by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The leader of North Florida’s Rotarians says he wants to have a year of “fun and fellowship” and he says he’ll do his part.
“I’m going to every one of the [approximately 50] clubs in District 6970 with the same message,” said Orange Park Realtor Ken Smallwood. “There are many of us with common interests, and we need to have fellowship. Plus, you can’t have good fellowship without having fun.”
Smallwood brought his message Monday at the Omni to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, the district’s largest group.
He said that next year’s District conference, when he finishes his one-year term, will be “the most fun ever.” It will include a party at Alltel Stadium and a banquet at the Adam’s Mark Hotel with the Smothers Brothers as entertainment.
“Every year in my club [Orange Park,]” said Smallwood, “we have a Past President’s Day, and we ask each one to get up and talk about his year. Well, it hit me that rarely did they talk about service or money raising — it was always about something that happened in their year that was fun, a fish fry or a golf tournament or whatever!
“There are 3,500 Rotarians in this district. Many of you have the same interests as people in other clubs. If we have fun together, we’re likely to serve our communities together.”
“We preach community service and that’s what we do best. But we also have fun doing it. I want you to do that — have fun.”
Smallwood lauded the downtown club for its generosity in the past and stated that he had one more request: “Give more money.”
“We have several new programs to encourage giving to the Rotary Foundation,” said Smallwood. “We also are working on getting non-Rotarian dollars. I think that people will see the quality of our programs and will be generous.”
He cited the $20 million gift to a polio program from computer guru Bill Gates.
“He isn’t a Rotarian, but he saw the worthiness of our program,” said Smallwood.