LOCH NESS ROTARY BLOG

THIS WEEK'S MEETING - PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER

2008-07-02T23:08:00.001+01:00

Members of the Loch Ness Rotary Club this week welcomed their new President for the next 12 months who will lead them through the period being referred to as the ‘change year’ for Rotary.

Jim Cockburn (61), a retired water utility director and consultant from Inverness takes over from outgoing President George McRae as the Club’s 18th President since its formation in 1990.

Since retiring, Jim has developed his community involvement including as a Board member of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority, Chairman of an environment-related Scottish Government Advisory Committee, and continues to work as a Community Business member of the Board at Inverness Leisure.

Jim has been involved in Rotary for over 20 years, having previously been a member in Aberdeen prior to moving to the Loch Ness club in the City.

Commenting on taking over at the 61-member strong club, the new President commented, “I am extremely proud to take over the mantle from our immediate Past President George McRae and I would pay tribute on behalf of our members to the work that George has undertaken on our behalf over the last 12 months.

Outlining the wind of change within Rotary throughout the United Kingdom, Jim continued, “I appreciate the foundations laid by George and his committees last year and I will continue to develop our club’s role in this national ‘change agenda’ for Rotary throughout the Country.

“Part of what we are looking to do is make Rotary more streamlined and accessible through enhanced use of the internet which has the additional benefit of fitting well with our Green agenda and to raise awareness among the public of all that Rotary has achieved improving health, hunger, literacy and sanitation throughout the World . We will also continue with our club’s ‘Invite an International Guest’ programme, where members of the community from other countries who have settled in Inverness will be invited to our club to share friendship and develop networking opportunities.

President Jim informed the membership that Rotary’s World President’s vision for the year was developed after he found out that 30,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable illnesses.

“World President DK Lee from Korea has committed all Rotary Clubs throughout the world this year to take steps to reduce childhood mortality in any way they can. Loch Ness has a good track record of helping to improve the lives of young people at home and abroad and, in the coming year, we aim to continue to play our part in giving less fortunate children and young people better opportunities in life..

In closing the meeting, the new President thanked the club for their support and outlined his own message for the year, “I hope as members of the club that this year, we can enjoy the friendship of Rotary coupled with using our resources to make a positive difference to people’s lives within our local Community and further afield.

“I would thank the members of the club for allowing me the honour to hold this position, and I look forward to working with the various members throughout the year.

Outgoing President George McRae commented, “I have sincerely enjoyed the previous 12 months as President of the Club and I would wish Jim and his wife Avril all the very best for the year ahead of them.”

MEDIA RELEASE - TOP ROTARY AWARD FOR HIGHLAND CROSS FOUNDER

2008-06-25T21:08:00.002+01:00

Members of the Loch Ness club were unanimous in their agreement that long-standing member of the Club, Gerry Grant should have his service to the Community formally recognised by awarding him a Paul Harris Fellowship.

The Award presented to Mr Grant is classed as “the highest honour that can be bestowed on a fellow Rotarian” and the guidelines are very clear that it should be used as such. Therefore it was not surprising that Mr Grant was completely taken aback when the surprise presentation of the award was made in front of his rotary peers.

Local man, Gerry Grant (72) has been involved in Rotary since 1990 and was a founder member of the Loch Ness Club, he has undertaken a number of roles within the club and on behalf of the club.

An extremely modest man, Mr Grant was overwhelmed as he accepted the award from his fellow club members and commenting after becoming the club’s newest Paul Harris Fellow he said, “The award was totally unexpected and I am indeed greatly honoured to have been singled out in this way.

Playing down the status of the high award and as-ever taking the spotlight from himself he continued, “I am sure this award reflects on our club's increased commitment to Rotary Foundation and new initiatives in the range of International Service projects, which I am delighted to say have been enthusiastically supported by club members in recent years.

Gerry is extremely proud in co-starting the Midsummer Madathon in 1983, which was an event from Kintail to Inverness. The following year this event was changed to an east to west, 50 mile cycle and 50 mile walk or run finishing in Beauly Square that was to become known as the Highland Cross. Now on the Charity Board for the event he cannot hide his pride when he comments, “The event is now in its 26th year and has now raised almost £2.5 million for local charities.

Finishing his career as Third Officer with Highlands & Islands Fire Brigade, he retired on Hogmanay 1989 only to take up the post of Local Coordinator for Victim Support for the next 6 years, to then retire properly to spend some quality time with his family, which now includes 2 grandsons.

After presenting Mr Grant with his Award, President George McRae commented, “This award is well and truly deserved by Gerry and I am delighted that he achieved this high award in my Presidential year.

The actual award was presented to Mr Grant by Assistant Governor for this area of Scotland, Doug Ritchie who said, “Gerry should be extremely proud that his club has recognised the exceptional work he has done for Rotary’s international causes, it is without doubt very well deserved.

CLUB ASSEMBLY - 18th JUNE 2008

2008-06-25T21:03:00.003+01:00

Today was our Club Assembly which was attended by 39 of our own members and 4 visitors, David Martin and Roy Sinclair from Inverness, Jenni Sheerin from the Riverside Club and Mike Phimister, Secretary of Culloden Rotary Club.

The new Club banner was displayed for the first time.

The meeting started with a showing of a Power point presentation Shift Happens, which illustrates the challenge of adjusting to new technology and changes in the world; James Martin presented at the District Council Assembly. Anyone who has not seen this interesting slide show can access it at
http://blogs.msdn.com/ukschools/archive/2007/06/18/shift-happens-did-you-know.aspx

President Elect Jim and the Chairs of the Committees for 2008-9 took us through their programmes for the year.

District Assistant Governor Doug Ritchie then spoke to the Club. He brought greetings from David Rankin, District Governor Elect and President Elect RIBI Ian Thomas .

He reminded us that President Elect Ian’s preferred project for 2008-9 is Schools for Africa. A donation of £300 from each Club will enable RIBI, working with Leonard Cheshire International, to provide 29 schools for disabled children in Kenya and Uganda. He commended our Club’s plans for the year including our commitment to Polio Plus and Foundation as well as the plans for joint working with the other Inverness Clubs on various projects.

The Assistant Governor explained that Challenge Enterprise is not going to be held this year but it is hoped that it will be returning next year. There are also plans for new District Trophy for Young Musician of the Year, provided by Ex District Governor Bill Leslie. He also informed us that it is hoped to resume the Curling league.

The members were thanked for their attendance at reminded that next weeks meeting would be the handover meeting where our President Elect, Jim Cockburn would be passed the Chain of Officer by George McRae.

SPEAKER MEETING - 11th JUNE 2008

2008-06-25T20:57:00.002+01:00

Today we had 31 of our own members present.

The members were given an enlightening talk from Graeme Blair, our Euroscola sponsored candidate.

Graeme gave a very interesting resume of his European trip, the various nationalities he met, the varied discussions he had with fellow students and the interesting places visited. He also commented on the social activities he took part in, which included demonstrating the Gay Gordons to French and German colleagues!!

He also spoke of his communication skills improved as he attempted the varius foreign languages, especially French and German.

Graeme was most appreciative of the chance to take part in the Euroscola project and was certain the experience would stand him in good stead in his future career. He was continuing his studies, reading Chemistry at Strathclyde University.

Graeme was thanked for coming along and was wished well in his studies for the future.

28th MAY - REGULAR MEETING

2008-05-30T22:46:00.002+01:00

Our attendance of 40 members included a welcome return of Alistair Scott-Brown, Hugh Grant and Mike Young, all of whom have been unable to attend the club for a while.

Also at the meeting was Assistant Governor, Doug Ritchie who had come along to present our own member Gerry Grant with the high honour of a Paul Harris Fellowship on behalf of the club. The award was presented to Gerry in recognition of the work he has undertaken on behalf of the club for Foundation and International causes.

Gerry accepted the award with his usual modest way.

21st May 2008 - SPEAKER MEETING

2008-05-30T22:40:00.002+01:00

Today our meeting was attended by 42 of our own members. We were joined by 2 Rotarian visitors Jim Robb and Bill Jack, both of the Inverness Club and two non-Rotarian guests, Monica Lee-Macpherson and our speaker, Marie Mackintosh of InvernessCity Partnership a guest of Stuart Black.

