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.... “never, in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few”, is considered to be one of the most memorable speeches delivered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill during WW II. It was one in which he praised the gallant pilots who flew the Spitfires and Hurricanes against the Luftwaffe during the battle of Briton when the odds were unbelievably high. The battle of Briton changed the course of the war and saved the world. The odds against those pilots were at best a hundred to one, and against Britton were even more, but not nearly as high as the odds against Rotary when it began the battle with Polio.
Rotary International President, Ed Cadman described a typical Rotarian as: “an ordinary man, doing extraordinary things in quite ways.” There is no better example of that statement than Marshall Rotarian, Lt. Col. Tommy Athanas, who passed away September 24, 2001.
Whether battling the Ku Klux Klan, The Lions, or any one of the thousands of battles that Rotary has engaged in over the past 100 years, one thing is certain, not all battles are winnable, at least in the short term, but defeat is not an option; the battle against disease falls into that category. Only one battle in this category has ever been won in my lifetime, the battle against smallpox. The devastating disease killed one out of every three who got it. According to Wikipedia, smallpox was the leading cause of death in the 18th century, killing over 400,000 people.
For your enjoyment, here is an article published in the “Marshall Messenger, November 20, 1925, without comment,:
Rotary clubs are non-government-organizations (NGOs), and as such are not allowed to take sides on political issues. Individual Rotarians, however. are free to choose whatever candidates or parties seem appropriate to them, and support the laws enacted by them. but, politically biased programs or campaigning for office are not permitted at club meetings.
Happy Birthday Marshall Rotary
For ninety-nine years, three weeks and one day we have been standing on the shoulders of giants. Soon we will join them celebrating a century of changing lives in Marshall and beyond.
For the most part someone does not join Rotary looking for fame or recognition and the Marshall Rotary club does not encourage or sponsor self-promotion schemes in any way.
The Rotary club scholarship program, using funds transferred from the Student Loan Fund in 1946 and in 1948, awarded its first scholarship in 1949 to Miss Olga Miller.
A Century of Serving Our Youth began within weeks of it's admittance into Rotary, when Rotarians of Marshall decided that defending and helping children, essentially changing and reshaping their future, was to be one of their top priorities from the very beginning and has continued as a major part of the Marshall Rotary club’s service projects in one form or the other since then.
June 15, 1920, Dr. Humphreys, president of the College of Marshall, offered the Marshall Rotary club a scholarship, which they could award to a high-school graduate that the Marshall Rotary club thought would otherwise be unable to attend school (college) and who would benefit from the grant of $80 to pay a year’s tuition.
Rotary has struggled for more than a hundred years to shed the image of being a secretive bunch of old men trying to control the affairs of the community for their own gain. From the very beginning, Rotarians themselves, have struggled to define and express in words, what it means to be a Rotarian. That was not a problem for a Marshall newspaper editor/reporter nearly a century ago…
When the Marshall Rotary club, was established, in 1919, no one thought it would play a prominent role in the shaping of a new avenue of service in Rotary, so, when it introduced a novel new element (Youth Services) into what had heretofore been a dignified and austere organization, it attracted little attention.
Though he had traveled the world for five years, Paul Harris had never heard of Marshall Texas when he started his first Rotary club in Chicago with four of his business associates, on a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” basis. The early motto, “He Profits Most Who Serves Best”, reflected the mission statement of Rotary, wherein business (Club Service) was paramount, community needs (Community Service), was second, and Vocational Service was a catchall for all other services.
By 1919, Paul Harris had patiently and skillfully crafted his vision of Rotary into a rapidly expanding, well organized, and effective organization, whose purpose was to coordinate and support over 500 clubs in six countries.
During those fourteen years much had been happening behind the scenes; the new organization had chosen a name (Rotary), a motto (“He Profits Most Who Serves the Best”), a logo (a spoked-wheel), had adopted “Ideals”, had established a constitution and bylaws, had begun to hold conventions, and, having a lawyer at the helm, had begun to establish rules and guidelines for clubs to follow.
With some serious reservations about our own safety and wellbeing for the next two weeks, my wife and I were aboard a Boeing 747, traveling to the Philippines. The trip followed my year as district governor in 1992-93, in which Rotary clubs in district 5830 teamed up with Rotarians in the Philippines to obtain and successfully complete a Matching Grant there. For our part, this was the culmination of a dream come true.
