Several months after taking on the role of President-Elect, Maya Vansia received her chain of office from current President Jason Chauhan at a meeting of Leicester Nous Rotary.
The delay was caused by the busy-ness of the Rotary Club members. Maya will take over from Jason at the end of the Rotary year, which runs from July to June.
It’s a little-known — and pretty irrelevant — fact that July 1 is the start of the Rotary year because the first international conventions were held in August. The Board of Directors in April 1913 accepted their auditors’ recommendation that the fiscal year should end on June 30 to allow time for clubs to prepare financial statements in advance of the conventions.
The founder was an out-of-town lawyer called Paul Harris who invited three friends to a meeting. Some say even at that stage he wanted to create club for altruists. Others say he wanted to build up an organisation which would help him settle and do business in Chicago.
What is beyond doubt is that the first service project carried out by Rotary Club Number 1 was the installation of the first men’s public urinal in the city.
Since then Rotary Clubs — including Leicester Novus which is now nearly 10 years old — have striven to improve hygiene, health, education, to eradicate hunger and poverty while working for peace.
After discussing plans for its meal to celebrate the club’s first decade and to raise money to End Polio Now, members heard member Dr Diana Thurston talk about her work as a geology teacher and her PhD research into the subduction zone along the coast of Italy.
Her audience were able to pick up and feel fossil-bearing rocks dating from about 400 million years ago. It was, all agreed, a very interesting meeting.
If you would like to know more about the Rotary Club of Leicester Novus, please e-mail RotaryClubofLeicesterNovus@gmail.com or explore this website.
Published 14.02.2019
