Greenfield Rotary: celebrating a century of service in 2022!

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Welcome to Rotary!

The Rotary Club of Greenfield, Ohio meets at 11:30 a.m. each Thursday at the Catch 22 Sports Pub located at 250 Jefferson St., Greenfield, Ohio.  ​


Rotary Club of
​Greenfield, Ohio

Established in 1922
Charter No. 1177
District 6670

CLUB OFFICERS
2021-2022
President: Wes Surritt
President-Elect: 
Secretary: Beverly Giffin
Treasurer: Andrew Surritt
Foundation Chair: Blain Bergstrom
Membership Chair: Steve Pearce
PR Chair: Angela Shepherd

Club Service: Blain Bergstrom
Community Service: Andrew Surritt
International Service: Mike Penn
​Vocational Service: 
Immediate Past President: Ron Coffey


FESTIVAL CHAIRMEN
Andrew Surritt
Wes Surritt
Ron Coffey

OFFICERS FOR RALPH W. PHILLIPS RECREATION & CIVIC CENTER
Cleve Bartley
Larry Hayes
Steve Pearce
Steve Hunter
Mike Penn

Rotary International President:
​Shekhar Mehta
www.rotary.org

District Governor: 
Carol Hughes, Springboro
www.rotary6670.org

Assistant District Governor:
​Beth Huber



PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS
The following have been named Paul Harris Fellows to honor their contributions to Rotary. For each Paul Harris Fellowship, either the member or the Greenfield Rotary Club donated $1,000 to the Rotary International Foundation. The foundation's funds make possible many humanitarian projects around the world.
George M. Waddell, 1985
Harry V. Turner, 1986
Wilson L. Moon, 1986
Charles O. Shonkwiler, 1987
Willard Anderson, 1987
Allen M. Johnson (in memory), 1988
Thomas W. Doyle, 1988
​No award in 1989
Paul S. Wisecup, 1990
B.R. Duckworth, 1991
Ralph W. Phillips, 1991
Patrick L. Hays, 1992
Sam Daugherty, 1993
Floyd Bartley, 1994
Donald K. Anderson, 1995
Bill Buck, 1996
Steve Hunter, 1997
Wilbur Seilkop, 1998
Dan Crusie, 1998
Ron Coffey, 1999
Steve Pearce, 2000
Jim Weller, 2001
Judy Spargur, 2002
Dean Gardner, 2002
Jack C. Weinrich, 2003
No award during 2004
Clifford Wisecup, 2005
Larry Hayes, 2006
Dr. Rick Mizer, 2006
Peter Quance, 2007
Jackie Gardner, 2007
Barb Barton, 2008
Scott Lovett, 2008
Chuck Miller, 2009
Mike Penn, 2009
Sandra McNeil, 2010
Terry Fouch, 2011
Blain Bergstrom, 2012
David "Boonie" Brizius, 2013
Charlotte Phillips, 2013
Bernard Hester, 2014
Cleve Bartley, 2014
​Wes Surritt, 2015
​Angela Shepherd, 2016
Virginia Purdy, 2017
​Beverly Giffin, 2017
​Andrew Surritt III, 2018
Heath Fettro, 2019
No award in 2020
Dr. Eric Borsini, 2021
Tammy Wells, 2021


OUR CLUB
The Greenfield Rotary Club sponsors the annual Greene Countrie Towne Festival during the third weekend of July each year, and is involved in many community projects. On a national and international level, the club participates in many projects for the benefit of others.


