In a ceremony only slightly less festive than the Academy Awards, the 2018 Celebration of Rotary Service Heroes was held on Monday, March 26th, at the Hampton Inn, Natick. The event was the first-of-its-kind District celebration of 21 extraordinary men and women from Rotary Clubs across District 7910 who make a difference and go beyond typical acts of kindness in making a significant contribution to their communities. In addition, 8 Foundation Service Awards were presented and District Foundation Chair, Sanjay Deshpande, received the Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service.
Every service hero received Paul Harris Fellow recognition which represents $21,000 in donations to The Rotary Foundation. The Paul Harris Fellow is a significant recognition and of the 21 heroes, 4 were community members not yet belonging to Rotary. Seven of the awardees were first time Paul Harris Fellows.
Many of the narratives by club Presidents in support of their hero’s nomination included an impact statement about how their hero’s work in the community goes beyond one or two acts of kindness and is instead “a way of life.”
The heroes were humbled, the audience was inspired and it was an event that provided everyone who attended with an enormous feeling of pride for belonging to an amazing SERVICE organization – Rotary International. Additional inspiration came from keynote speaker, Dr. Mary Berg, Past District Governor from PA, who shared her stories of humanitarian service.
District Governor, Karin Gaffney, also gave remarks, including reminding the audience of 240 that “…there is no better organization for a humanitarian superhero than Rotary. That’s what our clubs are all about – we’re a group of humanitarian super heroes in disguise who gather every week or every other week to plan and execute service projects to strengthen and support our communities.”
For the next several weeks, the District newsletter will feature stories of these heroes. Thank you to all the amazing men and women who were recognized and to so many Rotarians for attending this special and inspirational event!