Texas Hill Country Rotary Passport Club reaches charitable milestone
Texas Hill Country Rotary Passport Club members and their spouses showcase a banner signifying 100 percent donor contributions of $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation at a Jan. 25 ceremony. Members also received Paul Harris Fellow pins to mark the milestone. Courtesy photo
The Texas Hill Country Rotary Passport Club became one of only a handful of Rotary clubs worldwide to reach 100 percent member participation in The Rotary Foundation. The final 12 members to donate $1,000 or more each received a Paul Harris Fellow pin during a Jan. 25 dinner at River City Grille in Marble Falls to commemorate the achievement.
The young club was also presented with a banner marking the milestone.
“This is a singular accomplishment for any Rotary club, but particularly impressive for a club that is only two years old,” said Jerry Chapman, Rotary District Foundation chair and past district governor. “Only a handful of Rotary clubs ever attain the 100 percent level.”
Members recognized at the dinner were Timothy Ols, Christian Fletcher, George Russell, Jim Stark, Jim Luther, Jared Fields, Matthew Smith, Stefanie Suggs, Barbara Warden, Celia Merrill, Barney Carver, and Erik Peterson.
The Texas Hill Country Rotary Passport Club, which was founded in 2022, meets in Marble Falls twice a month. The service organization provides community support and local funding for projects and programs.
It is one of 46,000 clubs worldwide that make up Rotary International. Since 1985, the international charitable organization has worked to eradicate polio. Nearly 40 years later, annual cases of the disease have decreased from 350,000 to only 12 in 2023.