About District 1
Our District covers a vast geographical area in the Northeast of Scotland. Our current clubs stretch from Inverness, the capital of the highlands, in the north, along the spectacular Moray coast to Nairn and Banff then south as far as Stirling and Dunfermline on the Firth of Forth. We have 17 clubs with over 500 members – almost 40 of those new this year. All clubs have a formal meeting each month except for July and August – with social events, coffee mornings, walks and fund- raising activities spread throughout the year.
The area is rich in culture and history with spectacular scenery – the high mountains of the Cairngorms with rivers and glens leading down to the gentler lowlands below; nature reserves where otters, ospreys, deer and red squirrels abound; and gigantic sea cliffs with colonies of migratory sea birds. The district is home to hundreds of castles and places of interest to visit. Here you can visit cities like Aberdeen – the oil capital if the UK; Dundee – now a UNESCO city of culture with the V & A museum; or the newly created city of Dunfermline. Opportunities abound to participate in hillwalking, fishing, playing golf or even curling. Another activity would be to visit one of the whisky distilleries along Speyside or go monster spotting on Loch Ness – the choice is endless!
District Chairman
District Chairman Jean Hale
Welcome
I am absolutely delighted and proud to be your District 1 Chairman this year. I have been a member of the Inner Wheel of Forfar – my hometown – for 17 years and follow in a long line of women who have served our District, with 3 Past District Chairmen still active members of my club, I have a lot to live up to! My apprenticeship has been to serve as your District Editor for the last 4 years – a job I have loved.
All of us enjoyed the challenges and social events linked to Inner Wheel’s Centenary and IIW Convention last year – the task for us now is to keep that momentum going, now we are 100 plus and embark on a second century of service. Our clubs are at the heart of their communities which ties in with the GB&I logo and also with this year’s IIW logo – Heartbeat Of Humanity – every beat counts, every action matters.
Our focus this year is Friendship and Membership. The special friendships we make through Inner Wheel need to be celebrated and publicised so we can encourage more women to join us. Last year we attracted almost 40 new members, with a few more poised to join us at the start of this year. Well done – I hope we can keep up this exciting trend!
Our District meetings return to the more traditional format in August, March & June, at your request, with a zoom meeting in November, which will be more interactive so that clubs can share their achievements. I look forward to meeting with many of you at our District Assembly in the Invercarse, Dundee on Wednesday 28th August.
A date for your diaries is our 73rd District Rally, which will be held on Friday 30th May 2025 in the Royal Hotel, Forfar.
Social Links
Who we support
This year District Chairman Jean has chosen the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) to be our district charity – a charity she has personally been involved with as a fundraiser for over 20 years.
The RNLI is the charity saving lives at sea in GB&I. Since its set up in 1824, they have saved over 140,000 lives and now run over 237 lifeboat stations and 220 beach lifeguard units. This year is the 200th Anniversary of the RNLI – with special events being held to celebrate including a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to which Jean and 10 others from the Forfar Branch were invited!
The RNLI receives no government funding but is totally dependent on donations and legacies to carry out its work. Most of its crew are volunteers. It is a charity much loved by our members – in fact two lifeboats have in the past been funded by donations from Inner Wheel.
There are 12 Lifeboat Stations located along the coast which border our clubs. The funds we raise will be used to assist these local stations in this remarkable lifesaving work.
Spencer Harris, the Community Manager from Perth is making up fundraising packs for each club & a presentation will be given at our Assembly. They are excited to be working in partnership with us and have already offered to arrange speakers for any of our clubs. We look forward to their input in August.
For more information about the RNLI please see their website at – rnli.org
AD1
District 1 Officers
DISTRICT CHAIRMAN – Jean Hale
1st Vice Chairman – Lynda Taylor
Immediate Past Chairman – Annetta Anderson
District Secretary – Gladys Johnston
District Treasurer – Susan Oliphant
Member of Council – Diana Taylor
District Editor – TBA
International Service Chairman – Nanette Thomson
Membership & Development Officer – Annetta Anderson
Email Us
District 1 Events
| Meeting | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|
| District Committee Meeting 1 | 28/08/2024 | Invercarse Hotel, Dundee |
| District Assembly | 28/08/2024 | Invercarse Hotel, Dundee |
| District Committee Meeting 2 | 07/11/2024 | Online Meeting via Zoom |
| District Committee Meeting 3 | 08/03/2025 | Aberdeen Altens Hotel, Aberdeen |
| District Rally | 30/05/2025 | Royal Hotel Forfar |
| District Committee Meeting 4 | 11/06/2025 | TBA |
Current Clubs
ABERDEEN
ABERFELDY & DISTRICT
AUCHTERARDER & DISTRICT
BANFF
DUNDEE
DUNFERMLINE
ELLON
FORFAR
INVERNESS
KINROSS & DISTRICT
LAURENCEKIRK & DISTRICT
MONTROSE
NAIRN
NORTH FIFE
PERTH
PITLOCHRY
STIRLING
(1943) ABERDEEN
(1990) ABERFELDY & DISTRICT
(1982) AUCHTERARDER & DISTRICT
(1959) BANFF
(1947) DUNDEE
(1946) DUNFERMLINE
(1992) ELLON
(1950) FORFAR
(1959) INVERNESS
(1982) KINROSS & DISTRICT
(1985) LAURENCEKIRK & DISTRICT
(1975) MONTROSE
(1958) NAIRN
(1981) NORTH FIFE
(1946) PERTH
(1993) PITLOCHRY
(1948) STIRLING
District 1 latest news
D1 – Home Hosting
Home Hosting Three members of District 1 have been involved in home hosting recently. Well done to Trish Douglas ( Montrose), Heather Sheerin (Inverness) and Marjorie Duncan ( Stirling) for extending the wonderful hand of friendship to our friends from overseas....
Lesley receives her Margarette Golding Award
Margarette Golding Award Congratulations to our Member of Council, Lesley Niven has been presented with the Margarette Golding Award, for over 30 years dedicated to helping Stroke survivors at the Phoenix Club. She is a driving force as a Trustee and an...
IIW Convention
Inner Wheel Convention, Manchester Many members from District 1 travelled to Manchester to attend the International Inner Wheel Convention. A great time was had by all, over the 4 days of debates, voting, lunches, dinners and events. Here are a few of the...