July 2, 2008

Sunday, June 22 was a big day for the Deposit Rotary Club.  It was the day of the annual Paul Harris Dinner held at Scott's Oquaga Lake House.  Named for the founder of Rotary International, the Paul Harris Dinner is the occasion when our club bestows its two most important awards: the Service Above Self Award and the Paul Harris Fellowship.  After an enjoyable social hour, a ride around the lake on Scott's Showboat and a delicious dinner, the two award recipients were honored. 

 

The Service Above Self Award is given to any community member, Rotarian or not, who exemplifies Rotary's motto of "Service Above Self."  This year, the award was given to Ellen Jogo for her years of incredible service in the community, but especially for her work for the Deposit Historical Society.  Friend Kay Hoban from the Board of Directors of the Historical Society gave the speech detailing Ellen's accomplishments.  Seeing Ellen happily surrounded by family as well as guests from the Historical Society Board, I'm sure every Rotarian felt that we had found a truly deserving recipient for this prestigious award.

 

 Following the Service Above Self Award, the Paul Harris Fellowship was award to club president Harry Dilello to recognize and thank him for all his work for the Deposit Rotary Club and for serving as such a fine president.  Rick Zacharias gave the speech offering a biography of Harry and a list of all the qualities that make him a deserving candidate for the highest honor that can be given to a Rotarian.  I'm so happy to congratulate Ellen and Harry for their achievements and awards.

 

The Paul Harris Dinner was really a special and inspiring event and once again reminded me that Rotary is not only an organization that contributes so much to our community and the world, but is also a group of truly extraordinary people, all of whom are friends who respect and value each other and it's always striking how warm, friendly, and high-spirited Rotary events are—not just the special ones like the Paul Harris Dinner, but each and every meeting.

June 4, 2008

The beginning of summer means one very important thing for the Deposit Rotary Club: preparations for the Lumberjack Festival.  At our weekly meeting on May 28, our resident amazing Rotarian, Nancy Zacharias, distributed the tickets for the annual duck race.  Most people in town are familiar with the Lumberjack Festival tradition of launching hundreds of fake ducks in a race down Oquaga Creek, giving cash prizes to the "owner" of the ducks that come in first.  Our goal this year is to sell all one thousand possible ducks.  The annual race proves to be a very profitable fundraiser for Rotary and its charitable programs, so please take part in the fun and buy your duck now from any Rotarian!

 

At our previous meeting on May 21, we were visited by guests from the Hancock Rotary Club, sharing their new international project.  As you may know from reading my columns, Rotary clubs are committed to making considerable contributions to the local community, but simultaneously to the world as a whole through the entire Rotary International organization.  The Hancock Rotary Club has realized that, with Rotary's recent near total success of the Polio Eradication Initiative, it's time to turn to the next huge global health crisis: HIV and AIDS.  In particular, since nearly 85% of all AIDS cases can be found on the African continent, many in the Rotary organization are looking at ways to produce HIV and AIDS medications locally at small factories in Africa in order to significantly cut down on the cost of these immensely expensive medications, which currently must be shipped from abroad.  Perhaps we will see these programs grow into the next big Rotary commitment.

 

On June 4^th, I will be bringing some of my dancers to the weekly Rotary meeting to dance and show off some pieces from our upcoming Fourth Annual Summer Recital on June 13 and 14.  If you've been meaning to check out Rotary, you are always welcome to attend any meeting, but this one will also offer you the opportunity to check out some of Deposit's finest and most enthusiastic dancers: my adult class and also members of the Jesse Katen Dance Company!  Stop by the Methodist Church at noon to join us for lunch and a great meeting!