Press Release from RIBI

December 2004

FIRST MAPLE PLANTED IN ROTARY GLADE AT WESTONBIRT

REF: 04-123


Gordon McInally, a dental surgeon from South Queensferry in Scotland, is the current President of Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI). He visited the National Arboretum at Westonbirt on Monday 6th December, where he planted the first of 100 maples to celebrate Rotary’s Centennial.

Rotary International is the world’s first service organisation, which first met on 23rd February 1905 in the office of Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer. It now numbers 1.2 million members in 31,000 clubs worldwide, which are marking Rotary’s centenary with a wide variety of community projects. The Rotary Club of the South Cotswolds, whose territory includes Westonbirt, is spearheading this ambitious development creating a Rotary Glade for the Centennial.

Rotary Clubs from a wide area have contributed to the project. Governors of Rotary Districts 1100 and 1200, Paul Charter (Newent) and David Yates (Minehead) joined the President at Westonbirt, with the representatives of many of the contributing clubs.

Following an introduction to the project by Hugh Angus, Director of Collections, President Gordon McInally spoke of the strength of the local club’s partnership with the Arboretum, with the aim of improving the quality of life for the community. The first maple in Rotary Glade was planted during the short ceremony.

It is very fitting that the local Rotarians from the Tetbury and Malmesbury area should work in partnership with the National Arboretum to mark the Centennial with a hundred colourful trees, which will still be in existence for Rotary’s bi-centenary in 2105.

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