On Thursday, July 31, the Melrose Rotary Club’s Immediate Past Co-Presidents (Don Putney and Mark Hutchinson) presented a Paul Harris Award to club member Ainsley Donaldson.
Ainsley, a member of Melrose Rotary since July 2006, has been the editor-in-chief of the club’s weekly newsletter, “Rumblings”, for the past number of years and has now passed that baton on to a newer member of the club. “The weekly Rumblings is a key part of keeping our club together, and it was particularly during COVID,” noted past president Putney, “It was essential at a time when activities and other communications were sparse or non-existent.”
Past-president Hutchinson also noted that Ainsley always attends our meetings and events with a contagious positive spirit, no matter her circumstances. She can always be relied upon to share a funny story or an inspirational poem, sometimes eliciting groans or a chuckle from those in attendance. Ainsley consistently shows up at our service projects including preparation or serving at our local meal site, digging in the dirt to keep our “adopt-a-site” looking fresh, keeping in contact with our former Rotary Youth Exchange students, and generally being a good sport about everything Rotary! She exemplifies “service above self” and for that, our club is pleased to recognize her as our club’s most recent Paul Harris Fellow.
Pictured are Melrose President Julie Nolan, Past President Don Putney, Ainsley Donaldson and Past President Mark Hutchinson.