French twin club members: With Robbie and Liz Burns

THE ROTARY CLUB OF NARBERTH AND WHITLAND celebrated their 50th anniversary last week with a dinner at the Plas Hyfryd Hotel, Narberth, attended by over 100 Rotarians and guests including representatives of Whitland and Narberth Town Councils and other local organisations and supporters.

During the much enjoyed evening Club President Dr Paul Crawford proposed a toast to the Club’s guests whilst South Wales District 1150 District Governor, Rotarian Chris Williams of the Fishguard & Goodwick Club replied on behalf of the guests with a toast to Narberth & Whitland Rotary Club and its Members who he said was a shining example of how a Rotary Club should be run and the enthusiasm and commitment of the members made it a real pleasure to visit. It was no surprise that the Club was so successful he said.

During the evening, District Governor Chris was delighted to be able to present three ‘Paul Harris Fellowships’ on behalf of the Club to Rotarians Robbie Burns and John Hughes and Robbie’s wife Mrs Liz Burns for her unstinting support to Rotary.

The PHF is Rotary’s highest award and recognises the recipients’ contribution to Rotary over many years and during the evening it was asked if a husband and wife had both previously been awarded the highly coveted award previously on the same occasion.

From its inception in 1966 to the present day, the club has strived to be of service to others, nationally, internationally and locally, in and around the communities of Narberth and Whitland.

Their work has included a wide range of activities from providing aid to those affected by natural disasters and supporting the “End Polio Now” campaign to delivering meals on wheels, assisting with transport of disabled sports participants and encouraging young talent in our local schools.

Through promotion of concerts with Welsh pop stars and ‘Racing the Dragon’ in the annual Welsh Dragon Boat Championship, the Rotarians of Narberth & Whitland have provided the funds to support worthwhile causes which improve the lives of those less fortunate both at home and abroad.

It will always remain a bone of contention concerning who actually thought up the idea of the formation of a Rotary Club in Narberth, but there is no doubt that a Mr Eric Shott (Customs and Excise) and Mr Alan Lock (Head Postmaster) were involved, with the assistance of Mr Tommy Nicholas (Groceries) who also had adequate accommodation at a nearby hostelry, the Dragon Inn, of which he was the licensee.

The District Extension Officer was the late Rtn Reg Pickett (Cardiff), whilst Rtn Roger Wright (Llandrindod Wells) was the then R.I. Representative and Chairman of District 1150 Council (to be known later as District Governor). The Tenby Club (President Joe Joseph) agreed to act as sponsors and act as ‘Mother Club’ to steer its ‘Daughter’ through the early difficult days.

A well-attended inaugural luncheon was held on January 19 1966 at the Queens Hall, Narberth and the late Mr John Lee Davies was appointed as the Clubs Founder President. He ably led the club through its ‘Interim’ days and the first year after the granting of its Charter (No.1023) at the Dragon Hotel, Swansea on April 20 1966.

In its earlier days the Tenby members who were frequent visitors assisted the club in no small way. The Clubs original founder members and officers are listed elsewhere.

One or two of the original classifications were a little dubious – Founder Secretary, the late Rtn Alwyn Morgan (Horticulture), was a retired banker and only tended his garden, and the preponderance of farmers was distributed amongst the various sub-divisions of that noble profession so there was room for everyone.

Had the Club been formed in the current climate with the more relaxed approach to classifications there would have been no problem in increasing membership.

And so from a slow start Rotary activities increased and the fledgling club made its presence felt in the community, principally Narberth, as there was only one Whitland member in the early days.

However, it would not be fair to conclude this detail on the clubs formation without a comment that subsequent membership from the Whitland area has had a marked impact on the success and achievements of the club.

The two most significant events to affect the club’s membership development have been the change from lunchtime to evening meetings and the admission of women as members.

Both decisions were taken despite resistance from a minority, some of whom resigned their membership as a result. Several years on from both decisions, there can be little doubt that they have resulted in a sustained improvement in recruitment and retention of new members, many of whom have transferred in from other clubs across the UK.

The club is a successful dual gender club with an enthusiastic and youthful (in spirit) membership. However, they are always looking to increase their numbers and are welcoming of new members. N&W now have a significant presence on social media and a wealth of further information on the World Wide Web.

Membership has remained at a comfortable level of between 30 and 35 for several years. The youngest member is 24 years of age she also happens to be female and is soon to be joined by another lady of the same age. The oldest member is 94 so as you can see they cater for everyone.

The club were delighted to have eight Rotarians visit on the weekend from their twinning club Fontenay le Comte, in France. Rotarian Ken Morgan first started the twinning process 20 years ago. The Clubs visit each other biannually.

The venue for meetings has also changed many times. The club now meets at the Plas Hyfryd Hotel in Narberth where food, service and value-for-money is envied by other clubs in south west Wales. For the future, membership recruitment and retention remains one of the main challenges that the club faces and it is looking forward to the next chapter.