Mike Gemma was installed as president of the East Greenwich Rotary Club Wednesday evening in a banquet at the Firemen’s Hall.  He takes the reins of the service club from Ed Neff, who remains on the board of directors as past president.

Rotary is an international service organization with clubs in almost every country of the world. As part of his leadership training, Gemma recently attended Rotary’s International Convention in New Orleans.

Jane Boynton was honored as the club’s Rotarian of the Year, an award named after Bipin Pancholi, a prominent member and leader of the club who died in 2001.  Boynton was recognized for her participation in almost all of the club’s projects and for chairing the “Taste of the Town," wine-tasting event held last month at the Swift Community Center. She was part of the original committee three years ago, increasing the fund for community projects to $15,000 this year.

The club also awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship to Joyce Phipps for her leadership in originating the Scott Carlson Memorial Road Race. The race is held in memory of her son-in-law Scott Carlson, who died of ALS, and benefits the ALS Association of Rhode Island. It is now chaired by Dr. Judy Pratt and this year generated $55,000 for people with ALS in the state. The Paul Harris Fellowship represents a $1,000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation, which funds humanitarian projects around the world.

Through the race, the Rotary phonebook and other fundraisers, the club generated over $100,000 again this year, most of which was distributed to local projects, many benefiting community youth. One example of this was the $15,000 in scholarships awarded to East Greenwich students this spring. Scholarship fund investments now total more than $250,000, which makes the annual awards possible.

Now 48 years old, the club begins its next fiscal year in July. The first big project for the new leadership is the annual fall citrus drive, which has a goal of $10,000 to help the Little League Association pay for their new lights.

(Published:  http://eastgreenwich.patch.com/articles/east-greenwich-rotary-installs-new-officers)