Wisdom form Member Stan Haas
Shout out to our new president, Jeff West, on his first meeting. Nice job, Jeff. He has some exciting new ideas to improve club meetings. Our program today was long time member Stan Haas. Stan and his wife Gale are planning to move closer to their daughter in North Carolina, and it was decided the club should benefit from his insights as a long standing member. Stan joined the club in 1978 and is number seven is tenure of current members. During the first 10 to 12 years of his forty one year experience with the club, he describes himself as a ‘good but silent’ member. He joined to develop a standing with the business members of the area. His position with the University of Nebraska Panhandle Station, as the communications specialist, allowed him to know the agriculture members but he wanted to extend his community participation further. Stan served as president of the club in 1989-1990and this opened his eyes to what Rotary was on an international level. He encouraged his daughter to apply for R.Y.L.A. and this experience led her to become an exchange student in Japan. In 1989, he attended the International Rotary Convention in Korea, followed by a visit to his daughter in Japan, and a tour of China. He and Gale landed in Japan the day after the Tiananmen Square incident, where students were shot. He became very active in the Group Study Exchange (G.S.E.) program and became chairman of the district G.S.E. In 2012, he coordinated a visit from a delegation from Turkey which led to our club’s support of a Rotary Global Project there. These experiences, along with others, have enriched Stan’s life and made him the extraordinary member he has become. We are proud to call him a member and wish him the best in North Carolina.