Women in Rotary
Women In Rotary
Video tape project by Marlyn (Lyn) Kenney March 1, 2013
I have always enjoyed all aspects of history, so it wasn’t surprising that in early 2010 my interest grew in the direction of learning more about the history of Women in Rotary. I had heard many presentations by RIP 1992/93 Cliff Dochterman on the History of Rotary while living in California, but little about women and Rotary. I researched online and spoke with many individuals involved with history such as Doug Rudman, RGHF founder Jack M. B. Selway, RGHF VP of Woman and Rotary Sandra Myers, RGHF Senior Historian Basil Lewis, RGHF board member Sandra Duckworth and numerous club “historians” in Duarte, Minneapolis, Duluth and Seattle. PDG Sandra Duckworth had done a Power Point for a District 7620 Conference and got much of the information from the Rotary Global History Fellowship inter-net sight. The slides and the script enabled me to expand on that history as well as update the Power Point presentation in time for the 25th Anniversary of Women and Rotary in 2012.
While working on the presentation, it occurred to me that a video of the first woman president , it occurred to me that a video of the first woman president of a Rotary club as well as the first women District Governors would add greatly to the collection of history. Please note, this was coming from a total amateur who mostly video taped grand-kids. I contacted RGHF, provided a proposal for the project and received their approval. A passion for history and meeting these trailblazing women took charge. I also added all first women Trustees of RI/TRF and first women Directors. My vision was far reaching but the logistics proved to be difficult.
I first contacted Sylvia Whitlock and the first women DG’s from 1995 (Gilda Chirafisi, Reba Lovrien, Virginia Nordby, Anne Robertson, Olive Scott and Janet Holland). My online search indicated that Donna Rapp was deceased. Imagine my surprise when I found her alive and kicking! She also happens to be the youngest member of the group. Mimi Altman was the 8th DG and she was deceased. I obtained information about her daughter, an active Rotarian also named Mimi Altman, and I was able to include her in my project.
My plan was to meet up with Sylvia, Gilda and Janet at the RI Convention in New Orleans in May, 2012. I was able to interview and develop a script with all three of them and video Sylvia, but the space for the video taping at the Convention Center proved inadequate.
I have always enjoyed all aspects of history, so it wasn’t surprising that in early 2010 my interest grew in the direction of learning more about the history of Women in Rotary. I had heard many presentations by RIP 1992/93 Cliff Dochterman on the History of Rotary while living in California, but little about women and Rotary. I researched online and spoke with many individuals involved with history such as Doug Rudman, RGHF founder Jack M. B. Selway, RGHF VP of Woman and Rotary Sandra Myers, RGHF Senior Historian Basil Lewis, RGHF board member Sandra Duckworth and numerous club “historians” in Duarte, Minneapolis, Duluth and Seattle. PDG Sandra Duckworth had done a Power Point for a District 7620 Conference and got much of the information from the Rotary Global History Fellowship inter-net sight. The slides and the script enabled me to expand on that history as well as update the Power Point presentation in time for the 25th Anniversary of Women and Rotary in 2012.
While working on the presentation, it occurred to me that a video of the first woman president , it occurred to me that a video of the first woman president of a Rotary club as well as the first women District Governors would add greatly to the collection of history. Please note, this was coming from a total amateur who mostly video taped grand-kids. I contacted RGHF, provided a proposal for the project and received their approval. A passion for history and meeting these trailblazing women took charge. I also added all first women Trustees of RI/TRF and first women Directors. My vision was far reaching but the logistics proved to be difficult.
I first contacted Sylvia Whitlock and the first women DG’s from 1995 (Gilda Chirafisi, Reba Lovrien, Virginia Nordby, Anne Robertson, Olive Scott and Janet Holland). My online search indicated that Donna Rapp was deceased. Imagine my surprise when I found her alive and kicking! She also happens to be the youngest member of the group. Mimi Altman was the 8th DG and she was deceased. I obtained information about her daughter, an active Rotarian also named Mimi Altman, and I was able to include her in my project.
