The Dunn-Erwin Rotary Club installment ceremony for the year 2011-2011 was held on July 13, 2011. Club members and special guests gathered for a lunch together at De'Borah's in Dunn. After lunch, 2010-2011 President Curtis Parker welcomed everyone to the installment ceremony and then called on Dr. Elvin Butts to give the invocation. Ed Miller led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, and Sommer Kowalski recognized special guests in attendance. Then Curtis Parker expressed appreciation to the 2010-2011 officers for all their hard work the past year, and gave them a small gift. Afterwards, Linda Johnson presented the Rotarian of the Year award to Kim Hargrove. Sommer Kowalski presented the New Rotarian of the Year award to both Shannon Johnson and Daniel Glover. Linda Johnson presented the Community Service award to Regina Autry, from Dunn Crimestoppers. The Rotary Mentor Award was presented by Daniel Glover to Elvin Butts. Curtis Parker presented the Paul Harris award to Phyllis Norris. Finally, Dr. Elvin Butts stepped forward to install the new officers for the 2011-2012 club year. Daniel Glover was installed as President, Curtis Parker as Past President, Sommer Kowalski as President-Elect, Matthew Smith as Vice President, Phyllis Norris as Secretary, Kim Hargrove as Treasurer, and Ed Miller as Sergeant at Arms. Then Daniel Glover gave the Past President Award to Curtis Parker, and Curtis passed the club charter and gavel to Daniel. Next, Daniel Glover spoke to the club about his vision for the next year in the Dunn-Erwin Rotary club. The afternoon closed with Ed Miller drawing door prize tickets, won by Tammy Williams and Regina Autry, and the club reciting in unison the Four Way Test. Then Daniel Glover adjourned the meeting.

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At our April 28, 2010 Rotary meeting, President Phyllis Norris presented Curtis Parker with the award for District 7710 Best Club Website in 2009-2010. Dunn-Erwin Rotary Club also won the award last year. Not pictured is Ellen Wilson, who is primarily responsible for website content management. The club’s website is hosted by ParkerTechGroup, located on 701 East Broad Street in Dunn.

RYLA Students Recognized

At our April 21st rotary meeting, the club welcomed back four of its RYLA students: Laura Godwin, Austin Fitchett, Georganna Gower, and Hannah Smith (pictured left to right). These students recently went to RYLA leadership camp, and they told the club about their experiences, activities, and what they learned from their weekend event.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. RYLA participants can be ages 14-30, but most clubs and districts choose to focus on a narrower age range, such as 14-18 or 19-30.

RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to:

• Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth
• Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
• Encourage leadership of youth by youth
• Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities

Dunn-Erwin Rotary Club Tree Planting

On March 12, 2010 the Dunn-Erwin Rotary Club planted a tree in Tart Park, as a donation to the City of Dunn. Pictured from right to left are Kim Hargrove, Phyllis Norris, and Steve Neuschafer (City of Dunn employee).

Clarence Lee Tart Park is located on South Elm Street and has 7 ball fields that are used for soccer, football, baseball and fast-pitch softball. There is a 1-mile walking track along with playground equipment and a picnic shelter. Visit the City of Dunn website for directions to Tart Park.