At this past weekend's Rotary International District 6920 Annual Conference held in Augusta, the Glennville Rotary Club earned a Gold Award, with the highest number of points of the 25 clubs that earned the Gold distinction.
Glennville Rotary Club President Shellie Smith accepted the award on behalf of the club. Glennville Rotarians Donald Fountain and Pam Waters also attended the conference.
Millen Rotary Club was number two in points, followed by Hinesville Rotary Club as number three. Of the 61 clubs in District 6920, 14 earned Silver Awards and eight were presented with Bronze Awards. Claxton Rotary Club earned a Silver Award, with President Jonathan Dutton and President-elect Tom Kilday attending the conference. Representing the Hinesville Rotary Club was Club President Karen Bell.
The conference began on Friday, April 29, 2022, with the keynote speaker U.S. Army Brigadier General Paul Stanton speaking on the topic of U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence Support to Ukraine (Focus Area-Peacekeeping).
Other speakers on Friday afternoon included Glennville Rotarian Donald Fountain, District Rotaract/Interact Chair; Richard Woods, Georgia State School Superintendent; and Bob Willis, a Counterintelligence Officer. Other presentations were made Saturday and Sunday by various motivational Rotarian speakers. Peter Kyle, Rotary International Director of Zone 33/34, a resident of Washington, D.C., gave an informative talk that reflected on the future of Rotary.
Attendees also heard comments from each of the eight Georgia Rotary Student Program students, who are nearing the end of studying a year in college in Georgia. These students' home countries are Sweden, Brazil, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Jamaica. The Preston Johnson Speech Zone winners presented their award-winning speeches as well: Deacon Hazel, Valdosta Rotary Club; Griffin Lee, Golden Isles Rotary Club; and Nevaeh Lagroon, Dublin Rotary Club.
Glennville Rotary Club was recognized for having the most first-time Paul Harris Fellows, a commendable feat for a club of 54 members, which makes the Glennville club a 100 percent Paul Harris Club for the second time in its history. The Glennville club was also recognized for adding two first-time Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) Major Donors ($10,000), who are Donald Fountain and Zuber Malek.
Glennville Rotarians Dr. Troy Rahn and Wayne Dasher were mentioned for their perfect attendance, Rahn, for 37 years, and Dasher, for 27 years.
A part of the program on Sunday was dedicated to remembering those Rotarians in District 6920 who had died in the last year. Dennis Strickland was remembered as a longtime faithful Glennville Rotarian who died in January of 2022.