Author: Jim Murphy

Posted on

Be a Gift to the World

Each new President of Rotary International sets a theme for his year in office and our new President, K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran’s theme is ‘Be a Gift to the World’.



Ravi asks us all to give thought to how we want to spend our time on this earth and reminds us that we won’t be remembered for the efforts that we put into making our own lives richer or our own status higher and that in the end, our worth will be measured not by how much we acquired, but by how much we gave away.

Rotary helps us find a path to living richer, more meaningful lives, by encouraging us to focus our attention on the things that matter — and helping each of us find our own way to be a gift to the world.

Through Rotary, we can  make a genuine difference in the lives of others and in our world.

Through Rotary, we can leave behind something real and lasting.

If you’d like to give something back and to start making a difference in your local community and in the world then why not take a look at joining Rotary yourself.

Posted on

Help Support Our Youth Orchestras

Wolverhampton Youth Wind Orchestra and the Wolverhampton Youth Orchestra hold their pre tour concert at the Civic Hall on Thursday evening,

It’s an event supported by all of the Rotary Clubs of Wolverhampton and you can help by joining us for a great nights entertainment in support of their Summer Tour – tickets are only £7 and can be purchased from Alan Russell at Prontaprint in Chapel Ash – (01902) 771177.

Posted on

Young Citizen Award – Remembering Tom Warren

Since Rotary was established in 1905 the honour and responsibility of heading up this remarkable organisation has fallen to just five Rotarians from the UK.

One of these, Tom Warren CBE, was from Wolverhampton and tonight the five Rotary Clubs of Wolverhampton joined together to honour his memory at our annual Young Citizen Award

Tom joined the Rotary Club of Wolverhampton in 1922, becoming the Clubs President in 1928, and serving as District Chairman in 1930 and National President in 1937.

As a Vice President of the International Rotary movement in 1941 his eloquent address to the annual Convention broadcast from an underground BBC studio in London, relayed to Long Island and from there on to Denver, is credited as one of the factors which helped to bring America into the war.

In July 1945 he was appointed President of Rotary International – only the second Briton ever to fill this role – and on stepping down became one of a small group charged with drafting what was to become the Charter of the United Nations.

Throughout this period, until he retired to take up his role as leader of Rotary worldwide, he served as Wolverhampton Council’s Director of Education. Tom cared passionately about young people helping to form the first ATC unit in the town, promoting the Scouting movement and running programmes to help  turn around the lives of young offenders.

In light of his commitment to supporting youth development it’s fitting that the City’s Rotary Clubs in association with the City Council and the Express & Star, supported by Waitrose and Wolverhampton West Magazine, should come together in his memory to stage the Wolverhampton Young Citizen Award recognising those young people in the City who demonstrate those same values of service to others that Tom exemplified.

The Award is made to a young person who has gone the extra mile – whose personal courage or contribution to the community should be recognised and celebrated.

A commemorative blue plaque was erected on the Brittania Hotel earlier this year in honour of Tom’s decades of contributions to the City. The plaque was unveiled by Tom’s grand-daughter Alison Sykes who we were honoured to have join us as our guest at this evenings Awards ceremony.

Posted on

Handover Meeting

Tonight saw the changing of the guard at Rotary as outgoing President Ernie handed over the chain of office to our new President Rob Morrison,

Rob’s looking to involve all of the members of the Club in raising the money necessary ensure that we can continue to support local good causes, such as Compton Hospice, as well as encouraging club members to become pro actively involved in serving our local community with hands on assistance in community projects such as the mentoring scheme which the Club operates at Smestow School – so if you’ve got a project which you think could benefit from a little assistance then why not let us know about it.

Posted on

Doing Good with the ATC in Wolverhampton

The Club has worked with local Air Training Corps, 1046 Squadron, over several years following on from the initial involvement of Club Member Les Bouts. In addition to the support with Les provides, the Club has been able to provide financial assistance to help the cadets with the purchase of a new minibus and to meet the cost of field trips.

The squadron brings young men and women from all backgrounds together to help them to achieve their full potential. Cadets are given the opportunity to learn a wide range of skills through opportunities to take part in field-craft exercises, adventure training, flight lessons, first aid and marksmanship training. Many cadets take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme with 19 awards been made in the past year.

The Squadron has consistently been one of the highest achieving Squadrons in Staffordshire it’s achievements ranging from cadets attaining the Dacre Brooch and Dacre Sword, awarded to the best male and female cadet in the entire Air Training Corps, to the Sir Alan Lees Trophy, awarded to the best Air Training Corps Squadron.

Tonight we were joined by the Commanding Officer of the Squadron, Flight Lieutenant Colin Haynes, to share with us how he had become involved in the ATC and the importance of the work of the many civilian volunteers who give freely of their time helping to run the activities that play such an important role in the lives of the Squadron’s young members. President Sammy was pleased to present Flt Lt Haynes with a further cheque for £400 to help with the squadron with its work.

Posted on

Doing Good in Wolverhampton with Compton Hospice

A self-confessed weather anorak since the age of nine our guest tonight at our Compton Hospice Fundraiser was TV weatherman Simon Keeling. Simon’s interest in the weather led him to provide holiday cover for the weather men at the Express & Star newspaper and Beacon Radio before he’d even left school.

Whilst he is perhaps best known for his work as a TV weatherman – having worked at GMTV, the BBC and with The Weather Channel – Simon, who lives in Wombourne, also runs a forecasting company providing weather forecasts to the City, helping to guide investment decisions, and to major high street retailers to help them decide which stock to carry in their stores.

