The Rotary District 5830 Conference was held in Athens this month and the Rotary Club of Athens received a Rotary Citation Award and Athens Rotarian Damon Donnell was awarded the District Rotarian of the Year Award.
District 5830 contains 41 clubs and over 1500 members across Northeast Texas, Southeast Oklahoma, and Southwest Arkansas.
Past District Governor Carolyn Franks presented the award to Donnell and started by saying “This Rotarian drops whatever he is doing to go serve no matter the distance or time involved.”
Franks described how when the tornado hit Idabel, Oklahoma, Donnell immediately took a truckload of water and went to see what District 5830 needed to do to help. He took a $25,000 check from the district to help the survivors of the tornado to buy food, clothing, and medical supplies.
Donnell also traveled to Rolling Fork, Mississippi after their tornadoes and distributed clean,
potable water and then he continued into the Mississippi Delta to help there. Little Rock and Wynne, Arkansas soon had tornadoes hit and through neighboring Rotary district connections, Donnell arranged a financial assistance check for Wynne also.
At various state capitals, such as Jackson, MI, Little Rock, AR, and Baton Rouge, LA as well as international regions, Franks said, “Donnell always makes intentional efforts to initiate local Rotary connection therein, keeping relationships nourished by sharing strategies and network connections for the greater good of all involved.”
Donnell is the President of Hope Springs Inc. board, President of Crescent Heights
Water Supply board, serves on the Rotary Club of Athens board, and serves on the Texas Freshwater Fisheries board. He will also be the District Governor of Rotary District 5830 in 2025-2026.
The Rotary Citation Award recognizes the hard work clubs do throughout the year. It is said, “Taking action toward achieving the citation goals helps clubs engage their members, stay relevant in their communities, and run more efficiently and a welcoming and engaging club also reflects the values of Rotary.
When clubs work to achieve these goals, they also contribute to the overall health and culture of Rotary for generations to come” and Athens is honored to be recognized for the goals they set to achieve over the last year.
Source: Athens Daily Review
