Rockwall, TX (July 2, 2024) – Rockwall Noon Rotary held a celebratory year-end luncheon with awards, recognitions, and the passing of the gavel to the incoming board.
Outgoing club president, Lorne Liechty provided a year in review detailing seven successful service projects including those with Food for Kids, North Texas Food Bank, Rockwall County Meals on Wheels, and Helping Hands. Through regular service Rotarians have distributed meals, helped prepare food baskets for local school students, made stuffed animals for Christmas toy drives, and helped provide much needed supplies to those who suffered from the wildfires in West Texas.
Liechty said, he was “grateful we were able to do so much to serve our community,” noting that these club projects are in addition to all the things that members do every day without any announcement.
Liechty reflected on the events they hosted, some which helped raise money for Rotary Club service projects. This past year, every 5th Thursday night the Club hosted a special event: a bowling tournament at Shenaniganz, Monday night football fundraiser, attended the Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner, and hosted a record-setting clay shoot.
The overwhelmingly successful clay shoot saw proceeds of over $45k all going towards scholarships for Rockwall ISD students, reflecting a 50% increase in scholarships to be awarded!
While Service Above Self remains the Rotary mission, Liechty also addressed the importance of relationships in the club and community. Seeing growth in club membership, particularly in younger adults, which contributes to more relationships and service to the community, Liechty applauded the work of Alma McClintock and Beth McCrackin with the 130th member of the Club, Dalton Tasset, inducted.
With the leadership year concluding, Liechty addressed appreciation for District Governor, John Curtis, also a member of the Rockwall Rotary Club, for his efforts to further Rotary and the support he showed to the Rockwall club.
Outgoing leaders recognized:
- President, Lorn Liechty
- President-Elect, Darby Nielsen
- Immediate Past President, Greg Blair
- Secretary, Beth McCrackin
- Treasurer, Kayne Pierce
- Sergeant-at-Arms, Stacy Massar
- Directors at Large, Jon Bailey, Tim Hartley, Brian Williams
- Service, Nancy Parkes
- Rotary International Foundation, Christopher Steinsholt
- Youth Service, James Braaten
- Membership, Alma McClintock
- International, Barbara Wilks
- Programs, Jerry Welch & Kenda Culpepper
- Public Image, Richard Redig
- Special Assistants, Mitch Ownby & Harold Snyder
- Fundraising, Mark Kipphut
- Vocational, Trevor Reed
Moving into the awards portion of the meeting, the announcement of Perfect Attendance saw 36% of the members awarded with appreciation to Kenda Culpepper, and her role in creating interesting, informative, and relevant meetings.
Star Award – Kayne Pearce, who exemplifies “Service Above Self”, established and managed the budget, managed difficult situations, and was instrumental in creating an excellent financial year.
Service Above Self Award – Greg Blair for the tireless hours he put in managing the Rotary building. Greg immediately offered his service in any way the Club needed. His commitment required late nights, working with clients and tenants, and managing numerous details for building rentals.
While not usually naming multiple Rotarians of the Year, the extraordinary success in exceeding goals of membership and fundraising saw both Mark Kipphut and Alma McClintock named this year’s Rockwall Rotarians of the Year.
Additionally, six individual awards were submitted to the district level for the magnificent work and success done over the prior year. The district award presentation will be held later in the summer with winners announced at that time.
Pete Snider introduced and installed the incoming leadership team:
- President, Darby Nielsen
- President-Elect, Kenda Culpepper
- Immediate Past President, Lorne Liechty
- Secretary, Beth McCrackin
- Treasurer, Kayne Pierce
- Sargeant-at-Arms, Michael Rohlf
- Directors at Large – Tim Hartley, Jeff Shell, Brian Williams
- Service, Gerald Hendrick
- Rotary International Foundation, Christopher Steinsholt
- Membership, Barbara Wilks
- Programs, Mitch Ownby & Jerry Welch
- Public Image, Richard Redig
- Fundraising, Kevin Fowler
- Vocational, Trevor Reed
Lorne Liechty passed the gavel to incoming president, Darby Nielsen who proclaimed the coming year theme “The Magic of Rotary.” Expressing her appreciation of Lorne Liechty’s leadership team, Nielsen stated, “Lorne was able to provide great metrics, challenge us to move forward, but what we cannot put into metrics is the magic you gave us. Thank you for a job well done!”
Nielsen continued with a vision for the coming year, building on relationships and celebrating the 85th birthday of the club. In conclusion, she expressed excitement for the coming year being proud to be one of only four female Rotary presidents. She also acknowledged two mentors of hers, Cindy Tayem, and Dana Macalik, who both served as prior Rotary Club Presidents and were instrumental in her becoming involved in Rotary.
The new Rotary year began July 1.
Blue Ribbon News Staff Report. Photos by BRN Media.
Rockwall Noon Rotary concludes record-setting year added by Melanie M on
View all posts by Melanie M →