In Memory - Remembrance Day 2011

Rotary is built on the ideal of 'service above self' and in recognition of the selfless sacrifice made by former and current generations in furtherance of that ideal Vice President Ian Rigby today joined with President of Tettenhall Inner Wheel Club Lynn Cave, the President of Wolverhampton Inner Wheel Club Eileen Gosling, President Richard Green of the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton and President Chris Barry of the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton St George's and with representatives of other service organisations from around the City to pay our respects to the fallen at the Civic Service for Remembrance Sunday.

Following the observance of a two minute silence and a Drum Head Service in St Peters Square poppy wreaths were laid before the City's cenotaph.  There was tremendous support for the ceremony which was followed by a formal service in St Peter's Church where the sermon was given by The Reverend (Squadron Leader) Christopher Lawrence Chaplain DCAE Cosford.

Reverend Lawrence called on his own memories of serving under fire in Kandahar and spoke of the struggle which many surviving service personnel face when returning from active service to cope with their memories of conflict and of the importance of their being given the time and support to allow them to work out the meaning of those memories and to emerge with a renewed understanding of the purpose of their life.

Armistice Day Concert

Perton Community Hall was the venue for a special Armistice Day fund raising Concert hosted by the Club this evening. Over 200 guests were entertained by the Four Oaks Big Band with a selection of classic big band music.

A sell out night the concert raised £2,500 which will go towards the funding of the Rotary Volunteer Suite at Compton Hospice. Our thanks go to the Four Oaks Big Band for great nights entertainment and to Rotarian Peter Maddox for all of his hard work in organising the event.

Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre

Rotary has always recognised the powerful difference which can be made when local people work together -putting service before self - for the benefit of their community.

Over the years Rotarians from the five Rotary Clubs of Wolverhampton have translated this into action and have been involved in the foundation and operation of many local charities including Compton Hospice and the  Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre.

This year the Centre celebrates its 25th Anniversary and we were joined tonight by Wolverhampton Rotarian Peter Williams to tell us about its history, its current work and its future development.

The Centre operates a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber which helps to relieve the extreme fatigue which sufferers feel. It also offers a range of physiotherapy and reflexology services designed to alleviate some of the more distressing symptoms of the disease and to help sufferers to cope a little better with everyday life. Many of the services are provided with the assitsatnce of trained volunteers and Peter explained that more volunteer assistance was needed if the Charity is to continue its vital work into the future. Looking to the future the Centre has recently acquired additional premises which it is in the course of developing to provide further support for its users.

If you'd like to volunteer to help the Centre to continue its work or to make a donation towards its annual running costs of over £90,000 the Centre would love to hear from you and the Centre Manager can be contacted on 01902 744888.

New Member - Roger Lewis

Its always great to welcome a new member to our Club and this evening President John had the pleasure of inducting Roger Lewis into the Rotary family.

Roger, a legal executive specialising in debt recovery matters, lives in Bobbington with his wife and three children. The son of former professional footballer with Birmingham City Roger is a keen sportsman and we are looking forward to him teaming up with a couple of the Club's more recent recruits to mount a serious challenge in the District Golf competition.