On August 24, it was our club’s honor to present Bob Lynn with another Paul Harris Pin, reflecting his continuous generosity to The Rotary Foundation, and to recognize him as an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Springfield. The image of Bob and Naomi Lynn to the left was taken at one of our recent holiday parties. Bob and Naomi participated in the August 24 meeting online.Dr. Robert Lynn, a veteran of the Korean War, first joined Rotary in 1969 while residing in Manhattan, Kansas where he served as dean of the College of Business at Kansas State University. Masterfully juggling his time between home with four lively daughters, university, academic research and authoring a 5-edition textbook that became a national standard for teaching basic economic principles for years, Bob also found time to embrace Rotary. After retiring from KU to support Naomi, as her career in higher education advanced, the couple moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he was asked to step in as Interim dean of Clark Atlanta University- he did so well that his interim position lasted for four years!
Active in the Civil Rights movement, Bob found the principles of Rotary matched well his personal values and provided opportunities for community service. His leadership skills were quickly tapped, and he became a committed Rotarian in Manhattan and later served as president of the West End Rotary Club in Atlanta, and finally, he joined our Rotary Club of Springfield, where he served as president has remained an active member for the past 29 years.
In addition to community service through Rotary, Bob was active in the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Bob and Naomi co-chaired the United Way annual campaign. They also co-chaired an annual Heart Association drive. Bob served on the board of the 5th Street Renaissance. The mayor appointed Bob to the Community Relations Board for the City of Springfield, and he also served as its chair.
In addition to his civil rights activism, Bob is also a passionate feminist, committed to ensuring that his daughters and granddaughters have every opportunity to succeed in their endeavors. He even lobbied Naomi to make sure that the girls carried names that would be distinguished if they ever became CEOs of major corporations.
Wherever Bob and Naomi have lived, Bob has been a man of faith and has served as an elder in each of the Presbyterian churches to which they belonged.