The Forest Lake Rotary Club recognized two of its members and two community volunteers by presenting them with the top award given by Rotary International, the Paul Harris Fellowship award.

Receiving the community Paul Harris awards were Bea Zaruba, Wyoming, and Howard Lestrud, Lino Lakes. The presentations were made at the annual Forest Lake Rotary Club Awards Banquet at Dummys Bar & Grill on June 28.

Zaruba, banking officer at the First State Bank of Wyoming, has been very active in community circles, especially with her involvement in establishing a community library in Wyoming and working on the Community Scholarship Foundation for the Forest Lake School District.

Lestrud, online managing editor for ECM Publishers, has been an active member of the Forest Lake Lions Club for 34 years. He has also been active on the Community Scholarship Foundation board of directors and has been actively involved at Faith Lutheran Church, Forest Lake.

Club members receiving the Paul Harris award were Bill Haring and Claire Lillis. It was Haringís first fellowship and Lillisí ninth.

The Paul Harris Fellowship is named for Paul Harris, who founded Rotary with three business associates in Chicago in 1905. The Fellowship was established in his honor in 1957 to express appreciation for a contribution of $1,000 to the humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation. Those programs include an array of projects that save and invigorate the lives of people around the world and enhance international friendship and understanding. Foundation programs provide educational opportunities, food, potable water, health care, immunizations and shelter for millions of persons.

Retiring president Paul Novak presented the Paul Harris Fellowship awards to Zaruba, Lestrud, Haring and Lillis.

Novak also presented perfect attendance awards to Karen Alm, Claire Lillis, Cindy Mattson, Jeanne Walz, Bill Haring and Karen Morehead. Alm led the group with 13 years of perfect attendance.

Novak went over a list of local club accomplishments for the year including: ïHeld first Race for Rotary that netted $8600; ïSponsored interactive club at Forest Lake High School to groom future Rotarians; ïDonated $516 for Fast for Hope; ïChanged meeting site, moving to Dummyís Bar & Grill; ïHeld future goals planning session; ïCompleted spring and fall cleanup; ïParticipated in Beirut project on literacy; ïPartnered with Forest Lake Lions to hold community garage sale; ïAdopted mom and three girls; ïCompleted presidential citation award; ïRevised bylaws ïWorked at Feed My Starving Children event; ïGained three new members; ïGave $175 per person to the Rotary Foundation; ïPresented three student scholarships through Community Scholarship Foundation; *Finished project at Shields Lake, fishing pier

Novak then handed over the presidential gavel for the coming year to new president Jeanne Walz.

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Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
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