Outgoing president Sean Egan (front), new president Mary Spinks and president-elect Peter Hughes
| New president aims to tackle loneliness in the community Tackling isolation and breaking down barriers between the generations are just two of the aims of new Rotary Club of Maidenhead president Mary Spinks. Mary, who took the reins of the club on Monday after a socially-distanced handover ceremony, is planning a project called Rotary Connect to help combat loneliness in the community. “We have all felt the effects of isolation during the Covid-19 lockdown and loneliness can be a cause of mental health problems,” said Mary, 79. Her plans range from reaching out to people in need of a simple chat or visit, to linking secondary school pupils with residents in care homes to promote friendship and understanding so young and old value each other more. |  New Rotary Club of Maidenhead president Mary Spinks |
“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.
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.
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.
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.
 Outgoing president Sean Egan |  President-elect Peter Hughes | Mary takes over from outgoing president Sean Egan, 55, who said his successor would make a ‘formidable president’. The club’s new president-elect, who will take over from Mary next year, is Peter Hughes, 71. |