Index

Press Release 05/06/11

Eleven club members of East Kilbride Rotary Club took advantage of some rare glorious sunshine to compete for the Jimmy Taylor Salver at East Kilbride Golf Club. They were joined by three guest players from the golf club, but despite ideal conditions, not even their local knowledge led to good scoring, although the competition was close.

The winner of the Salver was David Brown and he was handed his prize by Club President Roddy Shanks at a presentation dinner hosted by John and Janette McKie in Cooks Steakhouse. Prizes were also presented to runners up Ian Macpherson and Jim Moretti.

Press Release21/05/10

On the 20th April 2011 Retired army officer Ian Smith gave the Club an excellent insight into having chosen the army as a career, from being a cadet at Sandhurst right through his 37 years as a serving officer with active service in various parts of the world, truly an excellent speaker, his delivery and ability in communicating with others came through in his presentation .

Press Release08/05/10

The last fund raising event for this rotary year held by East Kilbride Rotarians was in the form of a quiz night held in Cooks Steakhopuse where the quiz run by past President Andrew Ferguson raised £410 which when added to the other monies gathered by the clubs Rotary Foundation committee meant that they well exceeded the target of $1000 per Rotary Club set by Rotary International in fact we raised a total of £1975.00 converted to Dollars this comes to $3,233.00, which taking into account that we are being asked for $1,000.00 per club is not too bad . This money will go to the elimination of polio in the world which Rotary International have been working on since 1984 and East Kilbride Rotary Club have been actively engaged in this programme since that date.

The annual general meeting of the club was held recently and the following members were elected to serve the club over the next Rotary Year.

President Leslie Irvine President Elect Jack Blackwood, Vice President David Brown.

Secretary John McKie, Treasurer Ian Craig, Immediate Past President Roddy Shanks. Board members John Cardno, Brian Wood, Frank McLuskey, John Morning, Barclay Wales, John Murphy, Auditors John Murphy Barry Wood Service Projects David Brown, Publicity & Club Historian Edwin Robertson, Sports Officer George McGraw, Rotary Foundation Officer Andrew Ferguson, Attendance Officer Brian Wood, Health & Safety Roddy Shanks, Membership Jim Moretti, and Roddy Shanks Protection Officers Jim Moretti and Roddy Shanks, Youth Exchange Archie King

What do you know about Reflexology? Well Rotarians had the pleasure of getting an insight into the use of reflexology when Claire & Craig Herbert came along as guest speakers at their Friday Meeting. There was no shortage of volunteers when Craig asked for someone to come and sample the technique of Reflexology the lucky Rotarian was Past President Edwin Robertson who described his participation as extremely relaxing so much that he had a cat nap during the working session. Dr Henry Doig gave the vote of thanks on behalf of his fellow Rotarians

Press Release 29/04/11

On the 29th April 2011 President Roddy certainly picked a winning speaker when his brother Donald travelled to speak to the club on his work within the RAF and his training that led him to become the team leader in charge of the Mountain Rescue Team operating from RAF Kinloss. RAF Kinloss controls all UK rescue activities, and Donald also gave an insight into how the RAF controller, on seeing that a rescue beacon had been activated, was able to send the correct assistance to those requiring rescuing whether on land or at sea.

The talk was of an exceptional high standard that was keenly listened to by those Rotarians in attendance. Vote of thanks was given by Speaker secretary Archie King on behalf of his fellow Rotarians.

Press Release 22/04/11

On the 22 April 2011 we had two speakers for the price of one, when Professor Gordon Mackay, Eye Surgeon and Dr. Graham Watson came along to the Club and gave a very good talk and video of the work that still has to be done at the at the Duncan mission hospital in a very remote area in NE India close to the border Nepal. The area is the home for 250m Indians, who very much live within the caste system. The hospital was started by a Scot back in the 1930's, but a new hospital has been created that is a beacon for the area and cash is much needed to equip for eye operations that will give sight to many of the people in the area. It is difficult to comprehend patients travelling over mountain terrain for 3 days to get hospital treatment in this day and age. But that is the way of life in that part of the world .

