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| Adapted from Extracts of the Club’s Archive by Graham Wise, May 2008 | |||
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The Probus Club of Rushden
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A Brief History
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Building on the early successes of the formation of Probus clubs in the country in the mid 1960s, the Rotary Club of Rushden, under the guidance of their Vocational Committee Chairman Geoff Morgan, undertook a survey in the area to establish if there was interest in forming such a club in the Rushden area. The results of this survey were reported to a Rotary Committee meeting in December 1973, when it was decided to call an open meeting for interested parties in the New Year. A date was set for Tuesday 12th February 1974 and the Carriage House at Higham Ferrers was chosen as the venue. Six Rotarians attended the meeting under the guidance of Geoff Morgan, together with 30 interested ‘retired gentlemen’. Visiting speakers Rtn A Chapman, Chairman of the Kettering Probus Club and Rtn F Philp Treasurer of the Northampton Probus Club were invited to address the meeting outlining the Aims and Objectives and describing the activities undertaken by both clubs. The meeting concluded with a proposition being put to those present to form a local Probus Club which was carried unanimously. Bernard Paine was elected as the first President with F Neal and F Wilkinson being elected Secretary and Treasurer respectively. The venue for meetings would be the Carriage House. The first meeting of the Club was held on Wednesday 6th March 1974 with 31 members present. The Club has met on a regular monthly basis since its inaugural meeting, continuing to meet at the Carriage House Higham Ferrers until 1982 when the venue was changed to the Membership of the club has fluctuated over the years, but has always been healthy and from the original limit of 30 members, the current limit is 50 with 45 members at present. Over the years many social events have been organised with trips out to various places of interest. |
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