Celebrating the 2021-2022 Rotary year
Click the image above to watch the RCB 2021-22 Year End Video
The Rotary Club of Birmingham was fortunate to have an outstanding Board of Directors lead us through the 2021-2022 Club year.
We are grateful to Jon Whetsell for lending his expertise as Treasurer, Jacque Shaia for serving as Secretary, John Daniel for serving as Sergeant-at-Arms, and Past President Jon Blankenship and President-Elect Chuck Redden for their service as well. Their valuable behind-the-scenes support helped keep the Club running smoothly. At-large members Barbara Burton, Jason Eppenger, Roman Gary, Troy Haas, Jimmy Holloway, and George Wheelock each made integral contributions through their service and leadership.
VP of Club Service April Mason ensured members were in place to lead the invocation and serve as greeters. She spearheaded an in-person new member orientation for members who joined over the past two years and worked with Kelly Bownes and Jim Park to plan outstanding 1913 Society social events. She also encouraged members to support the Youth & Peace in Action (YPA) initiative. Rotarian Duane Donner and Past President Hatton Smith led the triumphant return of the Rotary Trail Party following its two-year preemption.
VP of Communications Jeris Gaston oversaw the implementation of the Club’s new website, a project started during the previous year. She helped publicize the Club’s initiatives in the community and led the expansion of social media reach and engagement. She received the Rotary District 6860 Outstanding Leadership Award for her leadership in producing three PSAs aired throughout the state, including one featuring Rotarian Isabel Scarinci and the Club’s efforts to eradicate cervical cancer. The PSAs earned Telly awards for the University of Alabama students who participated in the projects. The momentous occasion that women led the Rotary Club of Birmingham, the Rotaract Club of Birmingham and the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham simultaneously for the first time in history was celebrated in multiple publications.
VP of Community Service Clark Watson planned opportunities for members to engage in service, including continued support of the ACT Prep project, Rotary Trail service days, and participation in the Rise Against Hunger program. We also continued our support of the Holiday Boarding Home project and the Salvation Army red kettle drive.
Margi Ingram, VP of International Service, made certain RCB’s international work continued with the cervical cancer prevention program in Sri Lanka and a new partnership to pilot the Operation Wipeout cervical cancer prevention program to rural Alabama.
VP of New Generations Rebecca Beers worked to maintain a vibrant connection between RCB and the Rotaract Club of Birmingham. She led a successful Professional Partners program that paired Rotarians and Rotaractors for mentoring relationships, recruited Rotarians to serve as expert panelists for Rotary Roundtable events, and encouraged members to support the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA).
VP of Programs Jeff Stone coordinated engaging, renowned speakers every week of the Rotary year, from cabinet secretaries, athletic coaches, world-renowned authors, and journalists to economic development specialists, medical, government and business leaders. Highlights included off-site meetings at the new Protective Stadium and Red Mountain Theatre Arts Campus.
John Howe, VP of Vocational Service, helped strengthen partnerships with Birmingham City Schools, Birmingham Promise and other area organizations. He also recruited Rotarians to share their expertise with BCS students through the College Admissions Made Possible (CAMP) ACT prep program.
The Rotary Club of Birmingham Foundation, under the leadership of Chair Lee Weathers, continued to make a significant impact in Birmingham and around the world through support of scholarships, Pre-K education, disaster relief, international and domestic health projects and ongoing support of Rotary Trail and other projects taking shape in the Red Rock Trail System. Thanks to the Foundation, the Rotary Club of Birmingham Sensory Room was dedicated at the newly renovated Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
The Strategic Planning Committee, under the leadership of Rotarian Nancy Goedecke, delivered a strategic plan that will guide the Club for the next three years.
Rotarians Derek Conrad Brown, Jeris Gaston, Margi Ingram, and Executive Director Dan Stephens represented RCB at the 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston. RCB resumed our tradition of hosting a reception for friends and RI leaders from around the world, with several RI past presidents, President-elect Jennifer Jones, President-Elect-Elect Gordon R. McInally, Rotary General Secretary and CEO John Hewko, RI Board of Directors members, Rotary Foundation trustees, friends from Sri Lanka and guests from District 6860 clubs. Jeris led two conference sessions and the group staffed a booth promoting the International Peace Conference that will be held in Birmingham in 2023.
The Spain-Hickman Award for Distinguished Service was awarded to Past President Fred McCallum.
We also honor and remember all Club members who passed away this Rotary year: Barry Morton, Billy Rushton, John A. Smith and Lee Styslinger, Jr.