Posted by John Schorr on Jan 28, 2021

We at the Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) were very saddened to learn of the death last month of our former member and friend, Bob Carroll. (Pictured center at his CMIRC induction in 2015 with me on the left and P. Joe on the right.) Bob was a person who could always be counted on to help those in need and especially those who only needed an opportunity to make a better life for themselves!

That is the reason he volunteered and spent many hours teaching the immigrant students at BEAM, so that they could achieve a high school diploma through the U.S. GED (high school diploma equivalency) Program. Many of these students would then be able to seek post-secondary education here in Thailand or abroad and improve their lives. Bob loved the BEAM program and the many intelligent and hard-working students he met there! They loved him too.

We at CMIRC wanted to provide those who knew, respected, and loved Bob an opportunity to honor his memory; we decided that the Bob Carroll Memorial BEAM Scholarship Fund would be the ideal way to do this. All funds donated in Bob’s memory will be used to help pay for the costs of the GED high school equivalency exam or to help with school tuition for the BEAM students who pass the GED and are accepted at a post-secondary institution.

There are currently 33 students in the BEAM GED Program, and they will need US$300 for each student’s GED test. Currently according to BEAM they are about US$5,000 short for this year’s GED exams and all funds raised in excess of this will be used for college scholarships so these hardworking students can continue their education. CMIRC Rotarian Moshe Mandelman has offered to match donations to BEAM for a limited time (up to a total of US$3,000). So, now is the time to give in Bob’s honor!!

For those of you who would like to make a contribution in Bob’s memory, please contact our treasurer NANCY LINDLEY nllindley@msn.com or me at johnkschorr@gmail.com and we will send you details on how to transfer funds to our CMIRC account specified for the Bob Carroll Memorial BEAM Scholarship Fund. All funds donated in this way will be used for that fund alone. Bulletin readers, please feel free to share this message with others who knew Bob and who might want to donate in his memory.

We will all miss Bob greatly, but take some comfort knowing that his generous spirit will live on through all the young people he has helped over the years at BEAM, the Burma Children Medical Fund B. K. Kee Patient House and in our CMIRC Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program!