Rockwall Rotary welcomes new club president

(ROCKWALL, TX – June 30, 2016) During its noon meeting on Thursday, June 29, the Rockwall Rotary heard a fond farewell from 2015-2016 Club President Judge Brian Williams, who will pass the gavel to President-Elect Jeff Shell to preside over the club for 2016-2017. Williams said it was an honor getting to be president of the Rotary Club and to follow in the footsteps of its past presidents – many of whom he has known since he first moved to Rockwall at six months old.

DSC_0008_Web — Rockwall Rotary Club President Elect Jeff Shell (L) with Club President Judge Brian Williams

“I want to thank all the people of this club, and those past presidents and past members, because you make the community unique in what it is today. The influence that we have in all the different facets of what goes on in the community… you can’t even imagine. You guys make us look good everywhere you go, you represent the Rotary spirit, so please be proud of that.”

Williams recognized members of the club’s Membership Committee – Tom Ryan, Larry Parks, Barbara Allen and John Curtis – for their outstanding work in recruiting new members to the Rotary.

“When I first took office we had talked about wanting to get a plan for the next 10 to 20 years for this club – do we want to grow beyond what we are, or do we want to stay the same size and try to maintain the cohesiveness that we have now? Rotary clubs throughout the country normally have this committee select people in the community they would like to approach about joining this club, and these guys did a tremendous job. We have some new members coming in that we’re really excited about,” Williams said.

While the Membership Committee recommended to keep the club at its current size, Williams said the Rotary will continue to educate incoming new members and the community on what it means to be a Rotarian.

“I want to specifically thank everyone in this committee for putting us into a plan, and what they recommended was that this club is going to stay about the same size that we are. John has done a tremendous job in educating new members, and we’re going to enhance the things that he does to encourage everybody to understand what Rotary is all about.”

The Rockwall Rotary Club will welcome three new members during an induction ceremony at its noon meeting next Thursday, July 7.

The main objective of Rotary is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self.

Story and photo by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor.

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