EK Rotary Club hope that they can make a direct contribution that will enable some work to be done at the mission hospital. Alas the infra structure is nonexistent with no developed roads etc. etc. Vote of thanks was given by Rotarian John Mackie.

Past Presidents Dinner

17 Past Presidents in attendance with the format of good cuisine, good company and a trip down memory lane. The Past Presidents special guest for the evening was current Club President Roddy Shanks, Past Presidents in attendance were.

Ian Macpherson 1984-85, David McNidder 1987-88, Henry Doig 1988-89, John McCafferty 1991-92, David Taylor 1992-93, Edwin Robertson 1994-95, Bob Jardine 1995-96, Barclay Wales1997-98, Iain Wiseman 1998-99 Andrew Ferguson 1999-00, Barry Wood 2002-03, Jim Anderson 2003-04, Douglas Kilpatrick 2004-05, John Cardno2007-08, Frank McLuskey 2008-09,Ray Porrelli 2009-10

The dinner was held on the 18th April in Peters Seafood & Grill where they were given excellent service once again by the proprietors Judy & Gavin Lee. The proceedings started at 7.45pm. Past President Ray Porrelli chaired the dinner sticking rigidly to the agenda. Apologies were received from Bob Duncan, Gordon McNay, Liam Donnelly and Alan Ray. Wine for the evening was provided by Barclay Wales and Frank McLuskey, Port by Ray Porrelli and President Roddy Shanks provided liqueurs.

Press Releases 09/04/11

David Lamont gave of his time to come along to the Club on Friday 8th of April 2011 to speak to the clubon the subject of Scottish Waterways the picture shows David on the right with junior Vice President Jack Blackwood who chaired on lunch time meeting. Vote of thanks on behalf of club members was given by Past President Andrew Ferguson

Press Releases 04/03/11

The Club were privileged to have author Paul Hanke as their speaker on Friday the 4th of March 2011 who was speaking not so much on the books that he has written such as The Seventh Circle, The Tears of War and Peace and his latest book Turmoil but on his life from being brought up in the Welsh valley's progressing to be a navel bomb disposal officer then progressing to become an author. All in all an interesting life for you young man from Wales who has the natural ability to spin a yarn and put it on paper. Vote of Thanks was given by Past President John McCafferty

Press Releases 28/02/11

Rotary District 1230 were represented at East Kilbride Rotary Club Lunch on the 25th of February 2011 when the Districts International Convener Iain Dickson came along to speak to the Club about international charities that are needing help. Although Polio plus is of the highest priority for Rotary International worldwide Water Aid is also high priority. Ian emphasised the need for local Clubs to have direct contact with areas in the world that are in need of help. Fortunately East Kilbride Rotary Club have two international projects that are ongoing and we do have such contacts with The Ruth Memorial Orphanage in Uganda and Lets us Shine in Ghana. In the absence of Frank McLuskey who was scheduled for the Vote of Thanks to our speaker but was unable to attend but to business commitments, in true Rotarian spirit Past President John Cardno took his place.

East Kilbride Rotary Club's major project of the week has been the opening of our Thanks for Life shop, this has been a project that East Kilbride Rotary Club have been associated with since 1984 in trying to eliminate Polio from the world. Rotarian's worldwide have continuously worked to achieve their target to eliminate polio and through the media we would like to express our gratitude to those who have made this venture a success for the Club. Various people provided help, namely Starbucks Coffee by donating coffee to our visitors, Calderglen High School for provided entertainment, members of the East Kilbride "Tae Kwon Do" providing our " Timmy the Tigger" for the 2 days something the children truly enjoyed and possibly the adults who came in to see us. Thanks also to Fiona of the Plaza Management for their help in allowing the club access to the shop. All of these contributions just put the final touches to what has been a successful weekend

Press Releases 20/02/11

Thanks for Life

In the next few weeks, schools, communities and the public will be coming together with Rotary clubs across the country to raise funds to help bring an end to polio. Here in East Kilbride, in conjunction with Propinvest's Marketing Manager Clare Livingston, a shop has been made available between 21st and 28th February when East Kilbride Rotary Club will be making Town Centre Shoppers aware of their contribution to the community and internationally.

