Change of venue: McMurray Rotary Club continues to adapt as necessary
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Kate Cole takes her oath as McMurray Rotary Club president for 2020-21.
Club members voted for David Wylie, 2019-20 president, as Rotarian of the Year.
Pamela Linnon-Flinn now is a Paul Harris Fellow.
District Judge Jesse Pettit is now a Paul Harris Fellow.
Club member Tony Zuloaga announces the latest Paul Harris Fellows.
Jim Mortimer announces Service Above Self Award recipients.
Kate Cole, new president of the McMurray Rotary Club, has the full support of her husband, Chris.
The sounds of a Peters Township youth baseball game weren’t precisely what Kate Cole was expecting to hear.
As the McMurray Rotary Club’s president-elect, one of her responsibilities was to organize the annual President’s Dinner, celebrating a year of accomplishments and looking ahead to the next 12 months. Following club tradition, she made arrangements for a formal event at an upscale venue.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Stephanie Urchick, a Rotary director at the international level, is the first woman to have served as governor of District 7300.
Then, about 48 hours before the scheduled start, club members received notice that because of concerns related to COVID-19, the venue had shifted to Peterswood Park, in what turned out to be well within earshot of a ball field.
“We’re in a park shelter,” Cole acknowledged during the July 1 event. “There’s no part of any of our plans for this year that included a park shelter. But we’re here, and we’re doing it.”
The change of scenery represented the latest of the club’s adjustments to the worldwide health crisis. For example, with regular meetings not occurring as usual on Wednesdays at Atria’s Restaurant, members starting getting together weekly by videoconference.
“I’m really happy to see everybody in person,” Cole said at the start of the President’s Dinner, which, because of circumstances, ended up including no dinner. “It has been – I counted it the other day – 112 days since we’ve had Rotary together, and this is just fantastic. Thank you all for rolling with the punches with our last-minute change.”
The event typically features the handing out of awards and other symbols of recognition. But also because of COVID-19, this year’s recipients followed the social-distancing protocol of retrieving items from tables, with no accompanying handshakes.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
A Service Above Self recipient is Detective Evan Caruso of the Peters Township Police Department.
Among the honors accorded each year is the Service Above Self Award, which usually goes to a club member. For this year, members decided to recognize someone from the Peters Township community.
“We were looking for an individual to recognize. That turned out to be quite a challenge, because there are so many people in our community who do a lot of good,” board member Jim Mortimer said. “So today, we’re going to recognize three people.”
Among the honorees was Lt. Jordan Cramer of the Peters Township Fire Department, who worked with the Rotarians in setting up a “neighbors helping neighbors” program for people affected by COVID-19.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
A Service Above Self recipient is Lt. Jordan Cramer of the Peters Township Fire Department.
“Fortunately, we didn’t have to implement anything,” Mortimer reported. “But we were behind him and the rest of the fire department.”
The other Service Above Self recipients were township police Detective Evan Caruso and Dan Price, a paramedic and senior supervisor for Peters Township Ambulance Service.
Within the club, a vote among members resulted in Rotarian of the year honors going to David Wylie, who served as president for 2019-20.
“This Rotarian has done a fantastic job in not only running the club meetings but also making sure that everybody feels like they were engaged,” longtime member Al DeLucia said in making the announcement.
For 2020-21, DeLucia is serving as governor of Rotary International District 7305, leading a region that extends from the state line east to Cambria County. He is the first McMurray Rotarian to hold the distinction.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
A Service Above Self recipient is Dan Price of Peters Township Ambulance Service.
For his part, Wylie said that although COVID-19 caused the cancelations of many planned activities, the club still made a substantial impact in supporting community organizations:
“My figure was that the total raised and distributed over the last 12 months was $41,748.”
In succeeding Wylie as president, Cole becomes the second woman to hold the McMurray Rotary Club’s top position. Sandra Castro served in 2017-18, and Marcy Santel, currently club treasurer, is scheduled to become president next year.
For Cole – whose grandfather Paul Groff and father, Larry Winter, were club members – the new leadership represents quite a change for an international organization that excluded women until the 1980s. In fact, she announced an initiative to continue growth in that regard.
“We’re at about 30 percent women’s membership right now,” she said. “My goal is 50 percent in the next two years.”
Swearing in Cole, along with other club officers and board members, was Stephanie Urchick, a McMurray Rotarian who serves internationally as director of Zones 33-34, and area that takes in Western Pennsylvania to the Caribbean.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
McMurray Rotary Club member Al DeLucia is governor of District 7305 for 2020-21.
“One of the reasons I’m here tonight is that I’m not traveling. I’m grounded. We’re not going anywhere until next year, if even then,” she said about the organization’s world leaders. “Rotary did that as a precaution, keeping the health and safety of members at the forefront.
As a result, she has shifted to meeting virtually with people on multiple continents, without having to leave her North Strabane Township home. And by the same method, she also has been able to participate in her home club’s meetings.
“We loved getting together every week at Atria’s and shaking hands and hugging and doing all the things that we did. And suddenly, it was ripped from us,” she said. “But we kept doing what the world is craving. The world wants connection.”
In fact, the club has gained a new member since hosting solely online meetings: Sydnee Romanko, who at Peterswood Park had her first opportunity to meet most of the other members in person.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
The club’s newest member, Sydney Romanko, is introduced by Greg Incardona.
Also during the event, three members – Pamela Linnon-Flinn, Myra Oleynik and District Judge Jesse Pettit – were designated as Paul Harris Fellows, named for Rotary’s founder. The honor acknowledges individuals who contribute $1,000 or who have such contributions made in their name to The Rotary Foundation, which supports humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs worldwide.
Two other members, DeLucia and Romain Frieden, were recognized for additional levels of Rotary Foundation support.
In accepting her presidency, Cole spoke about meeting the challenges presented by current circumstances while continuing to fulfill Rotary’s philanthropic mission.
“We are ready to focus on what we can do right now, not what we can no longer do,” she said. “Rotary isn’t canceled because it’s different now. Our commitment to service doesn’t exist only at a nice lunch or a country club ballroom. Our commitment to service comes from within.”
For more information, visit facebook.com/mcmurrayrotaryclub.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
A Peterswood Park picnic shelter serves as the location for the President’s Dinner, which this year does not include dinner.