Ruby Paul Harris Fellowship

The Rotary Club of Belfast has awarded a Ruby Paul Harris Fellowship to Hon Member Past President Alan White.

This prestigious award is Rotary's highest honour for individuals who have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service, with an emphasis on personal efforts and active involvement in helping others.

He is pictured left with his son and grandson.

The citation made by President Rosemary at the Club meeting Monday 18 June highlighted Alan as a true, model and honourable Rotarian, a person who is very thoughtful for others less fortunate and his devoted to the furtherance of the Rotary Club of Belfast.

President Rosemary noted that PP Alan joined the Club in 1958 his family having had a long connection – his grandfather Charles E White was a founder member of the Club and President 1920-21 and his father Arnold White was President 1947-48. On the 50th anniversary of the Club the then President Stanley Boyd handed Alan a sealed metal box to be kept locked until the 100th Anniversary of the Club, which Alan successfully did, and it was subsequently opened at our celebrations.

Alan has been involved in most things the Club carried out, one of his favourites being the Boys Camp for crippled children. He was convenor in 1963 with 70 boys attending including one Henry Hodson, a 55 year old who had been attending since he was a child. NI was in turmoil in the early 70’s however Alan and John Savage restarted the camp in 1977 at Crawfordsburn. The Ambulance Cup first presented in 1915 by the Club has Alan’s name on it twice, once in 1949 and once in 1951 both while he was a Scout, incidentally two other Club members names appear on the Cup and a particularly notable occasion was in 1996 when Alan welcomed Mary Robinson to the Club as President of the Irish Republic, he proposed a toast to her and in reply she proposed a toast to the Queen. The Pantomime outing the Club ran each Christmas for old people was a favourite event which he ran for many years, it gave Rotarians an excuse to watch the event and enjoy childhood fun and Alan’s concern for old people was again demonstrated by a visiting scheme he developed encouraging Club members to pay visits to lonely old people.

Alan was a prolific letter writer as Past Presidents of the Club will know, each of them having received letters from him during their turn in office with advice, anecdotes and comments on the work of the Club. Apparently he also did the same thing to many of the suppliers to Hogg’s the business in Donegall Square which he ran.