Rotarian(s) of the Year

The Rotarian(s) of the Year is presented to one or more members of our Club each year in recognition of outstanding contributions to our Club either in the current Rotary year or over a long period of time.  Today we will be recognizing two Rotarians.  The first Rotarian that we’re honoring today has dedicated a huge amount of time and expertise to the Club this year and the second Rotarian we are honoring is a legacy Rotarian who has provided distinguished service to our Club over a long period of time.

I am honored to present the Rotarian of the Year Award to a person who contributed several hours of her time and expertise to the Club this past year.  The honoree has been a member of our Club for almost 13 years and has always been committed and involved in committees such as the Programs, Family of Rotary and Arts and Arts Awards.  She was the Co-chair of Rotary Shines this year which involved several hours of planning, follow-up and effort to not only generate proceeds (almost $27,000) for our projects but to also make it a fun night for all Rotarians and guests.  She was successful.  This year’s Rotarian of the Year has and continues to live our motto of “Service Above Self”.  With the Recognition’s Committees endorsement, it gives me great pleasure to present Ruth Ann Heeter with the Rotarian of the Year plaque in sincere appreciation and recognition of distinguished service, loyalty, and devotion to the ideals of Rotary along with a Paul Harris Fellowship pin.

Our second honoree if our legacy Rotarian who has been a Rotarian for almost 40 years.  He was a member of the Menasha Rotary from 1972-1983 and then a member of our Club from 1983 to the present.  He is a Paul Harris Fellow along with being a Board of Director of the Appleton Rotary Foundation. He chaired and has been a member of the Investments Committee for several years. Without his expertise and guidance, our Foundation would not be as strong.  He chaired the Group Study Exchange Committee for the past 14 years and because of his leadership, we were given the opportunity to meet people from other countries and get a better understanding of their culture and lifestyle so that one day maybe the world will be accepting and understanding of all cultures.  He has contributed countless hours of service and devotion to our Club.  He represents true leadership.  It gives me great pleasure to present Jay Drzewiecki with the Rotarian of the Year plaque along with a Paul Harris Fellowship pin with one sapphire.