Henley Rotary Club

THE new president of Henley Rotary Club is Nigel Hay.

Mr Hay, 73, said he wanted to increase membership and adopt a “green” agenda.

Mr Hay, who lives in Roke, has been involved in rotary since 1998 and was previously a member of the Chelsea branch when he lived in London. He was twice president there in 2002/3 and 2009/10 and joined Henley in 2017.

Mr Hay said he was surprised to take up the role, adding: “I thought my days of office in rotary were over and I was looking forward to sitting on the back benches as it were. But in a small club everyone’s got to play their part.”

Mr Hay, who was appointed at a Zoom meeting, said he wanted to attract younger members.

He said: “The most important thing facing Henley Rotary Club is we need to increase our members. The more we have got, the more things we can do for the community. I’m also quite keen that we adopt a greener agenda. We want to look at all the environmental groups in Henley, we want to find out what projects they have that we can support.”

My Hay spent 30 years in banking before working for 18 months as a fundraiser for the Stroke Association. He was then appointed chief executive of the Thames Community Foundation, which supported charitable organisations in London.

Mr Hay spent 10 years at the foundation and left after helping it merge with two others to become the London Community Foundation.