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Rotary Club of

Godalming Woolsack

humanity in motion

rotary international in great britain

and ireland

President: Ian Smith

RIBI Club 1770 - District 1250

Registered Charity Number 1079545

What is Rotary?

Rotary is a voluntary organisation with 1.2 million members in 32,000 clubs spread over more than 200 countries worldwide. Rotary first came to Godalming in 1936 when the traditional lunchtime club was granted its charter. The Woolsack Club was formed as an evening club in 1992 to reflect changes in social and business practice and to widen the appeal of Rotary.

Rotary is about having fun and enjoying fellowship and friendship at the informal weekly meetings. After the meal there is often a speaker, discussion about club business, or planning for local or international community projects. Partners of Rotarians are invited to meetings on a regular basis and there are occasional joint social events.

The two Clubs in Godalming represent a diverse mix of men and women from a variety of businesses, backgrounds and age groups, all of whom have a common desire to do something worthwhile in the community. Rotarians are encouraged to attend as many weekly meetings as business and family commitments allow.

Paul Harris Fellows

Godalming Woolsack has awarded the distinction of “Paul Harris Fellow” to both Rotarians and non-Rotarians. A Paul Harris badge, citation and lapel pin are presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to society on a local level and worldwide, see below.

Each Rotary Club can award one Paul Harris Fellowship for every US$1,000 it has donated to the Rotary International Foundation.

The Birth of Rotary

On the evening of 23 February 1905, Paul Harris invited three friends to a meeting.

Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor, and Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer, met Harris at Loehr's office in downtown Chicago.

There the Rotary Club of Chicago was conceived, and the Rotary movement was born.

For more than one hundred years, business and professional people around the world have gathered weekly for fellowship, service and all that constitutes Rotary.

To celebrate the Rotary Centenary, Godalming Woolsack assisted with the funding for a Bus Shelter at the Square and the restoration of the Godalming Bandstand which is now used for regular concerts in the summer - see local press for details.

Rotary Links

Click on the links below to discover more about Rotary.

To return to the Woolsack Web site, use the back button on your browser.

Rotary International

The world-wide organisation

Rotary in Britain & Ireland (RIBI)

The unique administrative tier

Rotary District 1250

From Guildford to Brighton

UK News and Information

From Rotary District 1250

Rotary International Programs

World-wide Rotary Projects

Rotary Foundation

The Rotary Charity

Rotary Fellowships

Pursue an interest

Rotary’s Global History

An Internet Project

Rotary Club of Godalming

Our Mother Club

PHF Award given to Rotarian Simon Crowther

Simon’s support of the local community, which still continues today through many different avenues of service can be traced initially to his membership of Godalming Cricket Club. His first major role was to head the team which successfully obtained a National Lottery Grant so that the facilities at Holloway Hill for the Cricket Club became a talking point, and not just from all the other local cricketing sides. Simon became actively involved in assisting many other organisations in their attempts to obtain funding.

This period also coincided with the formation of this Rotary Club and in 1995 Simon was asked if he would like to join Rotary. From that day Simon appears to have found a very important goal in his life. Initially Simon held the position of Attendance Officer before moving on to become the Club Secretary for 5 years, leaving behind a standard that will be very hard to beat. From there he became Vice President in 2002-3 and on to being our President in 2003-4. His Charity for that year was the Warehouse Christian Trust and subsequently he has become a Trustee. Simon was also actively involved with the renovation of the Godalming Bandstand and the Bus Shelter outside the old doctors’ surgery in the High Street. Two other projects were also set in motion in the year of Simon’s presidency. The launch of our Charity Golf Day, now in its 5 year and the creation of our Website, again a talking point amongst other Rotary Clubs. We also found ourselves a new home that year, coming to West Surrey Golf Club.

Simon Crowther receives his PHF award from President Ian Coult

Simon is joined by Paul Harris Fellowship Rotarians

Simon Crowther PHF responds