The Rotary Club of Manama (RCM), which was established in 1965 and is the oldest of this international charity’s branches in the Kingdom of Bahrain, held a lunchtime meeting yesterday to discuss bringing in new members.
Past President Robert Timmers spoke eloquently of the need to bring “new blood” to the Club: “We would like to attract more active people who are keen to improve the lives of the underprivileged here in Bahrain and elsewhere and who are not afraid of putting their time where their mouth is,” he said.
“Over the last year we have been joined by more younger members and by many more women. It is remarkable that our board of 11 members has seven female Rotarians on it, putting us men in a minority. But there is always room for more and we should seek out those in leadership positions in their professions and who want to give back to their community,” he added.
The Club also honoured returning member Jean Christophe Durrand, the newly-appointed CEO of the National Bank of Bahrain, a former Adviser to the Government’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, and the long-term CEO of the French Bank Paribas. Durrand has lived in Bahrain for almost three decades. He gave the club members a lively and amusing account of his life and times before and after he came to the island.