Marafun tribute from Rotary president

Sir, – On behalf of the Rotary Club of Elgin, I would like to thank everyone who made last Sunday’s Bell’s Rotary Marafun such an enjoyable and successful day.

We were delighted to have the reassuring support of our main sponsors, Diageo, who once again stepped up to support a major community event. Thanks, too, to all of the local businesses who supported us in so many ways. These are hard and uncertain economic times, yet the support from the business community has been magnificent.

I also want to thank all of those who helped the club to set up, run and then dismantle the event. We have a limited amount of time on the day within which to set up at the start and then clear at the end, and your help was invaluable.

We had motor cyclists, classic cars, charity stalls, displays, car dealerships, show n’ shine enthusiasts, entertainers, bands, line dancers, those that took part in the Food Fest and many, many more, all contributing to the fantastic buzz up and down the High Street. The sunshine helped, but all of these folk put smiles on the faces of the crowds that came along on the day. Thank you for giving your time and energy to the event.

Well done to the youngsters who took part in the junior fun run. You all flew round the circuit and got everybody in the mood for the adults’ race. You were also a lot better at Zumba than the adults!

Congratulations to the 625 runners who pounded the streets. You are all winners in the eyes of the 100 Moray charities and voluntary organisations who will benefit from the funds that you have raised. It has been great to see so many runners out on the streets in the build-up to the event. I hope you all enjoyed your Marafun experience. Thank you for all your efforts.

I am sure that we will have raised a very reasonable sum to distribute to our charities and voluntary organisations. However, for me and many others in the club, it was equally important to stage a community day when people could just get together for a few hours and enjoy themselves. The community itself helped us to achieve that by turning out in huge numbers and giving us its wholehearted and very generous support.

It was tremendous to see the crowds who came down and who got behind the event; there was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day. It means so much to the runners to have people cheering them on. Everybody who came down contributed to that. We have a very special community in Moray, and once again that showed in abundance on Sunday. – Yours etc,

Ian Davidson,

President,

The Rotary Club of Elgin.

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