A well-known Ashby figure has been made the District Governor for Rotary in the East Midlands.

From today (July 1), Chris Knight's area will broadly cover everything from Ashby de la Zouch to Skegness, taking in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, South Lincolnshire, North Cambridgeshire - which includes a total of 79 Rotary Clubs.

Chris has been a member of Rotary in Ashby since 1991, and one of his projects has been the operation of the Santa Sleigh for the last 26 years. 

He is an active member of the Rotary Club of Ashby Castle, which is the breakfast club in the town.

Chris is a familiar face in the town, with his compering of events such as Ashby Christmas, Santa Fun Run and Walk and more recently the Ashby Soap Box Derby.

His voluntary work started when he was aged 10 with the Leonard Cheshire organisation, which took him through all the committees and projects over a total of 52 years, culminating in becoming chair of the management committee of Newlands House in Netherseal.

Chris considers that there are people a lot worse off than himself in the world - and giving service and support through various organisations has always been a priority.

His wife Jayne is also a Rotarian, she has been supportive over the last 30 years and will be an integral part of this exciting journey over the next 12 months.

One of Chris' local projects will be supporting Rainbows Children's Hospice at Loughborough which covers the majority of his District.

If would like to support him, and Rotary in Ashby, do not hesitate to contact him on [email protected].