The Fareham Flyer

Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Fareham D1110 UK

President Pamela Bryant

Service above Self Special Showcase Edition October 2013

INTRODUCTION

Monday 23rd September 2013

was a very special day for the

Rotary Club of Fareham.

After months of hard work by

a dedicated team of Rotarians,

the seed of an idea in the mind

of PP Tony Cove grew and

blossomed into a very

successful event.

Under the heading of

Showcase, Tony’s idea was to

hold an evening when both

supporters and beneficiaries of

the Club, together with

distinguished guests, could

find out a little more about

whom we are and what we as a

Club have achieved. A

secondary function of the

evening was to gain possible

new members from the local

business community.

We were most fortunate in

being offered the use of FORT

NELSON, a museum under the

auspices of Royal Armouries.

This offer came about as a

result of assistance given by

the Rotary Club of Fareham, in

providing marshalling and car

parking duties during a Tattoo

event held at the Fort.

Friendships had been formed

as a result of the event, and we

were of course delighted to

receive the opportunity of such

a unique location.

However, that was just one

problem solved, and it became

apparent that a lot of pieces

still had to come together to

make the evening a success.

PLANNING

A small committee was formed

to prepare a programme and to

allocate specific tasks to

members.

It was decided that the evening

should start with a welcoming

drink and a welcome by the

President.

An opportunity to explore the

museum, with assistance by

Royal Armouries staff was to

follow, followed by a buffet

style meal.

On completion there would be

an opportunity to witness the

firing of a 25lb Howitzer gun.

There would then follow a

presentation of Rotary and its

work, the evening concluding

with thanks from the President

to all attending, and likely a

few words from our Guest of

Honour.

Much work followed in order

to achieve the above

programme.

A guest list was drawn up,

featuring local dignitaries and

members of organisations who

had greatly assisted the Club in

achieving its many successes.

Also represented were leaders

of organisations who were

beneficiaries of our charitable

works.

A large number of Club

members and their partners

were also required to act as

hosts for our guests.

Bob Mussellwhite had the task

of organising the Buffet menu

and the supply of liquid

refreshments.

The Fort management and

Staff gave excellent support in

this.

George Cantrill, worthy

Secretary, had to take pen in

hand and write official

invitations to our guests, and

keep track of responses on a

daily basis!

Others were given the task of

preparing presentations for

their part in the evenings main

event.

IPP Duncan Colin-Jones was

nominated to be the Master of

Ceremonies for the evening,

and so kept a very close and

sometimes nervous eye on the

proceedings! He did produce

an excellent Powerpoint

presentation showing the early

foundations of the Rotary

organisation.

PP Geoff Hillam was chosen,

due to his wide experience, to

produce a show explaining

Rotary Club of Fareham’s

involvement with Foundation

on the International scene.

PP Mike Hurley, with the help

of Rebecca Trayner, decided to

take a different route, and

produce a video featuring our

Club’s local achievements.

Mike kept progress very close

to his chest, and Duncan and

Tony were at times quite

desperate to know how things

were progressing. Mike

assured them that all was in

hand – and this proved to be

the case. (apart from a little

shaky start in the Wheelhouse

feature, where we might have

suffered from seasickness had

it been any longer!).

Assistance in editing the video

was given by Ed - a friend of

Mike and Rebecca

Mike also prepared all the

publicity banners and wall

hangings that adorned the Fort

on the night.

Tony Cove prepared a show

featuring how Rotary spread

friendship throughout the

world, and featured his

involvement with New

Zealand, India and South

Africa, especially with the

local schools.

Dave Barclay had the last

minute task of knitting all parts

together to ensure a seamless

presentation on the night!

Four rehearsals were held

before the event, including a

final rehearsal at the Fort –

thanks again to Mike Howell

the Manager, who with his

staff were unstinting in their

hep and support throughout the

whole venture.

Duncan was almost paranoid

when he discovered that 75

slides had ‘slipped in’ to the

original presentation. He was

however assured that these

would be quickly flipped

through (no more than 10

minutes- actually took 15, but

the audience were well

impressed none the less!).

And so on to the night itself -

Monday 23rd September. A beautiful autumnal evening

blessed our Show case event.

