The Rotary Club of Farragut and its members – like everyone else – have been truly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The club has met only once in person since last March when this debacle began. We were 104 members strong then. Today, we have 88 members.
We typically gather on Wednesdays at Fox Den Country Club. The only other time we have been together since March was working together at the annual Flu Shot Saturday at Farragut High School in September – and it was great fun!
But here is the reality of our Covid year – so far.
We have recently lost three members who passed away:
- Ray Fisher Jr. died of a massive stroke on Sunday Sept. 13.
- One of our past presidents, Chris Camp, lost her fight with pancreatic cancer on Dec. 13.
- The next day, Dec. 14, the Rev. Ron Jordan of Lenoir City, died of Covid at Park West Medical Center.
And, on Wednesday, Dec. 23, a dear friend of the club, Susan Johnson, passed away after an extended battle against cancer. Susan was an employee of Fox Den for 21 years and during those years she was a server for our club. She was a bright light, a friend to all of us. Her smile, her personality and her spirit are to be celebrated.
Five of our members relocated from Knoxville – Scott and Arlene Weinstein moved to Daytona Beach; past president Dale Read retired and he and wife Robbi moved to The Villages in Florida; and because of health, longtime member and past president Joan “Mother Rotary” McIntee and her husband, Jim, moved from their beloved home on Tellico Lake to Ohio to live with family. The club lost eight other members during the year, the majority for business reasons related to the pandemic.
At the end of our Zoom virtual meeting today, club president Ed Jones said: “This too shall pass and we will stay strong together, work for our community and for Rotary and come out stronger for it.”
To explore membership in the Rotary Club of Farragut, email Tom King here or call 865-659-3562. Tom King has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and has been the editor of two newspapers.