Though self trained Simon went on to gain an MSc (Applied Meteorology & Climatology) and a Phd from the University of Birmingham – where he now teaches a “Weather Workshop” course to MSc students.

Whilst the weather is always a subject of conversation – especially given the storms of recent weeks- Simon gave us a fascinating insight into the advances made in forecasting over recent years and the role which it plays in many commercial and investment decisions which drive our economy. We’re grateful to him for a very entertaining evening and for his generosity in donating his speaking fee to Compton Hospice.

Posted on

Regenerating Wolverhampton

With Wolverhampton featuring as one of the top regions in the country for unemployment the need for regeneration is obvious. The decision by Jaguar Land Rover to chose Wolverhampton as the site for its Advanced Engine Facility brought £355 million of direct investment into the area and the promise of hundreds of skilled jobs but there is still much more to be done and this evening we were joined by Tim Johnson, the City’s Strategic Director for Education and Enterprise to hear from him what steps are being taken to regenerate the City

The combination of Education and Enterprise Departments is unique to Wolverhampton but reflects the importance which is attached to equipping the people of the City with the skills to make them more employable and as a way of creating the right conditions for enterprise to flourish

Tim explained the work which the Council was undertaking with local schools and developers and in particular the plans for the development of the City Centre to enhance the City’s retail and office offer. With the advantage of a great location, excellent communications, access to a huge market and advanced manufacturers such as JLR and an aerospace sector accounting for 12% of the country’s aerospace output Tim and his colleagues are convinced that Wolverhampton has got a lot to offer businesses and a great base to build on.

Posted on

Doing Good at Christmas

Christmas is a busy time for Rotary Clubs everywhere and Tettenhall is no exception as we once again took to the streets of Wolverhampton to support Santa Claus. For many of our members the opportunity to take a little Christmas magic to children in parts of the City who otherwise would be unlikely to have the opportunity to see Santa Claus really does make this one of the best times of the year.

Since the start of the Festive Season with the switch on of the Christmas Lights on Tettenhall Upper Green members of the Club have been busy working with the ladies of the Tettenhall Inner Wheel Club and the young men and women of the Army Cadet Corps accompanying Santa around Wolverhampton as well as raising money in support local good causes.

Despite the difficult economic conditions, the generosity of the people of Wolverhampton has not diminished with over £6,500 raised in aid of Compton Hospice and other Rotary Charities.

The Club’s thanks go to Terminus Contract Hire in Wolverhampton, Asda in Wolverhampton, Sainsburys of Perton and the Midcounties Co-operative at Codsall for their support and to sleigh co-ordinator Chris Bowyer and his team for all of their hard work.

Posted on

Doing Good with ShelterBox in the Phillipines

Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in the Philippines are now homeless and without clean water or food in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan. Their situation is desperate.

With winds of 195mph, the typhoon is the largest storm ever recorded to make landfall and current reports indicate that upwards of 10,000 people may have lost their lives. Further reports are filtering through of ‘utter devastation’ across the main city of Tacloban and the islands of Samar and Leyte. The need to get shelter and essential aid to those affected is immense.

Rotary’s Project Partner ShelterBox has moved quickly to put teams on the ground in the Philippines and they are moving emergency shelter and other vital aid already located in the Philippines and neighbouring countries to the worst affected areas.

The ShelterBox solution in disaster response is as simple as it is effective – they deliver the essentials a family needs to survive in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, groundsheets, water storage and filtration equipment, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Rotary clubs throughout the world have been supporting ShelterBox in this vital work and this week President Sammy was pleased to hand Shelter Box Representative Gerry Walsh a donation of £31,270 to help those affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The scale of the contribution has been made possible by the generosity of a single anonymous donor, who recently gave the Club a donation of £30,000 to help our Disaster Appeal. With the Club’s support ShelterBox will be sending 53 additional ShelterBoxes to help people left homeless and destitute by the devastating effects of Typhoon Haiyan last week.

You can see the contents of a Shelter Box for yourself at the Tettenhall Christmas lights switch on event this Saturday, 23rd November at Tettenhall Green from 4 o’clock and we’ll be collecting more donations from members of the public to help ShelterBox carry on their vital work.

Posted on

Doing Good with Wolverhampton’s Youth Orchestras

The work of two Tettenhall Rotarians and their support for the work of Wolverhampton’s Youth Orchestras has been recognised by the award of special Paul Harris Fellow Sapphire Awards.

The Youth Orchestras provide children and young people throughout the City with an opportunity to learn to play an instrument and to perform. Many go on to reach high standards across several instruments, which is testament to their own talent and dedication and to the invaluable support which the Wolverhampton Music School and conductors Keith Sedgebeer and Ian Brailsford provide.

Thanks to the work of Rotarians David Cave and Alan Russell, along with Ken Dolman of the Rotary Club of Bilston, in promoting and supporting the Orchestras fundraising efforts each year the Orchestras have the opportunity to take the show onto the road – performing in a series of concerts throughout Europe.

Over £150,000 has been raised to support Summer tours to Malta, Italy, Spain and many other European countries since the Rotary Clubs of Wolverhampton first started their support for these annual tours 21 years ago – providing hundreds of local youngsters with a  fantastic experience that otherwise would be out of the reach of many of them.

The Paul Harris Fellow Award is named in honour of the founder of Rotary and recognises the exemplary contribution made by individuals to further the Rotary’s aims. For both David and Alan this is the second time that they been honoured with the Award which was presented to them tonight by Rotary District Governor Barry Picken.