At 5.45pm hosts and greeters

were in position, ready for the

arrival of our guests, who were

escorted into the Voice of the

Guns gallery, where drinks

were served by Fort staff.

Our guests and hosts made

each other’s acquaintance and

soon the conversation flowed.

Our Master of ceremonies, IPP

Duncan Colin-Jones,

welcomed everyone and

explained the evening’s

programme programme. What

a great setting to hold such an

event!

Guests were then free to

explore the museum, with

Staff on hand to answer any

queries.

Our President, Cllr Pamela

Bryant welcomed everyone,

and in particular our Principle

Guest –

Mr Mark Hoban,

The Member of Parliament for

Fareham.

Mr Mark Hoban MP, and President Pamela

Bryant

Then a chance to look around

the museum----

The big one – newly arrived

from Belgium.

“They don’t like it up

‘em!“

Alderman PP Ernie

Crouch still looking for

the ones who bombed his

chippie in 1944!

And then to supper…. At the appointed time Master

of Ceremonies Duncan

announced that all should

make their way to our buffet

supper, where the tables were

attractively arranged, and the

seating plans duly displayed.

During the meal, tickets were

sold with the prize being the

honour of firing the gun!

A very good buffet, together

with plentiful wine ensured

that a convivial evening would

follow – and it did! The

winner of the draw was

announced –Gerry Ayres!

On completion of the meal, we

were invited to follow our

leader onto the parade ground.

It was a beautiful evening, so

no problems with coats or

umbrellas!

With the stage set, we all

gathered round in eager

anticipation. Gerry did the

deed. A mighty bang and a

spurt of flame from the gun lit

up the sky. Not once, but

twice, for Gerry had another

chance, which went equally

well.

The party then made their way

to the Redan, where seats had

been arranged for the

presentations to follow.

Our master of ceremonies,

Duncan Colin-Jones started

this part of the evening by

thanking again the manager

and staff of the museum for

their kindness and generosity

in allowing us to us the

facilities of the Fort.

He then started the

presentation by giving our

guests an introduction to

Rotary, how it came to being,

with Paul Harris and a few

friends who started rotating

meetings between their homes

in Chicago. He explained how

Rotary grew, and eventually

became a major player in

United Nations affairs, and a

world-wide champion of the

less fortunate and displaced

persons throughout the world.

Rotary now has 1.2 million

members in over 165

countries- Quite an

achievement.

Duncan then handed the baton

to Geoff Hillam, who with the

aid slides gave an account of

Rotary Club of Fareham’s

work in India, via the Rotary

Foundation. Geoff explained to

our guests how Foundation

worked, and how joint

ventures between the host

country and our Club could

obtain funding via District and

Foundation grants, each

doubling the original amounts.

Thus large projects became

affordable to smaller clubs.

Geoff produced slides of the

support we have given to

Nandigram school in the form

of water supplies and

classroom equipment, as well

as an operating theatre and

equipment to the local

hospital.

Our latest project is in support

of treatment of club foot –

prevalent in Mali.

The presentation then included

a video, the work of Rotarians

Mike Hurley and Rebecca

Traynor and their friend Ed.

This highlighted the local work

carried out by the Club,

including the Wheelhouse.

This was demonstrated by

interviews with recipients of

our work. Also included was a

reference to visible evidence of

Rotary in the Community,

including the Rotary Clock in

the town centre, the museum

arch outside Westbury Manor,

the commemorating trees and

their plaques, Shopmobility

scooters in the shopping

centre, plus the Rotary

Wishing Well.

Stubbington Study Centre

provided their own video,

which included a personal

thanks from the Head of

Centre, James Scarborough.

PP Tony Cove then continued

with slides and a good

commentary telling of his

involvement with Rotary since

joining 10 years ago. Contacts

had led him around the world

as far as India, New Zealand

and South Africa, where he

and Sue became involved with

local communities and schools

at Knysna.

Tony made many friends.

The concluding part of the

presentation was given by

Duncan, who emphasised that

Rotary was based on

fellowship, and that fellowship

was strengthened by the fun

and social activities. These

events accompany our fund

raising, in the shape of a magic

show, trips out and Rotarail,( a

railway exhibition held in

Fareham College.) Grateful

thanks to Mr Nigel Duncan the

Principal and Mr Nelson

Williams and staff.