PROJECTS
"One profits most who serves best." So says the Rotary motto, and our club has fun serving the community. The Rotary Club of Greenfield owns and operates the Ralph W. Phillips Recreation and Civic Center, the scene of many community activities, including basketball games, Christmas parties, dances and other events. Proceeds from building rentals help pay the operating expenses, but the club supplements its income through spaghetti dinners, the Greene Countrie Towne Festival and other activities to keep this valuable community center operating.
Each spring the Greenfield club joins forces with the Hillsboro Rotary Club to raise funds for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults. This organization offers assistance to Highland Countians in need without the red tape often associated with charitable organizations. The annual radio-telethon in March has raised more than a million dollars since its inception in the early 1970s. Funds are expended for wheelchairs, hearing aids, orthopedic devices, transportation vouchers and a host of other uses. Highland County is proud of this amazingly successful program of people helping people.
As fundraisers, Greenfield Rotary sponsors a pair of spaghetti dinners each year -- one during football season and one during the basketball campaign. The club also sponsors the annual Greene Countrie Towne Festival during the third weekend of July. Funds from these and other projects are returned to the community through the above activities and other projects and donations.
If you would like to know more about Rotary, contact any member of the Greenfield club.

MORE ROTARY INFO:

2022 Greene Countrie Towne Festival
(July 15-16-17) shaping up in a big way!

Greenfield Rotary hosted a Greene Countrie Towne Festival meeting June 8 and received encouraging updates about the upcoming festival (July 15-16-17) which will be part of the local Rotary club's centennial celebration.

Some outstanding entertainment has been booked, including tribute bands that replicate the sounds, professionalism and energy of the Eagles and Garth Brooks. Hotel California, the Eagles tribute band, was available for Friday evening, July 15 and the club quickly booked the talented group from Canada that performs all the hits and hits all the right notes!

Pulling out all the stops as this is the centennial of the local Rotary club, Fresh Horses will be featured on Saturday evening, July 16 featuring the sights and sounds of country music legend Garth Brooks.

Both shows, as well as other entertainment scheduled throughout the weekend, are FREE to the public. 

Other highlights will include the popular car show sponsored by the Greenfield Antique Car Club on Saturday, July 16 and some excellent antique tractors brought in by the Greenfield Antique Tractor Club, as well as the popular Queen Pageant sponsored by the Greenfield Women's Queen Association. The new Miss Greene Countrie Towne will represent the festival at other events around the state, and other royalty to be crowned will include a Prince, Princess and Little Miss and Junior Miss. Please note that the deadline for applications in the queen pageant is Friday, June 24. See the FESTIVAL PAGE for applications, or visit the Greene Countrie Towne Festival FACEBOOK PAGE for the necessary information.

The Greenfield Rotary Club is negotiating with a company to bring rides back to the festival, and there will be lots of festival food, arts, crafts and games as well. The popular Rotary Auction on Saturday afternoon will feature lots of nice items and 10 limited edition prints created by local artist Tammy Wells. A beer garden, contests and other live entertainment are planned as well, and it's reported that even ax throwing will be available at this year's festival. 

A schedule of events will be posted as details are firmed up.

Check out the FESTIVAL PAGE for the latest updates and schedule of events, and please mark your calendars so that you can attend the 2022 Greene Countrie Towne Festival, scheduled July 15-17, 2022 in downtown Greenfield.


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Rotarians of Distinction being
​recognized during club’s centennial

​As part of Greenfield Rotary’s centennial celebration in 2022, the club decided that it would be a good idea to commemorate some of the organization’s Rotarians of Distinction, and so a page has been added to this website for that purpose. In one way or another, every local Rotarian has had some kind of a positive impact on the community of Greenfield through their membership in the service organization, their business activities, by giving of their time and resources, and in other ways as well. We hope to add to the list as time permits, and welcome nominations, information and photos from those who have known past or present Greenfield Rotarians and would like to help with this project. Suggestions can be sent via the “Contact the club” window at the bottom of the home page of this website.

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​50th annual ​Ernie Blankenship

Radio-Telethon surpasses $120K!

