Farragut Rotary: supporting community with dollars, deeds

Tom KingFarragut

The Rotary Club of Farragut and the five other Rotary clubs in town are part of Rotary International. The clubs and their members all donate to the Rotary Foundation and to Rotary’s No. 1 priority – the worldwide eradication of polio.

But the clubs and many of their members also are major supporters of projects and organizations in and around our community that make a big difference.

As the 2018-2019 Rotary year draws to a close on June 30, Farragut Rotarians have had a banner year in supporting and showing faith in the good work that many of our nonprofits do on a variety of fronts.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this community connection as Horse Haven of Tennessee presented the program. This is the first time we’ve learned about this organization and the good work it does in East Tennessee – and throughout the state. It is the only equine rescue organization in Tennessee. Today it has 37 horses in its barn in Loudon County.

Our speaker was Hillary Raubach, the president of Horse Haven’s board of directors. We also heard from Jocelyn Smith, the equine manager at Horse Haven, and Colleen Gregory, a member of the board.

Horse Haven operates with a paid staff of only four and a volunteer cadre of 100.

In addition to Horse Haven, here’s a look at what community organizations the club is supporting (the minimum donation was $1,000):

  • Mission of Hope
  • East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
  • Koinonia Foundation
  • Interfaith Health Clinic
  • Wesley House
  • ChildHelpTN
  • Volunteer Ministry Center
  • Volunteer Assisted Transportation
  • Century Harvest Farms
  • Tennessee Children’s Home
  • Laundry Love Knoxville
  • Ridgedale School (Partner in Education school)
  • Hardin Valley Academy Robotics Club
  • KARM (Knox Area Rescue Ministries)
  • Knoxville Challenger Professional Tennis Tournament

Outside of Rotary, members are involved as well. For example, KARM’s 17th Annual Dragon Boat Festival will be at The Cove at Concord Park on Saturday, June 22. Farragut Rotarian Teri Jo Fox and her husband, Eric Whitener, are in the real estate business, and their Knox Fox team is practicing their paddling skills for this big event and raising money for KARM – $5,000.

Two other Rotarians are part of this fundraising effort as part of the Knox Fox team – Candace Viox and her Water Into Wine Bistro in Farragut and new member Scott Brockamp and his firm, HIS Security.

The club also sponsors an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student who studies abroad for a year and an inbound Youth Exchange student who is here for a year learning about Knoxville, Knox County and the United States.

The annual community project known as Free Flu Shot Saturday began in 1992, started by Farragut Rotary when Dr. Charlie Barnett was a member. It has a great impact on communities throughout Knox County today, and Barnett still directs this great event. And the other five Knoxville Rotary clubs staff this event as well.

Words expressed by Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary International, still resonate today as clubs go about their business in their respective communities: “Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”

If you’re interested in exploring membership in Farragut Rotary, drop me an email or call me at (865) 659-3562. We meet at 12:15 p.m. each Wednesday at Fox Den Country Club. Join us as a guest and see how you like Rotary!

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