Scene by Carson: Civic Matters

Editor’s note: Amanda Carson recently graduated from Ole Miss where she wore a cocktail dress and high heels to football games at which tailgating was conducted in a tent adorned with a chandelier. Prior to this she attended a private school in Memphis at which Southern manners and etiquette was stressed — which does not explain her football game decisions. Anyway, Amanda will attempt to infuse her Southern experiences, exposure and education into the arts and entertainment scene in the Fort Smith/Van Buren region.

CIVIC MATTERS
Civic Clubs are organizations formed to service and fulfill the needs of a community. In the Fort Smith region there are numerous civic clubs serving the needs of the community. The organizations are formed through compassion and the members are driven through passion for a cause. These clubs support numerous charities and often with little recognition. The City Wire will use this space once a month to share the wonderful work area civic clubs do for the community and beyond.

Fort Smith Rotary Club
Sometimes the true testament of service is the good deeds for which one never warrants praise. Fort Smith Rotary constantly demonstrates this testament, but now it’s time they got some praise.

The mission statement for the Fort Smith Rotary Club, founded in 1916, is “Service Above Self,” which is evident though all the services they perform. There is also no one aspect they lean toward. Listed below are some of the ways in which the Fort Smith Rotary has such a positive impact on the community.

• Rotary builds its business and relationships by always asking four questions: Is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build good will and better friendships and will it be beneficial to all concerned? Rotary encourages others to ask these questions in the relationships people face everyday. One way the Fort Smith Rotary does this is by holding a Four Way Speech Contest open to all area high school students. It is a five-minute speech on a subject of the student’s choice, which answers the four questions.  The winner gets a cash reward and a chance to compete against other district winners.

• They annually hand out personalized dictionaries to all third graders in the Fort Smith school district.

• Rotarians participate in a Pen Pal program with a class of 5th Graders at Fairview Elementary. In the spring they meet downtown at West End to enjoy lunch and rides with the new friends they have made.

• The Rotary Youth Leadership Award selects a small group of high school juniors from the area to attend a leadership camp in the spring. Students will have a chance to make friends, learn different cultures from foreign exchange students and gain leadership qualities for the future.

• The Choices program for 8th Graders at Darby and Kimmons Junior High is an interactive way to help young students realize that the choices made today can truly effect their future. The program helps put life decisions in better perspective for them. Choices help youth learn about budgeting, salary differences, education and job opportunities. This is a program that should be spread to all area Junior Highs.

• An outstanding effort the Rotary undertakes is the Group Study Exchange. One Rotarian takes a group of young professional adults to a foreign country for a month to share and learn about the culture of others. In exchange, a group of professionals from the host country comes here to share the same experience. Even better, all of the expenses are funded by the Rotary Club. A committee selects the location and the professionals, so if you are able to take a month for this wonderful experience, contact the Fort Smith Rotary for more information.

• Rotarians assist the Junior League with the Holiday Market Event.

• The Fort Smith Rotary hosts Fun in Creekmore Park at Christmas by providing hot chocolate and cider for holiday train passengers enjoying the lights.

• Members help monitor the streets downtown during the fall’s Cancer Survivor Walk and Race.

• Fort Smith Rotarians do their part for the environment.  Over the past two years they have planted ten large trees at Martin Luther King Park.

• Rotarians also do their part to raise funds for disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake. To help with relief for Haiti, Rotaries throughout the district have raised funds to send more than 300 water boxes, which are used to purify any water source. 

• District Rotarians help salvage medical supplies with the Medical Supplies Network, which sends medical supplies overseas to less fortunate countries in need of medical necessities. Through this program, they have gathered enough supplies to establish a children’s hospital in Chernobyl.

Where do they get the funds to help perform such great services? Their main fundraising event is a Beef Auction (yes, a Beef Auction) where a premium Angus cow is donated to be auctioned off in pieces. Last year this event raised more than $10,000. Other fundraisers include an annual golf tournament and Poinsettia sales, but the auction by far takes the cow.

Steve Lovick, Rotary assistant district governor and former Fort Smith Rotary president, was excited to share more about the wonderful aspects of this club. Lovick, whose day job is the director of IT for Rheem Heating and Cooling, remains passionate about Rotary after 17 years of participation. Lovick said Fort Smith Rotary is always about “service above self,” but do not think that doesn’t leave room to have fun and make great friends.

The Fort Smith Rotary has close to 150 members, but they are always interested in adding helping hands, fresh perspectives, young blood and some female know-how. If you have what it takes to put service for others about yourself, attend one of the meetings at Noon every Wednesday at the Holiday Inn.

You are always welcome.

Feedback
Even though she graduated from Ole Miss, Amanda is comfortable using e-mail. You can reach her at [email protected]