Croydon South
Rotary Club
News:
Croydon South Welcomes Its Newest Member
President
Tim was delighted to welcome our fifth new member this year at lunch on
Monday. Katie Perio-Rigsby, a former Roteractor now working in Croydon
as a care worker was pleased to rejoin the Rotary after a short absence.
Tim said "It is always great to welcome a new member and especially a
record breaking fifth member in a Rotary year. Katie is very
enthusiastic and I am sure that she will be a great asset to our club."
Croydon South Rotary has Chinese new Year of a Lifetime.
Last
Friday evening saw a mammoth celebration with over one hundred and
forty people attending the event hosted by the Rotary Club of Croydon
South. Warlingham School hall was decorated for the event with Chinese
Lanterns and party lights, our eager audience welcomed a Lion Dance and
martial arts troop and enjoyed a superb buffet provided by Tom Ho.
Thanks to the generosity of all those who attended this most popular annual event, the evening raised in the order of one thousand pounds for Rotary charities.
President Tim Parr said “I would like to thank all those people who attended and supported us this evening. Everyone had a super time and very much enjoyed the superb Lion Dance and Martial Arts Demonstration Troop. As ever the food was superb and we thank Tom Ho and his team for providing the buffet. Another great, fun, team effort this evening from all our members. The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit has been well and truly celebrated here tonight”.
31st January 2011 - Welcome to Roger Ovenell, our newest member
At
lunch today President Tim was delighted to induct our newest member,
Roger who is a roofing contractor from Sanderstead. Roger was introduced
to the club by our resident Chef, Tom Ho who gave us a potted history
of his life and work. Our President then formally inducted Roger and
presented him with his Rotary lapel badge. Roger said "I'd like to thank
you all for the warm welcome and I am delighted to be able to join you
all."
President Tim said "It is great to be inducting another member, and especially one who is so eager. I am convinced that Roger will make an excellent Rotarian. Welcome"
The induction of Roger brings our total of new members this year to four.
December - Christmas Collections, Santa at Knights and Christmas Parcels
As always, December has been rather frantic for our club. It is at this time of year that we make our biggest push to collect money which funds our activities throughout the year. More and more popular each year are our street collections, bringing you Santa down your way, on his sleigh (with his sack, on his back). Were you looking forward to Christmas? We know Santa was because he said so.
This year was more trying than usual when the snow came unexpectedly early, and stayed until Christmas itself. We did manage to get the sleigh out every night (bar one) however, and although some routes were shortened, in spite of the icy conditions brave collectors slipped and slid their way to your doorsteps. President Tim said 'I would like to thank all of our collectors who have put in a super-human effort this year. There were many nights when it would have been very easy to say that it was too difficult to go out but we still had more collectors than ever. My particular thanks go to Wendy who made it out every single night, urging us on from the front. I would also like to thank all of you who gave so generously.'
Also at this time, we had a few club events. Our Christmas dinner was very well attended and enjoyed by all. We had a 'carols in the crescent' event where we ate well, drank well, and sang badly. Finally thanks to Taeko who put on a splendid Japanese feast for the first of our 'themed dinners' on new year's day.
As ever, our club managed to arrange for Santa to visit Knights Garden Centers in Chelsham every weekend and we thank David Knight for his generous donation to our charities. Members of the club also met at the President's house on Christmas morning for a Tom Ho breakfast, following which, each took their share of the 40 food hampers we delivered to the housebound elderly members of the community.
President Tim said 'Once again, it was great to see the turnout for our parcel delivery. It is a real joy to see the delight on the faces of the recipients when they see a visitor on this special day. I would particularly would like to congratulate Bernard Guilford who has now completed his 40th consecutive annual parcel delivery on Christmas day! Well done BBG!'
14th November - President Tim Parr Lays a Wreath at the Cenotaph in Croydon
President
Tim and members of the Rotary Club of Croydon South joined hundreds
of members of the public and armed services for a very moving Service
of Remembrance held at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon. Following the
service, which was conducted by the Vicar of Croydon and leaders of
other faith groups, President Tim and other Rotary Presidents joined
other wreath bearers to march from the Fairfield Halls to the Croydon
Cenotaph in Katherine Street where, accompanied by bands from various
military regiments, wreaths were laid in solemn remembrance. President
Tim said "It was a real honour to be able to lay a wreath in
remembrance of those who have fought and died for our freedom. The
service was very moving and I will personally remember this day for
the rest of my life. I would like to thank all those members and
friends who supported me on this special day."
6th September - Croydon South welcomes its newest member.
President Tim warmly welcomed new member Mark Meyers into the club at lunch today. Mark is an ICT consultant who has just settled in the UK after extensive traveling. Sponsored by Tom Ho, he said "I look forward to making a contribution to both the club and the local community". President Tim said "It is always great to welcome a new member and I am sure that Mark will make an excellent Rotarian. It is particularly nice to have the opportunity to induct a new member so early in the Rotary year."
10th July - Len Storms to Success in the Croquet and Cream Tea
On another glorious day, many gathered for a rather English afternoon of Pimms, Croquet and a Cream tea. The weather was uncharacteristically English, but the many guests braved the heat of the beating sun to compete for the annual croquet champion's trophy.
There were some remarkable performances during the day, notably from Rotarian Will who, coming from behind with his opponent about to win with his next shot, went through four hoops in one turn and took the round. He was narrowly beaten in the final however, by our worthy winner, Len Marvelly, friend of the club.
The food and drinks were provided courtesy of Tom Ho, and he did us proud as always. President Tim said
"This is always a wonderful event and it is great to see it so well supported this year. My thanks go to all the Rotarians and Friends who made this day possible. Nothing says Summer like a glass of Pimms and a loud discussion about the rules of Croquet!"