The Taco Fest June 23 will be the club's last fundraiser of Louraiseal's year. She needs a bunch of volunteers to help hand out beer at the event. Every can we hand out means one dollar and twenty five cents for the club projects. we need to roll up our sleaves and support our club and community . Sign up to volunteer on the club website or call Jay Webb at (903) 926 4672. 6 volunteers need on each shift. Hours are as follow:
- 9:00 AM to 11:AM (Set up and Ice Down)
- 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Serving Beer)
- 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Serving Beer)
- 7:00 PM to 11: PM (Serving Beer and Tearing Down)
One of the most fascinating events in the world is the migration of billions of Monarch butterflies each year from Mexico to Texas. Less well know is the migration of Rotary butterflies between the Rotary Club of Marshall Texas the Club Rotario de Villa de Alvarez in Colima, Mexico, in 2003. (re. Balloons and Butterflies Analogy)
Rotary butterflies come in all sizes and backgrounds. Many of them require help from others who posses the needed resources unavailable to them. Often, that means bringing those resources great distances at great cost. In many cases this involves Rotary clubs, as was the case with the two Rotary clubs above. Rotary International's Foundation also became a partner (butterfly) in this heartwarming story, as told by our late Past President Jim Taylor.The fascinating history of Marshall Rotary is filled with stories of ordinary men and women doing ordinary things; many times, with extraordinary results. To visualize and understand an entity as old and complex as the Marshall Texas Rotary club, is to think of it as a giant transparent balloon filled with butterflies. Anyone outside of the balloon can see the butterflies, but the only way to really know how the Marshall Rotary club has changed, or is changing the world around it, is to study those butterflies; in this case, two very special butterflies, Gail Beil and Sebastian Hammann, who were drawn into the “Rotary balloon” through a Rotary International program called Rotary Youth Exchange, which encourages high school students in one country to spend a year as a student in another country.
The Rotary Club of Marshall Texas is often thought of as an “exclusive Old-Man’s club”. In the beginning that was, in a sense, true, but only when observed from outside. The founders of Rotary International were relatively young businessmen in their forties and fifties, as were most of the founders of the Marshall Rotary club.
Many of them stayed in the club for thirty or forty years and did, indeed, attain the status of “old men”, but young or old, they were all boys at heart, and one of their missions was to see that boys and girls in Marshall had the same chance for a better life as they did.
Six months after being admitted into the Rotary International organization, the club held a Father-And-Son banquet in the Hotel Marshall, the purpose of which was to “learn more about the young men and give them the unusual opportunity of meeting the businessmen on a common plane”.
The Rotary Club of Marshall Texas has sponsored four clubs. The first was the Longview club in 1929, the Carthage club was co-sponsored with the Center Rotary Club in 1945, the third was Marshall -Metro in 1981, and the last was Hallsville. The most challenging sponsorship was Hallsville in 1988, which already had a strong, well established, and functioning Lions club. Moreover, there were no Rotarians living in Hallsville and there was no interest in starting a Rotary club by anyone living in Hallsville at the time.
None the less, during his official visit to the Marshall Rotary club, September 7th & 8th, 1988, District Governor Tom Bagwell challenged the Marshall club to start a new Rotary club in Hallsville. Rotary president, Jim Fitzgerald, not wanting to let the governor down, said he would try. As soon as he could, he met with his friend Admiral Sam Moore, and ask him if he would take the lead in starting a new club in Hallsville. Sam’s answer was “yes”, and a most unlikely enterprise had begun.
Looking back over the history of The Rotary Club of Marshall, Texas, USA, during the first 98 years, three months, and almost two weeks, has revealed a fascinating history of the Marshall Rotary club. Using the data-search feature of Newspapers.com, to search the archives of The Marshall News Messenger, from August 1st, 1919 through November 12, 2017, has also revealed some fascinating numbers:
Harrison County Judge Hugh Taylor updated the Marshall Rotary club yesterday on the progress of I-69 (now I-369) yesterday, and held a large crowd’s attention, as he described the progress being made on the Marshall, Harrison County portion of the proposed interstate highway, and how the funds are being spent. The club Strongly Suppored his work on Harrisson Count's and Marshall's behalf.Nighty eight years ago, County Judge W. H. Strength stood before the same club and made basically the same speech, before an enthusiastic audience. The topic, however was not Interstate highways, but seeing that we have good gravel roads, at a price not exceeding the $8,000 approved on the bond issue, previously passed by the voters. The Rotary club moved that the club go on record as supporting Judge Strength.
We are proud of Marshall Rotary for supporting good roads, in these two instances and others too numerous to include, for nighty-eight years and counting.
Created in 1976, The Marshall Rotary Civic Achievment Award was given to active Rotarians in recognition of their service and contributions to the local community.
What makes Rotary so special? Why do Rotarians give so much with so little outward recognition? You never see a hospital, school, or stadium displaying the Rotary Emblem, or "Rotary's" name. There is a reason for that, which can be so fittingly expressed in just 99 words, when Past President Hal Cornish had them included in the Marshall "Rotary Reporter" February 23, 1988. They are as true today as they were then. Thank you for reminding us of this truth Hal:
A doggone good time was had Saturday and over $8,000 was raised for the Humane Society of Harrison County, thanks to almost Fifty sponsors and dozens of pooches and their owners who turned out for the 16th annual Faux Paws Dog Walk in downtown Marshall, to not only raise funds for the Humane Society, but also raise awareness about the dogs that are available for adoption at the society’s animal shelter, The Pet Place, 1901 Jefferson Avenue, behind Walmart.
