Outgoing president Curt Kipp presents awards for outstanding contributions to the club
Pat Wolfram was honored as Rotarian of the Year at the Rotary Club of Wilsonville’s Installation and Awards Banquet, held Thursday, June 30 at Keddie Farms in Aurora.
The award was one of three given by former club president Curt Kipp as he wrapped up his year of leadership. The club’s board and presidency always transition to new leaders on or around July 1 of each year, when the old Rotary year ends and a new one begins.
“Our club had an outstanding year,” Kipp said. “We got back to meeting in person, resumed the Wilsonville Rotary Summer Concerts, raised more than $7,000 for End Polio Now, partnered with several great community organizations on service projects, added seven new members, installed two new Rotary Peace Poles in the community, awarded four scholarships to local grads, geared up to resume our Rotary Youth Exchange, and had a successful Heart of Gold Dinner and Auction to fund our projects and honor the community’s best volunteers.”
Wolfram was honored as Rotarian of the Year for his efforts in building new partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, Wilsonville Community Seniors, Boys and Girls Aid and more, resulting in successful service projects with each of these organizations. “Pat built bridges and made connections for us,” Kipp said. “The connections we can make are our lifeblood as a service club.”
For the first time, the outgoing president presented a Committee of the Year award, representing outstanding achievement by one of the club’s committees. This went to the club’s Youth Services Committee, which was chaired by Jake McMichael. The committee oversees the Rotary Youth Exchange as well as the club’s Interact clubs in local schools, the chess program (currently dormant), scholarships, the Children’s Book of the Week program, and anything specifically youth oriented.
“The Youth Services Committee did a good job laying the groundwork for future leadership and service,” Kipp said. “The committee resumed many of the things that had to go dormant during the pandemic, and put in place new leaders to help carry these projects and programs forward.”
Some years, the president gives a President’s Award of Service to an outstanding member, but this year the club did something a little different and gave out a Presidents’ Award of Service — as in plural possessive. The award was given to outgoing treasurer Richard Martens by the club’s four most recent presidents (Kipp, Joe Schwab, Wolfram and Laura LaJoie Bishop). Martens served as treasurer under all four of them. As a show of appreciation, the four of them presented Martens with a plaque as well as a porthole clock (Martens served in the U.S. Navy).
“It’s a big ask to ask anyone to serve as treasurer,” Kipp said. “Richard didn’t do it for one year — he did it for four. And he did it under vastly different circumstances each time, moving from a state of normal to the pandemic, and back to a process of resuming normal activity to the degree we have that these days. He was ready for any set of circumstances and did what needed to be done.”
The club meets in a hybrid format, with members able to attend in person, or virtually via Zoom. Meetings take place Thursdays at noon, currently in the community meeting room at Grace Chapel in Wilsonville.