Rotary Fundraising Barbecue

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar recently held a fundraising summer beach barbecue which was very well attended by members and their families and friends. Spokesperson Lyana Armstrong-Emery commented "This was a great way to socialise and get to know each other whilst enjoying a swim, great food and drinks. Also, for those young at heart there was a chance to play some beach games and both kids and adults enjoyed the horse races and the tug of war.

 

Rotary fundraising chairperson Jane Hart thanked all those on her committee who helped with all the organising, clearing, cleaning and of course the cooks who did a splendid job on the barbecue. The day raised over £330 for the Rotarians' charity fund which goes towards helping a variety of local charities throughout the year.

This is only one of many planned fundraising events. The next event will be a very special one on the 18th September and details will be published very soon.

Mr Joe Gaggero’s speech - Gala NIght

President Raju Alwani – Ladies and Gentlemen

This present by the Rotary Club of Gibraltar has given me much joy.

It revives such happy memories of my weekly evenings at the Rock, particularly throughout the time of the closed frontier, when Rotary performed a very special contribution to our community that we all can be so proud of.

A membership then spanned over every sector of Gibraltar.

Ministers, professionals, Civil Servants, MOD, Retailers and other Businessmen etc.

A most powerful platform before the business of the day, weekly defused so many problems and pre-empted serious potential pitfalls, by carrying out important relation building united us all.

Thank you all and my very best wish to the continued success of the Rotary Club of Gibraltar.

Toast to Joe Gaggero, Honorary Member by Secretary. Leif Bank Jorgensen

Dear Guests, Visiting Rotarians and Fellow Members of the Rotary Club of Gibraltar.

Dear Joseph J. Gaggero CBE KHS - Dear Joe.

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar is delighted to welcome you tonight as our very special guest. You were a founding member and are a Past President of this club, and when your residence changed to London you continued to take a keen interest in our activities.

You are the President of the 200 years young Bland Group that has survived depression, political isolation and several wars – with flying banners. Starting in 1810 in Mediterranean shipping and trade, the Group has diversified to harbour and airports services, transport and tourism. In the UK the Group produces the renowned Hovercrafts and highly advanced technical products to defence, aviation and oil exploration to customers globally. A remarkable success.

You have conducted your professional life with the highest degree of ethical standards and always strived (and succeeded) in serving others above yourself. A true Rotarian indeed.

This has been widely recognised internationally. Included in a wide range of honorary positions and honours received –two already mentioned - , you are:

• Vice President Moroccan-British Business Council.
• President British Moroccan Society
• Patron Hispanic British Foundation
• Hon. Vice President Gibraltar Philharmonic Society
• Commander Royal Order of the Polar Star, Sweden
• Commander Royal Order, Al Alaoui Morocco

In addition you have received::

• Gibraltar Medallion of Honour
• UK Air League Founders Medal

But not to be forgotten – The Rock Hotel – your hotel – where we are now celebrating - it has been the home of The Rotary Club of Gibraltar through all the years. We truly feel at home here and this is in large part due to the extremely friendly staff.

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar is therefore delighted that you have accepted an Honorary Membership of our club and we are pleased to confirm this by presenting this Certificate to you. (Certificate to be handed over).

Dear Guests, Visiting Rotarians, Fellow Members of The Rotary Club of Gibraltar – please be upstanding for a toast to our new Honorary Member:

To Joe Gaggero

Rotary Presidents’ Gala

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar recently held their annual Presidents’ Gala Dinner at the Rock Hotel. Outgoing president Raju Alwani handed over to Julian Risso for the new year 2010/11. In his farewell address Mr. Alwani thanked everyone for their support over the past year, particularly those on the Committee who together have raised more funds than ever before for local and international charities.

The event was well attended, with a number of distinguished guests such as the Commander of British Forces Adrian Bell and his wife Hayley; Lt. Col Colin Risso MC; District Governor of District 1120 Mr. John Dunkley; President of Rotary Club Estoi Palace, Portugal, Capt. Kent Ringborn; President of The Rotary Club of Almancil (Portugal) Mr. Keith Johnson; The Presidents of Lions Club and Round Table, Gibraltar as well as a large number of Rotarians from Clubs in Spain and Portugal.

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment Corps of Drums delighted everyone with their marching and music.

In his first address as the new Rotary Club President, Julian Risso made tribute to the work of Rotarians though the years, promised that this would continue through his presidency and thanked all for their contributions to the Club and to the local community. He expressed the hope that both the Rotary Club of Gibraltar and the local community will be able to continue working closely together for the benefit of Gibraltar.

Mr. Joe Gaggero, CBE KHS, founder member and Past President of Rotary Club of Gibraltar was made Honorary Member of the club and was awarded with a Certificate by outgoing Secretary Mr Leif Bank Jorgensen, Raju Alwani and Julian Risso.

