We are delighted that one of our most enthusiastic and hard working members, Philip Abbott, has been recognised with a Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) with three sapphires.
Philip has been a member of our club and of our fellow ("daughter") club, the Rotary Club of Canterbury Sunrise, at various times - he served as Past President of our club back in 2006-2007.
Members always turn to Philip for help with things like lighting and sound as he has a great deal of experience and knowledge with these and is often able to lay his hands on just what's needed! (Even the other night he set up a sound system and two microphones for our meeting at the Victoria Hotel.)
Philip is also involved in many other things - for example, he has been a Trustee of the Prince of Wales Youth Club for over 30 years (and proudly wears a pin marking the Youth Club's receipt of a Queen's Award); he has also been recognised for his donations of blood to the NHS Blood Donation service over many years.
Two of Philip’s PHF’s, the first (the pin) and fourth (the 3rd "sapphire"*), are for being a sustaining Rotarian - i.e. a member making significant contributions to The Rotary Foundation. The second was from Canterbury RC whilst a member of Sunrise RC, with the third being from Sunrise RC whilst a member again of Canterbury RC.
The latest pin came together with a letter from one of the Foundation's trustees that stated "Because of generous donors like yours, the Foundation is expanding Rotary's reach well beyond any original vision. Your contributions allow our members to work with communities around the world to address their most pressing needs: building peace in communities, strengthening local economies, fighting diseases like polio and COVID-19, and much more."
With a subtle smile Phil said "It is nice to be recognised in this way". In relation to Paul Harris Fellowships, Philip found it amusing that he has received recognition of his contributions while a member of our club while he was a member of Sunrise and his contributions while a member of Sunrise while a member of our club, which he thinks might be quite unique!
*The "sapphire" refers to sapphires embedded in the PHF lapel pin; the first only has a gold surround, for the second there is one sapphire mounted in the gold surround, for the third there are two sapphires in the gold surround and so on up to five, when rubies are mounted. You can read more about Paul Harris Fellowship recognition here.
Picture: Philip proudly wears his latest lapel pin alongside other pins marking his Past Presidency of our club, his donation of blood, and his Trusteeship of the Prince of Wales Youth Club (see inset). Picture credt: Rotary Club of Canterbury.
