Rotary - the Rotary movement is about friendship, and fellowship, with other like-minded people, who want to give something back to the local community, and the world at large, while having fun at the same time.  The ethos of the movement is contained in the Object of Rotary (see below), and much more information about the Rotary movement is available on the various Rotary Websites which can be accessed from the Useful Links page.

Members - currently, the Club has 57 members, including one lady, and one Honorary Member, and our aim is to increase the number of members by at least four, this year.  If you are interested in finding out more about the Club, then please contact our Secretary, Doug Baguley, via the Contact Us page.

Meetings - we normally meet every Friday for lunch, which is usually followed by a speaker, who might be from a local, or international charity, or someone talking about a subject that is of general or local interest.  One meeting per month is mainly devoted to Club business.  Please click on the Meetings and Venue pages, for more details.

We also have occasional special meetings, such as the President's Dinner and 5^th Friday Dinners, which are usually held on a Friday or Saturday evening, with our spouses or partners, and guests.  A variety of other events are organised throughout the year, such as theatre visits, golf competitions, and BBQ's, as well as our charity fund raising events and projects.  Occasionally, Rotary Clubs "raid" other nearby Clubs, to enjoy their hospitality.

Committees - we have five main committees. Club Council, which is the overall management committee for the Club.   Club Service, which covers the internal running of the Club;  Membership Development, which looks at ways of attracting new members, and retaining existing members, as well as making connections with Rotary Friends and Family; Community Service, which is the main fund raising Committee (eg, Christmas Charity Car Parking), for making donations to local charities;  International Service, which organises international charity fundraising and exchange visits with our Contact Clubs (see below), and;  Vocational Service, which deals mainly with young people, and organises events such as the Young Musician of the Year competition. There are also various Sub-Committees that deal with a range of items, such as Communications.

Contact Clubs - we have three Contact Clubs:  Angers Chant du Monde (France), Sonderbro (Denmark) and Middelburg (Holland).  We arrange fairly regular exchange visits between us and each of these Clubs.  These visits are most enjoyable, interesting and educational, and often result in life-long friendships.

The Object of Rotary - Rotarians, worldwide, use the following Object, which has four parts:-

To encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

1. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.

2. High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.

3. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life.

 4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

The four parts are reflected in the weekly meetings, the purpose of the Committees, and special events such as charity fund raising projects and Contact Club visits, etc.

Inner Wheel - there is a very active Inner Wheel Club in the Maidstone area.  Inner Wheel is a club whose members are the wives, or other female relatives of Rotarians.  They have regular meetings, and raise money for charities, while having fun and friendship. Please click on the Useful Links page to access the Inner Wheel Website.

Probus - the Probus Club is closely associated with the Rotary movement, and its members are people who have retired from the Professions and Business (hence the name, Probus), and who wish to remain in contact with others from a similar background.  Please click on the Useful Links page to access the Probus Website.