Shoppers in the Plaza will be able to meet up with Rotarians from Friday 25th until Sunday 28th when Rotarians will be manning the shop, so if you are available please come along, and find out more about the "Thanks for Life" campaign and what being a member of a Rotary club is all about.

The Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) "Thanks for Life" campaign will see Rotary clubs urging everyone to support the fight to eradicate polio from the world, a fight which Rotary has been involved in since 1985. In that time, the number of endemic countries has fallen from 125 to just four: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

In 2010, over £1m was raised when thousands of Rotary members across Great Britain and Ireland linked up with schools, businesses and organizations and held hundreds of fundraising events. The aim, this year, is to beat that amount.

In October, Rotarians planted reminders for "Thanks for Life" in the form of purple crocus bulbs in parks and green areas to symbolize the purple dye which is used to mark a child's little finger to show they have been immunized against polio. The East Kilbride Club planted 5000 crocus bulbs in the two cut out logos (in the form of the 2011 Rotary International logo) in front of the Civic Centre to co-incide with Rotary week. It is hoped these flowers will bloom in February. Visitors to the shop can make their own wish to end Polio by dropping their spare pennies into Fairy Nuff's little sister, every penny donated will be given to the campaign.

RIBI President Jim Moulson said: "Rotary has been fighting to end polio for over 25 years and we and the world are now tantalizingly close to achieving that goal thanks to the joint hard work of organizations and governments. Anyone who has contributed funds will be able to say: 'I helped to eradicate a disease completely for only the second time in history, after smallpox. Not only did I prevent children from dying or being maimed, I helped change the world'"

"Any donation, however large or small, really will help to make a difference. Every penny will go towards the continuing efforts to destroy this dreadful disease. A polio-free world is just around the corner."

Four quick facts:

Thanks for Life is the national campaign by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI).

The polio virus attacks the nervous system causing limbs to become limp. It can also be fatal.

Just £1 can pay for five doses of the special anti-polio vaccine. This will protect children against polio, forever.

It is estimated that five million children have been spared from disability and 250,000 deaths have been averted since 1985.

Amin Kohli came to East Kilbride Rotary Lunch on the 18th of February as the clubs Speaker and as a member of the Scottish Passenger Agency Association which by the way is celebrating its 81st Anniversary in other words it was born out of era travel by ship this gives with no Air travel as it exists today. He provided an insight into the side of travel that the average in fact normal tourist doesn't even think about.

Members were appreciative of the information that was fed to them via Amin. Vote of thanks was in the hands of the Clubs Speaker secretary Archie King.

It was indeed a sad loss for East Kilbride Rotary Club with the demise of the Clubs last Founder member with 46 years membership.

Peter Baker, Past President, Paul Harris Fellow and Honorary Member of East Kilbride Rotary Club, was a Rotarian of good standing, a man who could be

relied upon 100% and certainly a man who could make himself understood. He was forthright and not in any way inhibited when it came to speaking.

His contribution to the Clubs Ladybird scheme over many years earned the club a considerable amount of money for our Benevolent Fund. He supported extremely well the twinning link between East Kilbride & Ballerup in the early years of the link. Peter was a leading light when employed by the Heart Foundation to raise funds for them, in fact I think he was the first person to raise a Million pounds in Scotland for the heart foundation.

Peter served Rotary District in the capacity of District Community officer a job he did for 3 years he was one of the few members in District to come from East Kilbride Rotary Club. One of his fondest memories was when he participated on the Rotary Golf Tour in Canada

Peter unfortunately did not enjoy the best of health over the past decade but his spirit was one which never let him display any signs of being down in the dumps, when you were in his company there was no shortage of topical and good conversation.

Peter and Dorothy stayed in the same house since they married many, many years ago they are now survived by their two children Martin & Barbara

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Press Releases 14/02/11

East Kilbride Rotary Clubs Wishing well the good citizens of East Kilbride with their penny wishes have come up triumphs yet again when the following two groups in the town were the benefactors of their donations when the Club distributed the funds to Suzie Jones was representing Mossneuk Girls Brigade and Jane Ramsay was from Duncanrig Concert Band.

