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Above right:
Venus Williams, Georgina
and Marion Bartoli
Georgina’s day at Wimbledon
Fourteen-year-old Georgina had a dream
realised when she was chosen to toss the coin
for first service at the Wimbledon Ladies’
Final this year. Venus Williams and Marion
Bartoli would battle it out over the next few
hours – but then Georgina knew all about
battles over a period of years. A beneficiary
of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and
Boys (RMTGB), she had experienced many
difficulties and traumas in her life.
The keen and talented tennis player and
musician comes from Bournemouth. She
lives with her widowed, pensioner
grandmother, as her parents were divorced
in 1994 and neither subsequently was able to
care for her. As Georgina’s late grandfather
was a Freemason, her plight came to the
attention of the Trust, which has supported
her since 2002.
The Trust provides a fee bursary so that
Georgina is able to attend a small, caring
local independent school. As she is a keen
tennis player, the Trust is paying for her
lessons. A proficient and enthusiastic
musician, Georgina’s piano lessons are
also being funded by the Trust.
When asked by the Duke of Kent to
choose someone to toss the coin, the
RMTGB selected Georgina as, although she
had experienced difficult times, she had
borne them with fortitude. Knowing her
long-standing interest in tennis, the occasion
was considered tailor-made for her.
Georgina’s ‘Day at the Tennis’ began the
Friday before the Ladies’ Final, when she
and her grandmother were met at Waterloo
Station by Trust Welfare Adviser, Sam
Maddocks, and the Senior Case Adviser,
Gill Bennett. As it had been a considerable
time since either Georgina or her
grandmother had visited London, Sam and
Gill spent time with them, pointing out
locations of various shops as well as
explaining the vagaries of the London bus
and tube systems.
Collected by courtesy car the next day,
the driver gave the couple a guided tour of
places of interest along the route before
depositing them at Wimbledon, where
another guided tour – this time of the
grounds – was made before they were taken
to watch the men’s singles semi-finals.
After lunch in the Competitors’
restaurant, Georgina’s grandmother was
taken to her seat and Georgina to the
Clubhouse, where she met the match Chair
Umpire and Championship Referee,
Andrew Jarrett.
At 1.50pm, accompanied by the two
officials and on slightly shaky legs, Georgina
walked onto Centre Court to await the
arrival of HRH the Duke of Kent, Grand
Master, Grand President of the Trust, and
President of the Lawn Tennis Association,
and finalists Marion Bartoli and
Venus Williams.
After a few words of introduction, the
coin was tossed and a slip of a girl from
Bournemouth with a troubled past was
immortalised in front of thousands of
spectators and millions of viewers throughout
Britain and the rest of the world
Said Georgina in a ‘thank-you’ card to
the Trust: “I found the coin-toss nervewracking,
but I am extremely grateful to
have been chosen to do it”.
Georgina’s tale, although uplifting, is but
one of many such that the Trust has to tell.
Although similar stories, to lesser or greater
degrees, abound in the case files of the Trust,
there is always room for more. As Senior
Case Adviser Gill Bennett said in an
interview recently: “Not only does Trust
assistance relieve immediate financial
concerns, it also ensures that individual
potential, otherwise in danger of being lost,
is realised by the beneficiaries.
“It is undoubted that Georgina is
inherently multi-talented – but at least now
those talents can be recognised and nurtured
as the result of the RMTGB’s endeavours”.
Festival Success
On 6th June 2007, at Carlisle Racecourse,
the Province of Cumberland and
Westmorland hosted the 22nd Anniversary
Festival in support of the Royal Masonic
Trust for Girls and Boys. The Festival
President was RW Bro John Hale,
Provincial Grand Master and he was
supported at the Festival banquet by over
550 ladies and brethren. A magnificent
Festival total of £2,055,749 was announced
of which £1,742,022 came from the
Province. The Trust is immensely grateful
to the Freemasons of the Province for all
the hard work that went into producing
such a result. During dinner Miss Jemima
Philips, former harpist to the Prince of
Wales, and a recipient of TalentAid,
entertained the guests.
The guest of honour was RW Bro David
Williamson, Assistant Grand Master. In his
address Bro Williamson paid tribute to the
Provincial Grand Master and in particular
noted his long service and extraordinary
dedication to Freemasonry.
The President of the Trust, VW Bro
Andrew Stebbings reported that the Trust is
currently supporting 17 beneficiaries from
the Province. Over the last 5 years over
£337k has been spent by the Trust on
these beneficiaries alone.
Helping young people
31 Great Queen Street
London wc2b 5ag
T: 020 7405 2644
Fax: 020 7831 4094
Email: info@rmtgb.org
Web site: www.rmtgb.org
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Andrew Stebbings, RMTGB
President (right) with John Hale,
PGM Cumberland and Westmorland
and (left) David Williamson,
Assistant Grand Master
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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