June
3rd – No Meeting
5th – Gillingham and Shaftesbury Rotary Clubs help Mandy
Many Shaftesbury and Gillingham residents will remember Mandy Sims who moved to Shaftesbury in 1989, when her husband, an Officer, was posted to the Dorset Police, in Gillingham. Two years later they moved to Gillingham and continued to work locally, as well as bringing up three sons.
Sadly, in October 2015 Mandy was diagnosed with Chondrosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer which resulted in the amputation of her right leg and part of her hip. Having been a very active person, as a full-time chef in a very busy café and delicatessen, her life changed dramatically, having to then rely on family and friends to get her about and having to use different types of equipment. This also resulted in Mandy having to move to Yeovil in 2017 to be closer to the hospital and other amenities.
The constraints of Mandy’s situation resulted in her not being able to work. However, she was able to focus on being a volunteer at Yeovil District Hospital during the week, which has also assisted in her recuperation. To enable Mandy to volunteer, Mandy needed the use of her lightweight self-propelled wheel chair. This meant she was reliant on others to take her and the chair to the hospital.
When Shaftesbury Rotary Club heard of her plight, they got together with Gillingham Rotary Club and decided to donate £500 each towards a new Mobility Scooter, which together with monies raised by Mandy enabled her to reach her target of £1500. Now with her own Mobility Scooter, Mandy can leave her lightweight self-propelled scooter at the hospital and travel to and from the hospital without being reliant on others.
Mandy is pictured above alongside Patrick Kenyon, Gillingham Rotary Club President, Paul Whiteman, Shaftesbury Rotary Club and Guy Lowton Shaftesbury Rotary Club President.
8th – Presidents Dinner
One of the highlights of the Rotary year is the Presidents dinner and on this occasion President Guy chose the fascinating venue of the Castleman hotel which sits within the Chettle estate. The hotel was exclusively ours for the evening and the members, wives and partners took advantage of being able to enjoy the history and ambiance of this lovely and unique building.
Having had the benefit of travelling by coach and no worries of driving we started with a champagne reception followed by an excellent meal and wines. Guy and Jane cleverly changed the seating plan after the main courses which added to the fun of the conversations. During the evening Guy took the opportunity to thank his team of officers, members, wives and partners for their support in what was undoubtedly a very successful Rotary year. The event could have carried on into the night but with the clock ticking and our coach driver already an hour past the planned departure, it was time to go. A great evening to remember.
Picture courtesy of the Castleman Hotel
10th – Shaftesbury Car Link
We welcomed Martin and June Hull who told us how they run Shaftesbury Car Link.
This is Community Transport scheme assisting people in the Shaftesbury and surrounding villages in the SP7 postal area. The service is provided by a team of volunteer drivers who use their own cars to help with medical trips (i.e. hospital, surgery, dentist, optician etc.) as well as other journeys for social occasions, visiting relatives, weddings, funerals, shopping trips etc.
Their aim is to provide a friendly community transport service where public transport and/or taxis are unavailable. Shaftesbury Car Link was first set up some 5 years ago, but Martin and June agreed to take over full control only in October 2018. It is one of 12 Community Transport schemes operating in North Dorset, but is only one of four who are able to provide wheelchair transport. This is because Martin and June have funded a specialist vehicle to facilitate wheelchair transport from their own funds, costing circa £9,000!!
Pictured: President Guy, Martin and June Hall and Rotarian Paul Whiteman
The number of volunteer drivers has increased from 6 to 16 and they have carried out over 600 trips since October 2018. In April 2019 they carried out 145 trips covering 3,358 miles!
Clients pay a one off £5 to join the scheme and are then asked to provide a “donation” to the driver of 50p per mile per journey.
Their other achievements include:
• Affiliated with Royal British Legion (Shaftesbury and District Branch) – the first adult scheme in the UK to be affiliated with the RBL
• Member of the national Community Transport Association (one of only 2 in Dorset)
• Holder of Disabled Blue Badge (one of only 17 organisations in Dorset to successfully hold one)
• Successful fundraising in progress with Tesco blue coin scheme
• One of the only wheelchair accessible vehicles in Dorset
12th – Kids out
On Wednesday 12th June Shaftesbury Rotary Club was delighted to support the annual Kids Out gathering at Longleat.
John Warner and Guy Lowton on behalf of the club greeted fifty pupils, plus staff and assistants from Yewstock School who enjoyed a tour of the safari park, a spell in the adventure park and a picnic in the company of other children with physical disabilities and learning difficulties from the surrounding area courtesy of other Rotary Clubs.
The occasion was illuminated by banter between John Warner (enjoying his 27th consecutive such trip to Longleat) and the lady organisers of Kids Out who treated him with the deference and humility normally only accorded to visiting royalty and heads of state!
The weather was kind, all went very smoothly and there were lots of smiling faces as the coaches left on the return trip to Yewstock.
Also, a big Thank You to Longleat for allowing us to use their images in this article.
