On Saturday July 7, 2012 President Andrew Joseph of the Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain presided over his last meeting as president of this club before handing over to Gerard Mendez, who will serve as President for the 2012/2013 Rotary year. The annual Handing Over ceremony is conducted as part of the transition between presidents and happens every year in over 30,000 clubs around the world.
Out-going President Andrew Joseph highlighted the success of the service projects and fundraisers held during the Rotary year July 2011 through June 2012 and thanked his board and all those who participated and assisted the club. He touched on the Club’s on-going Adopt-a-Child programme targeted at the indigent in our society as well as the Club’s signature project, it’s Model UN Assembly which attracted in excess of one hundred secondary and tertiary students this year. Also highlighted was a tree planting project at the Sunny Hill Home for Boys and the Club’s efforts to assist a needy family devastated by the loss of their home to a fire and in the area of the Club’s youth arms, a beach clean-up exercise which netted half a tonne of garbage and other debris.
The mantle of leadership was then passed to President Gerry Mendez who introduced his board for the
2012-2013 Rotary year and set the direction for the Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain for the Rotary year ahead.
Mr. Richard Young, Managing Director of Scotia Bank and President of the Banker’s Association was the
feature speaker for the evening and he shared with the evening’s attendees the importance of values.
A Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary’s highest honour was awarded to Mr. Ian Royer, a consistent supporter of the Club’s Model UN project over the last 7 years.
The evening’s proceedings were punctuated with entrainment by Trinidad’s own world class pannist, Ken “Professor” Philmore and the Rotarians and their guests delighted in the fellowship that was a hallmark of the evening.