Mary Adams was unaware before the event that a great deal of planning had been made to keep the honour secret from her until the moment it was presented.
This honour was in recognition of her work in supporting ROKO 20 Academy in Kenya, a school for orphans and underprivileged primary school children.
Mary also set-up the LMG (Living Memories Group) for people and families in our community with long term health concerns.
She also instigated the formation of RotaKids clubs in two local welsh primary schools.
Her enthusiasm and commitment is a source of inspiration to her fellow club members.
The district governor of the Rotary District, Maggie Hughes, had been invited by club president David Haward to travel down from Cardiff to present Mary with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
Such honours are rare and only given to persons who have made an exceptional voluntary and unpaid effort to improve the lives of others.
It was decided that the birthday dinner was an important date in the club’s calendar so members of her family were also gathered in secret at the hotel and at the moment of her presentation their presence was revealed much to Mary’s amazement. She was shocked and unusually almost speechless!
Mary has also been nominated for another award called The Champion of Change, and on May 25, she and several Rotarians have been invited by Maggie Hughes to travel to the Senedd where they will meet First Minister Carwyn Jones.
President David Haward later in the evening, after a fine three-course dinner, introduced guest speaker William McNamara OBE to give an illustrated talk about his charity trek to the South Pole on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Scott’s efforts to reach the pole in Antarctica.
William raised over £30,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The talk was well-received following which a vote of thanks was offered by Rotarian Adrian Thorne.
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