Rotary Club Schweinfurt: Völker hands over to Pabst – a new chapter begins!

Rotary Club Schweinfurt: Völker hands over to Pabst – a new chapter begins!

On July 7, 2025, the members of the Rotary Club Schweinfurt-Peterstirn met in the Kugelmühle for the ceremonial handover of office. Andreas Völker handed over the presidency to Manfred Pabst, who will now lead the club's fortunes for the coming year. Völker looked back with great joy on an active year in office in which he took part in numerous events, including the traditional Rescuers' Day and the international peace cycling event. He was also able to organize support for Father Silverius in Tanzania and revive the Rotarian Rowdy River Raft Race. A heartfelt thank you also went to the outgoing board before Pabst gave his inaugural speech.

“Together we are strong” – this is the motto under which the new president plans to continue proven projects during Pabst’s year in office and to focus on recruiting new members. He would also like to strengthen the club's voluntary structure by reviving Rotaract in Schweinfurt. Another important concern is improving the family-friendliness of the club. Pabst emphasized the importance of the last few months of preparation and praised his management team for their great support. The members should work together and enjoy active participation in the club.

Honors for special services

During the handover of office, several members were also recognized for their commitment. Holger Philipp, Marc-Alexander Katz and Thorsten Spiegel received the Paul Harris Fellow award, a special recognition within the Rotary community. These honors are an expression of the high appreciation for the dedicated work within the club, which goes far beyond local activities.

Rotary International is more than just a network - with over 1.2 million members, the club has a clear mission: to create lasting change in communities around the world. The approximately 46,000 clubs worldwide organize projects in various areas such as peace work, combating diseases and promoting education. These global efforts show that Rotary not only promotes social cohesion in its own neighborhood, but is also active on an international level. Detailed information about this can be found on the Rotary website here.

A look outside the box

The impressions of the handover in Schweinfurt are reminiscent of similar events and successes of other Rotary clubs, such as the Rotary Club of Aarau, where the new president Rosey Schär recently took office. At a special evening at Bachmann AG, which was filled with culinary delicacies and an insight into the company's history, members were also honored and the community spirit was celebrated. Such moments show how important social cohesion and the work done together in the clubs are in order to bring about positive changes according to the Aargauer Zeitung.

The coming term of office under Manfred Pabst has high expectations to fulfill. With a strong team and clear goals, there should be an exciting time and many new projects ahead of the club. Commitment remains high to keep the Rotary network alive and active – both locally and internationally.