Marie updated us on the Streetscape Project.The main aims of the project were to improve traffic management and to create amore inviting and welcoming space within the Old Townarea. There has already been a 48% reduction in unnecessary traffic using thecity centre and a corresponding increase in the use of public transport and thePark and Stride scheme. Several before and after photographs illustrated the changes that make the streets moreattractive; the attention to detail needed to achieve this was illustrated bythe repositioning of traffic lights in order to give an uninterrupted view ofthe iconic Greig Street Bridge. New lighting features in the design plans andthis includes uplights on the older buildings and variable coloured lighting onthe Ness Bridge. The latter will be discussedwith fishermen as there may be a potential for the effects to upset the salmon.There will also be specially designed street furniture and a Public ArtIntegration programme will see innovations at various locations, including theVictorian Market. The logo for the Old Town Art project includes a camel on topof an elephant ( symbols from the previous shield) and the slogan Right Enough( in latin) - words which sum up the eventual aim for the look of Inverness as a City. Marie was able to give reassurance that Highland Council will ensure that the improvements are maintained in good order.

Ian Gordon has been in contact with a Rotarian in Shanghai, whom he met on his recent trip to China, to offersympathy on the earthquake disaster . He had also told them of the Rotary aid being sent . He has received a very moving reply, which he read to the meeting,the text is included below. Ian has also contacted another Chinese acquaintancewho lives in the quake zone but has not yet received any response.

President George informed the meeting that the council have agreed to finance a further Shelterbox which will be sent to China through the District1010 and Shelterbox scheme.

7th MAY 2008 - SPEAKER MEETING PROVOST BOB WYND

2008-05-10T17:52:00.002+01:00

Today's meeting was a speaker meeting where City of Inverness Provost Bob Wynd would make a presentation on his vision for the city to our 34 members and 1 guest present.

Provost Bob Wynd, a guest of Ken Mackie, told the club that he believes it is vital to increase the world profile and status of our City. The city status helps in this by enabling us to take part in events such as the recent economic development conference in Cannes, where our representatives were part of the Six Scottish Cities Group.

The fame of the Loch Ness Monster is an advantage in selling the city at such events develop links with other countries and Provost Wynd recently had the privilege of entertaining at a lunch both the Russian and American Consuls who were attending a conference in the City. Contact with Consulates helps development cultural links.

The Provost commented that although the use of the Common Good Fund for fireworks at the Old New Year was controversial, the resulting publicity has been immense and has helped raise our international profile.

In order to grow Inverness needs improved transport links, particularly on the East West routes and Provost Wynd outlined the current position on the A96 improvements and his hopes concerning A9 improvements.

Within Inverness it is important that new building creates communities not just houses; encouraging building firms to erect permanent structures for their contract base and sell these on as shops and community centres at the end of the project may facilitate this. The changes to the town centre (the Streetscape project) were essential to future development; transport links are already showing evidence of recovering from the period of disruption and ways of helping businesses to recover from its effects are being implemented.

It was also noted that 19 members had a very interesting vocational visit to the new Culloden Vistor Centre which had opened its doors to the public recently.

Our next meeting (14/05) will be a business meeting, where next year's new Committees have been asked to sit together to discuss the developments for the forthcoming year.

OUR MEETING - 30th APRIL 2008

2008-05-02T21:48:00.002+01:00

At our regular meeting today our 42 club members were joined by one Rotarian visitor, President Derek McRae from Inverness Culloden Club.

One of our members, James Campbell presented a short film on the new Blythswood scheme Buckets of Love.

The scheme has similarities to both the shoebox and survival boxes projects where the donor is supplied with a blue bucket and then fills it with a mandatory list of small items which are likely to be useful for and appreciated by poor families or those affected by disasters. The content include things like toothbrushes, oven-gloves, yo-yo's etc. which fill the bucket. However, the ingenious idea of the bucket means that when the items are removed, the recipients can then use the bucket for carrying water or other items.

Donors can personalise the bucket by drawing their hand print on the front and or adding personal messages and photographs.

Anyone looking for more information should go to http://www.blythswood.org/index.php?id=39

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 7th May 2008, where our guest speaker will be Councillor Bob Wynd, Provost of the City of Inverness.

PREPARATION FOR ANNUAL BLACK ISLE BIKE RIDE

2008-05-02T21:44:00.002+01:00

Over half the members of the Rotary Club of Loch Ness are in training for what they hope will be their biggest ever annual Charity Black Isle Bike Ride which takes place on Saturday 17th May.

The members of the club have been working hard to organise the event that they hope will once again raise thousands of pounds for the two selected charities which both have local connections to the Inverness and Loch Ness areas.

Loch Ness Rotary Club has now organised the annual bike ride for more than ten years, during which time it has raised in excess of £35,000 for well deserving causes.

Lead organiser for the event Gerry Grant commented, “We are very hopeful that this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever. The bike ride is for cyclists of all abilities and although the event is being run by the Rotary Club of Loch Ness, we would welcome anyone interested in joining us over the 23 mile course.

Making reference to the club’s selected charities, Gerry continued, “This year we have selected two international charities the Maya Leprosy Fund which helps people in Nepal who have this dreadful disease.

“We have also opted to assist in the fundraising towards a new operating theatre for The Nazareth Hospital in Israel. This theatre will offer some much needed medical care, attention and treatment to those in need of help in this trouble-torn area of our world.

“We expect to have over 30 of our own members signed up to take part in this bike-fest. However, we would be delighted to have any individual cyclists or cycling groups who may be looking for a bit of fun and fitness on Saturday 17th May to join us and help us raise some funds for our charities.

Anyone interested in taking part in the Black Isle bike ride should contact Gerry Grant on 01463 238566 or by email on cozac@talktalk.net.

MEETING 23rd APRIL 2008 - SPEAKER MEETING

2008-04-28T22:45:00.002+01:00

This week's meeting was attended by 37 of our own members, 1 visiting Rotarian guest - Jim Robb from the Inverness Club and 2 non-rotarian guests.

This week was a speaker meeting and the members of the club were to hear from Paul McLaughlin from New Start.

Paul spoke as a representative of ‘New Start’, a local charity which re-cycles domestic goods for the benefit of re-housed people who have nothing and can not afford to purchase these items themselves.

He thanked the Club for their recent generous donation. The charity is about people – their quality of life is improved and their self-esteem is raised from the help they get, our environment benefits from reducing the volume of land fill by re-cycling large furniture etc, and everyone feels good at the end of it. To illustrate the latter, Paul quoted examples of people working for the Charity who had been ‘on the edge’ themselves but who had been helped by the feelings of well-being and satisfaction they got from helping others.

The Charity has a referral system by which they get to know of those needing help from other agencies. However, any one can make a referral if they know of a case of need.

Goods donated are all checked for safety and refurbished to a high standard before re-distribution. They employ a full time electrician and a full time carpenter for that purpose. Furniture which is not manufactured from fire-proof materials can not be accepted, but there are relatively few such items in a useable state these days.

New Start is mainly confined to the Highlands, but a Fort William depot was recently opened.

Paul was thanked for his presentation, and at the end of the meeting invited Club Rotarians to visit their depot to see how the furniture distribution was handled and administered.

MEETING ON 9th APRIL 2008 - SPEAKER MEETING

2008-04-28T22:41:00.002+01:00

This week was a relatively quiet week as we only had 32 of our own members present.

Alastair Murray introduced his wife, Moira, who gave a description of the work of their charity, the Maya Leprosy Appeal.

Following a period as Church of Scotland Mission Partners, they went to Nepal in August 1999 where Moira worked as a Nursing Officer at a Leprosy hospital. Leprosy, or Hansens Disease, is contracted orally from an airborne bacilli and affects the hands, feet, nose and eyes. The resultant sores turn into horrific wounds but the patient feels no pain owing to a natural anaesthesia which accompanies the disease.

In due course, misunderstood by the Nepalese Government their visas were revoked and they had to leave. Before doing so, they taught home care principles to local people so that the treatment of Lepers could be continued in their absence.

They set up their Charity in 2003 and, from 2004, have returned to Nepal annually to continue their work of treatment and teaching self-help. They travel by the cheapest possible means and take with them a variety of essential medical supplies which they purchase, but also time-expired NHS dressings, bandages etc obtained free of charge and which would otherwise have been disposed of. On one visit they were accompanied by a Podiatrist to teach nail and foot care.
They set up a women’s group and have taught them to knit and sew, even those with almost no hands, and the items are sold to raise money. They also have Lepers producing cards and one who has been able to resume his shoe-making trade. These activities have been made possible by innovative strapping of hands so as to make them usable again – even for such simple tasks as brushing their own hair. Wound care has been handed over to locally-trained people, self-care is being taught, literacy classes have been set up, and scholarships for children aged 10 plus are being developed.

