THE HISTORY OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF SAN FERNANDO
The Rotary Club of Port of Spain, which itself was formed in 1957, was the club responsible for the formation of the Rotary Club of San Fernando. The principal figures in the formation of the San Fernando Club were: Messrs Bell of Alcoa, Duff Urquhart, Ken Finch, Stanley Best, the British Consul and Austin Friday, the man officially appointed to form it.
The first official charter meeting of the San Fernando Club was held at Chuck’s Terrace, a restaurant on St. James Street, San Fernando on the 9th of June 1961. The first president was Mr. Dennis Slatford of Industrial Agencies Ltd., and Mr. Rex Boon was the first secretary.
The club’s banner was designed by Dr. Ken Barr who was a Scottish geologist working for Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd. (now Petrotrin). The banner depicts Christopher Columbus’ fleet of three ships, when he first discovered the island of Trinidad on 31st July, 1948, superimposed on a black background symbolising the black gold (oil) that is the basis of the country’s economy.
Shortly after the club was formed, the weekly luncheon meetings took place at the Naparima Recreation Club and continued until 1970 when the venue changed to Todd’s Hotel, later known as The Trade Winds Hotel, in St. Joseph Village, San Fernando. In 1982, meetings were moved to The Royal Hotel and in 2009, after twenty-seven years at The Royal Hotel, as fate would have it, the venue moved back to The Trade Winds Hotel; meetings are held on Thursdays at noon at the hotel’s Driftwood Restaurant.
The club, in its forty-nine year history, has inducted many prominent people in its ranks. The membership of the club during its early years included a high court judge, an eminent ophthalmic surgeon, several notable figures in the legal and medical professions and the business community; alas, most of these gentlemen are no longer with us. To date, the Rotary Club of San Fernando has been privileged to have had at least 157 members throughout its existence and it is with pride that the club received the news that two members were honoured with national awards.
In September, 1994, the club took on a new look as we inducted women into our former all male club. The club’s first woman president was Judy Ahamad in 1999-2000. Today, this small but vibrant club comprises men and women united in the Objects of Rotary and conducting the club’s business guided by Rotary’s 4-Way Test.
The Rotary Foundation has been referred to as the heart of Rotary, and to this end, the club has supported the Rotary Foundation in many ways, including donations to Polio Plus, Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY) (sustaining membership), and most of all, we are proud to say that over thirty-five members have either purchased or received Rotary’s highest award, a Paul Harris Fellow. Mr. Rex Boon was the club’s first Paul Harris recipient.
Over the years, the club has been responsible for raising many hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of which have been utilised for the improvement of community life in San Fernando and its environs. Without the generous support from the private citizens, business and industrial sectors towards our various fund raising ventures, the Rotary Club of San Fernando would not be able to accomplish its mission to the community.
Throughout our tenure the club has assisted many senior citizen homes and special schools. Even though we are a voluntary organisation, we feel and see the need to help other charitable organizations bring their dreams to fruition. Institutions such as the St. Vincent de Paul, Cheshire Home, The Lady Hochoy Home, The Living Water Community and Community Chest are just a few that have benefited from our generosity.
Some of the club’s major projects over the years include:
The restructuring of the San Fernando Rehabilitation Centre
The club played a significant part in restructuring the operation and development of the San Fernando Rehabilitation Centre. Together with the Rotary Club of Burlington, Ontario, funds were raised and with a generous donation of $435,000 from the government, a new workshop was constructed and officially opened in November, 1982.
In 1983-84, the club sponsored the services of Mr. Peter Lavalier, a representative of Goodwill Industries of America, to train the newly appointed manager in the restructured operation of the centre.
In the years that followed, club members sat on the board of directors to help direct the centre’s activities and set it on the growth path that has resulted in the efficient institution, now officially named the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities Limited, which now serves the country.
Career Guidance Seminars
In the avenue of Vocational Service, this club ran career guidance seminars for over 13 years. The seminars targeted the young people both in and out of school and helped tremendously to shape the lives of these future adults in San Fernando and the country.
Ambulance for the Salvation Army
In the early eighties, we were able to raise funds to supply the Salvation Army with a new ambulance.
Community Chest
The Rotary Club of San Fernando invited the other service organizations of Lions and Kiwanis to discuss the formation of a charitable fund to assist children with cardiac problems. The outcome was the formation of the Community Chest.
SAFE Project
Save A Family Effort was launched in the eighties and was one of the club’s most successful projects to help the needy. Many pleas for help came to the club every week and it was decided to investigate and help those with the greatest need. Monthly packages of basic food items were given to families, as well as advice on self-help. No family was supported for longer than six months. As many as seventeen families were being helped monthly by this project.