17th – Club assembly
Nearing the end of the Rotary year, we were joined by outgoing Assistant DG Debbie Dunford (Wareham) and her successor Richard White (Ferndown). The early part of the evening was given over to the usual community business.
This was then followed by a presentation by the current retiring Community Chair about the ongoing and proposed community projects for the forthcoming year. It is easy to forget what we have achieved through the year and the legacy we create for ourselves to serve the community better in years to come.
Gold Hill Fair continues to be a major community event and fundraiser for the town and every year provides new challenges to continue to enhance the experience. The Charity Golf day another significant event sponsored by local businesses and competed by local teams, provides an additional source of revenue. Now with the North Dorset Cycle Ride in its 4th year and 300 riders becoming ever larger and the biggest single fund raiser, Shaftesbury Rotary have been able to donate over £17,000 in the last year to local causes, community and International projects.
Once again through “Kids Out” we have funded a trip for 50 children and their carers to Longleat. We have arranged and sponsored a circus skills workshop and show by Circus Bezerkus at The Shaftesbury School.
Another Shaftesbury record for 2018 was achieved with the help of the local schools collecting shoe boxes in October for distribution via Rotary to Albania and Montenegro. We continue to work with the School on Mock Interviews, Quiz night and other activities which we hope to broaden in the future.
Other community events include Late Night Shopping, Shaftesbury Snowdrops, Childrens flying experience, to name a few. We have also supported local community groups like the Dorset Deaf Association, Chubbs House, Mosaic and a few individuals who have applied for grants or support.
A major project in the pipeline is the Cycle Speedway and after minor delays and setbacks, is looking ever closer with funding in the region of £100,000 sourced and a potential site allocated. We are now moving forward to the draught of a lease and formation of the Trust and management body for the club.
We are not solely committed to fund raising and should not forget some of the social aspects of joining Rotary which over the past year have included a visit to RNLI at Poole, Clay Pigeon, Horse Racing, Theatre visit and The presidents Night at The Castleman at Chettle.
The meeting closed with a summation by the incoming President Win Harvey and acknowledgement of the efforts of the club officers and members. Followed by a farewell and thank you from outgoing President Guy Lowton with best wishes for the forthcoming year.
Pictured: Debbie (outgoing D G assistant), President Guy, Richard. ( incoming DG assistant), Dean (Rotary guest).
24th – Presidents handover
After yet another successful year at Shaftesbury Rotary Club, with the continuation fund raising events such as the Gold Hill Fair, Charity Golf Day and the North Dorset Cycle Ride, Guy Lowton handed over the Presidency to fellow Rotarian Win Harvey. On handing over the Presidency Guy said:-
“I am delighted that Win is our new President and with the support and encouragement she will get from our members I am sure she will have a most enjoyable and fulfilling year and that the club will go from strength to strength.”
Win, a long serving Rotarian and Club Treasurer responded by saying:-
“Personally, it is a great honour to be President of the Rotary Club of Shaftesbury and with the help and support of the other members we will continue with our fundraising events which help many worthy causes both in the Local and International community”.
Pictured: Steve Uden, incoming President Win Harvey and outgoing President Guy Lowton.
Win took over the Presidency on the 1st July with the Gold Hill Fair to preside over.
If you would like to know about Rotary, then please look at our website www.shafteburyrotaryclub.org.
24th – Trevor’s Job Talk
Trevor explained that having been invited to join Rotary in 2017 he had not had the opportunity to explain why he wanted to join. Since this was his first Speaker’s Friend this was an opportunity to put that right. He explained that his working career had had four main chapters.
After qualifying with the Army in accountancy his first job with a large firm was with The Wellcome Foundation, a pharmaceutical company. Uniquely the company was owned by the Wellcome Trust – a medical charity. He recalled that at the same time of his arrival the scientist James Black was leaving. This scientist did not discover any major products whilst with the company having discovered two major compounds in his earlier life. His success was based on in his dogged pursuit of true biological targets. He was right to do this as evidenced by his Nobel Prize four years later.
The second chapter related to his work with Calmic a division of Wellcome. There he met a major influence in his life for many years. The Managing Director was very driven by a desire to develop his staff which on occasions involved criticism. The main learning from that experience was a focus on the motivation of those who either criticise or praise being whether it is based upon fairness.
Trevor’s third chapter involved many years with Amersham International (now GE Healthcare). This company uses radioactivity for a number of applications including radiotherapy. The experience here was of the immense responsibility places upon all the employees as the consequences of error were very grave. The whole thing only works because of the international relationships and the reputation of the entire supply chain.
Finally he explained that he taught applied finance at the Amersham Academy and Ashridge. During this time he was asked to work with a Trustee of the Wellcome Trust. The Trustees main task was to grant funds for research based, not on any financial return but rather whether there would be therapeutic benefit.
When asked to join Rotary Trevor recalled that he researched the purpose of the organisation and discovered the four tests.
Is it true?
Is it fair?
Will it build goodwill and relationships?
Will it be of benefit?
His life had gone full circle, he was happy to be in Shaftesbury Rotary and looked forward to the coming year.
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