The presentation was accompanied by a series of pictures of Leprosy victims showing the extent of the effects of the disease, and some moving stories of particular individuals and how they have been helped to overcome the difficulties brought on as a result of contracting the disease.

The Charity has a Board of Trustees, but Alastair and Moira do most of the fund-raising themselves. They have few overheads but need raise a minimum of £2.5k per year.
Few could fail to be affected by the message delivered on the effects of Leprosy and how these 2 people are devoting their lives to do what they can to alleviate that in one small part of Nepal.

IAN'S VISIT TO GOA

2008-04-07T21:03:00.003+01:00

One of our club members, Ian McDonald recently visited the Rotary Club of Margao (pictured left), here he talks of the welcome he recieved and the memories he has brought home with him.

We were staying in the Majorda Beach Resort in Salcete some 20 minutes from Margao which is the second largest city in Goa and has two Rotary Clubs, the Rotary Club of Margao and the Rotary Club of Margao Midtown. It turned out that the Vice President of the Hotel chain which owned the Majorda Beach Resort was also a member of the Margao Rotary Club and Rotary is obviously highly thought of in India and surprise was expressed by both the Hotel staff and the taxi driver who took me there as to how I was able to obtain an “invitation” to the Rotary Club. They were interested to find out that visiting other Rotary Clubs was all part of being a Rotarian and that Rotarians were generally made welcome in Rotary Clubs they might visit the world over.

As I mentioned to you I have in the past visited Rotary Clubs in Hammamet in Tunisia (where the business was conducted in French and I had to address them in French about our own Club), Kusadasi in Turkey (where only 1 member spoke English!), Sheridan in Wyoming and Scottsdale in Arizona and so Goa was the third continent where I have now managed a visit.

It was slightly strange travelling into a large Indian city at night particularly when the taxi driver only vaguely knew the location of the Rotary Club and when we eventually found the building in which it was located I had to look up to see a large sign outside a fifth floor balcony advertising the Rotary Club of Margao.

After climbing up the five floors to the premises in which the Rotary Club was based it appeared that they had a large permanent room which was the room which was used for meetings etc. When I arrived at the scheduled meeting time of 7.30pm there were only a couple of Rotarians including the Club Secretary about as also another visiting Rotarian, a Vice President from a Club in the southwest of England and his wife.

The room in which the meeting was held was set out theatre style with a top table and various pieces of Rotary regalia and mottos round the walls such as the four way test etc.

Apparently the reason for the room being set out like that was that there was a meeting of the Group Study Exchange scheme from New Jersey in the United States that night which they were combining with their regular meeting and also a celebration of their 45th Charter Anniversary. This apparently all meant that the meeting was going to go on until after 11pm with the GSE Group presentation as well as music and dancing as well as a meal.

The meeting did not eventually get going until about 8.15pm when everything was set but in the meantime I had an opportunity of meeting several of the members all of whom were very hospitable and interesting. I was also able to meet the members of the Group Study Exchange scheme.

Apparently the Club has some 85 members and has been involved in a variety of charitable and other activities and is very strong in the area. The members cover a wide cross section of occupations including Doctors, Engineers and other businessmen and women.

The President, Audhut P Kare who has his own distribution Company also made me welcome but when I explained that I would not be able to wait past 9pm when I had a taxi ordered he suggested that I stayed to the end and he himself would run me back to the Hotel. Unfortunately even having been presented with a rose to take back to Margaret (photo attached) who was dining alone back at the Hotel I did not think this would be particularly welcomed!

Among the interesting people with whom I spoke was one elegant Indian lady in a sari whose appearance belied her age of 92 – she had been a Rotarian for 16 years and was their oldest Rotarian. To my surprise she had a perfect Oxford English accent and it transpired that her family had been involved with MacKinnon & MacKenzie a big trading Company in Calcutta with Dundee connections through the jute trade and originally founded by 2 Scots from Campbeltown, and which eventually became the British India Steam Navigation Company. She herself had been educated at Oxford University and apparently her grandfather had trained as a Doctor at Edinburgh University in 1870 with two of his brothers also having been educated in Edinburgh!

The meeting started with all present reciting the four way test as apparently is the case each week before it moved on to the presentation by the GSE team at which stage I unfortunately had to slip away tactfully and found the taxi driver waiting outside for me as promised.

I left with an invitation to be sure to attend the next meeting but unfortunately it was after the end of the holiday but having found my way around I would certainly make a further visit on another trip to Goa. Certainly my experiences to date would make me encourage any other Rotarians to take the opportunity of visiting Rotary Clubs abroad – in whatever country they may be.

TODAY'S MEETING (02/04/08) - BUSINESS MEETING

2008-04-07T20:59:00.002+01:00

Today we had 34 of our own members who were joined by one non-rotarian guest.

A relatively informal meeting today, the members heard that Cliff Sim is in the process of organising the annual cycle run on the 17th May 2008. Anyone interested in taking part should email lochnessrotary@uku.co.uk to have an entry form sent to them.

Next weeks meeting will be our club Annual General Meeting.
The meeting will start early at 12.45pm

SPEAKER MEETING - RACHEL MACLURE

2008-04-07T20:55:00.002+01:00

Today we had a slightly quieter than usual lunch with only 32 of our own members in attendance.

Today was a Speaker meeting and we welcomed Rachel McClure, Ambassadorial Scholar, who had the misfortune to experience a delay of over an hour on our esteemed rail services and arrived just in time to speak to us.

The qualities that won her the coveted Scholarship were exemplified in the aplomb with which she launched straight into a slick presentation on Rotary Scholarships, her home state of Mississippi,her observations on differences between Rotary in USA and Scotland and her ambitions for the future.

Rachel is studying a MBA at Stirling University,she hopes that this study will give her the qualifications to obtain a place asa legislative aide to a Mississippi politician in Washington and thus become involved in policy formation and writing for economic and social improvement . She explained that“the Magnolia State”, which is perhaps best known for the segregation and Civil Rights issues of the 50’s and 60’s, is the poorest state in the USA, the fattest and 5th in the tables of domestic violence and homicide; it has a very poor education record with only 53% of children graduating from High School and 26% from College.

Many graduates leave the State in search of better conditions, thus perpetuating poor economic performance. Rachel admitted that at first she had intended to do so but had been enthused as to the possibilities of improving conditions and now wishes to remain.

She highlighted the attractions of the State, including their record as being within the top 5%of donors to charitable causes in the USA. Rachel acknowledged that within the States membership of Rotary is a career bonus and a form of networking she hopes to join her sponsoring Club on her return to the States and she is taking back with her the idea that Rotary can also be about socialising.

Her involvement in setting up a Rotaract Club with her host Club in Stirling shows that she is aware of the importance of’ Service above Self’ as well .She also expressed surprise that there were so few female Rotarians in Scotland!

Her presentation overall was a super example of the aims of the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program which, of course, include Supporting The Rotary Foundation’s ultimate goal of world understanding and peace by:
•Increasing awareness of and respect for cultural differences by sendingambassadors of goodwill to study in another country
•Instilling in scholars the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self through active participation in Rotary service projects
•Encouraging scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for the people of their home community and country
•Developing leaders who can address the humanitarian needs of the world community
• Fostering a lifelong association between Rotary and its scholars)

We have received a message from the WildHearts/WildDay Out team to tell us that theHighland Santa Six Fun Run has been nominated for the Best Sporting Event award at this year's ICA Awards. They go on to say "The fantastic success of the event could not have been achieved without your help, so thank you very much once again. It would be great if you felt you’d like to continue to show your support for us by voting for the Santa Run at the Awards. This will help us to spread the WildHearts message and recruit a few more Santas to dash about Inverness this year! To vote simply visit www.icaawards.com and click Santa Run in Category 9. You do have to fill out every category, but this should only take a few minutes.

SPEAKER MEETING - 19th March 2008

2008-03-21T00:36:00.002Z

At our meeting today, we had 35 of our own members present. They were joined by our only rotarian guest, David Martin from the Inverness Club.

