I think it's a great shame but it needed more people - Blackpool Rotary Club folds after 101 years
Blackpool Rotary Club has folded after 101 years.
The club was the town’s original Rotary Club of Blackpool and would meet on the last Thursday of the month fundraising hundreds of thousands of pounds for local causes.
Dwindling numbers forced the remaining members to seriously consider whether continuing was viable.
There were just 21 left at the final meeting and three members were in their 90s.
Chris Beverley, a former president and vice-president of the club said: “It’s a little frightening when, at our ages, myself and Stephen Simpson were the youngest members.
“We needed more people to organise events, we couldn’t continue as we were. We celebrated the club’s 100th anniversary last year and we struggled on for one more year but felt it was appropriate to go out on a high.”
“I think it's a great shame but it needed more people.”
There are still two Rotary Clubs in the town - Sunrise and Palatine but others, including South Shore, North Shore and now Blackpool have all called it a day in recent years.
“I remember in my earlier days businesses wanted their managers to be members of the local Rotary Club,” said Chris, “they would encourage them to attend meetings in their lunch breaks. But, of course, many people work from home these days and work through their lunches, times are different.”
On a positive note, the remaining funds in the bank have been distributed among local charities and causes including Brian House, R.N.L.I., Blackpool Food Bank, Rosemere Cancer Centre and Aiming Higher.