With the coming of the new Rotary year, Hereford City Rotary Club welcomes its 78th club president Ron Giles.

Ron took over from the previous president, Roy Davies, last month at the club’s lunchtime meeting at the Three Counties Hotel in Hereford.

Ron said: “In the last year, the Hereford City club has raised substantial amounts of money for local, national and international charities including Bods, Number 1 Ledbury Road, Shelter Boxes for the Burma cyclone and many more, and my thanks go to Roy and my fellow Rotarians for all their hard work.”

This coming year, along with many other charities, Ron is planning to support the Alzheimer’s Society.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting around 417,000 people in the UK. It is a progressive disease, and over time more and more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the symptoms become more severe.

The first big event of Rotary’s fundraising year is the Hereford by the River Festival at the Rowing Club on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25. The proceedings start at 10.30am with dragon boat racing and culminate at 4pm with the duck race.

Rotary is an international organisation of professional and business people united in helping people less fortunate than themselves. The Hereford City Rotary Club is always looking for local people who would like to give a little something back to our community. If you would like to find out more, give Paul Morris a call on 01432 344779.