The members were treated to a very informative presentation from Dr Simon Hewick, Consultant Eye Surgeon at Raigmore Hospital a guest of Ken Wilson. Dr Hewick described the work of the Opthalmology Department. The six consultants, 2 junior doctors and 3 non consultant grade doctors serve the whole of the Highland Health Board area , travelling to several peripheral sites for clinics and surgery.

Each consultant specialises in one area of eye problems (cornea, glaucoma, retinal, plastic surgery and squint) . Dr Hewick’s special expertise is in retinal surgery. He described the recent advances made by the introduction of a drug for treating age related wet macular degeneration, which previously always resulted in blindness.

The administration of the drug into the eye can prevent deterioration and even give improved vision in some cases. Dr Hewick described the treatment available for detached retina and showed a film of the procedure for treating cataracts. In an amazing 6 minutes the cataract was removed and an artificial lens implanted. Dr Hewick explained that patients can even chose what vision is restored, long or short sight!

The increase in the safety of the procedure has led to a four fold increase in the number of operations in the last ten years. Although the film may have caused some toes to curl and eyes to water it is reassuring to know that should we be unfortunate enough to need the surgery the operation is so quick and effective.

President George presented a Maori Doll, which was jointly presented to the club at last year's District Conference for donations to Foundation. We shared the award with the Thurso club, who had kept it for the first six months of the year.

Our next week's meeting would be a speaker meeting. Members and guest will hear from Rachel McClure who is an ambassadorial scholar.

A SPEAKER MEETING - 12th March 2008

2008-03-21T00:26:00.002Z

At today's meeting our 33 members welcomed Harry Leadbitter, District 1010 Foundation Chairperson to the meeting.

Harry was invited to give a short presentation to the member about the work of Foundation throughout the world.

He started by giving the staggering statistic that the Foundation Charity had been started with a small donation of $26. He then went on to outline that since then it has collected $19 Billion to be used for humanitarian aid throughout the world. Part of what it does is the Polio Plus programme, where 2 billion vaccinations have been administered, saving the lives of 250,000 of children who would otherwise have died.

Harry outlined that RIBI had set a new target of total polio eradication by 2012. This had been prompted by a $100 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; with a further £3 million being received from google.com.

The presentation was very well received and Harry was thanked for travelling from Dundee to give his talk to the assembled members.

At the end of the meeting, President George congratulated Stuart Black, one of our member on his appointment to the post of Director of Planning and Development with the Highland Council.

OUR REGULAR MEETING 5th March 2008

2008-03-21T00:17:00.002Z

Today, our meeting was attended by 42 of our own members.

We were also delighted to be joined by Past District 1010 Governor, Mr Bill Pirie and Monica Lee Macpherson, who was a guest of Gerry Grant.

We also had the pleasant task of welcoming Lynne Cordiner, who became the newest member of our club today. Lynne was previously a rotarian in the Inverness Culloden club.

Roy McLennan and Henry Dow carried out their prize draw which club members had bought tickets in support of their trek to India in aid of Maggie's. Various members won prizes ranging from £150 of hair care products to a trip in a helicopter!

Next week's meeting will be attended by Harry Leadbitter, District Foundation Chair.

OUR REGULAR MEETING - 20th February 2008

2008-02-21T14:42:00.003Z

This week we had 38 of our own members present, but surprising for the first in a long time we had no visitors.

Our own Club Member, Mike Halley presented information on the Filtastraw. This amazing device removes all sorts of germs and impurities from water by using a series of filters.

The straw is used just like any straw, although it is bigger. By sucking water through it clean drinking water can be obtained from any puddle, pond or river.

The capacity for cleaning is sufficient for one year’s supply for one person. The straws cost £5.00 each. The Filtastraw initiative is run by the Rotary Club of Brynmawr. More details can be found at http://www.filtastraw.co.uk/.

Members were reminded that we will not hold our own regular meeting next week, as the Inverness Clubs Joint Fellowship meeting will be taking place on 27th February at Lochardil Hotel.

Our next regular meeting at the Waterside Hotel will be on 5th March 2008

WE LAUNCH OUR NEW LOOK WEBSITE

2008-02-21T13:44:00.004Z

Following a bit of redevelopment, we are proud to launch our new look website which can be found at http://www.lochnessrotary.org/.

The new site has been pulled together by our Club Webmaster, Richard Cliff who has worked at making the new site much more user-friendly and with better navigation.

Commenting on the changes he said, "As the Loch Ness club, we were looking to maximise the number of international rotarian hits we received on the website.

"We are hopeful that the new look site, which offers information on our club; what we are trying to achieve and our news blog will give visitors to the site a clearer understanding of what the members at Loch Ness are doing. In addition, it may also give anyone that surfs in the opportunity to see what Rotary is actually about.

CLUB BRING DEMO SHELTERBOX TO TOWN

2008-02-21T13:26:00.002Z

Over the last number of years, members and friends of Loch Ness Rotary Club have donated money to purchase Rotary survival boxes that can be used as emergency aid in areas hit by disaster.

The Loch Ness club has managed to get a demonstration box on loan from Rotary International to let people see exactly what they have contributed to. They are delighted to work in partnership with Blythswood Care who have agreed to allow the club to place the display in their shop window in the City Centre.

George McRae, club President said, “We have contributed to many of these boxes over the years. We had seen DVD’s of the units in use and had even heard about how the boxes helped the needy in the disaster areas. The only problem was we had never actually seen a box or its contents.

“The box is perfectly packed and includes items that include a tent, thermal blankets, insulated ground sheets, stoves, cooking and eating utensils and tools. It even contains a kiddies activity pack. Each box contains enough equipment for 10 people, which when you consider the size of the box is pretty amazing.

The President concluded, “Once the box is emptied, it can them used in conjunction with the water purification kit supplied in order to give a decent supply to the people using it for many months.

Anyone wanting to have a look at what a ‘Shelterbox’ actually looks like can take a look by going along to the Blythswood Care shop in Academy Street.

ROY & HENRY HEAD FOR INDIAN MARATHON...!

2008-02-21T13:18:00.002Z

Two members of the Loch Ness Rotary club have already started a gruelling training regime in preparation for their hike across Ladakh in India to raise funds for Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre.

Local Businessmen Roy McLennan and Henry Dow are setting themselves up for an 11 day marathon that will take them take them to the highest inhabited region in the world.

The two Rotarian set themselves six months to get “match fit” for the hike that will take them away from even the very basics of home comforts during the time they are away.

Roy McLennan, Past President of the Loch Ness club said, “Henry and I had been looking for a challenge that we could take part in on behalf of the club and to raise funds for a local charity at the same time.

“Out trip to India is going to be the biggest fitness challenge that either of us is ever likely to do. But we are getting fitter ever week and looking forward to getting over there to get started. The only thing we can’t train for is getting acclimatised to the high altitudes; but we get a day at the start of the trip to prepare ourselves at 3,500 metres.

He continued, “We have targeted a figure of £10,000 pound for the Charity. We are lucky that we have already received sponsorship from a couple of Rotary Clubs along with some corporate sponsorship. However, we are hoping that other local businesses will support will recognise what we are doing and assist us further with the fundraising.

Fiona McRae, Fundraising Co-ordinator of Maggie’s Highlands in Inverness said, “We are absolutely delighted that Henry and Roy have signed up for the India trek in aid of our charity. Maggie's relies entirely on fundraising and the money they raise will go towards the programme of support we offer for people affected by cancer in the Highlands. This includes support groups for people with cancer as well as family and friends, information leaflets and library books, relaxation classes, nutrition workshops and stress management courses.

OUR REGULAR MEETING - 13th February 2008

2008-02-21T13:05:00.002Z

This week's meeting was a speaker meeting, and the 43 club members and 2 visitors were treated to an interesting presentation by Mike Grantham, guest of Sandy Renfrew who spoke on the Karma Enduro charity challenge in which he and his wife, Jackie will be participating in October.

The challenge is to drive an Indian Ambassador car from Goa to Kerala, 2000 kilometers on difficult roads in a vehicle which is described as handling like a “drunken badger”.

Mike and Jackie will undertake this adventure to raise funds for the Rainbow Trust Children's Charity and Adventure Ashram. The Rainbow Trust offers non-medical, practical and emotional support to families of children with life threatening or terminal illness; with the Adventure Ashram Project providing medical and educational care to remove villages in Southern India.

The couple are contributing £4,000 of the minimum £8,500 sponsorship themselves, with a view to raising the remainder by selling advertising on their car along with a number of other sponsorships events.

