PAUL HARRIS FELLOW AWARD
Mark M. Smith was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by his wife, St. Johnsbury Rotarian Rosie Smith, during St. Johnsbury Rotary Club's social gathering Feb. 23 at the St. Johnsbury Distillery. As a result of her donations to The Rotary Foundation over the last 25 years, Rosie, who is already a Paul Harris Fellow, chose to bestow this honor on her husband. Donors of $1,000 or more to the Annual Programs Fund, PolioPlus or the Humanitarian Grants Program through the Rotary Foundation, or people who have that amount contributed in their name, can be recognized as Paul Harris Fellows. “Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others. At the International Assembly in 1979, incoming Rotary International President James Bomar challenged each Rotary club to make one non-Rotarian a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Pikesville, Maryland, USA, responded by making a donation in the name of Mother Teresa in 1980 … Many other notable figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. Shown with the Smiths is Jamie Milne, at right, the St. J Club's Rotary Foundation chair.
