Joining the Rotary organization has profoundly shaped Patty Daughtrey’s life journey, fostering leadership, a commitment to service, and meaningful connections that extend far beyond local communities.
Patty was born in Knoxville but raised in Oak Ridge, where her family lived since her father was the director of security for the Atomic Energy Commission. After graduating from Oak Ridge High School, she went on to Middle Tennessee State University, where she earned a degree in political science and Spanish. It was during this time she worked at Pizza Hut, where she would meet her future husband.
She started her career teaching English and Spanish at Smith County High School in Carthage, Tennnessee. After marriage, her career path took a turn when she entered the retail arena at J.C. Penney, resulting in a 28-year career, including serving as a store manager for many years.
One of Patty’s passions has been involvement in the Rotary Club, inspired by her father, Bill Sergeant, a legend in Rotary. A sculpture of him is in Krutch Park in downtown Knoxville. Bill reached the top leadership ranks at Rotary International and is best known for leading the efforts to eradicate Polio worldwide.
Sculpture in Crutch Park of Bill Sergeant
Patty joined the Rotary Club of West Chester, Ohio, in 1992 and served as secretary, club president, and assistant district governor. A move to Columbus, Indiana, in 1999 resulted in more Rotary district assignments for her. The couple moved to Knoxville in 2006, where she joined the Farragut Rotary Club until transferring to the Bearden Rotary Club in 2020, where her husband, Tom, was a member and past president. Patty has served as a district trainer, district membership chair, and assistant district governor coordinator. She currently serves as the district secretary and is secretary on the Bearden Rotary board.
As is customary in the Know Your Rotarian segment of the weekly meetings, Dick Hinton shared four facts about Patty, three of which were true and one not.
Three Truths and a Lie
- Her Dad’s (Bill Sergeant) role in the Manhattan Project was head of the military police.
- Patty participated in a Rotary National Immunization Day in India to strike a blow against polio; in one day, the group immunized 130 million children under the age of 5 in 7,000 booths throughout the country.
- While she was in the West Chester, Ohio, Rotary Club, she and her husband, Tom, started an annual fundraising tradition: a Corn on the Cob eating contest that their club is still known for hosting.
- In high school, she was president of a girls’ social club called The Penguins.
The role Bill Sergeant played in motivating others may have begun as he commanded the military police during the Manhattan Project. As for Patty, Oak Ridge High School was her concentration during her teen years, where she served as president of the social club, The Penguins. Later in life, her father’s Rotary service in the fight against Polio inspired Patty to join a group of Rotarians who immunized 130 million children under the age of 5 throughout India.
Tom was not a member of the West Chester, Ohio, club, and the club has never to this day fundraised with a Corn on the Cob eating contest.
Patty and her late husband, Tom, have two adult children and five grandchildren, all living in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Rotary Club of Bearden meets every Friday, 12:15 p.m. for a luncheon meeting/program at Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike, 37919. All guests are welcome. Contact Joseph Pace with membership questions: here.
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