​The 50th Annual Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon March 30, 2022 brought in more than $120,000 in pledges as the Rotary Clubs of Greenfield and Hillsboro put on events to entertain, educate and raise money for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults. 
The events took place from 7-9 p.m. in the two communities, emanating from the GCTV Studios at McClain High School in Greenfield and the Hillsboro Orpheum. Viewers watched on local Spectrum TV channels or via streaming over the Internet, with periodic updates given by WVNU 97.5 FM and WSRW Radio 1590 AM.
The Hillsboro telethon event was live-streamed on the Society’s website, hicoso.org and remains available for viewing.
At the end of the evening, $114,561 had been pledged, but additional pledges and donations were received over the next several weeks.
For more information, as well as photos, visit the HCSCA page.
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Patty Day new executive secretary for HCSCA

The Highland County Society for Children & Adults has appointed Hillsboro resident Patty Day as the new executive secretary of the organization to replace the late Gayle Coss.
Day was appointed at a meeting of the society’s board of trustees held Jan. 24, 2022.
Day has been a nurse for more than 38 years and received her master’s degree in nursing from Otterbein College. She is certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
She and her husband, Herb Day, own and operate Fun Oldies Herb Day Radio and the Red White and Blue Herb Day Country Radio stations.
Patty has served on Hillsboro City Council since July 5, 2019. She is a board member for the Hope for Highland County organization and a member of the Southside Praise and Worship Center Church.
Patty has been a lifelong resident of Highland County. She and her husband reside in the city of Hillsboro with two of their 13 grandchildren, Braylin and Patrick. Patty and Herb have three children, Aaron, Karly and Corey, and another son, Chuck, is deceased.
Day is the fifth person to serve as executive secretary of the society. Helen Lowell was the first, followed by Betty Collins, Nina Wharton and Gayle Coss.
Patty is the contact person for those seeking assistance with medical expenses, equipment, travel and related expenses. She can be reached by telephone at 937-393-2142, by email at contact@hicoso.org or by mail at Highland County Society for Children & Adults, P.O. Box 792, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133.
On Wednesday, March 30 the Rotary Clubs of Greenfield and Hillsboro will join forces to raise money for the HCSCA. The Ernie Blankenship Memorial Radio-Telethon will be the 50th such event for the benefit of children and adults in Highland County. 

PictureGreenfield Rotary President Wes Surritt is pictured with District Governor Carol Hughes, who visited the Greenfield club on Nov. 18.
District Governor Carol Hughes

visits Greenfield Rotary Club

​Greenfield Rotary Club hosted District Governor Carol Hughes on Nov. 18 and received an inspiring and interesting message from the Springboro resident. 
DG Hughes, a native of England, emigrated to Ohio in 1993 and has enjoyed a varied career including teaching elementary school, working with the YMCA, and serving as an executive with the Springboro Chamber of Commerce. She has also been involved in Rotary and risen through the leadership ranks of that organization, including her current role leading Rotarians in District 6670.
DG Hughes shared some thoughts from Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta, who challenged Rotarians to help the organization grow with the slogan "Each one bring one." DG Hughes encouraged each Rotarian to invite guests to club meetings so they can see what Rotary is all about. The motto of Rotary is “Service Above Self,” and Rotarians have accomplished many good things since the organization was founded in 1905. She mentioned that Rotary undertook the huge task of trying to eradicate polio with a worldwide effort in 1988, and while there are still a very few cases of polio (just four so far this year) in underdeveloped countries, the effort seems headed to a successful conclusion.
DG Hughes has studied the composition of the Greenfield club and said there are currently 33 members, with 23 being male and 10 female. The average age of the Greenfield RotaryClub is 56, with just three members currently under 40 years of age. She encouraged the Greenfield club to invite potential members and share some of the good things that the club has done through the years. 
Realizing that not everyone can easily attend a noon meeting on Thursdays, the district governor encouraged club members to consider establishing a satellite club that would meet in the evening, or for a breakfast meeting. 
DG Hughes read a quote from the late Rotary founder, Paul Harris, stating that times change and Rotary needs to change with them. She encouraged club members to be creative and responsive to the needs of community members who might like to join but need some flexibility. 
She also addressed visiting McClain High School seniors in the audience and encouraged them to get involved in programs offered by Rotary.
Rotary International is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, she said, and will continue to make a positive difference in the world.
DG Hughes received a standing ovation from the Rotarians in attendance, and presented local Rotary President Wes Surritt with a flag from her home club. She is in the process of visiting all 48 clubs in the district.
For more information about Rotary, here are some useful links:
Rotary International: www.rotary.org
District 6670: www.rotary6670.org

