From our immediate Past President Scott Gallacher:
It has been an absolute honour and delight to serve as President of the Rotary Club of Leicester, and today I passed this Presidency onto Nick Thomson.
Although we have sadly lost some great Rotarians during the year, who will be sorely missed, we finish the year with a higher membership. In particular, our new Satellite group gives us an additional way to serve our community.
I am pleased that we were not only able to continue with many of our traditional Rotary activities. These include events such as KidsOut and the Age UK Christmas lunch. And also, newer projects such as the Christmas Hamper and Easter Egg appeals. These make a real difference to local people and are an excellent opportunity for us all to volunteer our time or make donations for the benefit of our community.
I was delighted with the success of our new Books4Home appeal. This provided disadvantaged children with hundreds of books and gave us additional opportunities to engage with the local community.
Sadly, the Rotary Bags4TheHomeless project, providing emergency bags, including sleeping bags, never gained any traction. However, at least we did pass several bags to a local charity for the homeless.
With the pandemic ending, we held some great social events, including the curry evening and afternoon tea party. These were not only fabulous social events but also great fundraisers.
I ended my year as President with the wonderful Music in the Park in the grounds of Wistow Hall. Credit goes to past president Chris Saul who first agreed that we should help organise this event and especially to Rob and Tim, who joined us from Wigston, for all their hard work ensuring that this event continued to be a success. The concert proved to be a fantastic social event with an attendance of around 1,000 that raised approximately £10,000 for charity.
I’m also delighted that we raised approximately £10,000 for my chosen Presidential charity, the Ectodermal Dysplasia Society. This will make a real difference to this small charity.
There are too many people to thank personally. But I would like to thank everyone for their Service above Self during my year and for their help and support. It was very much appreciated.
Our club is in great hands with Nick as our new President, and I wish him all the best.
