New president announced for Sidmouth Rotary Club

Lynn Ellis hands over the Sidmouth Rotary presidency to Dr Graham Watson this week. Photo by Simon Horn.

Callum LawtonMonday, June 30, 2014

Sidmouth Rotary Club’s first female president and only woman member has passed on her duties to her colleague after an ‘amazing year of achievements’.

Lynn Ellis handed over the chain of office to Dr Graham Watson at a ceremony held at the Riveria Hotel on Sidmouth’s seafront. It’s been a year of highs for Lynn, who oversaw last year’s swimathon and successful January visit from district governor Barry Rendall-Jones.

“I was honoured to become the first female president,” she said. “It has been an amazing year and I have learned a lot. I have a made some really good friends through Rotary and got involved in far more things locally than I would have done if I had not have joined up. I wanted to give back to the Sid Valley, not just take from it.”

A former GP and president of Rotary Club of York Ainsty, new president Graham moved to Sidmouth three years ago and said he ‘owes a lot’ to the town’s Rotary Club. “Ninety per cent of the friends that I have made since coming to Sidmouth have been in the Rotary Club,” he said. “I have made some very good friends through it.

Although new to the job, Graham has already outlined a specific goal which he hopes the club will achieve while he is president. “We need new members,” he said. “There are lots of good people who have retired to Sidmouth and if we could encourage them to join, that would be wonderful.” Graham says he would like to see ‘ten to twenty’ new faces join Sidmouth Rotary Club.

He also paid tribute to Lynn, adding that she would be a ‘hard act to follow’.

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