Rotary Club of St. Vincent celebrates forty years

On August 5, 1971, The Rotary Club of St Vincent was chartered by Rotary International. The charter members included George Phillips, Bob Haydock, Bobby Brisbane, Fitz Richardson, Elliott Cambridge, Reggie Bollers, Richard Joachim,{{more}} Bertram Arthur, Dr. Noel Innis, Clifford Williams, Sylvester Taylor, Paddy Punnett, Michael De Freitas, Baldwin Ollivierre, John Henderson, Tony Sardine, Eardley Stephens, Medford Scott, Douglas Gill, Dennis Da Silva.

George Phillips became the charter president and continued his presidency for an additional year, making way for 38 more presidents, to date.

Over the last 40 years, the club has always been involved with community projects, from erecting “Drive Carefully” signs near to the main schools, or other signs naming towns and villages, to outfitting trucks with mudguards or bringing precious water to the people of Fancy, Point Village and Mayreau. In 2004, the club assisted with the relief effort in Grenada, after the devastation of Hurricane Ivan. The club continued to be involved in many more noteworthy projects such as assisting victims of Polio; adopting the Liberty Lodge Boys’ Home; managing a camp of evacuees in 1979 after the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano; initiating the Fishermen’s Day Competition; constructing the School For Children With Special Needs, after raising the funds locally, with assistance from Mr. Harding Lawrence of Mustique and many other benefactors.

The recent past saw the club continuing it’s presence throughout the country with support from other Rotary Clubs, as twinning projects or through a matching grant arrangement: Community Services such as Rotary Village Doctor and the distribution of wheelchairs to those in need, donated by the WheelChair Foundation of the United Kingdom; the Annual Children’s Christmas Party; or Vocational Services, including Literacy Projects – Secondary Schools Book Donations with sponsorship from The Mustique Charitable Trust; the Computer Assisted Literacy Solutions( CALs) at the Georgetown Secondary School, in collaboration with Scotia Bank. Every year, the Club recognizes excellence in the twenty-six secondary schools, through The George Phillips Excellence Awards, in remembrance of its charter president who is deceased. The many other vocational projects include the National Nutrition Quiz, the Young Employees Socialization Training Program- from the classroom to the work place, an event that is sponsored by the Eastern Caribbean Institute Of Banking.

A release from the Rotary Club stated: “As is the case with most service organizations, members come and members go, but, our club is proud to have in our midst a charter member and past president who can boast of one hundred percent attendance at our weekly lunch meetings. Membership classifications were broadened to reflect the diversity in businesses and communities, including the induction of females.

The Rotary Club is very grateful for the support given through our many fundraising events over the years that continue to be the genesis of our contribution to our communities.

The club successfully chartered The Rotary Club of St. Vincent South on December 8th, 1995, The Rotary Club of Bequia in 1988, The Rotaract Club in 1986 and the Interact Club on November 29th, 2007 and also was always supported by the Inner wheelers.

Rotary is one of the largest and most influential international humanitarian service organizations in the world.

Rotary’s 1.2 million members worldwide belong to more than 33,000 Rotary clubs, in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. It is a global network of business, professional and community leaders.

Rotary promotes peace and international understanding through its educational and humanitarian programmes.”