Suzi Howe dedicated her career to education after graduating from the University of Kansas. She owned and operated South Shore Montessori, a private school, until her retirement in 2019. It was during the construction of that school that she first learned about Rotary, as her broker, architect, and others involved were all Rotarians. Within six months of joining Rotary in 1992, she was already serving on her club’s board.

 

Passionate about sharing her training and educational skills, she has volunteered as training leader and as a member of the Rotary Leadership Training and Development Committee. She has also served RI as regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, host committee advisor for the 2022 Rotary International Convention, and vice chair of the End Polio Now Countdown to History Challenge Committee. In 2005, Howe won the Dome City Award on behalf of all Houston-area Rotarians for her work running logistics for the 650 Rotarian volunteers at the Houston Astrodome who helped 250,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans over a three-week period. 

 

Howe is also a talented fundraiser, having organized three separate Million Dollar Dinners, the last one alone raising $3.8 million for The Rotary Foundation. “If you make eye contact with me, I will be asking you to make a contribution,” she says.

Howe is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award, and The Rotary Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award and Citation for Meritorious Service. She and her husband, Bill, are Arch Klumph Society and Bequest Society members.