OK, so last week we had our first talk from a member re interesting facts about the History of our club and we had Ken Rook talk to us about the Charles Hicks and the President Elect Collar.
President Elect’s Collar:
ROTARY INFORMATION: 17th July 2018.
President Goran recently asked when we started using the President Elect’s Collar. In 1978 the first Paul Harris fellow Award presented by the Rotary Club of Pakenham was made to Charles Hicks.
After Charles died in 1997 his son Charlie presented the Paul Harris Medallion back to the Club and it was resolved to use it as a collar for the President Elect. There being no other official Rotary insignia for that purpose.
It was first presented at the 1998/99 Change Over Dinner.
So, who was Charles Hicks?
Charles Mckay Hicks was the first Principal of the Pakenham Consolidated School when it was established in 1951, when a number of small schools such as Nar Nar Goon, Tynong , Pakenham South, Toomuc Valley were brought together into one school in the Main Street. The school was relocated some years ago to Prrinces Highway near our Rotary Park.
Charles was also the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Pakenham when it was established in 1961. For several years Rotary meetings were held at the school and catered for by the mother’s club. The first Rotary meeting I ever attended was actually at the Consolidated school when Charles was a member.
Grade 6 Awards:
Charles’s memory was previously acknowledged in the creation of the Charles Hicks Education Award, which was first presented in 1989.
The award is presented each year to a student from each Grade 6 at the Pakenham Consolidated School.
This Award concept was extended over the years to include the Primary
Schools of Cardina, Officer, and Pakenham Hills. It was then extended to include other schools and last year it was further extended to include all Primary Schools in Cardinia, Officer and Pakenham. Most of the 16 schools took up the offer.
The schools set the criteria, name of the award and nominate the recipient. Only the Pakenham Consolidated School Award is called the Charles Hicks Award and has one for each Grade 6. The other schools receive 1 Grade 6 award for the School.
The recipients receive a certificate and a cheque to assist with their transition to Secondary School.
I was a student at the school and those of us who knew Charles Hicks saw him as a dynamic little man who was highly respected in the school by the teachers and students and highly respected in the community.
These are fitting ways to acknowledge his memory.
Ken Rook
