Rotary year

2004-05

Celebrate Rotary

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President

Rtn. Vinay Rao

Secretary

Rtn. A. Deshpande

35%

Membership growth

88%

Average attendance

Programmes held

₹71,568

Raised for projects

Year in review

A Centennial year

The Rotary year 2004–05 coincided with the Centennial Year of Rotary International, and was marked by significant growth, meaningful service, active fellowship, and recognition at the district level.

Membership and participation

The club achieved 35% growth in membership, welcoming 11 new members. Participation remained exceptional, with average attendance of 88% and nearly 75% of members and Anns actively involved in service projects and club activities.

Meetings and speakers

96 programmes were conducted through the year: 48 regular meetings, 8 joint meetings with other Rotary clubs and professional institutions, 12 Board Meetings, and 6 Assembly/Business Meetings. Speakers included Dilip Padgaonkar and historian Ninad Bedekar, alongside visiting guests from Germany who shared insights into life there. A joint meeting with six other clubs, including the Poona Club, was attended by P. C. Alexander, then Governor of Maharashtra, and Dilip Padgaonkar.

Service

Service remained the club's highest priority: medical check-up camps for differently abled children, four Pulse Polio immunisation drives, career guidance programmes with Mrs. Leela Poonawalla as chief guest, personality development camps, drawing and essay competitions, and the Vocational Excellence Award presented to Dr. Vijay Bhatkar.

Educational visits

Visits to Phulgaon, Loni Naturopathy Ashram, Prayag Dham and Alandi combined learning with fellowship. The Phulgaon visit took the theme "Investment in Man" — a trust working with underprivileged children and women, training them in skills that let them earn a living and become self-sufficient.

Recognition

The club participated actively in District programmes and earned the Presidential Citation, a Special Appreciation Award for the club bulletin, and First Prize in the Bulletin Competition. The monthly bulletin became an important medium for documenting club activities and achievements.

Fellowship

Charter Night, Ladies' Night, Diwali Pahat, New Year's celebrations, fellowship dinners, musical evenings and Centennial celebrations with fellow clubs filled the calendar. Ladies' Night featured competitions in cookery, Ukhana and handicrafts.

Giving

The musical fundraising programme "Swaranjali" raised ₹71,568 for Rotary projects. Members contributed a further ₹67,100 towards Tsunami Relief and donated US$425 to The Rotary Foundation — Service Above Self in practice.