Club Receives Recognition at Foundation Dinner

The Rotary Club of Mechanicsburg was recognized at the District 7390 Rotary Foundation Dinner on November 15th where it received the 100% Foundation Giving Club banner and a Certification of Appreciation for its support of the End Polio Now campaign.

The 2017 Annual Rotary Foundation Dinner was held at the Hershey Lodge on November 15th. At this event, District 7390 clubs are recognized for their activities and accomplishments relative to the Rotary Foundation. Recognition included the presentation of Global Grant streamers for successfully completed projects that were funded with Global Grants. (The Mechanicsburg Club received a streamer for its Composting Toilet Project in El Salvador at the 2015 Foundation Dinner.) Recognitions were also given for the top giving and top per capita giving clubs. All club gave a total of $417,373 for the 2016-17 Rotary year, with the top three per capita clubs: Red Lion/Dallastown ($460.10), Mechanicsburg-North ($342.50), and Hanover ($277.11). The Mechanicsburg Club was $147.75.

 

100% Foundation Giving Club banners presented to District 7390 Clubs. Tom Burson, representing the Mechanicsburg Club, is third from left.

 

Recognition was also given to District Clubs that actively supported the current End Polio Now: Make History Today Campaign campaign. The Mechanicsburg Club was presented with a certificate of appreciation for its success. Most of that can be attributed to the ThisClose picture fundraiser which is highlighted in this story.

 

End Polio Now: Make History Today Campaign club recipients pictured above. Tom Burson, representing the Mechanicsburg Club, is pictured sixth from left.

 

One of the highlights of the night was the guest speaker and polio survivor (Class of 1953), Rotarian John Nanni. An active member of the Rotary Club of Middletown-Odessa, Delaware. John has been Club Secretary, Website Committee Chair, served on the District PolioPlus Committee and is Club President Nominee for 2019-20.

He has given over 150 Polio Talks from Rhode Island to North Carolina. “The 3 P’s in my Life: Polio, Post-Polio Syndrome and Rotary’s PolioPlus." John currently serves as the D7630 PolioPlus Chair (all of Delaware & Eastern Shore Maryland). He is a Major Donor, Paul Harris Society Member, and a Rotary Foundation Benefactor. John is the recipient of Rotary’s Regional Service Award for a Polio Free World. John was paralyzed from his neck down for 6 months just prior to the Salk Vaccine distribution. He now uses a wheelchair for most of his daily mobility due to severe Post-Polio Syndrome issues.