Monday, June 26, 2006

 Sunrise Rotarian Dr Bert Thacker receives the Paul Harris award from President Stuart Diamond. Dr Thacker led a Dental team to Peru to give free treatment to adults and children.


Russell Smith, Co-Director for Fund Raising for Rotary Sunrise receives a Paul Harris award from President Stuart Diamond for exceeding the fund raising target for the current year and permitting a very substantial cheque to be sent to The Cayman Islands Cancer Society.

Rotary Sunrise's 67 members all contribute both hands-on and financially to others in the community who are less fortunate. Sometimes there is an exceptional effort and this can be marked by the grant of a Paul Harris award.

These awards are extremely prestigious and two were awarded this week at the club's regular breakfast meeting at the Grand Old House.

The first went to Dr Bert Thacker who led a dental team from his "Smile" dental practice in Alexander Place to Machu Picchu in Peru.

They saw up to 75 patients a day and performed over 300 operations, mostly extractions.

The cost of the first visit was entirely paid by the clinic and all the staff contributed their wages to fund the project. They are planning a second trip in November - this time for 10 days and they will have mostly clinic days but also find time to teach oral hygiene and the importance of diet. They will try to take some major equipment this time like dental chairs and a generator and Rotary Sunrise will help in this endeavor.

The second award went for supreme effort and great success in fund raising. This award was made to Russell Smith - the Co-Director of Fund Raising, who with Co-Director Tim Dailey exceeded all expectations with two major events this year.

The first, a unique Radio Auction held in conjunction with Rooster 101 over a 7 day period and the second the raffle, just completed, of the BMW car, The Vespa Scooter and the Cayman Airways tickets.

A huge amount of work goes into the successful conclusions of these events but they create the lifeblood of the club that allows it to help a range of needs - notably, this year, the Cayman Islands Cancer Society.

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