Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, attended a dinner today to celebrate the 27th Charter Anniversary of the Rotary Club in Kinver.
Gavin was the main speaker for the event, which was held at The Fox Inn, in Stourton.
Speaking of the occasion, Gavin said: “The Rotary Club of Kinver is at the heart of so much activity in the village and is very valued. The amount of money that has been raised over the years is extremely impressive and is something that we should be very proud of.
“I had a wonderful evening and it was great to be able to talk to the guests about my role as an MP. It was also a huge privilege to meet a few of the Members who have contributed so much to the local community over the decades.”
The Rotary Club of Kinver was formed in 1986. It was set up by the Rotary Club of Stourbridge after the organisation identified the opportunity to create an evening club to cater for those to whom membership of Rotary would otherwise have been impossible.
Over 200 guests - including the RIBI President - filled the main banqueting suite in Wolverhampton’s Park Hall Hotel to witness the official presentation of the Charter to founder President Bruce Harris.
Since then, the club has become a fully accepted and highly appreciated facet of life in the villages of Kinver and Enville, and the Wollaston area of Stourbridge, working on behalf of young and old alike – and raising over £250,000 for charities in the area and across the world.
The most high profile of the club’s activities within the communities has been the sleigh, which made its first tour of the village in the year that the club was chartered. It has continued to make the tour every year since, only missing two collection nights due to bad weather over the first 25 years. In that time, it has raised a staggering £89,000 for local charities.
This year saw the 12th anniversary of the Children in Need Quiz, hosted by BBC ‘Voice of the Balls’ Alan Dedicoat, who offered to stage the event after he was guest speaker at Charter Night in 2001.
Six of members of the Rotary Club of Kinver have been awarded with Paul Harris Fellowships: the late Lawrie Beswick, the late Johyn Fraser and Past Presidents Mike Aston, Roy Sanders (who has also been awarded a sapphire pin), Mike Deathridge and Ken Graham. This total rose to eight when the Club welcomed four members from the Brierley Hill Rotary Club following its closure, all Past Presidents and Paul Harris Fellows.