Stroud Rotary has celebrated its 100th birthday.
The Club has been working for the last 100 years in the Stroud area as well as supporting projects nationally and internationally.
A Centenary Dinner at Minchinhampton Golf Club was held to mark this achievement. Other local Rotary Clubs and guests were invited, including the Mayor of Stroud. Following the dinner, guests were entertained by saxophonist Lydia Kenny, winner of the Rotary Regional Music competition and Gloucestershire Young Musician of the Year. Club records of 100 years were on display and were a great talking point among the guests.
Martyn Harwood, President of Stroud Rotary said: “The club was so pleased to welcome many fellow Rotarians and friends to share the celebration with us. We had expected guests from our link club, St Ingbert Rotary in southern Germany but sadly they could not attend due to Covid restriction in their country.”
The Club has planted two trees in Stratford Park, one hundred years to the day. A ‘Liquidambar’, a tree known for its display of autumn colours, was planted in the arboretum, as well as an oak tree, a gift from by St Ingbert Rotary.
To mark the Centenary in the community, the Club is launching a new initiative “Spruce Up Stroud”. Volunteers will be sought to help Stroud Rotary and the Councils with this exciting project to make the town smarter. Covid has had a serious impact on the upkeep of the town and they hope this project will “Spruce Up” the town. The Club carried out an assessment of the Town Centre to identify areas needing tidying, repairing or cleaning and their findings were shared with the Town Council, the District Council and Gloucestershire County Council. Stroud Town Council Regeneration Working Group are supporting the work that the Club has done and the three Councils are looking at ways to carry out the work needed over a period of time.
The Club is running a “Community Litter Pick” on Sunday, December 5th when the help of local groups and volunteers is asked for.
In the new year, “Volunteer Days’ will be held to help refurbish the benches in the town centre, which the Town Council has already started in Park Gardens.
Martyn added: “Stroud Rotary is probably the oldest service club in the Stroud district and I hope that it will be serving the Stroud community for the next 100 years.
Anyone interested in volunteering or finding out about joining Stroud Rotary please contact us via info@stroudrotary.org.uk, facebook@stroudrotary or look at our website for more information. The club, open to men and women, also offers corporate membership to local businesses.”
