The Rotary Club of Lynn held its final Grade Eight Recognition Program Thursday at Old Tyme Family Cuisine. The program has been a staple on Rotary’s event calendar for over a decade thanks to the generosity of its longtime sponsor, RiverWorks Credit Union.

Each Lynn public and private school is asked to nominate one student from its eighth grade class for special recognition. Rotary is looking for students who have overcome challenges in their life and have a positive impact on the school and their classmates. Lynn Rotarian and local businessman Joe Coombs came up with the idea many years ago based on his personal experiences in middle school that were positively impacted by a classroom teacher. Recognized at its luncheon Thursday were: From left - right: Josilyn Flynn, North shore Christian School; Gabriel Mieses, Sacred Heart School, Sean Paul Miki-Cushing, Pickering Middle School; and Ashley Perez Lopez, Thurgood Marshall MS. Back row: Rotary President Brenda Peral, Rotarian and Master of Ceremonies Drew Russo and Program coordinator Wendy Silva.

The Gloucester Rotary Club has named Patrick Thorpe and Danny Williamson as Paul Harris Fellows, the prestigious award named after the Chicago lawyer who founded the Rotary movement in 1905. Thorpe was selected by a club committee of previous recipients of the award, while Williamson was chosen by members of the Interact Club, the very active group of Gloucester High School junior Rotarians.  Thorpe and Williamson were honored at a special dinner in May. 

Manchester-Essex Club hosted visiting Rotarians from Australia this spring, Peter Sutherland and his wife Sally. Peter is the president-elect of his club. They are now home again. Peter sent this message to our President, Mike Storella.