News From Britt Hill – November 2019

Many moons ago, I was interviewed for the Executive Director position by a panel of nine Britt Music and Arts Festival Board members. The interview lasted 1.5 hours and covered many different areas of the professional expertise needed for the job. Given my extensive background in non-profit management, I was prepared for most of the questions. However, I was thrown for a loop when asked which Rotary Club I would join. Being relatively new to the Rogue Valley, I had no idea how important Rotary affiliations are or how highly those relationships are valued in our community. If hired, I thought I might join a Rotary club.

It was not until the 2011 Cutler Investment Group’s Christmas Party, when Carl Nelson approached me and said, “You need to join our Club, the Jacksonville-Applegate Rotary Club,” that I was moved to do so. Carl, being Carl, invited me to the next meeting, sponsored my membership, conducted the orientation, and the rest is history.

Having spent my pre-Britt career in international relations, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the global outreach and commitment to service above self. The Rotary Four-Way Test is the guiding principal for Rotarians: 1) Is it the truth? 2) Is it fair to all concerned? 3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned? This test provides a wonderful moral compass and call to action that Rotarians embrace.

During the last eight years, I have witnessed many Rotarians doing heroic work. Locally, for example, the Jacksonville-Applegate Rotary club members support the Ruch Elementary School, provide weekend meals for Jackson Elementary students, volunteer for historic building beautification projects and sell popcorn on the Britt Hill.

Fellow Rotarian friends are the first to reach out to improve the lives of those less fortunate by raising money to bring clean water to Tanzanian, Mexican and Guatemalan villages. They are the first people I know to call a friend in need, from providing job leads to carpooling. I have been fortunate enough to experience first-hand the life changing work of Rotarians. Our collective work has proven to be an unexpected, yet powerful and rewarding experience. My heartfelt thanks goes out to Julie Barry, Lyn Boening, John Bowling, John Boyd, Dom Campanella, Peggy Carlaw, Ace Carter, Colette Curtius, Bob Dorr, Jen Gerrard, Jerry Hayes, Judi Johnson, Laura McKeane, Platon Mantheakis, Heidi Martins, Marjorie Miller, Rex Miller, Carl Nelson, Sherry Neuman, Delando Pegan, John Rennick, Anthony Roa, Chris Rose, Stephen Smith, Brenda Stein, Roger Thom, Jill Tompkins, Mary Van Horn, Jason Williams, and Mike Wisnovsky. It has been an honor to serve alongside each of you. Fare Foreword, my friends.

Featured image: Jacksonville-Applegate Rotary Club. Photo by Brian Fitz-Gerald.