President issues plea for members

Lochaber Rotary Club has seen numbers fall

‘Whether it’s supporting a local youth initiative or an important community project, Rotary makes a big difference’

The president of the Rotary Club of Lochaber has issued a plea for people to join the club.

The club is using World Rotary Day as a springboard to encourage more men and women to join their local club after the number of Rotarians in the area fell from 53 members in 2008 to 34 today.

President Iain Johnston said that the Rotary motto ‘service before self’ is very much part of the ethos of the Lochaber club, bringing enthusiastic local people together in an atmosphere of fellowship and friendship to create positive, lasting change both in the Lochaber community and around the world.

‘We’re a club with a 70-year history of voluntary work, fellowship and fundraising,’ said Mr Johnstone. ‘Whether it’s supporting a local youth initiative, an important community project or responding to national or international disasters, Rotary makes a big difference to our communities. With a global network of 1.2 million Rotarians around the world, we bring people together to exchange ideas, share perspectives and apply leadership to find solutions.’

Mr Johnstone continued: ‘At Lochaber, we’re a vibrant and expanding club, with a commitment to getting hands-on involved in what we do and making sure we enjoy ourselves along the way. We represent a mix of age and occupations from across trades and businesses, public and voluntary sector, and sport a good and growing proportion of female Rotarians.’

Club activities include sponsoring the Young Chef competition in all four high schools in Lochaber, running the hugely successful Christmas Festival that attracts more than 2,000 visitors to the town and helping the Fort William Town Team’s clean-up scheme, among many other activities.

The club meets every Wednesday from 12.45pm to 2pm at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William and would welcome visits from potential new members at future meetings.

If anyone is interested, email the club’s secretary at secretary@lochaberrotary.org.uk or message Rotary Club of Lochaber through its Facebook page.