Music consultant Clive Waterman was presented with Rotary’s top award, the Paul Harris Fellowship, at the Wokingham Area Schools Music Association (WASMA) concert in the Reading Hexagon on Sunday, March 24.
The award was given for his outstanding support to the community.
Over the last 40 years, Mr Waterman, a former Woodley Southlake School headteacher, has produced and conducted the annual concerts performed by local junior school children.
At Sunday’s concert, more than 800 children from 15 of the primary and junior schools in the area performed beautifully in a concert with a theme of Elementary my dear WASMA.
The theme which embraced the development of science, included some brilliantly original singing and dancing by the children.
They were accompanied by the WASMA Band, playing on piano, keyboard, bass and drums. The children taking part in WASMA will remember the experience for many years, as will their proud parents in the audience.
Rotary presidents Sarah Shears (Reading Maiden Erlegh) and Keith Greenwood (Wokingham), spoke briefly about what Rotary does, particularly for children.
Rotarian Alan Howe gave a short description of the Paul Harris Fellowship award. The two Rotary Club Presidents paid tribute to Mr Waterman’s long-term outstanding contribution to children’s music and expressed their delight at presenting him with Rotary’s highest award.
Mr Waterman said: “I am absolutely amazed and very honoured by this award”.
At the concert the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh collected over £900 from the sale of programmes and donations from parents.
This will go to support the Just Around the Corner (JAC), the Berkshire based charity committed to engaging with young people and their families, enabling them to make positive choices, by demonstrating love and acceptance according to Christian principles.
