In this issue, we meet David Hatcher, a Rotary member in Kent.
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Name: David Hatcher
Rotary Club: Medway, Kent
Profession: Retired Police Officer
How and when did you become involved with Rotary?
As I was invited to join Rotary in 1990 as a result of my interest in charity work and the fact that my Rotary club ran a week-long holiday to provide otherwise unobtainable activities for 30 seriously ill and disabled youngsters.
This involved pairing the disabled children with able bodied young carers for the week, giving both youngsters insight into the life and experience of their partners.
Following the sad natural death of one of our guests, I’ve since re-designed this to take children’s hospice families to Disneyland Paris to create memories of their lifetime together.
It’s fulfilling experiences such as these, that make me want to share awareness of what we can achieve through membership of Rotary.
When and why did you get involved with Rotary Radio UK?
At a District Council meeting in 2017 I heard the proposal from two fellow Rotarians, Steve Wood and John Robinson from Sittingbourne Invicta Rotary Club, to start an internet-based radio station, publicising the great works of Rotary around the UK and the world.
Having volunteered my time as a police presenter on BBC TV Crimewatch UK for 15 years, also having made police radio programmes on our local BBC radio station, the concept seemed ideal for the propagation of good news about Rotary.
So I became involved in the development of the station and by October 2018 Rotary Radio UK was born. As a Presenter/Director, I began delivering a two-hour weekly programme about disaster response and Rotary news, interspersed with great music.
We are able to raise awareness of what’s being done and the benefits that Rotarians are delivering.”
Tell me about your programme and how much preparation is involved?
As a result of my international disaster response experience and information sources available about what is happening around the world, I keep abreast of developments which enables me to provide insight for my ‘Dave’s Disastrous Hour’ programme.
This is followed with another hour-long programme of good news about Rotary, much of which comes from my experience in Rotary as a club president, as well as from the Rotary GB&I website and publications.
Both programmes heavily feature music and requests from listeners, so they contain variety and interest on several levels. We welcome contributions from Rotarians about what they are doing which has prompted our monthly feature of a selected District of the Month.
How can Rotarians get involved?
One key way for Rotarians to get involved is by sending information about their initiatives, so that non-Rotarians get an idea of what Rotary is all about, also other clubs might learn from their experience.
A feature operating for a number of months is our Rotary Radio UK District of the Month. This involves contact with District Governors who record short clips of audio which I edit into clips no more than two minutes long, paying tribute to the great work being done by Rotarians in their area.
We are able to raise awareness of what’s being done and the benefits that Rotarians are delivering. We also give the district governor the opportunity to record a message directed to their district Rotarians, ideally to thank and inspire them in continuing the excellent work they are doing. An example of this can be viewed here.
Because Rotary Radio UK is internet-based, accessible 24 hours a day via laptops, tablets, phones and smart speakers, we have listeners in over 160 countries. We can be heard via our website and contacted via email.
