A DALE journalist is to become Darlington Rotary Club’s first female president.
Sue Campbell was one of the first women to join the almost century-old club about eight years ago and has been the chairwoman of its youth services committee for the past two years.
The Gainford resident will take up the position on June 21. Ms Campbell, who is also a member of Teesdale Ladies’ Choir, first became involved with Rotary as a youngster when she was one of the founding members of a Rotaract club in her home town in Yorkshire, but only rejoined Rotary later in life through colleagues who were already involved.
She said: “There’s a very good Rotary club in Barnard Castle, doing excellent work for the town, but I mainly worked in Darlington when I joined the Darlington club.”
She added that while newer Rotary clubs had started taking on female membership much earlier, the older, more traditional, clubs, such as Darlington, took a bit longer to open up.
With more than 70 members, the Darlington club is one of the biggest in the North East.
Ms Campbell, who works for the Teesdale Mercury, said: “Rotary is essentially a fundraising group with millions of members and thousands of clubs across the world.
“We [the Darlington club] have given hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years.
“We do support regular causes like St Theresa’s Hospice and the Samaritans, but anyone can apply for money.
“It could be an electric wheelchair for a disabled child or maybe it is someone who wants to build a school in Malawi.”
The club’s fundraising efforts have been significant with its annual bike ride raising in excess of £40,000 and its Christmas tree recycling scheme collecting about £10,000 this year.
Of being elected president, Ms Campbell, a journalist and public relations consultant, said: “I do feel quite privileged to do it.
“I am very proud to be the first woman president, but it is not about being the first woman president, it is about being a good president.
“I would like to develop the links we have with young people because they are the future of any organisation. I would also like to communicate more about what Rotary is.
“It is going to be a very busy year, but I am looking forward to it.”