For more information, you can have a look at exactly what Mike and Jacqui will be enduring by visiting www.karmaenduro.com or emailing jacquieg77@yahoo.co.uk

There was a reminder for the Joint Fellowship meeting at the Lochardil Hotel on 27th February 2008 (note there will be no regular meeting for our own club that day).

OUR REGULAR MEETING - 6th February 2008

2008-02-21T12:44:00.003Z

The 35 club members and the two visiting Rotarians were given a very interesting talk from Monica Lee Macpherson from the Scottish Highlands & Islands and Moray Chinese Association (SHIMCA) who was invited by International Chairman Gerry Grant to inform the club of the work currently being undertaken by SHIMCA.

The group is a recognised Charity in Scotland and its aims are to advance the education, promote the health and welfare and relieve poverty of chinese people in this area of Scotland.

The group, which was founded in 2004 is the only one North of Perth and continues to grow. They have recently received Lottery funding which will be used to finance a worker who will coordinate the groups efforts and are looking to expand its activities.

In closing, Monica spoke of the forthcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, as they moved into the Year of the Rat and outlined her pride in the new official Chinese Tartan (which she stressed was a product of Scotland and not China).

The members were reminded that there would be a 4-Club Joint Fellowship meeting at the Culloden club on Wednesday 27th February 2008 at the Lochardil Hotel.

THIS WEEK'S MEETING 30/01/08

2008-02-01T21:25:00.000Z

This week's meeting was a business meeting and we had 40 of our own members who were joined by Lynne Corinder our only guest this week.

The members were reminded that the Rotary District of 1010 were to run a Roadshow in Inverness on 10th March in the Spectrum Centre in Inverness. The Roadshows would cover the key topics of Rotary Foundation; Communication throughout the District; Membership of Rotary and issues protecting rotary.

The members were reminded that the Club's annual Quiz Night will take place in the Lochardil Hotel on the 11th March. Any one interested in attending the course with a team of 4 people can leave a message attached to this Blog entry.

Gerry Grant informed the members that the Aquabox will be on display over the month of February in the window of the Blythswood Shop in Inverness. It is hoped that this will generate some further interest in the cause.

Our next meeting will be a speaker meeting (06/08), where we will have a presentation from Monica Lee from the Highland Chinese Community.

LAST WEEK'S MEETING 23/01/08

2008-01-29T23:37:00.001Z

Our meeting this week was a fellowship meeting. We have 32 of our own members in attendance, with Lynne Corrinder being welcomed as our only guest.

Gerry Grant announced that an Aqua Box had been sponsored by Stuart McCallum and it was agreed that Club members are to pack the box with a range of survival items.

Gerry announced that over 79,000 boxes have been dispatched from the UK in the last 16 years and explained that AQUABOX is a robust plastic tank with water purification tablets and packed with essential welfare items for a disaster situation.

Once the welfare contents have been removed (supplied by club rotarians), each AQUABOX can be used to purify up to 1100 litres of polluted water, making it safe and pleasant to drink. As an example, 1100 litres is equal to 5,000 cups - that is enough for a family of four people (drinking 10 cups per day) for about four months.

Members and guests to our blog are invited to visit the Aqua Box web site at http://www.aquabox.org/ for more details.

Our next meeting on 30th January 2008 will be a general business meeting.

LOCH NESS HELP OUT AT INVERNESS'S FIRST "SANTA FUN RUN"

2008-01-23T00:00:00.000Z

Almost 300 fun-runners dressed as Santa Clause were helped and guided on their way throughout the City by the Rotarians from the Loch Ness and Culloden clubs.

The festive Rotarians were delighted to help out the first Santa Six which recently in the streets of Inverness in the lead up to Christmas week.

The event organised by Nairn based company WildDaysOut was set up to help worthy overseas causes. It was designed as a fun and festive way for all members of the family to come together and run to help those less fortunate.

Vice-President of the Loch Ness club, Jim Cockburn commented, “We were approached by one of our members to see if we would be willing to help out with this very worth cause. And as the charitable objectives fell so closely in line with our own Rotarian values, there was no question we were going to assist.

“We had 7 of our own members involved, with our numbers being boosted by other Rotarians from the Inverness Area.

Mr Cockburn continued, “It was an absolutely super day, and the event was granted a fine and crisp winters day for the run to take place. It was great to see so many people to get into the swing of Christmas by running in the first Highland Santa run, but it was really pleasing to see it turn into a real family event.

He concluded, “Although some of the Rotarians that took part in the stewarding of the event may still have been thawing out a couple of days later, I am positive that Loch Ness along with the other clubs will be keen to be involved as this event gets bigger and bigger each year.”

LAST WEEK'S MEETING- 16/01

2008-01-22T23:43:00.000Z

This week the club were treated to a very informative talk from Debbie Gallacher from the Crocus Group in Inverness which offers child bereavement support services to childen who may have lost a close member of the family or close friend.

During a somewhat eye-opening presenation, Debbie focused on the groups "Days to Remember", for a small group of children aged 6-12 years. Days will be held several times a year and the day will involve a programme of activities to allow the children to meet together and encourage open communication about their experiences and the person who has died.

The session for the children aims to:

Provide the child with an opportunity to meet other bereaved children.

Give the child the opportunity to accept the reality of death.

Educate about the grief process.

Acknowledge the different feelings which children may experience.

Facilitate the child's understanding about what has happened.

Following her presentation Debbie was presented with a cheque for £250 on behalf of the club from Mike Young.

When our meeting was over, one of our members (who wishes to remain anonymous) offered to make a personal donation of £1,000 to the Crocus Group in recognition of the very valuable work they do for children throughout the Highlands.

Our next week's meeting (23/01) will have a speaker and will start at the normal time in the Waterside Hotel.

SEASONS GREETINGS

2007-12-15T20:13:00.000Z

President George McRae, Office Bearers and members of the Rotary Club of Loch Ness wish all our visiting bloggers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Hope to see you all back in 2008.

(Our next regular meeting is 9th January 2008)

THIS WEEKS MEETING - 12/12

2007-12-15T20:06:00.000Z

This week we had 39 members present and we were joined by Gill Silver, Inverness, and Ian Thompson, guest of Ian Gordon.

Vice President Jim Cockburn informed the members that he had visited the Sanibel Captiva on a recent trip to Florida, USA.

Hamish Wood, President George McRae, Jim Cockburn and Gerry Grant had just about thawed out after their stint in the Rotary Information point at the Inverness Winterfest Icerink. They had been there representing the Club and giving out information on the job the Rotary does in the area.

The club's next meeting will be on Wednesday 9th January 2008.

THIS WEEKS MEETING (05/12) - SPEAKER MEETING KATE FAIRCLOUGH

2007-12-15T19:56:00.000Z

This weeks meeting was a speaker meeting with 36 of our members were present. We were joined by Bill Jack from the Inverness Club and we were pleased to see Monica Lee Macpherson on a return visit as a guest of Gerry Grant.

Kate Fairclough , who has spoken to us in the past in her role as Business Liaison Manager with Inverness City Centre Management, described to us the work of Highland One World, a local charity of which she is the Chairperson.

The charity is ten years old and is dedicated to extending understanding of differing cultures. Increased understanding has a role in reducing conflict and is important to business in a world where 25% of our GNP comes from exports and tourism.

The charity obtains funds from a wide range of sources, including the Department of International Development and UNICEF. The current budget of £40,000 is mostly spent on a Development Officer who tours schools through out the Highlands, both teaching children directly, through medium such as trading games, and giving talks to teachers about ways of promoting understanding.

Highland One World also runs projects such as film making for children; this summer they ran such a project at Inverness Royal Academy which included children of the Muslim faith. Kate expressed the hope that the project had helped offset some of the negative publicity surrounding the Muslim Faith and empowered the children to question some stereotypes.

In addition...
The Water Survival box ordered by our club and sponsored by Norman Cordiner landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 23rd November for immediate distribution to the needy by local charities.

Next weeks meeting (12/12) will be a regular meeting.

THIS WEEK'S MEETING - CHEQUE PRESENTATION

2007-12-01T10:57:00.000Z

Our meeting today was a Business meeting with 35 members present.

We had one visitor, Fiona McRae, Community Fundraiser, Maggie’s Highland (and daughter of President George), who was present to accept a cheque for £500 from Roy McLennan, Immediate Past President of our Club.

