By Jacklin Kwan
DEDICATED Rotarian John Wilson has received a prestigious certificate and commendation from Rotary International for 50 years of service with the organisation.
John, who lives in Saddleworth, joined the Rotary Club of Oldham in 1970 after he retired aged 40 from Round Table.
A friend encouraged him to join the Rotary Club and over the decades he has been heavily involved in numerous projects.
These include the Polio Plus scheme, which aims to eradicate polio worldwide, and the Water Aid Project, which aims to provide clean water to third world countries.
He was also involved with the Heart Start Scheme, which trains non-medical personnel to resuscitate victims of heart attacks, as well as other projects locally to raise funds for hospices, hospitals, mountain rescue and many others.
Community-minded John said: “The other aspect of the Rotary organisation is ‘service before self’ – this speaks for itself and covers many things.”
John remains a virtual attendee at the club’s weekly meetings, which are currently being held on Zoom because of the pandemic, and helps with local and international support and service.
The club, which is in its 92nd year, has decided under present circumstances to concentrate its efforts into supporting more local causes.
During the past year, it has distributed around £10,000 mainly to local causes, including donations of £1,000 to Mahdlo Youth Zone and Dr Kershaw’s Hospice at Home.
President Bernard Stone expressed gratitude to the people of Oldham whose generosity has gone a long way towards enabling this action.