Press Releases 07/02/11

American Ambassadorial Student Autumn Keller-Hicks from Indiana USA came to speak to East Kilbride Rotary Club in February 2010, this time we welcomed Robert Kent from Waco, Texas, who was our guest speaker at our meeting on the 4th of February 2011. Robert was another excellent Ambassador for his country and Rotary International, the latter of which sponsored his scholarship to Glasgow University where he is taking a Post Graduate degree in Economics. His presentation gave a good insight into his background and the area from which he came from, in other words that big American State called Texas. His Powerpoint presentation was well above what one would expect. He has done a fair amount of travel since being here and did give the impression of Scotland being a smaller version of Texas!!!! Picture shows Robert and President Roddy Shanks presenting banners. The Vote of Thanks on behalf of the Rotarians present was in the hands of George McGraw Club Sports Officer.

Press Releases30/01/11/11

THE SINKING OF THE HMS DASHER

Following our Rotary lunch at the Stewartfield Farm, still up to its first class standard, East Kilbride Rotary Club were entertained by John Steele who came to speak to the club and who along with his wife Noreen, haveresearched the sinking of the HMS Dasher in the Firth of Clyde on 27th March 1943 for over 20 years.

Their final edition of the Dasher story unravels the mysteries surrounding the sudden and catastrophic explosion which sank the ship in home waters when 379 lives were lost and the 149 survivors were told never to speak about the tragedy.

His talk on the Dasher story from his last book called The American Connection to The Sinking of HMS Dasher was enthralling and enlightening and those in the Club who purchased his book are looking forward to a good read; you can contact the authors on j.steele2@talktalk.net to purchase your own copy.

Press Releases 24/01/11

Multiple Sclerosis Society (Scotland) did well last Wednesday Night at the East Kilbride Rotary Club informal Burns supper held in Cooks Steakhouse, where the proprietors John & Jeanette McKie put on a splendid Burns meal for the Rotarians. Entertainment was under the control of Past President of the club Ian Macpherson who combined with being compere completed the task of giving the Immortal memory to Robert Burns and Toast to the Ladies as his contribution. Club President Roddy Shanks by giving the Selkirk Grace and contributed further in utilizing his musical skills to pipe in the Haggis that was dutifully laid in front of Iain Wylie who rendered the Address to the Haggis. A recitation of was given by Jim Grey who gave an excellent recital of Holy Willie's Prayer.

The evening was rounded up with a vote of thanks given by Past President Ray Porrelli. As a result of this evening the grand sum of £ 650 was raised, bring the clubs total to around the £1500 that has been raised by the chosen charity of Club President Roddy Shanks

On Friday the 21st January the Club held their own Rotary Burns lunch where the Haggis was piped in by Alastair Robertson, the Selkirk Grace given by Past President Revd David Taylor and the Address to the Haggis rendered by Past President Edwin Robertson with Past President Ian Macpherson giving the Immortal Memory. In charge the luncheon proceedings Club President Roddy Shanks thanked everyone for their contribution to a another successful Burns Lunch

The Clubs Burns Competition for Primary schools will be held on the 8th of March in Southpark School primary school when we will have 8 primary schools participating. A new trophy has been presented to the Rotary Club by Janice Rodgers of East Kilbride who's father Tony Brown a number of years ago made a Robert Burns Shield, now for what purpose we do not know but when Janice was clearing her father's loft it was discovered and it is a piece of extremely gifted craftsmanship that the club have been more than delighted to receive from Janice. This will now go up for annual competition something that will keep hopefully the name of Tony Brown to the fore.

Press Releases14/01/11/

East Kilbride Rotarians are back in full swing after the Christmas and New Year festivities their first invited speaker for the restart was Master Murray speaking to the club on the Academy in East Kilbride for on the art of Choi Kwang Do. Master Hutton gave a very descriptive talk on how the subject being studied is being used install self esteem within the student. His talk was accompanied by a very descriptive slide show on the achievements of the students at International events. As An Invited guest he thanked the Club sincerely for their financial support when they assisted in sending competitors to the international games in Europe where they were successful in bringing home some medals. Vote of thanks was in the hands of Rotarian John Morning not just as a Rotarian but also as a fellow student on the art of Choi Kwang Do.

