Rotarians honor those who exemplify motto: ‘Service above Self’ at annual banquet

Published in the June 29, 2016 edition

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

LYNNFIELD —The honorees at the Rotary Club of Lynnfield’s annual banquet and awards ceremony epitomize the Rotarian motto of “Service above Self.”

The banquet, held at Spinelli’s of Lynnfield June 14, recognized those who strive to make the world a better place, whether that be in their own hometown or remote poverty stricken places half a world away from the prosperity enjoyed in this community.

The evening also served as the changing of the guard as outgoing president Dick Simmons presided over the final event of his tenure and passed the gavel to Luke Kimball who will lead the initiatives of Lynnfield Rotary in 2016–17.

Community Contribution Awards

Community Contribution Leadership Awards are considered the most significant awards presented to non-Rotarians, according to Rotarian Paula Parziale. These awards honor Lynnfield residents for accomplishments that benefit others and follow the Rotarian motto of “Service above Self.” Two such awards were presented by Lynnfield Rotary to community members.

The first such award was presented to four members of the Board of Directors of the Lynnfield Moms Group, Melissa Adams, Leah Hook, Kelly Pavao and Jessica Saccardo. President Simmons and Selectman Dick Dalton, one of five new Rotarians welcomed by the club, made the presentation.

Noting the accomplishments of these women, Simmons said, “This year Lynnfield was very fortunate to have a devoted group of young women that decided the best way to initiate positive change was to become actively involved. With a mission in mind – updating and upgrading the local parks for our kids – they quickly got to work fundraising multiple different events, raising thousands of dollars.”

Simmons continued, “Realizing that simply fund raising would not be enough to accomplish this mission, they organized information and presented at Town Meeting for financial assistance.  The vote was overwhelmingly positive.  We are honoring the Lynnfield Mom’s Group leaders with this award.”

Installation of the new Glen Meadow Park playground equipment got underway earlier this month. These upgrades will transform the park into a place where youngsters will love to explore and test their skills. It will also be inclusive for children of all abilities. The park had fallen into disrepair since its last upgrade in the mid-1990s and many parents considered the climbing structures to be unsafe so they took their children to parks in surrounding towns to play.

The second Community Contribution Leadership Award was presented to Kathryn Price, also by Simmons and Dalton.

“Lynnfield is so fortunate to have the next generation of families so involved in the betterment of the town,” Simmons said when introducing Price.

“Our next recipient of the Community Contribution Leadership Award is an incredibly inexhaustible, tireless, perfectionist.  She was past president of the LMG but had to step down when she was asked by Townscape President Arthur Bourque to take on the monumental task of enhancing Townscape’s GeraniumFest with the addition of Kids Day as the Communications Director,” Simmons said.

“Months of communication, planning, organizing, directing, meetings, follow-ups, following up the follow ups — all along with having her own business and a young family at home — all for the betterment of Lynnfield, raising funds to assist with the playgrounds project through Townscape,” he added.

All of this work paid dividends, as Simmons added, “This year was the second year of Kids Day and it was wildly successful, doubling earnings. ‘Service above Self’ epitomizes Kathryn Price. The town is fortunate to have you.”

Rotarian of the Year

One of the highest honors a Rotarian can receive from his or her fellow club members is the Rotarian of the Year Award. The impact of the work by this year’s recipient, Dr. Victor Saldanha, was felt half a world away in his native India and will benefit schoolchildren and their teachers for years to come.

Saldanha was presented the Rotarian of the Year award for initiating and leading the Lynnfield International Project 2016. Simmons explained that this was a story of how “$9000 turned into $41,000 and 480 school desks for eight schools.”

“When Victor proposed furnishing school desks to a few schools in India we were on our way to an international project as well as restoring dignity to many schoolchildren receiving an education. Lynnfield Rotary started with contributing $9,000. Our District 7930 contributed $4,500; District 3150 contributed $9,081; Wachusett Area Clubs contributed $1,000 and World Fund matching grant provided $18,581 for a total $41,162,” Simmons noted.

Of the $9,000 from Lynnfield Rotary, $1,000 was raised by the LHS Interact Club, pointed out Rotarian Bob Priestley.

What was also remarkable about this project was the speed at which the funds were raised. “An international project that could take up to two years to receive grants was accomplished in six months!” Simmons said. “A main part of the reason is that Lynnfield is a 100 percent sustaining membership club that also greatly supports the Rotary Foundation.”

Currently, both students and teachers sit on the floor in unfurnished schools, which the Rotarians and their guests were told is an improvement from sitting outside under a tree for their classes. As a result, school had to be cancelled in “bad” weather.

While the scope of the initial project was to provide schools desks, that scope also grew as Rotary will also supply “filters for purifying water and e-learning equipment such as computers, projectors and screens,” Simmons said.

Since Rotary does not pay for bricks and mortar, the school buildings were built by KGBV which translates to the Kasturba Gandhi Girls School.

“We hope to supply eight schools an average of 60 desks per school, three students per desk. We will also supply desks for teachers. With desks lasting approximately 10 years we will touch approximately 15,000 students with this support,” Simmons said.