Roy and another of our club members Henry Dow are set for a sponsored trek across India next September, when they hope to raise a massive £6,000 for the Highland charity.

The cheque for £500 was donated by the club to kick-start their fund-raising campaign. The members of the club obviously wish Roy and Henry all the very best with their overseas excursion.

In addition to the presentation, President George announced that in view of the recent calls on emergency aid boxes, including the Bangladesh Cyclone, he had activated the President’s Emergency fund and purchased a Water Survival Box.

As announced in the Council Minutes generous contributions from Stewart MacCallum and Norman Cordiner have allowed the purchase of an Aquabox and a Water Survival box and a cheque donation from an anonymous donor via James Campbell will permit the purchase of a Life Box.

Our meeting next week (05/12) will be a speaker meeting with Kate Fairclough, 1st World - who is a guest of Gerry Grant, our International Chair.

SPEAKER MEETING - DR ROB MACPHERSON

2007-11-28T21:27:00.000Z

This weeks meeting was attended by 41 of our own members and 2 guest.

Neil Chisholm introduced the speaker, Dr Rob MacPherson, as a historian and academic currently a member of staff at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

The members were pleasantly surprised to hear that his post with UHI was Director of Golf Studies, and that his talk was to be about golf!

Dr MacPherson spoke of the impact that high visibility, high budget golf courses, such as the Trump venture at Balmedie, North of Aberdeen, was predicted to have on the 40 or so courses in the inner Moray Firth.

He explained that existing courses were struggling to stay in business. Increasing visitor green fees had resulted in no improvement in income; clubs were suffering declining membership, and waiting lists had reduced.

He appreciated that whilst new courses were attractive because of their novelty value, visitors tended to use them only once. Some 25% of US visitors liked to play an old course which had some history. ‘Bunker’ magazine wrote that the Highlands had no less than 6 ‘hidden gems’ of golf courses, and we needed to exploit that.

The challenge for existing golf courses from developments like that of Trump’s was to improve their marketing, and sell themselves so as to ensure that they obtained a share of the £12.5 million spent by golfing visitors annually – split 5/1 between golf and the local economy.

Next weeks meeting (28/11) would be a regular meeting.

CHARLIE MADE NEWEST HONORARY MEMBER

2007-11-16T00:03:00.000Z

On the 7th November 2007, President George McRae was accompanied by Past President Jim Dick and club Secretary Caroline Dobson to visit long-standing club member Charles Stewart to present him with his honorary membership of the club.

The presentation was given to Charles Steward to recognise the work and commitment he had given to the club over the past number of years. This commitment included service to the club as its President in 1997/98.

Charles commented, "I am delighted to receive this honour and am grateful of the recognition for my work in the club."

Honorary Membership of a rotary club can be granted by the club council, together with the approval of the club members, to any persons who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service in the furtherance of rotary ideals.

President George summed things up by saying, "Quite simply, Charlie deserved this recognition for what he has done."

Photo: Past President Jim Dick (left); Past President/Honorary Member Charles Stewart (centre); President George McRae (right)

THIS WEEK'S MEETING

2007-11-15T23:35:00.000Z

Today's meeting was one of our busiest meetings for a number of weeks, when we had 42 of our own members along with three rotarian guests and one non-rotarian joining the meeting.

We were delighted to be joined by Drew Kuzma (photo), originally from Alberta, Canada who has recently moved to Scotland to take up work. Drew commented that benefitted from Rotary Exchange whilst in back home, allowing him the opportunity to travel to France and have his first taste of European life.

He also commented that a active rotarians back in Canada that his parents would be "delighted that he had been able to attend the Loch Ness Club and share in the fellowship of the club."

Joining Gill Silver and David Martin, from our neighbouring Loch Ness Club the members were pleased to welcome Bill MacFarlane Smith (photo), District Governor Nominee for the Rotary district 1010.

During the meeting, President George informed the members that himself, James Dick and Caroline Dobson visited Charles Stewart on November 7th to formally offer him the Honorary Life Membership. The newly appointed honorary member commented, "I am delighted to accept this recognition and thank the Club members for their good wishes."

At the end of the meeting, Hamish Wood informed the members that as a follow up to the very successful Your Inverness event last year, that funding has been obtained for publishing a Directory of Clubs/Activities in Inverness. He Estimated the date of issue would be Feb/ March 2008.

Our next meeting (21/11) we will be entertained by a talk from club member Neil Chisholm.

Photo - Bill MacFarlane Smith, District Governor Nominee (Left); President George McRae (Centre); Drew Kuzma (Right)

GSE CANDIDATE TALKS TO CLUB

2007-11-12T00:50:00.001Z

Members and guest of Loch Ness Rotary club were recently enlightened by a very informative presentation when their most recent international exchange representative returned from his New York State visit.

Jason Hasson, Customer Service Manager at Inverness Leisure was sponsored by the Loch Ness club earlier in the year to take part in the Group Study Exchange where he spent six weeks vocational study in the United States. He was joined by another 6 exchange ‘students’ from throughout the north-east of Scotland ranging from a teacher to a fire-arms police officer.

Loch Ness Rotary club took part in the international scheme which is designed to offer work-based study for junior/middle management level individuals with a flare and enthusiasm to move on within their work sector.

Jason, married with two children, was fully supported by his family and the Senior Management at Inverness Leisure who allowed him a proportion of paid leave due to the vocational nature of this study trip.

During his presentation to the club, Jason from Muir of Ord commented, “As a local Highland lad, it was a real wrench for me to leave my wife and children but I was excited to see what the States would hold and didn’t want to miss this fantastic opportunity.

“I guess I had the TV image of America and was expecting them to be miles ahead of us, particularly in relation to my field of work in leisure, health and fitness. But I was surprised at how wrong I was. We are streets ahead of them in a number of areas; particularly in relation to standards, cleanliness, health & safety and procedures of working.

He went on, “I went out thinking I was going to learn from them, and found myself coming home to send shared information from my work back to various places in the States. That said, I did pick up a lot from them in relation to the way the approach sport and leisure in their schools, colleges and universities.

During the visit, the group were introduced to one of the first police officers on the scene during the devastation of 9:11 at the World Trade Centre. Jason emotionally outlined how this person had lived, ate and slept at ground zero for over 9 months – leaving his own family technically fatherless whilst he returned to the dreadful site each day to assist with its search and clearing. All the while coming to terms with the reality he was never going to see a number of his friends and colleagues ever again.

Jason concluded, “The GSE was a great opportunity and a brilliant chance to be able to benchmark our operations and what we are doing here in Inverness against my perceived performance over in the States. I learned a great deal not only about my business-field but also about myself as well.

“To be able to go away on an ‘all expenses paid’ learning journey was a chance of a life time and obviously not to be missed. And for that I have a lot to thank the Rotary Club of Loch Ness. This was an experience I will never forget.

George McRae, President of Loch Ness Rotary commented, “Although we do a great deal of charity work on an international basis, we are keen to support local causes as well. It is for this reason that the club was keen to continue our trend of supporting the Group Study Exchange programme and we have been delighted that Jason has been able to take so much from his experience.

“The club has been part of the scheme supporting exchanges from all over the world including India and Australia as well as the US and I am pleased that we have been able to make such a contribution to the personal and professional development of those involved.

Concluding, George McRae said, “From his presentation, it is clear that Jason has gained a lot. And I hope he can now take his knowledge and put it to good use not only at Inverness Leisure but for the benefit of his career development in general.

Photo courtesy of Mike Phimister

THIS WEEKS MEETING - SPEAKER: KEN WILSON

2007-11-10T14:28:00.000Z

This week's meeting was attended by 42 of our own members, with Mike Phimister, Secretary of the Culloden club in attendance along with another non-rotarian.

The members were entertained by a talk given by Ken Wilson, titled "A Moving Experience".

As one of our own club members, Ken explained that his father worked in Railways and changed jobs frequently, therefore as a child he lived in eleven houses and went to six schools, each of which had a definite character of its own. From his birth place, Ken took us on a journey through Tanganyika, rural Dumfries, Glasgow, and Fife and outlined the impact on a child of moving around, including the challenge of learning a new way of speaking at each location.

He shared with us pleasant memories along with those of a less idyllic hue, reminders of things of yesteryear that have now changed forever, such as milk being delivered by pony and trap.

He went on giving some of his experiences like the 'Tattie Picking Holidays' and watching the Queens Coronation with neighbours on the first TV in his street; which struck a note with several of his listeners being able to share in his experiences.

