An exciting night of awards, food, fun and engaging speakers was enjoyed by approximately 180 District 5830 Rotarians and guests this past Saturday at the wonderful Hollytree Country Club in Tyler, Texas! Host Clubs were The Tyler Rotary Club, South Tyler Rotary Club and Longview Rotary Club. The clubs worked together to create a beautiful, decorated venue in which to celebrate the Rotary Clubs' achievements in 2023-2024. What a joyous night it was as over 90 awards were presented, including Citation Awards, End Polio Now recognition,100% Foundation Giving clubs, Every Rotarian Every Year clubs, and the Top Three Per Capita Giving clubs. For the second year, one Rotarian from each District area was honored with a Service Award, which also gifted them 1000 Paul Harris Points to get to the next level PHF or gift to someone else.
I wanted to recognize two clubs for their uniqueness in 2023-24. The Rotary Club of Mt. Vernon received the "Rotary-ville Award" for having 1.6% of Mt. Vernon's population as club members. That percentage would translate to 1,770 members in Tyler! Next, The Rotary Club of Jefferson received the "Little Club that CAN" award for the best attendance at the 2024 District Conference, the Club's 100th birthday, and more than double the number of projects than members, proving that small size is no excuse!
After recognizing all the new Paul Harris Fellows and new Major Donors since April 2024, attendees received a report of 2023-24 District and Club service projects. District 5830 is making an impact on people's lives!
Next, we were honored to receive a passionate and inspirational presentation from Beth Stubbs, Rotary International Director for Zone 30 and 31. Beth has been a long-time friend of District 5830, and we were thrilled she was able to share this memorable event with us!
Thanks to all the clubs' donations of tempting items, the Silent Auction successfully raised over $4,000 for the Foundation! The Paul Harris Raffle brought in approximately $2,700.00 for the End PolioPlus NOW campaign.
Saving the best for last, I was honored to have Beth Stubbs' help in presenting the Rotarian of the Year to our angel and administrator Shirley Pinnix-Evans from Texarkana Sunrise and Rotary Club of the year to the Rotary Club of Henderson and 2023-2024 PDG John Henson! Both were very well deserved and the crowd present responded to both with shouts, whistles, and thunderous applause!
I sincerely thank everyone who attended this event, especially the organizers, and I want to thank every member for embracing me as District Governor 2023-24. It was an amazing year and I'm so proud of every single club!
