KNYSNA NEWS - The Rotary Club of Knysna celebrated its 60th anniversary with a special commemorative birthday lunch held at the Knysna Yacht Club on 3 May.
One of the club's present members, Koos van Eeden, was the guest speaker at the anniversary lunch.
He had attended the inaugural charter dinner and had jotted down some memories from that time.
"I became a Rotarian at an early age, as my father was president of the Ceres Rotary Club, and like all presidents, he needed more members, so who is easier to get than your son? In 1962 I was the secretary of the Ceres Club and was compelled to attend the Rotary District Conference in Bloemfontein, just before the Knysna Charter Dinner," he recalled.
"There, DG Mark Markson informed all the clubs in his district of the coming charter dinner at Plett and asked who could attend. I volunteered to attend on behalf of the Ceres Club as the date coincided with my mother-in-law's birthday. She, Lucy Duthie, lived in Knysna."
The Rotary District governor, Mark Markson, hands the Rotary Charter to the Rotary Club of Knysna's first president, Rory Condon, during the charter dinner held on 9 June 1962.
The Ceres Club gave Van Eeden a gift to present to the new club at the formal dinner function at the Beacon Isle Hotel in Plett, which was attended by many representatives and their partners from other clubs. "After the induction, I went to congratulate Rory Condon on being the charter president for Knysna of the combined clubs. Rory introduced me to Jack Case from Plett," Van Eeden said.
Knysna Rotaract President Elect for 2022-23, Christian Jacobs, with Rotarian Julie Staub.
"I told them of the importance of attending district conferences, especially if you are a new Rotarian, and I invited the two of them to accompany me to the next year's district conference in Bethlehem [the Rotary districts were different then]. The next year I drove to Knysna and from here the three of us drove together to Loch Athlone near Bethlehem to attend DG James Gililand's conference."
A few decades later Van Eeden moved to Knysna and joined the Knysna Rotary Club in 1993, where he has been an active member ever since.
Rotarians Owen and Lee-Ann Govender were both inducted in March.
Knysna Rotarian Koos van Eeden, guest speaker at the club’s 60th birthday lunch. He is the only Knysna Rotarian to have attended the charter dinner in 1962.
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