Ken's talk rekindled a lot of memories with many members in a very entertaining way; it's probably only a matter of time before he considers his autobiography...

There was also details given of the somewhat 'impromtu' Loch Ness Rotary meeting held at Inverness Railway station, as many of the members waited on the Rotary Wives returning from an excellent weekend of theatre and entertainment in Edinburgh.

Members were warned of a mail scam circulating in the area. Where Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam where a card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number).

Recipients of this card are warned NOT to call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. Anyone who calls the number will immediatley be charged £15 for the phone call on connection plus additional charges as you listen to the call.

Members were informed if they did receive a card with these details to contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk.

There will be no speaker at next weeks meeting (14/11), however guest are still very welcome.

THIS WEEKS MEETING - GENERAL MEETING

2007-11-04T20:07:00.000Z

This week was the clubs General Meeting for our 41 members in attendance to approve the business conducted on their behalf throughout the year and elect next year's office bearers.

Jim Cockburn will be President in year 2008/09. He will be joined in the Executive by Senior Vice President Mike Halley; with Ken Mackie joining them as Junior Vice President for the same year.

The members also unanimously approved Caroline Dobson and Hector Douglas as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

At next week's meeting (07/11) members and visitors will be given a talk by Ken Wilson, one of our own club members.

A SPORTING WEEKEND FOR THE CLUB

2007-10-29T23:39:00.000Z

This weekend saw the various 'sportsmen' in our club to fore when some members took part in the annual Rotary Gavel competition and others were involved in the Clay Pigeon Shooting Centre at Rothiemurchus.

On Friday evening, 8 of our members travelled to Brora Golf Club to take part in a the very energetic and sportingly challenging Gavel Trophy; taking on participants from the Culloden, Wick and Thurso clubs.

President George McRae was joined by Dave Anderson, Brian Spence, Derek Moffat, James Martin, Jim Cockburn, Mike Halley and Brian Spence in the hope of qualifying in this round of the Gavel.

The event includes a number of very difficult sporting challenges which turned into a local Derby in the first round, when our club took on Culloden. Whilst in the other fixture the two north clubs took each other on.

Loch Ness won the first round against Culloden and ended up playing against Thurso in the final. Unfortunately, after a very long and strenguous night of varying sports and leisure pursuits, the club came second in this round.

Good Luck to Thurso in the next fixture...!

On Sunday, a number of other club members took part in one of our clubs social events at Rothiemurchus Clay Pigeon Shooting Centre.

We had a mixture of novice and experienced shooters, who all had an absolutely fantastic experience at the event. However, Ken Wilson picked up the award for the best 'marksman' of the day; when as a rookie he hit 18 clays out of a possible 25.

We hope to build on the this event with further club social events early in the New Year.

THIS WEEKS MEETING - 24th October 2007

2007-10-27T20:32:00.000+01:00

At our meeting this week our 41 members in attendance were joined by two visitors.

This weekend a team of 8 of the members from the club would be travelling to Brora to take part in the annual 'Gavel Tournament'. The other clubs taking part in the same heat would be Culloden, Wick and Thurso.

The club was delighted this week to be presented with a Claret Jug for winning the Northern Counties Cricket Club Golf Day for the second year running. Loch Ness's team this year consisted of Dave Anderson, Ian McPhail, Craig Maclean and Ian Mackenzie. Craig Maclean also won the 'closest to the pin' competition at the tournament too.

The members were reminded that the Club's next social event would be our Clay Pigeon shooting, which would take place this weekend.

Next week's meeting (31/10) will be a Special General Meeting and members were reminded that lunch will take place fifteen minutes earlier, starting at 12.45pm.

THIS WEEKS MEETING - SPEAKER MEETING STEFAN KRAUSE & KATE FAIRCLOUGH (Inverness City Centre Management)

2007-10-21T20:55:00.000+01:00

This week we have 36 of our own members present.

They were joined by 3 visiting Rotarians from the Culloden (Mike Phimister) and Inverness Clubs (Bill Jack and David Martin), and 2 non-rotarian guests including Monica Lee Macpherson who is Chair of the Chinese Community in the Highlands and was invited to be the guest of Gerry Grant as part of our Highly successful International Guest programme.

It is hoped that Monica will visit the club again in the future to give a presentation on the work she does with the Chinese Community in the Highlands.

Our speakers for the meeting were Stefan Krause and Kate Fairclough, Business Liaison Manager Inverness City Centre Management (ICCM).

They had both been invited to come back to take questions arising from their previous presentation concerning the steps that ICCM have been taking to improve the city centre shopping experience.

In addition, Kate outlined details on the Winterfest programme which will start on November 3rd with the Continental Market and continue until January 12th, with a series of events, including an ice rink being located in Falcon Square.

Stefan then went on to outline the next phase of the Streetscaping project , which will start in November.

There will be no speaker at next weeks meeting (24/10).

[Caroline Dobson, our Club Secretary informed the members that there will be a special meeting taking place on 31st October 2007. Any visitors should note that this meeting will start 15 minutes earlier than usual.]

THIS WEEK'S MEETING - SPEAKER ALISON STEADMAN

2007-10-10T23:49:00.000+01:00

This weeks meeting was attended by 39 of our own members. There were visitors in attendance from the Inverness and Montrose Clubs.

Club Member Hector Douglas informed the members that he had recently visited the Ibiza Rotary Club, where he commended the fellowship offered to him as a visitor.

Today was a speaker meeting, and we were delighted to welcome Alison Steadman, Junior Vice President of the Montrose Club. She had joined the lunch to speak on the work carried out on the Nyumbani Project.

The project is creating a purpose-built village near Nairobi in Kenya to give a new life to orphaned children from the more deprived areas of Nairobi.

We were informed that the village would have 18 clusters of 4 houses each; a communal area with a well; a community centre and a medical centre, as well as areas for crop growing and commercial cattle farming. Only the steel and glass were brought in for the buildings, whilst all other items (bricks, furniture etc) were manufactured on site.

President George commented that the project fitted well with the motto ‘Humanity in Motion’. On behalf of the Club. Gerry Grant, Chair of our International Committee gave a vote of thanks and presented Alison with a further cheque for £200 towards the Nyumbani Project, now taking the total donated by Loch Ness to £700.

Members were reminded that the Riverside Club would be holding their Charity fundraising Race Night at Fairways, Inverness on 2nd November at 7.30pm (Tickets £8 per person).

It was also noted that the next District Council meeting would take place on Sunday 18th November in Aberdeen. Members interested should contact the Secretary by the week prior.

Next week's meeting (17/10) will be a Speaker Meeting with Kate Fairclough, Stefan Kraus and Marie MacKintosh, who will take questions on the work of Inverness City Centre Management and its associated schemes for improvements, Christmas celebrations and the city's BIDS Project.

CLUB FORMALLY LAUNCHES BLOG

2007-10-10T18:22:00.000+01:00

The members of our Club believe themselves to be the first Rotary Club in the Country to have brought itself into the e-communication world of “Blogging”.

Following a recent review into the way the club communicated its activities, it was felt that a club Blog would be an ideal opportunity to get their message out quickly and easily.

Like many rotary clubs around the UK and Ireland, Loch Ness undertakes a great deal of charitable work on both a local, regional and international basis. However, of late it has become clear that these clubs could have been doing a better job in getting their message out around their local communities. This was a key message given by the RIBI President during his visit to Inverness earlier in the year.

And whilst our club has always had an active website; it was decided to look at a fresher way to communicate, not only locally but also globally. And a Blog was going to be the ideal solution.

Vice President of the Club, Jim Cockburn was extremely supportive of the new club blog initiative. Speaking on behalf of the club he commented, “It is clear that we communicate very well internally with our members both traditionally and electronically. But the club decided that we needed to do more to let the ‘non-rotarian’ with a general interest in our club know what we were doing in.

He continued, “Blogging is obviously completely new to many of our members, but the idea was extremely well received and we are delighted that we will now be getting our message out on a much more regular basis.

“The great advantage of our new Blog page is that it can now be read the world over taking the name of Loch Ness Rotary Club and the City of Inverness well beyond our own shores. And whilst this will be good for Loch Ness it must also have a beneficial effect for the other Inverness Clubs too.

“This is going to be absolutely fantastic for our overseas friends and relatives, who will now be able to read about us at the click of a mouse.