Rotarians are now pressing forward to arrange for a shop in the town centre to be made available to them to enable them to speak to those interested on what Rotary is about and what we are achieving internationally and locally, so please, if any readers are in the vicinity of the town Centre come along and speak to us. It is hoped that we will be able to man the shop on Friday afternoon of the 25th February through to Sunday 27th . Prior to that it is hoped to have good window display of the work being done by East Kilbride Rotary Club and Rotary International wise.

Press Releases18/12/10

Final Lunch meeting of the year took place on Friday the 17th of December when the Revd. Gordon Palmer came along to give East Kilbride Rotarians their Annual Christmas Message but the minister from Claremont Church had an additional task when he had to judge which Rotarian was wearing the best Christmas Tie. This year the winner was Rotarian George Ferguson who was presented with a bottle of Chateauneuf Du Pape donated by Past President Edwin Robertson.

The last meeting of the year is now became the Clubs Table Top Curling competition. Eleven members took part in the annual Christmas competition which started with a four team warm up event won by David "The Draw" Brown and Roddy "The Rock" Shanks who won all of their games in the round robin competition.

After sufficient "warming" (about three rounds) the main competition started with some fairly "unwarmed" latecomers joining the fray and swelling the entry to five teams. Once again it was a league competition, that had a "nail biting" conclusion, not being decided until the last stone of the last end. Even then two teams ended up with five points out of eight, and the result was only decided on a shots count back, with Ray "The Random" Porrelli and Leslie "the Laser" Irvine overcoming Frank "The Fumble" McLuskey and George "The Gin" McGraw.

Apart from "The Fumble", the evening broke up about seven o'clock with all the participants sufficiently "warm" to face the arctic blast outside. The "warming" was considerably helped by an unknown benefactor who dropped £20 on the floor and did not reclaim it before it went in the kitty.

Footnote: Having not realised he had lost £20 until the following day, Roddy "The Rock" has now been renamed as Roddy "The Round" Shanks !! Perhaps the other competitors will reward his generosity?

Rotarian Jim Moretti with others once again organised the Clubs contribution of toys & gifts that would be going to 320 boys & girls within the East Kilbride area. distribution being done by the Social Works department picture shows Rotarian President Roddy Shanks handing over the presents to the Social work department representatives

Press Releases 29/11/10

East Kilbride played host to the senior pupils of the four high schools in the town an event that has been held by the club over a period 40 years They were welcomed by President Elect Leslie Irvine the objective of the lunch is for Rotarians to lend their expertise to the students in their chosen careers

Duncanrig Secondary School were represented by George Wynn (Teacher)and pupils Greg Benson, Leigh McFarlane, Nicola Aitken and Craig Campbell

Representatives for St Andrews & St Brides High School were Dougie Cosgrove (Teacher) Jennifer Stoddart, Claire Everett and Calum Stewart

Calderglen High School Susan Casey(Teacher) Jessica McGowan, Rachel McDonald, Ross Johnston and Matt Adams.

The Club were absolutely delighted when for the first time Sanderson High School attended when George Walker(Teacher)Nicholas McColl, Rachelle Lyon and David McKenzie

A senior pupil at each school introduced their fellow pupils to the Rotarians and highlighted their individual talents and their chosen careers

Press Releases 22/11/10

Ex Celtic Player and Lisbon Lion team member Bertie Auld (centre) paid a visit to East Kilbride Rotary Club on Friday the 19th of November where as the guest Speaker he entertained Rotarians with a very light hearted yet informative description of his life that led onto what has been a described as an eventful one. Born in a tenement in the Maryhill district of Glasgow and like many of his era kicked a Tanner Ball in the streets until he was given his first game for Panmure Rovers this era was remembered by several of the East Kilbride Rotarians. From Panmure Rovers Bertie was head hunted by Partick Thistle, Clyde and Celtic who offered him respectfully £60, £50 & £20 to sign the dotted line. Eventually his father decided Celtic Park was the agreed team that young Bert would sign for. There were many little stories that came to light during the talk such as how some players were nick named because of particular peculiarities in their play or life style.

