Elgin Rotarian made a Paul Harris Fellow

AN ELGIN Rotarian has been presented with one of the organisation's highest awards.

Finlay Weir was made a Paul Harris Fellow after more than a quarter-of-a-century of service to the organisation.

Mr Weir, who joined the Elgin Club in 1993, served as president in 2001 and it was during that year that a less formal dress code was introduced.

The club, under his leadership, also heartedly endorsed welcoming ladies, which swiftly followed.

Presenting Mr Weir with the award was president George Duthie, who said his enthusiasm and commitment epitomised the Rotary motto of Service above Self.

Mr Weir had demonstrated outstanding service on a number of both local and international fronts, he added.

That included hosting couples who travelled to Scotland as part of a golf exchange with an area of western Pennsylvania.

In 1999, he was among a group of Elgin Rotarians who helped provide orphanage facilities and special computers for blind children in Cluj, Romania.

And in late September 2000, Mr Weir joined 15 Rotarians on a trip to the mountainous region of Humla in north west Nepal to build a new health post.

While there, he identified the need for clean drinking water to improve health and enhance the survival expectations of babies and so helped establish the club's ongoing involvement with water, sanitation and health projects in the country. Mr Weir has travelled widely across the north of Scotland to raise awareness of the need for a fresh drinking supply and has returned to Nepal twice.

Mr Duthie said Mr Weir had also been a hands-on Rotarian in all aspects of local life, including leading the popular Rotary Revellers group for more than a decade.

He also led the team which organised the 2002 exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of the club’s charter.

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