The weather may have taken a nasty turn for the worse, but nothing stops Swanage Rotarians from carrying on with their planned activities and there’s been quite a lot going on over the past week or so.
At our meeting on 21st February we were delighted to welcome PCSO Iain Leslie and his wife Kerrie to our meeting. Iain has been recognised for his superb work in the local community by being awarded a Rotary Dorset Police Award and the picture shows President Ro and Community & Vocational Committee Chairman Maggie presenting Iain with his certificate. Iain spoke passionately about how much he feels welcomed in the local community and how much he enjoys working and living in the area.
Last Saturday (25th) saw the Silver Sunday Saturday event, postponed from October 2017, take place at Emmanuel Baptist Church with 80 friends. At the same time, Swanage and Purbeck Rotary took the opportunity to celebrate Rotary’s 113th birthday which was reached earlier last week.
Afternoon tea with delicious cakes and sandwiches were greatly enjoyed as was the music 
kindly provided by Jacqui, Angus and Amanda. The celebration birthday cake was made by Wendy Quayle and was cut by President Elect Linda Winter and Rotarian Hubert Pierce. The event was provided free of charge but guests did make generous donations for Dementia Friendly /Admiral Nurses and £ 130.75 will be added to their funds.
Organisers Rotarians Maggie Hardy and Mo Andrews would like to thank all those who contributed to the very successful afternoon in any way. See our Facebook page for more photos.
Then, at our meeting this week, and despite the sub-zero temperatures and howling gale, we decamped from our usual venue to meet at The Knoll House Hotel in 
Studland. This was actually the meeting venue for the very first meeting of Swanage Rotary back in 1959. Aside from it being a Fellowship event, to which more than 30 people attended, we were delighted to welcome another two new members to the club – Tracy Tennant (the new General Manager of the Knoll House), and Chris LeFevre, who has recently moved to Purbeck and has transferred to us from Abingdon Vesper RC.
Tracy and Chris were formally inducted and welcomed to the club and both were invited to say a few words. With the formalities over, everyone present enjoyed a sumptuous two course meal from the Knoll House kitchen, followed by coffee and tea.
Grateful thanks goes to the management and staff of the Knoll House for hosting us so well and we look forward to Tracy and Chris integrating fully into the club and its activities.