​Sir Nicky, who dedicated himself to many charitable causes during his 106-year life, is best known for rescuing more than 600 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on a Kindertransport train shortly before the outbreak of World War II. 

The club has been meeting online via Zoom since the start of the pandemic and, as the lockdown rules begin to ease, Rotary president Mary Spinks thought it was the ideal opportunity and setting for a physical gathering.

“It’s a huge outdoor area so we could all maintain social distancing,” she said. “The gardens are very inspirational to walk around, featuring many of Sir Nicky’s sayings and using railway sleepers to represent the journey of the children. “Despite some rain it was a wonderful opportunity for us all to come together and celebrate the greatest Rotarian we have had in our club.”

“Similar projects in other parts of the UK have had very rewarding results,” said Mary, “The elderly enjoy the friendship and realise how great our young people are while the teenagers gain valuable life experience. Some of them have even gone on to careers in nursing and the care sector.”

Mary, who lives in the Riverside area of Maidenhead, is no stranger to the caring professions. She was awarded a CBE in 2010 after a 52-year career in nursing. She came to England from Cork to train as a nurse in 1958 and on qualifying spent 15 years in theatre nursing. Mary became chairman of the National Association of Theatre Nurses and continued her career in nurse management to become Regional Nursing Officer for North East Thames.

She was director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation from 1996-2010, raising substantial funds to increase the number of scholarships for research, travel and leadership to develop nurses’ careers in the modern NHS. She remains an honorary vice-president of the organisation.
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Despite taking over as Rotary president during the pandemic, Mary is determined to continue the organisation’s good work and called on members to be optimistic. The club is currently holding meetings over Zoom and Mary says this is an example of how Rotary can adapt. 
 
She told members: “We are facing many changes in a challenging world but I want us all to travel with hope and positivity through these choppy waters. If something is not blatantly impossible there must be a way of doing it and that is the approach we must take as we look ahead.”
 
A Rotarian for five years, Mary’s plans for the coming year also include recruiting new members, increasing fundraising and continuing with the club’s support for overseas projects. Another key objective is to build on the club’s already extensive work with schools to help develop the potential of students.

Achievements include £2,000 donated to the District Thames Hospice Furniture project raised by a successful Indian meal held in November, and £4,500 of financial support provided to the Rotary in Maidenhead Covid-19 project headed up by the Maidenhead Bridge Club. Other successful collaborations include the Boundary Walk and Maidenhead’s Got Talent.

Sean and several other Rotarians, supported the Lion’s Club prostate screening event last year and our club has now pledged to run the event in the Spring of 2021, Covid-19 permitting.

Prostate Cancer also featured on the charity front with Sean pledging support during his year. A representative from Prostate Cancer UK visited the club last July to talk about the disease and £2,000 raised from the 2019 Bikeathon was donated to the charity.

Spreading the Rotary message in the community was another aim, and in the last year Sean and other members of the club have spoken on Radio Berkshire and Marlow FM and featured in the pages of the Maidenhead Advertiser.

Another issue tackled during the year was improving club governance.  Sean explained: “Over the past few years the club has been changing rapidly with new members hungry to get involved and make a valuable contribution. Questions about vision, strategy, transparency, democracy, finances and our constitution have all surfaced. We’ve had some serious debates and discussions and I think we’ve made valuable steps forward which will serve only to make the club stronger in the future.” 

Sean said he was naturally disappointed the impact of Covid-19 had halted so many plans in the latter part of his year and saddened events had to be cancelled, particularly the Quadrilateral.   

“But equally I’m proud of what has been achieved and the way that we as a club responded to the crisis. Undeniably, the Bridge Club Covid-19 project has been an amazing headline project and the speed with which it was established was remarkable,” he said.

“It is months since we had our last physical meeting at Desborough Bowling Club and when that meeting ended I don’t think we really had any idea of how we were going to continue our Rotary business. But we quickly re-grouped, have established our Zoom meetings and are now meeting regularly as a club, and via our various committees.”

“Finally, none of what we have done in the past year could have been achieved without the help of the club and I need to thank you all for your amazing support.”

​“Today the same thing is happening in our hospitals with people dying from the virus without being able to see their families and the nurses are once again communicating with their loved ones. It’s a very strong parallel,” she said.

Mary, who was awarded a CBE in 2010 after a 52-year career in nursing, was director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation from 1996-2010, raising substantial funds to increase the number of scholarships for research, travel and leadership to develop nurses’ careers in the modern NHS. She is now an honorary vice-president of the organisation.

For 14 years Mary organised the annual service held at Westminster Abbey to mark birthday of Florence Nightingale. It is usually attended by about 2,200 people, including the three matrons-in-chief from the armed services but will not take place this year due to the Covid-19 lockdown. “I had a little weep that I was not going to be there and we were not holding the ceremony this year,” said Mary, who is a leading member of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead and due to take over as its president in July.
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Mary came to England from Cork to train as a nurse in 1958 and on qualifying she spent 15 years in theatre nursing. She became chairman of the National Association of Theatre Nurses and continued her career in nurse management to become Regional Nursing Officer for North East Thames. 

​Club spokesman Martin Trepte said: “Fellowship is one of the pillars of being a Rotarian so even during the lockdown its business as usual for the club as far as is possible. “Inducting a new member via Zoom is a new milestone for us but is an example of how you can adjust to difficult circumstances. The club and its committees meet regularly on Zoom and there have even been some social events, such as a quiz night.”

While most of the club’s community activities are currently curtailed, members are continuing to plan events which will hopefully be able to take place when the lockdown ends, such as the annual Boundary Walk in October.

The club is also financially supporting the Rotary in Maidenhead Covid-19 volunteer community response team which provides a vital lifeline for vulnerable people who are self-isolating.

The Aarti Home, in Kadapa, which has been supported by Maidenhead Rotarians since 2012, provides a home and education for orphaned, abandoned and abused children. It also runs training programmes and raises awareness of good health and hygiene in its community, a small quarry mining town in Andhra Pradesh.

With the spread of the pandemic to India, Aarti’s inspirational founder Sandhya Puchalapalli has thrown the charity’s resources into helping the most vulnerable people in Kadapa’s slums. 

​Sheila passed away at the age of 96 on Friday 3rd April in St Marks Hospital. She had been there for a short while after leaving Wexham Hospital, but had unfortunately picked up coronavirus, Covid-19.  Her Memorial Service will be held at St Michael's Bray on a day to be arranged beyond the impact of the current Covid crisis.

She will be much missed, and our condolences go to her friends and family.

​Taplow Court is a beautiful venue owned by Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhism in Action for Peace. Our Sponsors for the talent show included the Shanly Foundation, the Baylis Foundation and of course SGI.

There were two shows: a matinee and an evening event which ended with a performance from a magician. Performers came from local schools and after school groups which included choirs, dance troupes, solo singers, solo performers and musicians. The event allows everybody to experience performing on stage. The show confirms that we have lots of talent in Maidenhead.

We should give a big thank you to the audience who came along to support performers, the performers themselves, and of course all the Rotary volunteers. The finances are still being collated but an estimated figure of £4000 has been raised by Rotary in Maidenhead to support local and international charities.

President Sean Egan welcomed two new members into the club at the meeting on Monday 2nd March - Sue Dutton and John Yates. Club members are looking forward to working with them.