The Fund Raising Committee headed by Ms Jane Hart together with Ms Barbara Sellors and Mr Gordon Vickers during the evening held a tombola and auction which raised over £1400 for local charities. The evening ended with dancing to the music of local band Horizon.

Rotary Club Award to Charity

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar met on the 6th July to present the proceeds to charity of their recent 'Las Vegas' night. Rotarians' President Raju Alwani and Gordon Vickers from the fund-raising committee presented the cheques from the money raised to representatives from local charities that were promised support.

These included Mark Ferrary of the Downs Syndrome support group and Angela Lucas from St Martin's special school. The third charity, the Alzheimers and Dementia group were unfortunately unable to attend and

the cheque will be sent directly to them. Each of the three organisations received £428.

The Rotarians explained that these were but three of the many causes that the Club is working to support throughout 2010.

Rotary Junior Community Award Ceremony

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar has held its second annual presentation of the Rotary Junior Community Award at the Rock Hotel. Her Worship the Mayor of Gibraltar, Mrs. Olga Zammitt and the Minister for Culture, Sport and Heritage, the Hon. Edwin Reyes joined guests from the St John Ambulance, the Environmental Agency, the churches and Bayside and Westside schools.

The event was to honour twenty-one students who received the Award and parents, Rotarians and the youngsters themselves swelled the numbers present to well over one hundred. Each young person was presented with a framed certificate by the Mayor and a lapel badge from the President of the Rotary Club, Raju Alwani. This followed nine months of hard work (additional to their school work) concentrating on community activities of various kinds. This included public service projects, physical recreation, the development of their own personal skills and a series of activities in the community that required them to become involved with public commemorations, meetings, religious and cultural issues and an appreciation of the Arts.

Excellent work was displayed by the students and was enjoyed by many of the guests, including the Mayor and the Minister. During the past year, senior students from both schools also gave assistance to their younger colleagues, and, to recognise the time and effort given, they too received framed certificates from the Mayor and the Rotary Club's President-Elect, Julian Risso.

The Rotary Club expressed its appreciation to The Mayor for her speech of welcome and congratulations to both the students for their endeavours and to the Rotary Club for running the scheme. The Mayor, the Minister and all the guests were thanked for their support of the scheme. In particular, the St John Ambulance Brigade, the Environment Agency and the Methodist Church were thanked for their co-operation

with the community projects required of the scheme.

The Head Teachers of the two schools were thanked for their tolerance of the intrusion of the Rotary Club into their already busy lives, but hoped that the scheme would run on into the future as the Club continued to forge the link between school and community. In particular, Mr Colin Skinner and Ms Belinda Bautista were thanked for their assistance in organising the running of the scheme within Bayside and Westside schools, respectively.

Rotary President Raju spoke of some of the other activities organised by the Rotary Club, including their Awards to Gibraltar citizens, the Morocco Project, the street collections for the Haiti earthquake relief and for the eradication of Polio worldwide. He also thanked the Rotarians who had operated the Award scheme over the year which included organisers Geoff Morgan and Sylvia Leay. In conclusion, Mr.Morgan himself pointed out that while the certificate and the lapel badge represented the tangible outcome of work over the past three terms, the real value of the scheme was in the confidence and personal knowledge gained by the students, and the benefit that came from having succeeded in achieving the award. The young people were charged to wear their their badges with pride and to encourage next year's entrants to the school to take up the challenge as they had.

Rotary Club of Gibraltar Awards Ceremony 2010

The Rotary Club of Gibraltar held their annual awards ceremony at Casino Calpe on 25th May. The reception was well attended by Rotarians, media and guests and the awards, including plaque and cheque, were presented by Hon Jaime Netto, Minister for Youth, Families & community Services.

H.E. the Governor, Patron of the Rotary Club of Gibraltar was also there as Guest of Honour.

The Awards presented were:

*The Youth Award went to 11year old Santino Jimenez for courage in the face of adversity

*The Public Service Award went to Jay Schembri of Sponsored Patients Department, G.H.A in recognition of exceptional courtesy, efficiency and helpfulness in rendering service to the public

*The Honoured Elder award went jointly to George and Alice Payas for exceptional dedication and service to the community of Gibraltar.

Rotary PR/Press spokesperson Lyana Armstrong-Emery today publicly thanked all those who participated in making the evening so memorable. In particular she singled out Mrs.Maruchi Risso who organised the event and thanked her for all her efforts in making this a truly wonderful evening. Lyana reminded senders of all unsuccessful nominations received this year that they have another chance as their names will also be put forward for consideration for next year's award ceremony together with any new nomitations.

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