Duncan also mentioned the

Clubs assistance in car parking

and marshalling duties at the

Fort, an event which directly

enabled the Club to use the

benefits of this wonderful

location for our Showcase.

It was at this point that

President Pam made the

presentation of a cheque for

£1050 to Tom Nash,

representing the Stubbington

Study Centre.

Tom thanked the President,

and assured her that the money

will be put to good use in

enabling less fortunate

children to benefit from the

Centres excellent facilities.

PP Duncan then concluded by

thanking our MP, Mark Hoban

for his kindness in giving up

his evening to spend it with us.

Mr Hoban replied by thanking

the Club, and expressed

delight in such an evening and

how he was most impressed

with the Club’s achievements

both locally and

internationally. He stressed the

importance of such voluntary

work during times of

depression. This was manifest

in the demands currently

placed on the Basics Bank.

Also singled out was our

involvement with Stubbington,

and how the Club were able to

support local children.

President Pam thanked Mark

Hoban for his kind words. She

hoped that everyone present

had enjoyed their evening with

us. She thanked them for their

support in the work we do and

hoped that friendships formed

would be continued and

strengthened.

The evening thus finished, it

was time for our guests to

leave, and all agreed the

evening had been a great

success.

LETTERS OF THANKS

.

Dear Pam and Members of Fareham Rotary, I wanted to thank and congratulate you on your fantastic, “Show Case” last night. Where to begin!!! The venue was marvellous, original and so interesting. The programme for the evening had just the right amount of fun, social networking and business. You and your team showed so many of the great aspects of Rotary in true Rotarian style. I know there will be many useful relationships started last night and I am sure the outcomes will be as good as the evening. I was proud to be your AG, and your vision and hard work is a credit to Group 7 and District 1110. Thank you again. Yours in Rotary Sandra Lewis

From Fareham College. May I offer my most sincere thanks for an outstanding evening on the 23rd. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event made only more interesting by the excellent choice of venue and the associated activities. The company at dinner was wonderfully entertaining with full credit to Chris Thomas for looking after me so well throughout. I learnt so much about all the fantastic work you do for others right across the globe and feel very privileged to have been given such a good insight to this. Thank you. Regards, Nelson Williams Estates Services Manager

From Fareham College. Dear Mr Cantrill The Principal, Nigel Duncan, thoroughly enjoyed the event on Monday evening and thanks you most sincerely for inviting him to attend.

Author: Dave Barclay.

All of the photographs taken at Fort Nelson are copyright, and are used here with generous permission of Kim Collins, the

photographer

From Stubbington Study

Centre

I’m writing to thank the

Rotary Club of Fareham for

their incredibly generous

donation of £1050, which we

are very grateful to receive.

Please pass on my sincere

thanks to those who

organised the Rotarail event.

The tremendous success of

this model railway exhibition

was entirely due to the hard

work and commitment of

your volunteers, and they

deserve nothing but praise.

Thank you for making the

difference,

With best regards

James Scarborough – Head of

Centre

From Lynn Clarke, Head of Wykeham

House School

Dear Pam,

Thank you very much for a lovely

evening yesterday.

I learnt a lot more about Rotary

which was most informative, in the

most interesting surroundings, with

wonderful company, food and

weather!

Best wishes

Lynn Clarke

Many thanks for inviting me to

what was a wonderful evening

last night. I really enjoyed

learning about the work of the

Rotary and meeting so many

people. Very best wishes Nicki Nicola Youern CEO YOU

Dear Pam Thank you for inviting me to join the Rotarians at such an enjoyable evening on Monday. The Fort was such a superb venue for the evening and following the opportunity to circulate at the reception I thoroughly enjoyed the table company whilst we had supper. The presentations that followed were both interesting and informative, I really didn't realise that Rotary did so much for the community both here and abroad. It was quite an eye opener. If I can help at any time please let me know. Once again, sincere thanks for the invitation. Kind regards Peter Latham County Councillor Fareham Town Division HCC