The Waterford Rotary Club honored Manly Church, Diana Cramer and John Ferguson with the Paul Harris Award.
Paul Harris, a name synonymous with Rotary, was the founder and organizer of the first Rotary Club in Chicago, in 1905. He was the first president of Rotary International. A Paul Harris Fellowship is accomplished in two ways; a donor contributes $1000 to the Rotary Foundation and wishes to recognize a business or organization or the club may recognize one of its own by the same $1000 donation. This is an excellent way to contribute to the Foundation and to recognize a fellow Rotarian for his or her efforts on behalf of the Club.
Those who are recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow are honored for their contributions to their respective clubs. They have either made a difference in the community or a significant difference in their club.
Manly Church joined Rotary in June of 2001. He is serving as President of the Club. He co-chaired the annual fundraiser “Make Mine Wine” for the past three years, which has greatly contributed to the Clubs many endeavors. Manly is part of the monthly team volunteering for Rotary at the Soup Kitchen. He is a graduate of Annapolis. Manly is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, and is employed by Merrill Lynch as a Financial Analyst. He lives in Waterford with his wife, Sharon.
Another Paul Harris honoree, Diana Cramer serves on the Waterford RTM, and the CERT (community emergency response team). She is a graduate of Eastern CT State University, Central CT State University, Mohegan Community College, and the Waterford Police Citizens Academy. She is a retired teacher from the Norwich Public Schools. For our club, Diana is a behind the scenes person, helping on many committees and projects in several different ways. She is a Manager of a small business and resides in Waterford.
John Ferguson, also a Paul Harris awardee, headed up a project of sending medical supplies to a clinic in Zambia. This project took two years to accomplish, and the items were shipped finally in July 2007, arriving at their destination in April 2008. “Without his help in acquiring the products and constant follow-up with paperwork and communications with the folk in Kabwe, Zambia, the project would never have come to fruition.” John joined Rotary in 1973 in Australia. In 1978 he transferred to the Waterford Club. Here with us he has served as Secretary, President, Sargeant at Arms and the International Committee and helped on many different committees. He resides in Niantic with his wife, Evie.
