Two Presque Isle Rotarians
honored at district conference
PRESQUE ISLE — The Presque Isle Rotary Club has announced that two of its club members were honored at the recent Rotary District 7810 annual conference held in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Nancy Fletcher and Rachel Rice received awards for their outstanding service.
Contributed photo
TWO PRESQUE ISLE ROTARIANS were honored during the Rotary District 7810 annual conference held in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Nancy Fletcher received the Paul Harris Fellow award, the highest honor a Rotarian can receive, and Rachel Rice received the Past District Governor Frank Hussey Award as Rotarian of the Year. Pictured are, from left, Rice, Presque Isle Rotary Club President Ralph McPherson, and Fletcher.
Rotary District 7810 encompasses 39 Rotary clubs — all the clubs in New Brunswick, as well as the Maine clubs in Aroostook and Washington counties.
Fletcher received the Paul Harris Fellow award for her many contributions to the district, including her work as an assistant district governor and as a Level I trainer/leader for Rotary Leadership Institute, which trains Rotarians to become future leaders. The award, named after Rotary founder Paul Harris, is the highest honor a Rotarian can receive. A donation of $1,000 was made to the Rotary Foundation in Fletcher’s name, and Fletcher was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow medallion.
Fletcher, who works as the head of access services at the University of Maine at Presque Isle library, is very involved in community service. She has been the Presque Isle Rotary’s Club historian for over 20 years and is a past president (2009-10). She has also supported the Mars Hill Rotary Club for the past 20 years by volunteering at the concession stand at home ballgames.
In addition to her work with Rotary, she has served as treasurer of the Maine Education Association, a trainer for Women in Leadership for the National Education Association, and has volunteered more than three decades of service to the Associated COLT Staff of the University of Maine and the University of Maine Professional Staff Association (unions for clerical and professional staffers, respectively) at the local, state and national levels. She also serves on the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce board of directors and its executive committee. Fletcher will be taking over as president of the chamber board in 2014.
Rice received the Past District Governor Frank Hussey Award as Rotarian of the Year, presented to the Rotarian judged to have done the most to exemplify the ideal of “Service Above Self” during the current Rotary year. Rice took the lead in coordinating the local club’s first-ever World Polio Day, as well as the club’s 90th birthday celebration. She is the club’s awareness committee co-chair.
Rice, who works as the director of community and media relations at UMPI, is also involved in her community. In addition to her work with Rotary, she serves on the Special Olympics Area Management Team for Aroostook County.
“We have an amazing club and we do so many important projects in our community, so we were very pleased to receive such excellent recognition at this year’s District Conference,” said Ralph McPherson, Presque Isle Rotary Club president. “Any time a Rotarian is recognized at the district level, it’s quite an honor, so to have two of our club members honored in the same year is very special.”
