A woman who cares for the terminally ill, takes the elderly on trips to the theatre and runs regular clinics for sex workers has been given Rotary’s highest honour.
District governor Lynette Stassen pinned the Paul Harris Fellow on Jean Avis at a Constantia Rotary Club meeting at Stonehurst Lifestyle Centre, in Westlake, on Tuesday November 14.
Othercommunity-service awards were presented to various recipients during the function, attended by about 50 people, including Rotary office bearers from other clubs and the families of the honorees.
Ms Stassen also inducted two new members, Priscilla Clark and Ross Kelly, into Rotary.
Rotary Family Health Days have become an important item on the Rotary calendar, and the initiative’s national programme director Sue Paget and chairwoman of the regional committee Bev Frieslich were also at the function.
Spec Savers and its representative, Mary Majiet, received certificates of exceptional community service, for providing free professional eye-screening and dispensing more than 1 000 pairs of free readers to the communities of Seawinds, Vrygrond and Capricorn at Rotary Family Health Days over the past four years.
Ms Majiet convinced her company to partner with Rotary and recruited and led the company team of professionals providing the service.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation to Ms Avis, who after working at St Luke’s Hospice as a nursing sister, mainly as a night shift nurse, for 33 years is well known in the community for her professional caring for the terminally ill and support to their families.
