At its December 20 meeting, the Rotary Club of Knoxville elected its 2023-24 board of directors, to be led by Jim Alexander, director at Acosta Sales and Marketing. The board begins its term on July 1, 2023.
Andrew Murr, vice president at Barge Design Solutions, will serve as vice president. Christopher Lambert, relationship manager at the Trust Company of Tennessee, will be president-elect. Shannon Holland, an attorney with Holland Law, will continue as club secretary and F. Whitfield Addicks, partner at Addicks CPA Firm LLP, will remain as treasurer and chair of the financial and audit committee. Outgoing president William T. MacGrath, senior vice president at UBank, will serve as representative of past presidents.
The other 2023-24 board members are Scott Beasley, financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual; Sally Boven, retired CEO of Reflective Apparel; Robert Hill, retired from Acosta Sales and Marketing; Shane Jackson, senior vice president of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Russ Jensen, director of 311 and 211 call centers for the city of Knoxville, and Gloria Palacios, executive director of the Townwide Fund of Huntington, West Virginia.
During the holiday season, Rotarians rang the Salvation Army Bell, packed Santa Bags for Children at the Catholic Charities Immigration Services, placed wreaths on veterans’ graves through Wreaths Across America and packed over 140 food boxes for children in three Knox County schools. The club also issued grants to Court Appointed Special Advocates, Mobile Meals (to adopt specific Rotary Routes), and Centro Hispano, for after school and summer tutoring programs.
Founded in 1915, the Rotary Club of Knoxville is among the oldest and largest Rotary Clubs in Tennessee. Club members were instrumental in the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and currently sponsor several park projects. The club is also the steward of the Rotary Foundation of Knoxville, which funds college scholarships and special projects.
Rotary International, the world’s first service club, was started in Chicago in 1905. More than 1.4 million members in more than 35,000 clubs in 200 countries volunteer their time and talent to further the Rotary motto “Service Above Self.” Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious and open to all cultures, races and creeds.
Rotary is the world’s largest private source of college scholarships. Each year the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International helps more than 1,000 students to study abroad and serve as cultural ambassadors. Rotary also partners with seven prestigious universities around the world to provide opportunities to earn a master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution.
Brooks Clark, chair, public information committee, Rotary Club of Knoxville, provided information for this story.