Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: News

  • Developing Kansas Main Streets

    Scott Sewell directs the Kansas Main Street Program within the Kansas Department of Commerce.  Focused on fostering local initiatives to preserve and promote local downtowns and other community assets, Sewell says that the Main Street Program is an excellent economic development tool.  Initiatives aim to be comprehensive, high-quality, incremental self-help efforts, most often combining both public and private investment.  Kansas Main Street provides technical assistance while community members do the envisioning, planning, and implementation. 

  • International Development Through The Outreach Program

    Issac McNary, in full kilt regalia, spoke about his work with The Outreach Program. McNary, a resident of El Dorado, is a Rotary member and past club President. He also serves as Assistant District Governor for Rotary District 5680. McNary made his first humanitarian work trip to Nicaragua when he was in high school. He has worked on projects in Central America, South America, Africa and the United States. In 2009 he began organizing food packaging events to aid people in crisis situations around the globe. Presently, The Outreach Program is working in rural Tanzania to improve access to food, medicine and education. McNary’s expertise is in setting up small solar powered water purification systems. McNary speaks to many groups seeking support for the work in Tanzania. McNary is very proud of his Scott/Irish heritage and makes fancy soaps to raise money to fight polio, all in his spare time.

  • Remembering Jim Peters

    Jim Peters died on September 4, 2023.  Lawrence Central Rotary members mourned his death and celebrated his life at a recent meeting.  Not only was Jim a dear friend to members, he was a consummate Rotarian.  Although every Rotary club has members who personify the good will and friendship that Rotarians hold dear, Jim was one of the special people who played that role for our club. 

    Jim was the person who noticed when someone was sad or struggling and took time to give a hug and word of encouragement.  He took time to form friendships that extended beyond the weekly meetings themselves. Known for telling jokes that aroused groans as well as a chuckle, he always had a new funny story to share at the end of the meeting.

    As club members talked about Jim, many recalled his warm welcome.  Because he served as chair of the program committee, Jim was the person who greeted speakers when they arrived with a smile and a handshake, ensuring a good impression of the warmth and energy in the club.  Jim also took the next step to invite presenters to join the club, and many newer members said that his invitation was their reason for doing so.

    Programs at Lawrence Central Rotary were rich with variety and deep with local history and current connections, reflecting Jim’s love of history and wide range of connections in the community.  Jim himself was the presenter at the last meeting that he attended, telling the story of publishing the fourth edition of his book about Arlington National Cemetery. 

    Jim joined Rotary in March 2013, moving quickly into leadership and serving as President from 2016-2017.  Beyond his time on the board, Jim was key to numerous club initiatives. 

    • Jim was the cyclist who led the family ride during the annual community bike rides sponsored by the club. 
    • He rang the bell for the Salvation Army on the day of the holiday parade downtown, singing carols to all passersby. 
    • He showed up for work days at the Rotary Arboretum and was an unfailing advocate for the arboretum itself.  
    • Since the inception of the club’s ownership of the Lawrence Kids Calendar, Jim was the key sales contact to solicit advertising for the website.
    • When the club took on the responsibility of running the “Santa Rescue” in downtown Lawrence each November, it was Jim who decided that the club should not only collect letters to Santa during the rescue event, but also send each child a response.  The evening when club members gathered to write return postcards to those Santa letters was a jolly time for all.

  • Untold Stories from Oak Hill

    Jeanne Klein, Professor Emerita, Kansas University, has been working on a project to find information about untold stories of black citizens buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. This historic Lawrence cemetery was established in 1865 and became the resting place for a number of people who were killed in the 1863 raid on the city by William Quantrill. So many notable figures were buried at Oak Hill that William Allen White referred to it as the “Arlington of Kansas.” Oak Hill was integrated by 1868 and many notable black citizens were buried there, including the minister Gabriel Gray, Charles and Mary Langston, the grandparents of Langston Hughes, and a number of veterans of the 79th and 83rd U.S. Colored Troops. However, a number of graves of other black citizens have damaged markers or no markers at all. Fortunately, burial records do exist and Klein is using them and consulting other historical sources to recreate lost stories. Klein urged people to visit Oak Hill and to support maintenance and restoration efforts.

  • District Governor Shares Rotary Experiences

    Jenalea Randall, District 5710 Governor, shared her Rotary story with Lawrence Central Rotary. Randall is visiting clubs and is a member of the Topeka South Rotary Club and will preside over District activities for 2023-2024. She provided an overview of District 5710 which consists of 1900 members and 41 clubs throughout Eastern Kansas. The District is a vital resource for all things Rotary, including training, grants, and club news. The district emphasizes collaboration and networking to improve the effectiveness of member clubs’ projects and activities. Randall has asked the District to focus on developing a regional mental health task force and also to work on equity projects to empower girls. Randall spoke of her own experience when she lost her husband to an aggressive brain cancer. She credited Rotary friends for helping her get through the experience and cope with the loss. Her enthusiasm, humor and candor were appreciated by all in attendance.

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