My plan was to meet up with Sylvia, Gilda and Janet at the RI Convention in New Orleans in May, 2012. I was able to interview and develop a script with all three of them and video Sylvia, but the space for the video taping at the Convention Center proved inadequate.
The next plan was to try to bring all the women together for what might be called a reunion. The venue was the District 7750 Convention being held at Hilton Head in March of 2012 with an emphasis on the History of Women and Rotary for the 25th Anniversary of women in Rotary. Sylvia was a keynote speaker and 5 of the 7 women DG’s attended and made up a panel discussion. All were presented with awards by District Governor Gary Goforth to acknowledge their achievements within Rotary. A hospitality suite was provided for the women to visit and to prepare scripts for the video taping. Del Hickey, Aiken Rotary, SC, assisted with the room and the panel discussion. A video tape of Sylvia’s keynote and the panel discussion was made at the Conference. That left two past DG’s and all the Trustees and Directors to complete the project.
I contacted the Trustees and Directors but only heard back from two of them. Their schedules were extremely busy and it was difficult to coordinate a meeting. I also contacted Nan McCreadie in Great Britain (president in 2013/14 of RIBI) and arranged to meet her at the RI General Assembly in San Diego in 2013. I was in hopes of doing many of the women at this event, but it did not work out so I cancelled my trip. In the meantime, one of the past DG’s I interviewed advised me that it would be better to video tape them after they completed their years in office. It was easier to be open and candid after the fact. I decided that may be true and decided to skip the Trustees and Directors. It is with great sorrow that I missed Betsy Demaray, Director and first woman RI Treasurer, now deceased, as we did try to coordinate a meeting. (There is a ten minute video of Betsy Demaray, on her page, speaking from the US White House.
That left two past DG’s plus Mimi Altman, the daughter. Mimi drove up from Chicago and we met in Racine, Wisconsin in the summer of 2012 and did her video taping at the home of a friend. Since she was hauled to Rotary District Conferences as a baby through the growing up years and is currently an active Rotarian, she may hold the record (by age) for attendance. In the video, she shares that her grandfather was good friends of Paul Harris and her mother was bounced on his knee more than once.
While in Wisconsin, I video taped Pat Jenkins, Executive Director of the Madison Downtown Club of 550 members. She had been in this position for a number of years then became a member when women were allowed in Rotary. She is still the Executive Director of the club. I also interviewed and planned to tape what I thought might be the first couple in the same Rotary Club, again in the Madison Club, Judge Andrea Bartell and Jeff Bartell. She joined as one of the first women in the club right after the Supreme Court decision and her husband had been a member for years. I am yet to do the video as I don’t know if they are the ‘first’. I drove to Ann Arbor, Michigan in September of 2012 and video taped Virginia Nordby, then in November I met Anne Robertson in Nashville, Tennessee.
Then came the task of editing. That was completed in January of 2013 with the assistance of my brother, Art Farwell and sent along with release forms to Jack M. B. Selway at RGHF. The Power Point presentation is currently being updated to reflect changes in Directors and will require future updating as women are selected for positions at RI. The Power Point does not lend itself well to be put online at RGHF, but a summary will appear on the sight and is available for presentations.
Then came the task of editing. That was completed in January of 2013 with the assistance of my brother, Art Farwell and sent along with release forms to Jack M. B. Selway at RGHF. The Power Point presentation is currently being updated to reflect changes in Directors and will require future updating as women are selected for positions at RI. The Power Point does not lend itself well to be put online at RGHF, but a summary will appear on the sight and is available for presentations.
So, this labor of love has come to a close, at least temporarily. I am still in hopes of video taping the women Trustees and the Directors and Nan McCreadie of RIBI at some time in the future. My appreciation goes out to the many Rotarians that assisted me in this project and the Rotary Women that have touched my life forever.