures are still to be confirmed but we look to have raised a substantial amount for Isabel Hospice.

A huge thank you to all of the riders, to everyone who helped on the day, to the Inner Wheel members for their invaluable support and to Rtn Gwyn Marson in particular for all of the hard work he put in to organise this event.

More details and photographs can be viewed on the Club web site.

Duck Race Winners!

2009-07-22T21:25:00.005+01:00

A full list of the winners of this year's Great Ware Duck Race can now be viewed on the Amwell Rotary Club Website - Click HERE to see the list as well as some more photographs from the day.

The 26th Annual Great Ware Duck Race

2009-07-19T21:10:00.003+01:00

The 2009 Duck Race was held on Sunday July 19th.

With a start time of 4.00pm, by ten to four the crowds had gathered, the Mayor of Ware was present in the VIP area, the ducks were champing at the bit and it was all systems go for another thrilling race.

The flag went up, they were under starters orders and then - then the heavens opened! Undeterred, the ducks took to the water like, well, ducks really.

Check our main website for more details and photos!

Sir David Brewer - Lord Lieutenant of London

2009-07-13T23:46:00.002+01:00

It was a great honour to welcome Sir David Brewer to our meeting on July 13th. Lord Mayor of The City of London for 2005 - 2006, Sir David was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London in 2008.

He gave us a fascinating account of the the role and duties of a Lord Lieutenant in serving as the Queens Representative, as well as explaining some of the history behind the post. Full of humour and anecdotes, it was an excellent after dinner talk and we thank Sir David for taking the time to come along and join us.

President's handover - July 6th 2009

2009-07-08T09:54:00.003+01:00

We were delighted to welcome friends from the Hertford, Hertford Shires and Ware Rotary Clubs as well as from both the Amwell and Hertford Inner Wheel Clubs to our President's Handover meeting on July 6th.

Outgoing President Eddy Rowland reflected on a great year of Rotary service, fellowship and fun before passing on the President's chain of office to Vernon Benjafield, President Vernon thanked Eddy for his sound leadership of the club before presenting him with his Past Presidents jewel. He then passed on the President Elect's jewel to George Wallace and presented June Rowland with a bouquet of flowers as a token of our thanks for all of the help and support she gave Eddy during his year in office.

Hoddesdon Rotary Club's Schools Technology Tournament

2009-06-23T20:44:00.004+01:00

Along with colleagues from the Rotary Clubs of Hertford, Hertford Shires and Ware, Amwell Rotary Club sent several members to help judge at Hoddesdon Rotary Club's annual Schools Technology Tournament.

28 Teams from 9 local schools took part in this, the 14th annual challenge. It was a great day and all of the teams came up with some great ideas, some innovative solutions and some impressive, rubber band powered satellite launchers. They also had a lot of fun!

The winners were :-

Basic Challenge - Hailey Hall School (Team One)

Intermediate Challenge - Chauncy School (Team Two)

Advanced Challenge - St Edmunds College (Team Four)

A special award for best runners up was presented to the Richard Hale School, Team Three.

The International Fellowship of Yachting Rotarians

2009-06-17T09:43:00.003+01:00

There was a nautical flavour to our meeting on June 15th when we were delighted to welcome Rtn Bryan Skinner from Hertford Rotary club as a guest. Bryan is the present International Fleet Commodore of the Fellowship and he was accompanied by the current Vice Commodore and the Rear Commodore as well as by a past Commodore. This is believed to be the first time ever in the history of the fellowship that all three current International Commodores have attended the same scheduled meeting of a Rotary Club.

For more details on the IYFR click HERE for a link to their website.

ShelterBox

2009-06-13T20:14:00.003+01:00

The Rotary Clubs of Amwell and Hertford joined forces at Hertford on Saturday June 13th to publicise the work of ShelterBox.

ShelterBox was set up by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard and all aid is distributed from their base in Cornwall.

