Avalon Rotary Club recently made important award recognitions for two local members. The Paul Harris Fellow award is a special recognition for Rotarians who make significant financial contributions to the international Rotary Foundation.  The award is named after the founder of Rotary International. Harry Stiritz was presented with his Paul Harris award on Oct. 24 by District Governor John Brainard and on Oct. 31, Dean Hill was awarded his by District Governor elect Roger McGonegal.

The Rotary Foundation supports programs such as polio eradication and humanitarian programs which promote international understanding and world peace. Because of the efforts of the Rotary Foundation, polio, once prevalent and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, now only exists in the numbers of a few hundred cases in remote places.
 
Of  52 Avalon Rotary members, 20 have achieved Paul Harris awards. They are as follows: Bryan Ballard, Bob Crow, David Creigh, Rose Ellen Gardner, Aisha Hoffmann, Wayne Griffin, Henry Halverson, Dean Hill, Sharon Johnston, Chuck Martin, Dan O'Connor, Stacey Otte, Bill Paige, Karla Parsons, Rudy Piltch, Kevin Strege, Harry Stiritz, Tom Sutherland, Gary Thomas, Bill Whitaker and Marie Whittington.