Bill Cliff
Bill Cliff
"Gary," Bill Cliff said to me. "You're the new sheriff. When you need something done, just ask." I knew Bill Cliff for entirely too short of a time, but, even so, it didn't take me long to see that what you saw and heard was what you got. 'Makes sense, I suppose. Annapolis grad, naval and commercial pilot, well-traveled and wryly funny (you do remember his tale about almost hitting his flight instructor with his plane) but serious when the need was there, Bill was an admirable and valuable member of our club and community. Those of you who knew him longer than I will have to help the rest of us remember all he did for our club and town.
Our club's records show that he was admitted to Kona Mauka in July of 2010, but some of your correspondence over the past weeks since his death and conversations that I had with him over the past two-plus years tell me that he was a Rotarian for more than just five or so years. More than one of you, for example, referred to him as a past Assistant District Governor which implies an earlier start in Rotary, and on more than one occasion he and I would talk about his time as a club president. Again leading me to believe that he had devoted a good part of his life to being a Rotarian.
I will take from Bill his focus on a task and his commitment to help others and get things done. Sometimes, even though he was the only one who could decipher the puzzling abbreviations that the Rotary Foundation uses, I could sense his frustration with its politics and bureaucracy when we tried to to get grant money. Nonetheless, we got the money (I do wish he had left us a copy of his code book for the next person). When the money came, whether it was for dictionaries or projects in South Africa or other countries, we could rest easy knowing that Bill had done his homework and that the money would be well-spent.
Now it will be our turn to take your suggestions that we honor him by dedicating this year's Valentine's fund raiser to his memory, that our club establish scholarships in his name and, because he promoted cooperation with other clubs, joint projects with them that also remember the time he spent with us.
Bill Cliff
"Gary," Bill Cliff said to me. "You're the new sheriff. When you need something done, just ask." I knew Bill Cliff for entirely too short of a time, but, even so, it didn't take me long to see that what you saw and heard was what you got. 'Makes sense, I suppose. Annapolis grad, naval and commercial pilot, well-traveled and wryly funny (you do remember his tale about almost hitting his flight instructor with his plane) but serious when the need was there, Bill was an admirable and valuable member of our club and community. Those of you who knew him longer than I will have to help the rest of us remember all he did for our club and town.
Our club's records show that he was admitted to Kona Mauka in July of 2010, but some of your correspondence over the past weeks since his death and conversations that I had with him over the past two-plus years tell me that he was a Rotarian for more than just five or so years. More than one of you, for example, referred to him as a past Assistant District Governor which implies an earlier start in Rotary, and on more than one occasion he and I would talk about his time as a club president. Again leading me to believe that he had devoted a good part of his life to being a Rotarian.
I will take from Bill his focus on a task and his commitment to help others and get things done. Sometimes, even though he was the only one who could decipher the puzzling abbreviations that the Rotary Foundation uses, I could sense his frustration with its politics and bureaucracy when we tried to to get grant money. Nonetheless, we got the money (I do wish he had left us a copy of his code book for the next person). When the money came, whether it was for dictionaries or projects in South Africa or other countries, we could rest easy knowing that Bill had done his homework and that the money would be well-spent.
Now it will be our turn to take your suggestions that we honor him by dedicating this year's Valentine's fund raiser to his memory, that our club establish scholarships in his name and, because he promoted cooperation with other clubs, joint projects with them that also remember the time he spent with us.