The best piece of advice he was ever given by an unnamed trainer was Kick or be Kicked in fact Bertie felt that there were some players in the professional circuit who didn't know that the first thing to kick was the Ball, The whole presentation by the Ex Lisbon Lion was truly light hearted & enjoyed by all who attended lunch Vote of thanks was given by Past President Liam Donnelly Multiple Sclerosis Society

Rotary Clubs Annual Dance

Seventy eight Rotarians & their wives' attended the club's annual dance on the 19th of November at the Holiday Inn East Kilbride. After an excellent meal guests were entertained by Calderglen High School Jazz band who beyond doubt gave an superbe performance under the leadership of Susan Menzies. It was an excellent opportunity for the band as they are preparing to defend their title they won last year at the Glasgow Jazz festival.

The remainder of the dinner dance entertainment was provided by the group known has Beethoven . All in all a successful evening for all concerned

Those Present successfully raised £ 537 That would be going to charity chosen by the President this Year president Roddy Shanks allocated the money to Multiple Sclerosis Society

Press Releases 31/10/10

A special day at East Kilbride Rotary Club as Rotarians adjusted their normal lunch time procedures to accommodate the time required for their speaker on the 29th of October namely Ex Chief Superintendant Peter Fisher who came to speak to the club on his involvement with the Peter Manual murders. Members sat mesmerised by the tale that they heard, it certainly brought back to some of the members quite clear cut memories of the events of 1956. The speaker highlighted and linked up 8 of the murders that Peter Manual confessed to although in actual fact he admitted to 13.Eventuallu manual was found guilty of 7 Murders.

Vote of Thanks was given by the Clubs speaker secretary Rotarian Archie King

Press Releases 24/10/10

Rotarian Harry Murdoch from the Rotary Club of Alloway was our guest speaker on the 22nd of October 2010 he came along to speak to the Club on Farming Matters.

Harry hails from Ayrshire farming stock, his talk took several twists on the way down his subject matter so much so that it covered items such as the National Farmers Union of which he had been President, National Trust of Scotland and his with the Museum of Farming here in East Kilbride where he had special interest in the special tractors that were in the museum.

Before we knew where we were the subject then started to cover the production of Whisky, Vodka and Gin and there ingredients. Vote of thanks were in the capable hands of Rotarian David Brown

Focus on the Crocus

East Kilbride Rotary Club have proceeded with the challenge of planting 5000 Crocus Bulbs during the month of October. Many Rotary Clubs all over Great Britain have risen to the challenge and they see this as a way to raise money to eliminate Polio from the world. Saturday the 23rd October was planting day although it turned out to be not the best of weather to do the job but never the less the job was done with the help of the council who had prepared the site in advance. and those Scouts from the 3rd East Kilbride troop who came along to do the planting.

Rotarians Leslie Irvine, Tom Wilson, Andrew Ferguson and George McGraw led by President Roddy Shanks were in attendance for the heavier work that had to be done as was "N Sure" representative Craig Smith who was not slow to lend a hand. Hopefully come the spring, citizens and visitors alike will enjoy a fine display at the town centre outside the Civic Centre which might just trigger their generosity to make a donation to their local Rotary Club where ever that may befor their donation to go towards the elimination of Polio world wide.

Press release16/10/10

Cameron Low from Alzheimer's Scotland spoke to the Club on the 15th of September he gave a very vibrant talk on his voluntary involvement with the society where he gives his time manning the 24hour 7 day help line.

His light hearted yet informative information on a very serious subject that more and more of us are becoming aware of was indeed refreshing his coverage of the work of the society was extremely well received by Rotarians. Questions were not slow in coming from the Rotarians after his talk and these were indeed confidently answered by Cameron.

The Clubs Vote of Thanks came from past president Edwin Robertson who did what he was told for a change in tha ton instructions from Cameron he had to keep his vote of thanks on the short side.

"Focus on the Crocus"

East Kilbride Rotary club would like as much community support as they can get next Saturday morning at the Civic centre between 10am-12 am when with the help of the Scouts and others they will be planting 5000 Crocus bulbs on what they hope will be magnificent display in early spring of next year when motto for the Rotary Year will come out in full purple bloom " Building Communities Bridging Continents"

If members of the public wish to make a donation towards the final push to eliminate polio from the world Rotarians present will be happy to receive the donation.