Their solution to disasters is the ShelterBox – a tough, green plastic box containing a 10-person tent and ancillary equipment designed to enable a family of up to 10 people survive for at least six months. Made to a unique design using high quality materials, these tents are suitable for a wide range of conditions. Other items may include insulated groundsheets, thermal blankets, a multi-fuel stove, cooking equipment, tools, mosquito nets, water containers etc.

Our sincere thanks to everyone who gave so generously to help us purchase another one of these life saving items.

Kids Out Day - June 10th 2009

2009-06-10T21:34:00.004+01:00

Many thousands of disadvantaged and special needs children enjoyed a fantastic day out as they joined in the fun of the 20th annual Rotary Kids Out Day, organised by Rotarians from hundreds of clubs across Great Britain and Ireland and held on Wednesday June 10th 2009.

Amwell Rotarians joined forces with colleagues from the other Rotary Clubs in District 1260 to take some six hundred children to Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire.

Check our main web site for some general photographs from the day.

Cheque Presentation to HOLD

2009-05-27T21:52:00.004+01:00

We were delighted to be able to present a cheque for £100.00 to the Hoddesdon Organisation for Local Disabled (HOLD) at their May Social on May 27th.

Pictured below are Irene Dinnes of HOLD and Vernon Benjafield, President Elect of Amwell Rotary Club.

Ware Lend a Hand Day

2009-05-23T14:05:00.000+01:00

On Saturday May 16th this year, Rotarians and partners from the Rotary Clubs of Amwell, Hertford Shires and Ware once again joined forces for a day to offer free help and assistance with various household and garden maintenance tasks to many elderly and disabled residents of Ware.

From the central contact point at Farecla Ltd's Broadmead premises, a large number of Rotary volunteers worked hard to make a success of this truly worthwhile community service project.

Our thanks to Farecla Ltd for giving us use of their excellent facilities and to everyone else who helped to make the day go smoothly.

Iain Duncan Smith

2009-05-12T14:12:00.002+01:00

We were delighted to welcome the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith to our meeting on Monday May 11th.

Leader of the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003 and presently M.P. for Chingford and Woodford Green, Iain delivered a pasionate address on the aims and ethos of the Centre for Social Justice, a centre-right think tank which works with small charities in its aim of finding innovative policies for tackling poverty.

Rotary Awareness Day - The Centre, Milton Keynes

2009-05-04T19:55:00.003+01:00

On Monday May 4th, Rotary Clubs from Districts 1260, as well representatives of Inner Wheel and Rotaract and colleagues from Rotary clubs in District 1070 joined forces for the second Rotary Awareness Day.

Held at Middleton Hall in The Centre, Milton Keynes, this event aims to increase general awareness of Rotary International, what it is and what it does, all as part of a fun packed day with plenty of activities for children as well as live music and other entertainment.

A big thank you to everyone who came along - it was a long day but well worth it!

Annual President's Weekend Away

2009-04-28T11:41:00.004+01:00

A party of more than 70 Amwell Rotary Club members and wives have just enjoyed a fantastic three days of fun and fellowship in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Staying at the excellent Palace Hotel, we were able to enjoy a guided tour of this beautiful town in the heart of the Peak District, a trip to see the ETO performance of the Magic Flute at the Buxton Opera House, a vist to Haddon Hall, some serious hill walking and an excellent formal dinner as well as having plenty of time to just relax and unwind.

Many thanks to President Eddy and June for hosting a great trip and to Alan Phelps for all of the hard work and planning that made everything so enjoyable.

More details and photos will be added to our main web site in the coming days but here's one to wet your appetite!

Stroke Awareness Day

2009-04-23T22:47:00.001+01:00

Rotarians from the Amwell, Hertford Shires and Ware clubs joined forces on April 18th to offer free Blood Pressure Checks as part of the national Stroke Awareness Day Initiative.

Our thanks to Jamieson Hill Solicitors for the use of their offices and to the medical professionals who made the day possible.