The Estevan Rotary Club celebrated in style last Friday night, marking its 90th anniversary with some special guests and a few awards along with entertainment.
One of the special guests, Lieutenant-Governor Vaughn Solomon-Schofield, perhaps said it best when she said the club was a fine example of "the power of communal effort."
She said as a representative of the Queen who knows something about public service, she quoted Elizabeth II as noting that "the greatness in a country is measured by what it gives to the world."
"So that's you," said Solomon-Schofield, in speaking to the Rotarians and about 150 of their guests who had gathered in the Days Inn Plaza for the banquet and celebration.
The evening's program included the awarding of eight honourary Paul Harris Fellowship certificates and a keynote address from Peter Peters, a former health services executive who is currently serving Rotary as president of the Canadian Rotary Collaboration for International Development.
Solomon-Schofield, during her brief address, noted that local Rotarians focused not only on making a difference on the home front, but also on the international scene.
"You make a difference here in Estevan and around the world," she said.
MLA Doreen Eagles and Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig also brought greetings, with Eagles saying when the name Rotary comes up she immediately thinks of such things as exchange students, the annual carol festival and the well known Rotary Park which is part and parcel of the larger Woodlawn Regional Park.
Ludwig pointed out the club's strong volunteer base and the fundraising efforts over the years that have benefited the community.
Wayne Claypool, a former Estevan club member and former district governor, brought greetings from current district governor Rick Hubbs who was unable to attend due to flood problems in his home community of The Pas, Man.
Kim Thorson brought greetings from the Weyburn Rotary Club, which was the group that sponsored the first Estevan Rotary Club back in 1923.
John Johnson also brought greetings and a plaque of recognition and congratulations from the Estevan Lions Club.
Current club president Brian Pilloud provided an historical summary of the club's many achievements over the years on both the local and international fronts, suggesting that on more than a few occasions Rotary has been able to bring community stakeholders "to the table" and they soon expected to do that again.
The honourary Paul Harris Fellow Awards are named after the man who founded Rotary in 1905. The fellowship program began in 1951.
The local club provided a $1,000 donation in the name of each of the Estevan and area recipients: Stacy Grunert, Alan Hamann, Evelyn Johnson, Evelyn Mansuy, Gary St. Onge, Art Beselt and Eric and Erna Pullam.
Each of the recipients, it was said, has contributed to the community in diverse ways, but all have done so with a positive approach in whatever project they have tackled.
In his keynote address, Peters noted that "Rotary is not about kings and rulers, but rather building stepping stones."
Peters compared the privileged lifestyle his young granddaughter Mia enjoys compared with a youngster living in poverty in a Third World country where one million children die each year before they reach the age of five.
"They live in worlds of forced labour, child prostitution, refugee camps. They live in a world where 17 per cent of the population can't read and 18 per cent never have decent drinking water," said Peters, adding that one-seventh of the world's population don't have toilets, "another small attack on human dignity."
So Rotary comes to that situation with a spirit of fellowship and assistance with 34,296 clubs and over 1.2 million members.
"We do our stuff together," he said.
Peters added that Rotary does their work in a spirit that politicians would be better advised to follow, that being a spirit of friendship, honesty and forthcoming attitude to deal with issues in an environment of partnerships.
"We're in the business of partnership and in learning to do the dance and how to respond when we get there and we're willing to listen to what they have to say," he added.
On the international scene, Peters noted that Rotary was on the cusp of eradicating polio from the Earth in a spirit of partnerships, with just 22 cases reported this year.
His advice in his closing remarks was to "build, don't tear down even though it's easier to tear down."
The program closed with musical entertainment from the Estevan A Cappella Singers.
Rotarian Cory Prokop served as emcee for the evening's busy agenda which also included the introduction of visiting Rotarians.