This year's Toys for Kids Appeal organised by Past President Jim Moretti and his little committee has raised another £475 at their quiz night held on the 15th October 2010 within the premises of East Kilbride Golf Club this plus the monies raised by Rotarian John McKie & his wife Janette brings the grand total to around £1000 which is another magnificent sum toward making some more smiling faces within our community. Even the losers went off with a meal for four ...(4 tins of beans)

Press Release 01/10/10

8th of October 2010 seen Douglas Miller from the Chamber of Commerce give an excellent talk on how the present economic crisis was hitting Lanarkshire as a whole to the Rotarians present.

It was deeply disturbing that Rotarians learned from him that there were 56 vacant shops within our town centre.

This makes one ask what are the owners of the Centre doing to attract business into these vacant premises. It makes one ask are we also loosing shoppers to other retail outlets such as Braehead, Silverburn etc where Car Parking is free?

His talk highlighted what & how the Chamber were trying to do show the way in rejuvenating local industry thus creating an positive atmosphere where local entrepreneurs could inject the required business acumen

Vote of thanks on behalf of the Rotarian membership present was given by Past President Ray Porrelli

On the sporting front the club got off to a good start against Lanark Rotary club when they had a 13 shots to 3 Victory in a District Curling match. The East Kilbride team was made up by Jack Blackwood, George McGraw, Ray Porrelli and Jim Moretti

On the Golf front in a local Club golf competition known as the Rhu Trophy Rotarian Jack Blackwood was the winner with George Gunn taking second place. The competition was held at Cathkin Golf Club

Eighteen Rotarians, including wives, attended the Clubs Toys for Kids Appeal plus there were about another twenty people attending the dinner at the Cooks Steakhouse owned by restaurateur Rotarian John McKie & his wife Jeanette. They provided good three course meal plus wine, and there was a draw for a case of wine plus a raffle for about sixteen prizes, We were also entertained by a comedian for about twenty minutes.

John and Janette plus their nephew cooked and hosted the whole event. President Roddy thanked them and their staff for a splendid evening that raised £550.

President Roddy also presented the Clubs Golf "Rhu Trophy" to Rotarian Jack Blackwood.

"One of Rotary's worldwide challenges is the eradication of Polio in the four remaining countries of the world where this debilitating disease is still present. The aim is to immunise all the children in these countries against Polio. On Saturday 23rd October, the people of East Kilbride will have the opportunity to help the East Kilbride Rotary Club plant 5000 purple crocus to flower in February 2011 to coincide with Rotary's week-long "Thanks for Life" campaign. During this week the Club will be aiming to raise both awareness and funds to support the continuing immunisation programme.

Why purple crocus? When the children receive their immunisation, their little finger is marked with a purple dye.

If you can spare an hour to come along and help with the planting, please meet at the Civic Centre at 10 a.m. on 23rd October. If anyone wants more information, please telephone EK 232466

Press release 21/08/10

Joan McLeod came as our speaker on the 20th of Aug 2010 a Non Rotarian with a deep passion of her subject. When she spoke to Rotarians gathered at their Friday Lunch on the Scottish Huntington's Society work being done within Scotland she was full of conviction and belief in the work she was doing .

Scottish Huntington's Association provides services for adults and young people. They provide information, listen to and advise clients about all aspects of Huntington's disease, assess their clients support needs and coordinate the care they need and how they can advocate on their clients behalf.

For young people the association provide one-to-one support, advice and information about living with Huntington's disease. Group activities are run so that young people can feel less isolated and a yearly summer camp are all part of their services. All of the staff provide training & education to other professionals who may be giving support to people with the illness. Vote of Thanks on behalf of members came from George McGraw past Secretary of East Kilbride Rotary Club

Press release 15/08/10

Our District Governor Ian Mills made a visit on Friday the 13th of August 2010 and gave a highly motivated talk on the approach each Rotarian should endeavour to make to achieve his Rotary ambitions in providing and living up to the image of "Service before Self" although light hearted, it did in fact portray the image that Rotarians should be achieving in Building Communities & Bridging Continents which is this year's theme.

