Portsmouth - Notis PHF

 
Portsmouth Rotary Club
NOTIS RECEIVES PAUL HARRIS AWARD
 
By Suzanne Laurent
news@seacoastonline.com
 
Dec. 18, 2014
 
PORTSMOUTH – The crowd cheered and shouted “Opa!” as Nancy Notis was named as the recipient of the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award at the Rotary Club of Portsmouth weekly luncheon Thursday at the Portsmouth Country Club.
 
“Opa” is a Greek word used to express joy.
 
And Notis, a past Rotary president, was joyful after her former colleague at radio station WHEB, Cliff Taylor, announced her name. Her gracious smile widened as she saw family members and current colleagues from Portsmouth Regional Hospital approach the front of the room.
 
Pictured:  Cliff Taylor, a Paul Harris Fellow and past president of the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, announced past president Nancy Notis was the recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow award at the club's weekly luncheon Thursday at the Portsmouth Country Club. Photo by Suzanne Laurent
 
Taylor, also a past Rotary president and Paul Harris Fellow, worked with Notis in the mid-1980s at the radio station.
 
“She was hired at WHEB to be part of the news department where she did a wonderful job,” Taylor said. “Our loss was the hospital’s gain.”
 
Notis is associate director of marketing for HCA-NH. Hospital Corporation of America is Portsmouth Regional’s parent company. She also oversees the marketing at its sister hospital, Parkland Medical Center in Derry.
 
“Nancy is all around a good community person,” Taylor said. “She does so much for the hospital where she works, her church and for friends.”
 
Notis began attending Rotary meetings with Taylor back at a time when there were very few women in Rotary. She would cover the speakers at meetings from a news angle for the radio station.
 
Rotarian Marie Brownell, and 2013 Paul Harris Fellow recipient, presented Notis with a bouquet of roses.
 
“Nancy was the biggest inspiration for the Rotary’s Christmas tree sale,” Brownell said. “For everything that had to do with Rotary, she was always there, always cheering me along.”
Notis of Rye was president of the Rotary for its 90th anniversary when Brownell received her award.
 
Local veterinarian Mort Schmidt, a former Rotary district governor, presented Notis with the award.
 
The award is named for Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer who started Rotary International with three business associates in 1905.
 
Rotarians often designate a Paul Harris Fellow as a tribute to a person whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives of the Rotary Foundation and “service above self.”
 
Notis is well respected for engaging the hospital where she works with Rotary efforts along with her church, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Portsmouth.
 
When she was president of the church’s board, she coordinated the Rotary’s annual Thanksgiving feast to be served in the Andrew Jarvis Center at the church. The hospital contributes money and food each year towards the meal.
 
“The Thanksgiving dinner is one of the things I love that the Rotary is part of,” Notis said. “It’s been a longstanding tradition, but was moved to the church when I was president of its board.”
 
Notis said she also enjoys the Rotary Christmas tree sale each year on Lafayette Road, as well as the Rotary’s work with Cross Roads House, Families First Health & Support Center and the Salvation Army.
 
“I’m also proud that we gave $30,000 towards the new skating rink at Strawbery Banke,” she said. “I grew up in Concord, and remembered the joy of skating.”
 
A group of Rotarians, under the direction of Rotarian Ted Alex, also led the construction efforts at the new rink.
 
“I feel so honored and so proud to follow in the footsteps of the past award recipients,” Notis said.
 
Joining her during the award presentation was her husband Ron Currier, daughter Kylie Goodwin of Dover and uncle Spiro Anastos of Portsmouth. She and Ron have two more daughters – Nikki Graney of Exeter, and Tracee Kean of London, England – and seven grandchildren with another one expected any day.
 
Also present were Anne Jamieson, CEO of Portsmouth Regional Hospital and hospital marketing manager Marcia Ouellette.