Jim Cockburn concluded, “Loch Ness rotary receives a high number of international visitors throughout the year; so this is going to be a great way for these people to read about our club before they come to Inverness. In addition they will actually be able to show their friends the club they visited when they return home.

The club is therefore pleased to annonce that the blog is up and running; has been 'test-driven' and checks have been made on all the links leading to it. Information about the blog has been circlated to the local press and organisations as well as internally within the rotary fraternity.

The new Loch Ness Rotary blog can be accessed through their website on http://www.lochnessrotary.org/.

This week's meeting - fellowship

2007-10-05T23:18:00.000+01:00

Today's meeting was attended by 40 of our own members.

President George welcomed our guest Doug Westland from Ellon (RI Membership Coordinator and Past District Governor). The members also gave a warm round of applause and welcomed Stuart Edmond back to the club after a lengthy absence.

Dave Anderson announced that the Club had been drawn in a 4-way match against Culloden, Thurso and Wick in the annual Rotary Gavel Challenge. In addition, it was agreed that the club would support an outdoor event, such as clay-pigeon shooting, prior to Christmas. More details to follow.

The Malt of the Month draw, sponsored by Ian MacKenzie, was won by Neil Chisholm.

Next weeks meeting (10th October) will be a Speaker Meeting where the club will be entertained by Alison Steadman, guest of President George McRae.

CORPORATE SPONSOR FOR OVERSEAS "SHELTER BOX"

2007-09-13T01:15:00.000+01:00

The members of our Club were delighted when James Pedrana, Managing Director of UBC Group visited the club to present them with a cheque for £490.

Following an approach by the club, the UBC boss agreed to sponsor a Rotary Shelter Box that would offer immediate aid to overseas disaster areas.

The Rotary Shelter Boxes are designed to give up to ten people shelter, warmth and comfort if they live in an area that has been hit by disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides or famine. They are held in storage in the UK and can be on the road within hours when a disaster occurs anywhere in the world.

Amongst other things, the box itself contains a ten-man tent; ten sleeping bags; children’s activities set; a tool box; water purification kit and camper stove for cooking. The airtight box can then be used for storage of food.

James Campbell, member of the club's international committee explained, “The shelter box campaign demonstrates the way in which rotary works with other charities to ensure aid gets to where it is needed most. The boxes are supplied by the rotary clubs themselves with the shipping, delivery and supply being undertaken in partnership with other UK charities.

“Sometimes the areas worst hit can be high up in very difficult to reach mountainous areas with no roads or access routes. However, in order to ensure the most needy get the boxes, on these occasion the shelter box scheme has even used donkeys to get the boxes to where they need to be.

He went on, “With rotary distributing thousands of boxes, we have seen the evidence of way in which these boxes can make a huge difference to the hundreds of thousands of families who have been affected by disasters in the past.

Club President George McRae commented, “We are very grateful to James and UBC for being our first corporate shelter box sponsor. His sponsorship will allow another box to be sent directly to the area of most need at any point in the future when it is needed.

He continued, “This is an international aid initiative our club is involved with and we are hopeful that we may be able to attract further corporate partners sponsorship to be able to send more shelter boxes to where they are needed most.

Any local businesses interested in taking parting this sponsorship initiative should get in contact with the club any Wednesday at the Waterside Hotel in Inverness.

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO INVERNESS

2007-08-16T02:04:00.000+01:00

It perhaps wasn’t a on the scale of a visit from George Dubya, but it was a Presidential visit none-the-less.

Members of the rotary clubs from Inverness were hosted at the Waterside Hotel, home of the Loch Ness club today.

The four clubs came together to hold a joint meeting to welcome the Alan Jagger, President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland to the City of Inverness.

Jagger, a Rotarian since 1983 and originally from Yorkshire, took up the UK’s highest position in Rotary in July of this year and appreciates he has a very heavy year ahead of him.

He and his wife Rose have only started their mammoth tour but they know it will have them travelling more than 25,000 miles to visit over 200 Rotary Clubs throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland in a period of less than 300 days.

Host club President, George McRae welcomed his fellow Presidents and members from the Rotary Clubs of Inverness, Culloden, Nairn and the newest club in the City, Inverness Riverside.

RIBI President Alan Jagger was given the opportunity to address the Rotarians in attendance and started by commending them for the charitable work they had undertaken on behalf of Rotary International at both a national and local level.

Delivering a very direct and what some may describe at times as a contentious presentation, the President informed the group that Rotary was now very much a global organisation. He told them that Rotary is now 102 years old; has thirty-two thousand clubs worldwide with a membership of over 1.22 million Rotarians. But do the public in your area know what rotary is about or what it is doing?

He commented, “There are now Rotary clubs in 167 countries throughout the world and Rotarians are being able to undertaken cross-border work where other organisations are finding challenges and difficulties.

Continuing on the positive work Rotary International has undertaken in relation to the polio vaccination programme he stated, “We should be proud that thanks to Rotary International 2 billion people have received the polio vaccination and we have all but eradicated polio throughout the world. And all this from the idea and vision of a single Rotarian.

“It’s almost unconceivable to think that in India, Rotary played their part in vaccinating over 132 million people throughout the country in one day. The only other disease in history to be eradicated on this scale is smallpox.

Closing his address, the top Rotarian in the Country commented, “Each individual club has too look at ways of making themselves truly diverse by considering who you are, what you do and what you stand for. Office bearers and members need to address ways of removing the public’s perception that rotary is an elite organisation, work to increase their profile locally and take a more business-like strategic view to the way their clubs are operated.

Expressing his thanks for one of the warmest welcomes he had ever received as a visitor to a rotary meeting, he finished his presentation by stating, “Each and every one of us needs to consider ways in which we prepare ourselves and our clubs for the future. This way Rotary will be able to withstand the changing worlds we live in and ensure we continue the fantastic charitable work we have so modestly undertaken to date.

“The hospitality here from hosts Loch Ness and the 4 other clubs has been tremendous; there is a ‘buzz’ about this joint meeting and I look forward to returning to Scotland and the Highlands again one day in the future.

Thanking President Jagger and his wife for choosing Inverness as one of their 200 or so clubs to visit, Derek MacRae, President of the Inverness Culloden Club presented him with silver Quaich on behalf of all clubs.

The four clubs in Inverness have a membership of just over 200 members between them and regularly work together to deliver on common charitable aims.

SURPRISE VISIT FROM DISTRICT GOVERNOR

2007-08-16T01:58:00.000+01:00

Members of Loch Ness rotary were delighted to receive an unexpected visit from District Governor Clive Bartram and his wife Sandra at their regular meeting this week.

They were welcomed to the meeting by recently appointed President George McRae who commented, “It was great to see District Governor Clive visiting our club this week and I was delighted that him and Sandra travelled from Montrose to be with us at our regular meeting.

“It was a good opportunity, if somewhat impromptu, for the club members to hear details as to what Rotary International is doing and how our district is playing a role in the major various worldwide causes.

During the meeting, District Governor Clive informed the Loch Ness members that Rotary in the UK has been involved in helping the flood victims in England, he told them, “As recently as last week rotary clubs throughout Britain were involved in providing aid and support following the unfortunately flood events in England. Such support is only made possible on a local basis due to the ongoing work of clubs such as Loch Ness.

Members of the club were reminded that Loch Ness will be the host club in Inverness on Wednesday 15th August, Alan Jagger, President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland visits. Members of Loch Ness will be joined at the meeting by friends from the Inverness, Culloden and Riverside clubs.

LOCH NESS PICKS UP ANOTHER CITATION

2007-08-16T01:55:00.000+01:00

Loch Ness Rotary Club has received another Presidential Citation recognising the work of the President and his team during the previous year.

Assistant Governor of Inverness and Moray District, Doug Ritchie made the certificate presentation at outgoing President’s last meeting in office.

Accepting the certificate on behalf of the Club Roy McLennan said, “This certificate recognises the continued good work undertaken by the Rotary Club of Loch Ness.

“I am proud that during my Presidential year the club has been able to maintain our fundraising activities on both a local, national and international level as we have done in previous years.

“We have been able to financially support a number of local charities and event. And on an international level our club commitments and donations have contributed bringing the world-wide eradication of polio very much closer.

He concluded, “It has been a privilege and honour to serve for the last 12 months as President and wish the club continuing success for the future.

The new President of Loch Ness Rotary Club is George MacRae who will be supported by his Vice-President Jim Cockburn.