Members of Kenilworth's Rotary Club have this week extended a hand of friendship across the Atlantic Ocean by hosting an evening with fellow rotarians in the town's American namesake

Members of the Kenilworth Rotary Clubs in Warwickshire and New Jersey have met this week via Zoom for the first time to share some information about the respective towns of Kenilworth.

The meeting took place on Saturday, December 5, and was the first interaction between the two 'Kenilworths' since the visit to America of the Coker and Wagstaff families in 1990.

The meeting began with welcomes from Kenilworth, New Jersey Rotary Club President Janet Henkel, and UK Rotary Club Co-President Peter Roberts.

Club members were then able to learn about the cross-Atlantic cousins through presentations presented by Michael Naya from New Jersey and David Tall from Kenilworth, England.

Kenilworth, New Jersey is actually a small borough of roughly 8,000 people. The town enjoys a yearly outdoor Shakespeare performance 'Bard on the Boulevard' courtesy of the Hudson Shakespeare Company.

They elected their first Mayor in 1907, as the area began to expand. It is believed to have taken the name Kenilworth from a local book club 'The Kenilworth Club' which had found inspiration from Sir Walter Scott's 1821 book of the same name.

The presentations were then closed by New Jersey Mayor Linda Karlovitch and our own Mayor, Cllr Richard Dickson.

Michael Naya said "I never thought in a million years I'd have the privilege to speak to Kenilworth, England and yet there we were. It was a truly historic event just as Michael Coker's visit in 1990 had been to our borough."

Janet Henkel added "I am very proud of this historic joint Rotary Zoom meeting where old met new and new ways will build to a brighter future for both Kenilworth's"