· Message of authority from the District Governor, Henry Gallanca.
· Message of encouragement from His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.
· RI Bob Manchester’s Presidential Message of July 1976.
At that meeting, Lenrie Peters was elected President and Max Overdyke, Secretary, and from that day the club-in-making held regular weekly meetings and kept an attendance register. It soon acquired 15 members, but there it stuck unfortunately for a long time. In 1977 a number of members were recruited who attended meetings for a while but then gave up, unable to meet the challenge of regular attendance at weekly meetings.
Lenrie Peters also gave up the Presidency of the Club in view of the heavy demands of his job, as well as his assignment on other Boards. The mantle of the Presidency was then passed on to Abdou Faal. Max Overdyke, the Club’s Secretary, was later re-assigned elsewhere out of the country by Balfour Beatty, but a suitable replacement was found in the person of Charles Jow, an educationist.
The new club administration then embarked on an intensive membership recruitment drive. The effort yielded much good fruit and in October 1978 the club submitted an application for the granting of a charter as it had obtained the minimum number of 24 members required for the formation of a club. By then a re-districting had occurred and the club had become part of the new District 910. Joseph Richards of Liberia was the new District Governor. He was also most helpful in the matter of assisting the club to obtain its charter.
In a letter dated 17th August, Nicolas Antoniades of Cameroun, the new District Governor, informed the Banjul Club that it had been admitted to membership of Rotary International as from 7th August 1979. The Gambia thus became the 153rd country to join Rotary International, whose membership on that date stood at 18,272 clubs in 153 countries with 851,500 members.
The Gambia’s admission coincided with the celebration of the 75th Anniversary year of Rotary International. In his congratulatory letter to the Rotary Club of Banjul, James L. Bornar Jr., President of Rotary International, wrote, inter alia, as follows:-
‘’ I deem it a privilege to welcome you into membership in this 75th Anniversary year of Rotary International. Your club has accepted important obligations and responsibilities to become a member of Rotary International just as every member of the club has pledged himself to its aims and objectives. The strength and effectiveness of your club rests on the shoulders of each of its members. Just so, the vitality of Rotary International and its success as an international service organization depends upon the work of each club. You will succeed if you ‘LET SERVICE LIGHT THE WAY’.”
With the admission of the club to R.I. the scene was now set for the presentation of the club’s charter. Charter Night had to be agreed with a District Governor 2000 miles away in Cameroun, and was eventually fixed for 8th December 1979. Meanwhile, the club had written to His Excellency Alhaji Sir Dawda K Jawara, President of the Republic of The Gambia, inviting him to become the Club’s Chief Patron. He was also informed of the Charter Night arrangements. His Excellency graciously accepted the invitation to become the club’s Chief Patron.
Charter Night was held at Hotel Fajara and Nicolas Antoniades performed the induction of the new members with great charm and efficiency. Several congratulatory messages were received from clubs in District 910 as well as District Governor Bob Bannister on behalf of District 112 and from the Presidents of the Rotary Clubs of Darent Valley and the North Downs. Bertie Cook donated the President’s chain of office and that of the Vice President was a gift from Darent Valley. The past Secretaries of District 112 donated the Secretary’s chain through Jack Rowe, the District Secretary at the time.
The club banner shows a design of the baobab – an indigenous African tree. The tree grows in towns, villages and the forest. It has a large stem and generally lives up to a hundred years and beyond.
Here in The Gambia, the leaves of the baobab are used in the preparation of certain traditional dishes, and the fibres for making ropes and matting. The fruit is also a delicacy for monkeys, and hence it is also known as ‘Monkey bread”, in Krio. The tree has mystic significance in Gambian folklore. In old age, the soft core of the trunk of the tree gets eaten away by insects leaving a massive cavity. These cavities are believed to be the dwelling places for spirits, and mothers therefore warn their children to steer away from old baobab trees, especially at dusk.