SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) – On June 30, 2021, the Rotary Club of Sint Maarten-Mid Isle had its annual Change of Board (COB) Ceremony. Considering the economic state that our island is in, and the fact that we are still not fully COVID free, the club decided to do this year’s COB in a smaller setting for Mid Isle members (plus spouse/partner or immediate family member) only, and not as a fundraiser. The COB ceremony was held at the Body & Soul Center at Belair.
Incoming President 2021- 2022 Wayne Wilkie has taken over the reins of The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten-Mid Isle from outgoing President Grace Linger. Despite the many challenges they faced from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with loss of business, sickness of members and even death of family members, Mid Isle still found ways to help others in need, and carry out many wonderful projects, fundraisers and events this past Rotary Year. President Grace and her team were able to collect some awards and recognitions from District 7020 and Zone 34 such as; the Gold Club of the Month (COTM) Award, the” Stronger Together Partnership Award”, the Distinction District Governor’s Award, the North Star Award for 100 % retention and the 2021 Zone 34 Public Image Citation.
In his speech, member of Mid Isle Incoming District Governor of District 7020 Louis Wever, took the opportunity to thank outgoing President Grace and her board for their dedicated service to their community, in the district and worldwide. He also extended appreciation to all Mid Isle members for everything they had done to make Rotary work, even in these difficult times, and that they had lived up to the Ideals of “Service above Self”. He informed us of The Rotary International Theme for the year 2021-2022 “Serve to Change Lives”, and encouraged us to all look around us and see the possibilities of impactful projects that can change the lives of those in our communities.
Outgoing President Grace Linger presented tokens of appreciation to her outgoing board: Vice President/Foundation Chair Aernout Kraaijeveld, Secretary/New Generations Chair Jon Hart, Treasurer Tony Da Cunha, Membership Chair Quincy Lont, Disaster Relief Chair Sonia Meade-Swanston, Sergeant- at-Arms/ Fundraising Chair Wayne Wilkie, and Public Image/Relations Chair Anjali Manek.
Incoming President Wayne Wilkie urged members based on the theme “Serve to Change Lives” to become more involved in Service Projects, saying that caring for and serving others is the best way to live, because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.
The incoming board consists of: President Wayne Wilkie, Immediate Past President Grace Linger, Vice President/Foundation Chair Aernout Kraaijeveld, Secretary/New Generations Chair/Spelling Bee Chair Jon Hart, Sergeant-at-Arms Wayne Johnson, Treasurer Tony Da Cunha, Membership Chair Quincy Lont, Public Image Chair/Service Projects Chair Grace Linger, Disaster Relief Chair Anjali Manek, and Vocational Service Chair Russell Bell.
The anticipated Rotarian of the Year Award was presented to Public Image Chair 2020-2021 Anjali Manek, for her tremendous work of publishing the news of Rotary Mid Isle in the local news media, and constant support with the service projects.
During the ceremony, three new members were also welcomed to the club, and inducted by Incoming District Governor Louis Wever. Congratulations to Rotarian Marc Smoorenburg, Rotarian Seema Mirchandani-Vaswani and Rotarian Keyla van Heyningen.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to the Belair Community Center for everything they have done to accommodate us during our Change of Board. We greatly appreciate it!
