THE new president of Skipton Craven Rotary Club is Ken Lee.

A Lancastrian who has lived in Addingham and Kildwick for more than 40 years, he is looking forward to his term of office.

He said: “This year we will be supporting a number of local and international charities, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Shelterbox.

“My own presidential charity is the recently launched Airedale Hospital Emergency Department Appeal. The £100,000 appeal aims to complement the major reconstruction work that is already taking place at the hospital, to enhance patient care for the many thousands of local people who present themselves at the Emergency Department each year.

“Again, one of our highlights promises to be our highly popular Santa Fun run, confirmed for Sunday, November 30. We may not be able to repeat the numbers of spectators who packed Skipton’s streets for the Grand Depart, but the sight of 1,500 runners and walkers descending on Skipton High Street, all dressed in Santa outfits, and participating in aid of Rotary charities and/or their own nominated charities, is likely to be an amazing spectacle.

“The event will herald the start of our club’s Santa Sleigh collections around Skipton and the surrounding villages, and in local supermarkets. Year on year it is a truly humbling experience to observe at first hand the generosity of Craven people to those much less fortunate than themselves. “It adds yet another dimension to explain why Skipton Craven is indeed the best place to live in the UK!”