The Jacksonville Rotary Club honored 10 people over the past year for their service and volunteerism by naming them Paul Harris Fellows.
The Paul Harris Fellowship, named for the founder of Rotary, is an honor established by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International more than sixty years ago to honor individuals who carry out activities that exemplify the humanitarian and educational objectives of the Rotary Foundation.
Randy Duvendack, Gina Hayes, Dan Henry, Nikki Henry, Susan King, Gigi Galloway Patterson, Maria Phillips, and Jenna Tucker were the local award recipients. Amy Byers of Chatham and Tiffany Mathis of Springfield were the two other indivuduals also recognized by the Rotary Club.
Melissa Pantier with the Jacksonville Rotary Club explains that people don’t have to be in the club to be named Paul Harris fellows. Awardees are named purely for service to the community.
“The Jacksonville Rotary Club has awarded nearly 300 Paul Harris Fellows, and each one of those awards recognizes service to the community. I think in Jacksonville we’re really lucky to have so many people involved in helping our community move forward. We recognized several Rotarians and several others who are not Rotarians.”
Pantier offers a detailed look at how each Paul Harris fellow is celebrated by the Rotary.
“It is quite an honor to be named a Paul Harris fellow by other Rotarians. There is a nomination in the form of a $1,000 donation to the Rotary International. Donations can be made in full by one person, or from a group who want to declare a nomination.”
Each Fellowship recipient was presented with a certificate, pin, and medallion, with one of the Rotary members responsible for awarding the Fellowship explaining why the individual was selected. The Jacksonville Rotary Club has been in existence for 100 years, has named 295 Paul Harris Fellows, and has contributed more than $386,000 to the Rotary Foundation. For more information about the Jacksonville Rotary Club’s service initiatives, visit jacksonvillerotary.org/.