Rex Boon Scholarship Fund
This Rotary Club has been concerned with the plight of the hundreds of children deprived of a primary and secondary education. To this end, a scholarship fund was set up and named after our first secretary Rex Boon.
Rex always had a deep desire to assist the children of San Fernando, and those of us who were fortunate to have known him, decided to dedicate this programme to his memory. Annually, this club has been able to help between fifteen and seventeen students. In 1998 through 2000, we saw the need to go one step further and assisted a talented young man to fulfill his dream of a tertiary education. This programmed ran on the generosity of the San Fernando business community and we thank them all.
Student Exchanges
One of Rotary’s aims is to expose young people to different cultures, climates and customs. To this end, Rotary clubs are asked to organise exchanges by sending and hosting youngsters from around the globe. Over the years, from 1985 to 1996, our club is proud to have met the challenge and successfully arranged student exchanges with Grenada, Venezuela, Guyana, Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia.
The club has also hosted, on many occasions, the Group Study Exchange (GSE) out of Canada and the United States. Unlike the student exchange, the GSE comprises young business and professional men and women wishing to experience business in other countries.
School Projects
The club has, during the past couple decades, adopted The Audrey Jeffers School for the hearing impaired, The Hope Centre, The Islamic School for abandoned children, The Lady Hochoy Home (Penal). Members of the club have given medical, dental and optical assistance free to the children of these institutions. Our favourite time, of course, is Christmas, when we host a Christmas party for them. The love and affection we receive at these functions make being a Rotarian all worthwhile.
The Poole R.C. Primary School and the Mon Repos R.C. School have been beneficiaries of refurbishment projects from the club.
Noteworthy of mention is our Vision Screening Project which targeted most of the primary schools in the southland. As many as two hundred children were examined daily during this undertaking.
Vocational Wing
On the 1st July, 2001, we were all filled with emotion as club members travelled to Penal to officially hand over to The Trinidad and Tobago Association for Retarded Children, now renamed The Lady Hochoy Home, a vocational wing; this building will enable the teachers to train children (some of them already 20 years of age) in vocations so as to prepare them for today’s world. The building, consisting of three large classrooms, toilet facilities and a sick bay, was constructed in a record six weeks.
Nazareth House
The Living Waters Community’s Nazareth House in San Fernando needed to have their kitchen facilities completely overhauled and refurbished to further their aims. Our club was able to assist by donating the funds required for this project.
HIV/AIDS Walkathon and Health Fair
Over the past few years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of cases of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and more so, in Trinidad and Tobago. The Rotary Club of San Fernando has teamed with South AIDS Support (SAS) to educated and sensitise the population to the dangers of unprotected sex and drug abuse. The size of the walkathon and health fair has greatly increased over the years and targets mainly school children. Additionally, the two organizations visit schools in the southland giving lectures on the said topic. We would like someday to see this project go nationwide.
CAMP ABLE (Able Body Leadership and Esteem)
Camp ABLE started as a joint initiative in 2002 between the Rotary Club of San Fernando and Heather Moines, by way of the Canadian High Commission office. It is a camp for the hearing impaired held once a year in a Caribbean island. The first two-week camp was held in Trinidad and has since rotated to Tobago and St. Lucia. With a new theme ever year, the participants are exposed to new ideas and encouraged to explore new horizons while having great fun; this project is gaining momentum every year.
Charity Golf Tournament
Car Rally
It is to be noted that being the beneficiary of the proceeds from the sale of the defunct JAYCEE’s property, the club was able to undertake the Vocational Wing and Nazareth House projects.
Apart from our community work, the club has been instrumental in spreading the Rotary Code of Ethics throughout the twin islands and beyond. Rotary clubs founded by the Rotary Club of San Fernando include: The Rotary Club of Grenada in 1966; The Rotary Club of St. Augustine in 1967; The Rotary Club of Tobago in 1968; The Rotary Club of San Fernando South twelve years later (in 1980) and in 1986, The Rotary Club of Point Fortin.
One more effort of which we are immensely proud is our Rotaract Club of San Fernando, founded in 1983 and which has more than done its part in helping the community of San Fernando.
The club’s latest venture has resulted in the formation of two vibrant Interact Clubs; one at Presentation College and the other at Naparima Girls’ High School.
It would be difficult, nay impossible, to estimate in tangible terms the true value of the services, including economic, social and humanitarian, that the Rotary Club of San Fernando has given in its forty-nine years of existence. However, it can be said that it stands as a monument in one quiet corner of the world to the principals, standards and true spirit of the Rotary International movement and may it continue to do so in the future.