Saldanha thanked the club for its support of this project. He also acknowledged the support he has from home. “I’d like to thank my wife Janine for all her help,” he said.

Bequest Society

Longtime Rotarian Bob MacKendrick and his wife Carol MacKendrick also received special recognition for the significant contribution they have made to Rotary’s Bequest Society in their estate planning.

Rotarian Dave Drislane introduced the MacKendricks and explained the various levels of giving. “When one bequeaths $10,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation via an estate plan, such as a will, they are recognized as a Bequest Society member: $10,000 is Bequest Society Level 1; $25,000 is Bequest Society Level 2; $50,000 Level 3; $100,000 Level 4; $250,000 Level 5 and so on.”

In April, a major donors’ appreciation and recognition reception was held in Turner Hill in Ipswich, Drislane said. “Our Lynnfield Club group was very excited to be there because we knew one couple in our group would be recognized in a big way. Bob and Carol MacKendrick would be recognized as Bequest Society Level 6 and were to be presented with the crystal symbolic of their generosity.”

“I will not embarrass them by saying the exact amount that they’ve given, but the schedule is on The Rotary Foundation website,” Drislane quipped. He quickly added, “They are the only Bequest Society Level 6 members in District 7930.”

District 7930 is comprised of 47 Rotary Clubs with nearly 2,000 members in Northeastern Mass. and Salem N.H.

“We who witnessed the recognition and presentation at Turner Hill were very proud of this wonderful thing that the MacKendricks had done for Rotary,” added Drislane. “This club has been a strong supporter of The Rotary Foundation for many years and deserves to be witness to this wonderful act of generosity, for it reflects on the club as well as on Bob and Carol.”

Rotary International Director Julia Phelps praised the MacKendricks for their forethought and generosity. “What these two have done has ensured that in the future children and families that they don’t know and that will never know them” will have clean water and will enjoy other benefits such as being literate. They’ll be given economic opportunities and have good health, due to Rotary initiatives such as its campaign to rid the world of polio, while mothers will deliver children safely, she said.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the trustees of The Rotary Foundation, I want to thank you for this very generous gift. Without Rotarians like you, this world would not be a better place for millions of people. Because of your generosity and your forethought, and your willingness to make this commitment now, when you’re still alive … you’re going to make the world a better place,” said Phelps.

They were given a standing ovation. “This recognition deeply touches me,” Bob MacKendrick. He credited Drislane with getting him involved in Rotary and the Bequest Society. Once he and his wife learned more about it, the decision to give “a substantial portion of our estate to The Rotary Foundation. … seemed like a natural thing to do. I have spent most of my life trying to make the world better, protect people,” he said, noting his years on the Fire Department and as a selectman.

“It’s money that goes on, makes the world a better place, does things for people who are less fortunate than we are. We have been blessed to be here in this country, in this town,” MacKendrick said. The Shriners Burn Center and Reid’s Ride are among the other charities that will benefit from their estate, he said.

100th anniversary year

It was noted by Phelps, who was also the guest speaker, that Rotary is entering a special year, the 100th anniversary year of The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit entity within Rotary International first proposed as an endowment fund in 1917 by outgoing RI President Arch C. Klumph “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” It also marks the 112th anniversary year of the founding of Rotary by Paul Harris.

In spite of Klumph’s vision, it took decades for the concept to catch on. The first donation was just $26.50. It was not until 1947 that the death of Rotary International founder Paul Harris inspired Rotarians to donate unprecedented amounts of money to RI, Phelps said. The Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created with those donations to build the Foundation. More than $1 billion has been donated to date.

Family of Rotary awards

Paul Harris Fellow recognitions were given by five Rotarians in honor of their spouses or significant others. “This recognition is when a donation of $1,000 is made for a person to The Rotary Foundation,” explained Rotarian Kyle Shinnick, a past president of the club in 2006-07.

Shinnick said this recognition is given in honor of the recipient’s “outstanding commitment to the club or to the community.” The practice of recognizing non-Rotarians started in 1980,” he said.

Shinnick recognized his wife Kristen, Bob Priestley recognized his wife Lauri, Jason Kimball honored his wife Kathryn, Matthew Kimball recognized his wife Valerie and Luke Kimball honored his girlfriend, Carla Ursino.

After all the presentations were made, the gavel was passed from outgoing President Dick Simmons to incoming President Luke Kimball as Paul Harris Fellows.

“I learned a couple of things tonight. Our club does a lot more than people realize and you can make a very big impact even if you don’t think you can,” Luke Kimball said. “Individual members of this club have made significant contributions locally and internationally, and I am very excited for this year because we are going to continue doing some really great things,” Kimball said.

“It’s important to realize that we can use this year to make a marginal difference or a significant difference. I plan on making a significant difference with this club,” Kimball said. “We have people with great connections in this town and people who are totally invested in the Lynnfield community and the international community.”

Kimball also wants to expand the club’s local outreach and collaborate with groups like the Lynnfield Moms Group. “It’s really great what you’ve done,” he said. Refurbishing the Partridge Island Trail and working with his brother Jason on the new war memorial for the center of town are two projects Kimball plans to support this year.