ROTARY CLUB OF KENTON - A SHORT HISTORY

2010/2011

Chartered on 24th February 2009.Chartered by Port Alfred Rotary Club. Charter President: Bruce Steele-Gray received the charter from District Governor Jaap Steyn on 4th April 2009 at our Induction dinner.

TIMELINE. 2010

23 July 2010 Christmas in July staged as a rund-raiser. 84 patrons were seated with all tickets sold.

21 July DG Frank and wife Emelia Baffoe visit Kenton.

12 July The 2010 Kenton clean-up starts.

22 June 2010  Induction Dinner for President Bridget Carthew at the Angling Club.

25 May 2010  A very successful raid by 15 members of the Grahamstown Rotary Club. Our meeting was followed by a dinner at Homewoods so that Rotarians could socialize.

14 May 2010  Seafood Xtreme Dinner. (the Club’s largest fundraiser).

11 May 2010  Marlene Thompson had some belly dancers to entertain the Rotary meeting.

April 2010 Colin Armstrong transferred from the Grahamstown Rotary Club to our Club.

April 2010 Trish Reid handed over some banners from her visits to Rotary Clubs in Australia.

January 2010  Mandy Snook from Jersey visited the Kenton Rotary Club and handed over 100 pounds collected from her pupils in Jersey for use in helping underprivileged children.  

TIMELINE:  In the beginning....................

November 2006 Port Alfred Rotary Club decided to conduct a survey to see whether a new club in Kenton on Sea would be viable.

January 2007 Club Extension Sub Committee appointed under the Chairmanship of Dave Slater to investigate potential new Rotary Club in Kenton on Sea.

10 July 2008 a Rotary Information Evening was held at the Kenton Bowling Club for people interested in joining a new club.  33 people attended. Thirteen of those became Charter Members.

12 August and 2 September 2008 - further meetings of the proposed club were held.

23 September 2008 inaugural board meeting of the (provisional) Kenton on Sea Rotary Club.

Regular weekly meetings held on Tuesdays at 5.15 for 5.30pm at the Kenton Bowling Club.

The new club at Kenton on Sea is chartered on 24 February, 2009.

3 March 2009 the venue for meetings becomes Homewoods Restaurant.

4 April 2009 a gala Charter Dinner held at the Kenton Town Hall.

3 July 2009 - Our website goes live.

The Bats concert - an hilarious success. 11th July 2009.

DG Anne Botha visits Kenton Rotary Club - 22nd July.

The Big Kenton Clean-up starts on Friday 14th August 2009. Two local schools involved. 100's of black bags filled with litter. Another great success.

The Water Harvesting programe kicks off with the installation of five water tanks at Klipfontein Kleuterskool, Thokomala foster home, Tina's Creche, Busken Pre-primary and Kenton Primary School on 14th October 2009.

Our Literacy programme gets under way with the dictionary project. October 2009.

The District Conference takes place aboard the Simphonia - November 2009.

Work parties sort out the massive storm damage from September 2008. A great team-building effort.

December 2009 and The TREE OF JOY project is a huge success.

18th December 2009, our PRO cocktail party is another great effort and looks set to become an annual event.

ROTARY CLUB, KENTON ON SEA

Past Community projects

 An enthusiastic new Rotary Club in Kenton on Sea in the Eastern Cape held its inaugural meeting on 23 September, 2008. It was chartered with 33 founder members on 24 February 2009 and a formal Charter Dinner was held in the Town Hall on 4 April 2009. In the meantime the club has been involved in some projects and tried to raise awareness of its existence in Kenton.

 17 October, 2008

A work party of Kenton on Sea Rotarians tackled the storm damage at the Kariega Lagoon after the tremendously high seas on 1 September. The pathway was cleared of vast quantities of sand, and rocks and rubble were removed from the site. The physical exertion was followed by a braai at the local angling club – our first social occasion.

Rotary then organized a sheep raffle to raise funds for the repair of the municipal jetty in the Kariega Lagoon. Rotary members sold 1000 tickets, many of them outside the local Spar, so that there was community exposure and publicity for Rotary. R10000 was raised and the jetty repaired. A sign was put up on the jetty to give exposure to Rotary in Kenton on Sea.

 We welcomed five visiting female cyclists to Kenton on 2 December, 2008, using our brand new banner. Trish Reid brought American pom-poms to add to the festive atmosphere. The cyclists were on their way from East London to Port Elizabeth to raise funds for St. Bernard’s Hospice, which cares for 400 adults and 500 children, all of whom are critically ill. After their arduous ride against a howling headwind, the “Moms on a Mission” showered fast and were guests at the Kenton on Sea Rotary Club Meeting less than an hour after they arrived! They were thrilled when the Rotary Club donated R1000 to their cause and most Rotary members also made private donations.

 On 10 December, 2008, the Kenton Rotary Club adopted the “Big Bleed” drive for blood donation. The club advertised the event and provided tea, coffee and sandwiches for donors throughout the day. A festive atmosphere prevailed, and the South African National Blood Service was greatly encouraged by the increased number of donors this year. We are going to make this an annual event.

 A braai was held at the Kenton Angling Club on 30 January, 2009, so that members of the new Rotary Club could meet DG Jaap and Kim Steyn. Great fun was had by all and we were pleased also to have guests from the Port Alfred Rotary Club -   President Etienne Mouton, and his wife, Cecile, and Heather and Keith Howard. DG Jaap Steyn was very welcoming and enthusiastic about our new Rotary Club and said that the Charter Dinner would hopefully be on 3 April, 2009. 

A social evening was held in the beautiful home of Simon and Judy Oliver to welcome John Sheppard, a visiting Rotarian from the Nosy Sakatia Club in Madagascar. John and Mary Roberts, his hosts from the East London Sunrise Rotary Club, accompanied him to Kenton on Sea. John Roberts was President when the Sunrise Club was chartered last year, so it was both interesting and informative for the new Rotarians in Kenton to hear him talk about his club. John Sheppard had pictures of Nosy Sakatia with him and everyone now wants to visit him in Madagascar! The Kenton on Sea Rotary Club received its first two banners as gifts. Everyone had fun in spite of some vehicles getting stuck in the mud – rain was so welcome after a lengthy drought that it added to our enjoyment of the evening.