Page 165 - WHO'S WHO OF DUDLEY ROTARY

550 Gerald Thomas WOOD (1938- ) (Joined 28.7.1997 on transfer from the
Halesowen club; left in 2002/03.) Hospice Management. He was
Fundraising Chairman for Mary Stevens Hospice, Stourbridge from 1994,
Chairman of the hospice Lottery from 1999, and a Trustee/ Director of the
registered charity The Mary Stevens Hospice, which operates the hospice,
from 2005. He retired from all these posts in March 2012. During his
period in charge of fund raising he oversaw the opening of over 15 charity
shops, a house clearance service, recycling centre, internet trading, the
successful lottery and many other efforts to raise the large sums needed
to keep the hospice running. Whilst a club member he acted as Secretary of the Rotary Club of
Dudley Housing Association for several years. He has lived in the Dudley area all his life. Since
1969 his home has been in Himley Road, Gornal Wood.

551 David THORPE (1950- ) (Inducted 4.8.1997; left in 1999/00.) Export Services. MD of Confill
(Midlands) Ltd of Union Road, Oldbury, specialists in packing and moving heavy machinery and
its re-installation anywhere in the world. Born in Wednesbury he moved to West Bromwich as
a boy. After leaving high school at 16 he started work at the Burton menswear shop in the town.
Two years later, in 1968, he joined John Cashmore, steel distributors, as a traffic clerk. In 1970
he moved to Silver Roadways, a subsidiary of the Tate and Lyle Group, again as a traffic clerk,
but dealing with more general haulage. He joined Confill in 1976 as Traffic Manager. At that
time the firm was a container-loading and haulage business with ancillary warehousing, serving
a number of major shipping lines. In 1994, with a colleague, he effected a Management Buy-
Out and became joint owner. The business diversified and continued until voluntarily wound up
in 2011. His home was in Tipton until 1996. He then moved to Wombourne but from 2005 has
lived at Penn, Wolverhampton. He was a keen squash player.

552 Kevin George CALLOWAY (1943-2010) (Inducted 1.12.1997; President 2003-04; died 27.11.2010
whilst still a member.) Metal Pressings. Owner and MD of Biltoe
Engineering Co. Ltd of Barnfield Trading Estate, Tipton from 1991 until it
was voluntarily wound up in 2009. This family-owned company was
established in 1973 and produced quality precision pressed and forged
ferrous products. He was also owner/Director of mechanical engineers
Bearings and Pressings Ltd and Dormston Manufacturing and Supply
Company Ltd (both founded in 1954), operating from the Biltoe address,
and a Director of Sedgley Pressings, mechanical engineers, and Sedgley
Design & Engineering Co., both in the Washington Centre, Netherton.
Kevin was a local boy, born in Dudley, and resident for many years in Sedgley before moving to
Wombourne in 2003. He was a skilled musician on the electric guitar and during the 1960s was
a member of the Wolverhampton-based pop group the Black Diamonds. His love of music
served the club well at social events and at quiz time. He was Secretary of the Rotary Club of
Dudley Housing Association from 2000 to 2009.

553 Ian James BROUGH (1944- ) (Inducted 16.3.1998; left 30.6.2003.)
Business support services. Chief Executive of Dudley Chamber of Industry
& Commerce from June 1994, and of the combined Dudley & Sandwell
Chamber of Commerce from 1998. After further mergers in 2001 this
became the Black Country Chamber of Commerce. Ian was appointed its
Director of Policy and Representation. In 2005 he was made Chief
Executive but in December 2006 his employment was terminated in a
board room power struggle. He won a subsequent claim for unfair
dismissal. Shortly afterwards he set up his own business advisory business,
Ibrow. Also in 2007 he joined the well-known Black Country property developer twins Don and