On behalf of the Rotary club Roddy Shanks our President gracefully received the a banner from the Rotary International President's representative our District Governor Ian Mills

East Kilbride Scout Hall in Carlyle drive was the venue for a Cheese & Wine Evening organised by the Relay for Life team members to raise funds for Cancer Research as part of their last fund raising effort for the 2010 Relay.

Forty two members, wives, friends and team members from other Relay for Life teams enjoyed an evening of good company; fine wine; lovely cheese and most importantly fun. There were various events during the evening including, a quiz, table top curling, £1 nearest the bottle, a silent auction and a Mr & Mrs Quiz. This event revealed a lot, and obviously how good the wine tasted!

President Roddy Shanks closed the evening by thanking all who had attended, all the donors, and in particular Cooks steakhouse for providing and preparing the cheeses. He was delighted to announce that the evening had raised £1500 for Cancer Research, bringing the Club's total fund raising effort for the 2010 Relay to nearly £15,000.

Club Golf competition James Taylor Salver

Seven members played round East Kilbride Golf Course on Wednesday 11th August 2010

in windy conditions which made scoring difficult.

The winner of the Stableford competition with 36 points was Archie King; second with thirty three points and the better inward half was George Gunn; third was George McGraw with thirty three points. Other members playing were Jim Anderson, Jack Blackwood, Jim Moretti and Ian Wiseman.

The party retired to Cooks Steakhouse for a meal, and were splendidly hosted by John and Janette McKie before Janette presented the prizes

Press release 1/08/10

30TH JULY 2010 East Kilbride Rotarians enjoyed the start of their Pigeon race season when the results of their first race were announced by Past President, Raconteur Ian Macpherson. It is hoped we can raise £740 from this years pigeon races

For six consecutive weeks the races are run and each week Ian gives the club a report of the race and distributes the prizes to the Rotarians who's allotted bird has been successful in finishing the course in the fastest time. Monies gathered this year will be going to the Rotary Foundation's eradication of Polio world wide

As of the 25 May 2010, Rotarians world wide have raised about $127.4 million for Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge. These contributions will help Rotary raise $200 million to match $355 million in challenge grants received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which must be completed by 30 June 2012. The resulting $555 million will directly support immunization campaigns in developing countries, where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families. As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk. The stakes are that high.

Some of the good news is that Polio is on the decline in Nigeria, Nigeria has reported two cases of polio in 2010, compared to 193 cases for the same period in 2009. India as of 20th of April 2010,India has reported 19 polio cases compared to 32 cases -- and none in the past five weeks. So it goes to show we are making a difference and we just need to push a little bit harder to make sure we cross the line.

Press release 05/07/10

This week has seen the start of a new Rotarian year and here in East Kilbride the East Kilbride Rotary Club is now led by a well known man in the Community who has his finger in many pies working within the community namely Roddy Shanks. Club members are looking forward to his leadership over the next 52 weeks. Roddy became President after the Chain of Office was passed to him by the outgoing President Ray Porrelli at the Clubs change over dinner held in the Holiday In East Kilbride on the 25th of June.

Roddy would like to support The MS Charity and to kick start his appeal over £100 was raised at the Dinner.

Four members attended the Rotary District 1230 Changeover over lunch for incoming Governor, Ian Mills at the Glynhill Hotel on 4 July. This event was combined with the RIBI Handover to incoming President Jim Moulson from Paisley Callants Club.

On behalf of the East Kilbride Rotary Club the Clubs new President, Roddy Shanks with outgoing Club President accepted a Presidential Citation from outgoing Governor Andy Slater, for the work that the Club had done in the previous year while IPP Frank McLuskey had to return the Club of the Year Trophy that the Club had successfully won last year to incoming Governor Ian Mills.

On Saturday Rotarians and friends had a good night at our Cheese and Wine Evening, while raising money for the Cancer Research Relay for Life. Guests were treated to a super range of fine wines and cheeses to die for!. The fun events included a Quiz, Mr & Mrs with six couples taking part, and rolling the £1 coin nearest the bottle of whisky. The main event was a silent auction of some exciting prizes and there was some keen bidding for many of these right up until the bids were closed. The amount raised was in excess of £1500.00.

Press release 26/06/10

Roddy would like to support The MS Charity and to kick start his appeal over £100 was raised at the Dinner.