Category: Speakers

As chair of the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals Trust there aren’t many people who know more about the state of Wolverhampton’s health than Rotarian Barry Picken.

Whilst the Trust has been able to secure some notable successes over recent years including the elimination of deaths from hospital acquired infections Barry explained that the public health problems  in Wolverhampton were amongst the worst in the country.

With life expectancy for men in the area being two years shorter than the national average and for women just over a year shorter the Trust is currently focusing efforts on reducing deaths from the City’s big killers – Alcohol, Lung Cancer, Infant Mortality, Suicide and Coronary Heart Disease. In developing and implementing eductaion programmes and improved facilities to deal with these the Trust hopes to address some of the healthcare inequalities within the City.

Barry is a member of the Rotary Club of Wednesfield and District Governor Nominee2013-2014.

Magistrates’ courts are a key part of our criminal justice system dealing with over 95% of all cases.

Cases in the magistrates’ courts are usually heard by a panel of three magistrates who are appointed by the Crown.  Magistrates aren’t paid for what they do and whilst they may claim expenses and an allowance for any loss of earnings the role which they undertake exemplifies the Rotary ideal of service to their community.

Stephen Russell, a member of the Wolverhampton bench, joined our meeting tonight as part of the Magistrates in the Community Project – a Magistrates’ Association initiative that has developed over the past few years to increase public awareness of the role of magistrates in the criminal and civil justice system.

Stephen ran through a number of scenarios with members of the Club which gave us a valuable insight into the decisions which he and his colleagues take when sentencing. The presentation gave rise to a lively discussion in the room and left us with a much greater understanding of the work of our magistrates.

Stephen and the other magistrates involved in the Project are willing to attend primary, secondary, sixth form colleges, schools, community groups and employers to discuss their work and on the evidence of tonight it’s well worth doing. Visit the Magistrates Association website to arrange a visit of your own.

As more of the veterans of the Second World War pass it becomes more important than ever to keep their stories alive. This evening we had the pleasure of hearing from John Pittwood a member of the Rotary Club of Brierley Hill and Kingswinford.

John’s father – a navigator with 207 Squadron -was amongst the thousands of Allied airmen who had to bail out over occupied France following a bombing raid on an enemy target. Fortunately for John his father survived and based on his recollections and on the research work which John has since undertaken he has managed to piece together the story of his fathers meeting with members of the SOE resistance and of his journey to freedom.

The friendships which John’s father made with the members of the resistance survive to this day and now span the generations of the families. Our thanks go to John for preserving his father’s story and sharing it with us.

With Census Day having fallen on the 27th March we were joined this evening by Kevin Beck, our Census area manager. Kevin and his team have been active for months now encouraging people to take part in the Census by explaining how the information collected makes a practical difference to peoples everyday lives by ensuring that local authorities receive their fair share of central government funding to run its public services – like leisure centres, rubbish collection and public transport.

As well as explaining to the Club how the Census information is collected and used Kevin also gave us a potted history of census.

Census Day having passed the hard work starts now for Kevin’s team as they begin to visit every household still to submit their return to give help and encouragement so as to ensure that the census information is as complete as possible. Their hard work in serving the community in this way is appreciated by all in the Club.

It was fitting on Valentines Day to be joined by Fred Austin and his wife Margaret and to hear their real life love story which is now the subject of a book – Czech and Mate.

Born into a Jewish family in pre war Czechoslovakia Fred was fortunate with the help of a distant cousin in Austria to secure passage to England under the protection of an English school teacher. It was the last that he was to see of this mother and sisters who were all to become victims of Nazi extermination.

Overcoming hardship whilst under the care of his rescuer Fred went on to attend Leicester University where he was to meet Margaret, his future wife. Fred was to qualify as a teacher and eventually to become Head of Dudley Grammar School. On his retirement from the Grammar School Fred became chief officer for Age Concern in Dudley. It is testament to Fred’s character that there is no hint of bitterness as he recounts his past life and as a longstanding member of the Rotary Club of Dudley he has devoted himself to the service of others.

We welcomed this evening Ashley Gray – a member of the Walsall Saddlers Rotary Club – as our speaker. Ashley is a Rotary Assistant District Governor with responsibility for our own Club and the other Rotary Clubs within our zone.

As part of his role Ashley helps to keep us up to date with whats happening within our Rotary District and the wider Rotary family as well as taking feedback from us on these developments. Mixing these duties with running his own business cannot be easy and it became apparent from talking to Ashley just how much of his spare time is devoted to helping the Rotary movement grow and prosper.

Ashley’s work is greatly appreciated by the Club and we look forward to working with him for the remainder of this Rotary year.

It was a great pleasure to welcome Martyn Long – the recently appointed Headmaster of Tettenhall College – to our meeting this evening. With a history dating back to 1863 the College attracts children from around the world and has a reputation for providing a sound academic education based on traditional standards of excellence within a stimulating and caring environment.

After a brief tour through his own school and university days Martyn updated us on developments within the College in the six months since his arrival.

This is Martyn’s second stint at Tettenhall having previously headed the physics department before leaving to take up an appointment as a deputy head 10 years ago. His affection for the school and its nurturing environment is obvious and we are fortunate to have such a gifted educator to lead the staff and pupils and to secure the College’s future.