by Matt Wagner —
On a mid-December eve, the Monadnock Rotary Club (MRC) held a party in Dublin to celebrate with their community partners the many and varied accomplishments of 2011. About five dozen Rotarians, project supporters and guests were in attendance.
On behalf of the newly consecrated Dublin Rotary Park at Howe Reservoir, Rotary President Ruth Clark and Rotary project manager Jerry Branch presented Jack Lewis, Dublin Conservation Commission Chair, the esteemed Paul Harris Fellowship. (See Dublin Advocate September 2011 cover story for details.) 
It is a great honor for a Rotarian to receive this award, even greater when bestowed upon a community member. Jack and the Conservation Commission worked hand-in-workglove with MRC to see this visionary effort of the Dublin Rotary Park through to completion for all of Dublin and surrounding communities. Also receiving the Paul Harris Fellow for the second time was Jamie Trowbridge, retiring member. Jamie was recognized for his tireless efforts on behalf of the community and his fellow humans in the name of MRC over the previous 10 years. [In photo, Rotary President Ruth Clark presented Jack Lewis (left) and Jamie Trowbridge (right) with Paul Harris Fellows awards.]
In recent days, more than $11,000 have been distributed to charitable organizations in our area by MRC. These funds were raised as part of the 6th Annual Monadnock Wellness Festival in September. The SoupFest tent provided the annual venue from which the Monadnock Food Pantry is benefitted, and the PetFest, directed by Cassie Cleverly, prompted a donation to HCS (see Dublin Advocate November 2011, p. 3, for details). The final recipient was Monadnock Healthy Teeth to Toes for all the work they do in the schools.
MRC also celebrated the First Annual Food Growers Tour, which was organized by Paul Tuller. This focused our community on our family farms and raised additional funds being used for scholarships. The MRC exchange student from Sweden, Gustav, studying for a year at ConVal, is one recipient.
Lastly, under the leadership of Cassie Cleverly, in the Rotary’s 21st year of Youth Leadership, she brought in about 60 students from the region for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). More than 1000 junior and senior high school students have received scholarships in the past two decades.
For more information about MRC, go to http://www.clubrunner.ca/CPrg/Home/homeD.asp?cid=2945.
Matt Wagner, a member of MRC, is the former editor of the Advocate.