Charter Evening

One of the social highlights of the Rotary club year is the charter anniversary dinner which celebrates the Rotary club receiving it’s charter (in other words, being officially recognised as a Rotary Club) by Rotary International.

Finding a good speaker for the night always seems a challenge and was one of my priorities in the years preceding me taking office as Club President.

Over two years ago, I read a fantastic book entitled,”Can we have our balls back please?” by Renowned Broadcaster and Journalist, Julian Norridge.  Just after I had finished reading the said book, an advert appeared in the national Rotary magazine offering Julian’s services as an after-dinner  speaker.  I immediately made contact and booked Julian as the principal speaker for my Charter.

Two years later, and the special night was finally here.  It was also a great privilege to have my children, parents and partner attend the evening, for along with members of my Rotary Club, they have supported and stood by me through some dark days and I was grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge all such backing during the evening.

Our venue was the Hostess Restaurant, Sookholme (near Shirebrook).  This is always a popular choice among Rotarians for the  menu option and service can’t be bettered elsewhere.  The Hostess have great experience in hosting Rotary events and nothing is too much trouble for them.

I was thrilled that Julian Norridge was my main speaker.  Julian didn’t disappoint as he shared snippets from his book, illustrating how the British were responsible for the introduction of many sports and some of the driving factors in how sports became popular.  It was certainly a great night and one that I will never forgot.