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Welcome, I'm Andy Lindsey, Club President - that's me far right sharing a joke with Mike Holdstock, Assistant Governor for our Rotary district of Humberside and South Yorkshire. Our club is one of over 1850 clubs in Great Britain and Ireland and 33,000 worldwide whose members volunteer their time, expertise, energy and passion in order to give something back and help improve the lives of others and at the same time enjoy the company and fellowship of like-minded friends. We are fun loving people who also care about our community, our world and one another. If you would like to find out more about Rotary or to join in the fun please click the Contacts tab and get in touch with us. You can click any of the pictures to open a larger image in a new window. Or go to our Facebook page for photos of many recent events.

Every new club president has his own favourite good causes and during my year I intend concentrating our efforts on small local charities and groups, not just with money but particularly with practical support - Rotarians have many skills and talents to offer the community. Our motto of Service above Self and our theme Humanity in Motion sum up what it is to be a Rotarian. But we cannot achieve our aims without people and so my first task as president was a pleasant one - the induction of a new Rotarian - and we were delighted to welcome Colin Raine to the Rotary fellowship at our first meeting in July.

Rotary is world wide and so any Rotarian is always made welcome at any Rotary meeting, wherever it may be. We also try to maintain contact with our local Rotary friends, so during the year we suspend a couple of our regular meetings and scatter to other clubs to share one another's experiences. During August one group visited Bridlington club where we enjoyed a presentation by Cindy Manu, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Ghana. This is just one of the international programs sponsored by Rotary to help young people and to promote international goodwill and understanding. Somehow Past President Fred Cawood always gets in on the act and is shown with Cindy and Bridlington President Paul Atkinson. Incidentally, Cindy's dress is made from a traditional Ghanaian cloth, Kente; it comprises a selection of the numerous patterns and colours of the cloth which represent different Ghanaian cultural principles.

Earlier, during June, we hosted 40 disadvantaged children from a local primary school on the annual Kids Out day at Sewerby Hall, a popular local attraction. Here they are shown just before the 'off'. One of the pupils, Emily, wrote to us: ̀I really enjoyed the trip because every adult that went was really kind and generous. ̀̀̀̀The best bit was when we went to the park because we went on the swing and the climbing frame. It was so fun. I also enjoyed when we went to go and see the animals. My favourite was the monkey. Me and my partner Lauren called one of them Dexter. Overall I would rate my day 10 out of 10.́

Other recent events included a 1920's theme evening at a member's home, raising £400 for a project in Africa run by Beverley based international aid charity Jacob's Well. It was a fun evening with everyone enjoying dressing up in various interpretations of the theme. Once again we ran a 'Know Your Blood Pressure' day in Beverley town centre at which we provide free blood pressure checks for the public provided by qualified health professionals. Stroke Awareness is a joint venture between Rotary and the Stroke Association - high blood pressure is a major cause of strokes.

Hosting five Rotary Group Study Exchange ambassadors from Romania was a real pleasure and we gave them a taste of local sights and culture. The GSE scheme is sponsored by Rotary Foundation and enables young professionals to visit other countries to broaden their knowledge of other cultures and to promote international goodwill and understanding.

The Romanian ambassadors helped us take four young handicapped people and their carers to the annual District Disabled Games in Lincoln. We were delighted that out of the 380 competitors a member of our team, severely handicapped Aaron Kennedy, won the Best Endeavour trophy. As seen in the photo, Aaron’s pride at the award was very evident and was also a source of joy to our Rotarians.