Paul Harris night held in City

The Melfort Rotary Club for the first time in many years handed out Paul Harris Fellowships at a gala on Tuesday, February 28. Along with handing out the fellowships the event featured guest speaker Peter Peters spoke on the importance of Rotary.

The Paul Harris Fellowship is for Rotarians who donate $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation over time. The fellowship also can recognize service to Rotary International. Peters explained that Paul Harris galas are important because they spread the joy of giving.

"The purpose is to recognize people and inspire them and others to give," Peters said.

Paul Harris Fellowships are named after one of the founders of Rotary.

"Paul Harris Night is really to recognize people that make contributions to the Rotary Foundation. My sense is that it is also an inspiration to others to do that as well. It should inspire others to give," he explained.

He explained that through the money donated to the Rotary Foundation people from all around the world are supported. This is through things such as the Shelter Box program and others. It is possible to become a Paul Harris Fellow multiple times, as well.

"If you continue to do that, then after making 10 contributions of $1,000, you get 10 Paul Harris Fellows, but that is when you become a major donor. Then it is just a matter of continuing to throw money in," he explained.

Among those who were first time Paul Harris fellowships were Darlene Campbell, Mike Mahon along with Bill Selnes and Sharon Selnes. Multiple fellows included Gailmarie Anderson, Jim Tremblay and Brian Cocks. Absent but also receiving a multiple fellowship was Lionel Lavoie and Dale Link. Absent but first time Paul Harris Fellows were Don Meier and Al Armstrong.

Peters served as president of the Melfort Rotary Club in 1976 and part of 1977. He is also a past district governor for Rotary. Peters spoke about how Rotary is important.

"Rotary is important and I think the reason that I like it, is because it speaks about two things that are most important in the lives of people. Number one is peace and understanding each other," Peters explained.

Rotary is also important because of the way it gives back to the people of the world.

"That is sort of the underlying thing, it doesn't matter if you're a religious person or not a religious person, what we all want for our children is to have them live healthy lives and make a contribution to the world. The best way you can do it is through making sure that everybody has enough to eat and is healthy at the end of the day," Peters said.

Peters remembered his time in Melfort fondly and he was pleased to see the growth in the community.

"Melfort was just a wonderful community in which to live, it had all of the components that a community has, it was almost a city (at that point), but wasn't a city. It was a nice place to live, it was a great place to be," Peters said.