Service Above Self Awards

Service Above Self
The heart of Rotary is Service Above Self. Rotarians around the world work tirelessly, volunteering their time to make their communities and their world a better place to live. To keep the spirit of service alive, Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation believe it is vital to provide recognition to those who actively participate in service activities. For the Fort Collins Rotary Club the award is given to people who contribute significantly to the betterment of life in this community. The award is intentionally left non-specific and the honoree need not be a Rotarian, although it is presented to individuals who represent the very model of Rotary.

 

Dave Stewart – Recipient of the Service above Self Award for 2008-2009

The recipient of 2008-2009 Service Above Self award is Dave Stewart. Many club members will be surprised at all the activities of Dave Stewart. It was appropriate that last year he was awarded the “Quiet Rotarian” award by the district governor. He is probably best known by members of the club for his outstanding water projects in Colombia and the Santa Maria Orphanage in Mexico. A week ago, Dave was awarded the CSU College of Engineering 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award. David Stewart, PhD, is the CEO and president of Stewart Environmental Consultants Inc. In addition to the three degrees he received from CSU (BS Engineering, MS Business, PhD Engineering) he received a MS in environmental engineering from the University of Arizona. He is currently the vice president of Engineers Without Borders – USA. Dave is a member of the board of two other engineering firms, Kennedy Jenks of San Francisco, and Aqua Engineering of Fort Collins. He is also the founder and chief technical officer of Produced Water Development, LLC and chief technical officer of BiO2 Solutions, a wastewater treatment technology company. Dave is a recognized expert in the field of environmental engineering, especially in innovative water and wastewater treatment technologies. He currently holds several patents and patent pending applications in the field of inorganic membranes and the treatment of produced water from the oil and gas industry. Dave serves on the Colorado State Civil Engineering Advisory Board, the Water Resources Archive Advisory Board, and is the founder of the annual Water tables event to support the Water Resources archive at the Morgan Library. He is also a board member of Village Earth and several other organizations.

 Previous honorees have been:
1988  Harvey G. Johnson
1989  Robert H. Pike
1990  Kenneth H. Ash
1991  Charles L. Terrell
1992  William E. Morgan
1993  Wilfred Schwatrz
1994  A. J. Linck & Vandora Linck
1995  Daniel G. Filkins
1996  Marti Meyer
1997  Art Wilcox
1998  Cec Staver
1999  Duane "Dutch" Gubler
2000  Max Getts
2001  Charlie Peterson
2002  P. K. Vedanthan
2003  Joe Looper
2004  Lynne Baker
2005  Gene Markley
2006  Bill Cook
2007  Bob Powell
2008  Jack Lundt


Four Avenues of Service Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize individual Rotarians who have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service, in any form and at any level, with an emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others through Rotary. This is Rotary International's highest honor for individual Rotarians.

Susie Ewing – Recipient of the Four Avenues of Service Award 2008-2009

Past President Susie Ewing was selected for this award because of her continued tireless efforts to support the club activities in all areas of service listed above plus membership efforts. Not only is Susie actively involved in many committees, but in committees that have a big impact on the club (membership and fellowship) and ones that have initiated new and successful efforts (fundraising). Susie was also instrumental in instigating our club's first international service projects - during her year as club President, Susie helped initiate and participated in the first service trip to Guatemala. Members of our club have since returned to Guatemala for two additional service trips and Susie has been part of each and every trip. This was a complete surprise to Susie because she was on the committee selecting the award winners.

Previous honorees have been:
2000-2001  Donal D. Johnson
2004-2005  Landis L. Boyd
2005-2006  Hermann Meyer
2006-2007  Shelly Godkin
2007-2008  Bill Moellenhoff


Spirit of Rotary Award
During the 2002-2003 Rotary year, Rotarian Joe Looper suggested our club honor a new member of Rotary who quickly became involved in club activities, embracing the ideals of Rotary's Service Above Self. Initially this award was to be given to a member who has been extremely active in his or her first year of membership although we came to realize that it often takes at least that amount of time for a Rotarian to establish him/herself, therefore can be presented to more seasoned members.

 

Lee Jeffrey; Recipient of the 2008-2009 Spirit of Rotary Award

This year’s winner of this award, Lee Jeffrey, has been very active in many club activities in his brief time with the club. Most prominent is his willingness to be one of our club photographers and to host one of the clubs fellowship events. Lee is also involved with the World Community Service Committee and recently made a trip to Honduras to use his medical training to help with an international service group, called Medical Brigades. Lee also helps at the secretaries table before meetings, and has been involved with the 4-Way Test exercises at Junior High Schools.

Previous honorees have been:
2002-2003  Chuck Rutenberg
2003-2004  Stacey Baumgarn & Leighanna Grupp
2004-2005  Alan Ashbaugh
2005-2006  Karl Hofmann
2006-2007  Tanis Roeder
2007-2008  Steve Laine


Rotarian of the Year

 

Melanie Chamberlain; Recipient of the 2008-2009 Rotarian of the Year Award

This award recognizes a Rotarian for their all-around contribution to the success of the Rotary Club during the current year. Melanie Chamberlain was selected for the club Rotarian of the Year Award due to an outstanding year in several key areas for the club for which she was responsible. Giving to both Polio Plus and the Rotary Foundation have far surpassed the years goals already. She coordinated a very successful multi-club Foundation Dinner and a special dinner for Rotary International president D. K. Lee. She has been very active in the Fellowship Committee, Fundraising Committee, 4-Way Test exercises, reviewing the By-laws and more. With this focused and energetic Rotarian as president, we will have another successful upcoming year.

Previous honorees have been:
2007-2008  Claude Piché

Special Rotary International Service Above Self Award

 

Claude Piché; Recipient of a 2008-2009 Rotary International Service Above Self Award

2008-2009 District 5440 Governor, Stuart Palmer and his wife, Susie, attended the meeting to give a very special award. After some brief remarks about the upcoming district conference and some complimentary comments about our club, Stuart said that one member of our club has been awarded the Rotary International Service Above Self Award. This award is given to only 150 Rotarians per year, a very special award indeed. Stuart read the letter from Rotary International President D. K. Lee that announced the award. The letter stated:

"The importance of service above self has long been recognized by Rotarians who understand the power and reward of helping their friends and neighbors in need. In 1991, the Rotary International Board of Directors created the Rotary International Service Above Self Award to recognize those Rotarians who truly embody Rotary’s principal motto. While many Rotarians distinguish themselves through service, it is important to recognize the outstanding few who have indeed made service a way of life. Current and past officers and general officers of Rotary International were asked to submit the names and accomplishments of outstanding Rotarians. While a large response was received, only a maximum of 150 Rotarians may receive the Rotary International Service Above Self Award each year. The Board of Directors was faced with the challenge of selecting the very best from a pool of exceptional candidates. It is my great pleasure to inform you that Claude Piché has been selected to receive the Rotary International Service Above Self Award."

We congratulate Claude on this very special award and thank him for his efforts that were recognized by this award. Claude's efforts have been special enough that our club started to give a Rotarian of the Year Award each year and Claude was the first awardee in 2008.