‘Service Above Self’
‘Service Above Self’
Rotary Club of Ellicottville shares year-end review; welcomes new members
Photos / Rotary Club of Ellicottville
ELLICOTTVILLE - The Rotary Club of Ellicottville has been in a rebuilding phase, having gone from 8 members a little more than a year ago to 21 today. The club continues to grow as the idea of Rotary attracts many selfless people who wish to work for the greater good.
A little history. In 1994, a gentleman from Canada by the name of Jim Buchanan came to Ellicottville and, with his lovely wife, Donna Gushue, purchased the Jefferson Inn on Park Square. In 1999, he took it upon himself to gather together some local businesspersons and begin a Rotary Club in Ellicottville. Jim was a very kind, approachable guy whose heart was in the right place. Perhaps he had been a Rotary member in Canada, or just liked the motto of the Rotary Club International - “Service Above Self.”
Rotary International started with the vision of one man, Chicago Attorney Paul Harris, in February 1905 so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Over time, Rotary’s reach and vision gradually extended to humanitarian service. Members have a long track record of addressing challenges in their communities and around the world.
As Harris stated, “Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.” Rotary members are found the world over, working to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. For example, eradicating polio was the goal in 1979 and today polio is found in only two countries - Afghanistan and Pakistan (12 people in 2023) down from 125 in 1988.
For Ellicottville’s Rotary, 2024 began slowly as new members joined, and by March, the Board met repeatedly and strategized: how to get more members, what are our goals, what causes do we support, etc. March brought goals, plans and a new vision for a growing Rotary Club of Ellicottville.
In March, 9 Rotary members assisted the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce by providing security along the route of the Mardi Gras Parade, keeping revelers and children off the route and out of harm’s way. In April, Rotary members worked together with ERA Real Estate in the annual Earth Day Cleanup, covering downtown, the corner of Routes 219-242 and along the creek bed
Ongoing, the Rotary Club of Ellicottville supports the Great Valley Food Pantry with goods and financial donations. This past year they assisted the volunteers with the reestablishment of the location, including painting, providing shelving, funding, etc.
In July, Rotary members were once again found selling their famous Rotary hot dogs while supporting the Cattaraugus County Arts Council Exhibit on the 1887 Building lawn. Later in summer, Ellicottville Rotarians solicited or contributed themselves a total of 5 original art pieces for the Arts Council for Cattaraugus County in support of their fundraising black tie gala held annually at Holiday Valley.
In August, Rotary member Dave Rothrock hiked 351 wilderness miles as an international fundraiser to raise monies to help the Forest Restoration Group and volunteers in Belize to help preserve the very endangered yellow-headed parrot. In September, the Rotary presented a Chili Cookoff. This fun event, graciously given room at Madigan’s upstairs, was not only one of our biggest fundraisers for the year, but it provided a great deal of fun for the community
Once again, Rotary set up their famous hot dog booth at the Lacrosse Tournament held in September in Ellicottville.
Fall saw our members turn the hall at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church into a fun-filled spooky place where kiddoes came for more entertainment and goodies after the Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot. In November, Rotary partnered with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church for a free Community Thanksgiving Dinner which hosted 150 people on site, delivered meals to those who could not attend, and donated another 150 meals to the Salamanca Food Pantry.
December found our Rotary “Santa helpers” in front of Tops Market ringing the bell and collecting donations for the Salvation Army. We were also front and center serving hot chocolate during the annual tree lighting ceremony as we are every year.
This year, Rotary supported our local students by giving $1,000 scholarships to 4 students from ECS and 1 from BOCES who exhibit Service Above Self. The annual scholarships are ongoing.
In Spring it was decided that Rotary would support the new Adaptive Ellicottville Playground. Contributions were made for 8 park benches in the playground area.
Rotary Club of Ellicottville was the proud recipient of the 2024 annual President’s award given to the club with the highest percentage of growth.
Club President John Weismantel was presented with the International club’s highest honor - the annual Paul Harris Fellow Award which acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. With this award, John Weismantel joins the ranks of people like U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. Hearty Congratulations to John.
If this article sparks your interest and you would like to learn more about the Rotary Club of Ellicottville, you can find us on Facebook, or better still, join us for one of our bi-weekly meetings, Thursdays a 6:00pm at Mill Street Sports Pub.