Rotary supporters honored at Appreciation Dinner; Borsini, Wells tabbed for Paul Harris Fellowship

Buyers of limited-edition prints and other supporters of Greenfield Rotary Club were honored at the club’s annual appreciation dinner November 11, 2021 at the Washington Country Club.
Club President Wes Surritt welcomed members and guests to the annual event, which featured a delicious meal of prime rib, chicken or a vegetarian option. The club president expressed gratitude for the excellent community support shown by the print buyers and introduced a number of special guests, including Assistant District Governor Beth Huber and her husband Jerry; Greene Countrie Towne Festival Queen Jacolyn Bolender; Bonnie Baldridge, who is involved with the Greene Countrie Towne Festival Queen Pageant, and Charles Shonkwiler and his wife Rita, representing the Greenfield Antique Car Club. President Surritt also acknowledged supports who were unable to attend, including artist Tammy Wells, creator numerous limited edition prints sold at the festival, Ken Friedman of the Greenfield Antique Car Club, Greg Miller of the Greenfield Antique Tractor Club, and Gary Binegar and Rod Halterman of Binegar Auction Service.
Unable to attend but receiving praise for their contributions to Rotary were District Governor Sigrid Solomon, reigning Greene Countrie Towne Festival Queen Emma Smith, artist Tammy Wells who has created a number of limited edition prints that the club sells at the festival each July, auctioneers Gary and Mandy Binegar, Matt and Ellen Binegar and Rod Halterman, and the Greenfield Antique Tractor Club. 
Also recognized were the buyers of limited edition prints that have been a mainstay of the Greene Countrie Towne Festival for approximately 30 years, helping to raise money for the Rotary Club that is then put back into the Greenfield community. This year the buyers included Greenfield Research, Sitterle Insurance, Wooden It Be Nice, Southern Hills Community Bank, Adena Greenfield Medical Center, Dr. Richard Mizer and Cristy Hill, Murray-Fettro Funeral Home and Corner Healthmart Pharmacy, Community Savings Bank, Weller’s Plumbing & Heating, and Jim and Merleen Van Dyke.
A highlight of the evening was the announcement of a two new Paul Harris Fellow honored for their service to the club and the community. The honorees for 2021 are Dr. Eric Borsini and Tammy Wells. 
Dr. Borsini, who served as club president in 2009-10 and has served the community service through volunteerism and as a member of the Greenfield Village Council, was congratulated by Pat Hays for epitomizing Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.” Dr. Borsiniexpressed his thanks to the club as well as his gratitude for being part of the Greenfield community, where everyone knows everyone else and people work together to make the village a better place in which to live, work and raise families.
Although unable to attend the dinner, Tammy Wells also was recognized for having created the limited edition prints sold at Rotary auctions since 2003. Revenues from the sales have helped Rotary finance many projects for the benefit of the community and helped the club maintain the Ralph W. Phillips Civic & Recreation Center.
Pat Hays explained that the Paul Harris Fellowship is named in honor of Rotary’s founder, who with three other businessmen launched the very first Rotary club in Chicago in 1905. The club sends $1,000 to Rotary International for each Paul Harris Fellowship it awards, and the money is used to help people around the world as part of the international organization’s outreach. 
It appears that the club has now sponsored 50 Paul Harris Fellows since it made George M. Waddell the club’s first recipient in 1985. 
During the evening it was noted that the Greenfield Rotary Club was chartered in May of 1922 and will be celebrating its 100thanniversary next year.
The evening concluded with a drawing for table arrangements. 
In closing, President Surritt thanked everyone who attended and noted that, whether they are Rotarians or not, they deserve thanks for their efforts on behalf of the Greenfield community. 
The club wishes to thank Angela Shepherd for coordinating details for the festive dinner and program.

    Contact the club!