Jo Haywood discovers that things are really turning around in Rotary.

ONCE widely regarded as a male, middle class preserve, Rotary is now showing a new face to the world - and that face is young, successful and female.

At 24, Pennita Wilshire is the youngest female president of a Rotary club in Britain. She is a founder member and inaugural president of Helmsley and District Rotary Club, which was officially welcomed into the Rotarian fold last month, almost 100 years to the day since the first club was established in Chicago to give successful businessmen and professionals the chance to put something back into their community.

Women outnumber the men in the new Helmsley club 11-9, but it remains the only one in Ryedale to include women members. This is something Pennita, known as Penny, hopes will change in the not too distant future.

"Progress takes time," she said. "I hope other clubs will see what we are doing in Helmsley and follow our lead. There are still some more traditional clubs around, but I think they will soon understand that women have a lot to offer."

If a PR company had taken on the task of rebranding Rotary for the 21st century, Penny would be their ideal poster girl. She's young, she's attractive and she's highly motivated, running two thriving businesses as well as presiding over weekly Rotarian gatherings.

Her parents encouraged a strong work ethic by giving her a weekend job in their oriental rug shop at the age of nine. This work ethic was put to the test when she reached 16 and her father died. Up until then she had wanted to be an actress, but when it became a choice between selling the family business or taking it on herself, her previous ambitions went out the window.

The shop, Spoilt For Choice, went from strength to strength until a freak accident left Penny and her mother Glennis's dreams in tatters once again. Four years ago, an overheated halogen bulb exploded and burned the store to the ground.

They moved their stock into a vacant dress shop in Castlegate, Helmsley. Then when their original shop was rebuilt, they moved the rugs back to Spoilt For Choice and kept on the dress shop, relaunching it as a stylish boutique under the name Pennita.

When Penny was first approached about joining Rotary last year, her reaction was characteristically honest.

"I thought I was too busy and I thought it would be too boring," she said. "But I was wrong on both counts. Being a member is brilliant. It's interesting, you meet great people and, perhaps most surprising, it's fun."

Helmsley and District Rotary Club meets every Monday at the Kings Head Hotel, Kirkbymoorside. Membership is by invitation only, but further details are available from David Ward on 01751 431258.

Updated: 09:19 Tuesday, March 08, 2005