Sackville Rotary Club honours Paul Harris Fellows

The Sackville Rotary Club recently honoured 12 individuals as Paul Harris Fellows.
Named for Paul Harris, who, with three business associates founded the Rotary Club in 1905 in Chicago, the fellowship was established in 1957 to express appreciation for a contribution to the humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation. These programs include a variety of projects that save or enhance the lives of people around the world, while promoting international friendship and understanding.
Rotary Foundation programs provide education opportunities, food, potable water, health care, immunizations and shelf for millions of persons and are funded, implemented and managed by Rotarians and Rotary clubs worldwide.
Rotarians also regularly designate a Paul Harris Fellow to recognize another person whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives and mission of The Rotary Foundation, to build world understanding and peace.
"The Paul Harris Fellowship is a $1,000 US donation that a member of Rotary can give. It can be given in your own name, in the name of a spouse or a family member or in memory of someone. The club has also given them in the name of a community member who is not a Rotary member but who has made an outstanding effort on behalf of the community. Our club did that last year," Rotary Club member Barbara Campbell said recently.
Paul Harris Fellowships were presented to Rotarians Jake Fisher, Pamela Harrison, Dianne Oulton, Muriel Stirling, Sandy Harper, Wayne Harper, Virgil Hammock and Paul Gilbert while Pat Samuelson was honoured by Rotarian Ove Samuelson, Barbara Chisholm by Frank Chisholm and Jean Scobie by Charlie Scobie. The late Carman Johnson, a former Rotarian for more than 37 years, was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship posthumously by his wife Pat.
The evening event, which was held at the Sackville Curling Club, also included a presentation of awards for the annual district curling bonspiel of Rotarians from District 7810, which comprises 28 New Brunswick clubs and 12 from the state of Maine.
Campbell said it is believed that the presentation of 12 Paul Harris Fellowships is unprecedented in the Sackville club.
"The money goes 100 per cent to international projects. . . It goes to help projects like schools and clean water projects, so it does some pretty important work," Campbell noted.
She explained that more than half of the funds raised through Sackville Rotary Club initiatives support local projects and the organization relies heavily on the support of local residents to ensure the success of these initiatives.
"The Paul Harris Fellowship is the Rotarians' way of giving, without asking the community for financial support. This is an example of how Rotary members contribute (financially) themselves," she added.
Over the past 58 years since its formation, the Sackville Rotary Club has supported many local projects and initiatives including Lillas Fawcett Park, the Booster Pump and the stone bridge located at the swan pond on the Mount Allison University campus.
The club has also provided a van for Bob Edgett's boys and girls boxing club, supports local adult literacy through a $2,000 donation annually, two bursaries for graduates of TRHS each year and numerous requests within the community, ranging from $50-$500.
Campbell noted that the Rotary Club is proud of the funds raised through its foundation, adding that all monies donated are invested for a period of three years, the interest of which is used to cover administration costs. This practice allows for the entire donation to be used for foundation projects.
Each recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship received a certificate, lapel pin and medallion. The certificate states the recipient has been awarded the honour in "appreciation for their appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world" and urges them to wear the pin to all Rotary events.