OUR CLUB

Meetings   Meeting Make-Ups   Board of Directors    Paul Harris Fellows    History    Directory
 

CLUB HISTORY

Rotary Club of Brown County – The Beginning

From tiny acorns mighty oaks grow.  The seed for the beginning of the Rotary Club of Brown County grew from the fertile mind and yearning of a restaurant entrepreneur and business man, Delano (Del) Newkirk. 

Del began selling his business holdings in 1991.  That same year, he and his wife, Letty, moved to Brown County and began building a new home high in the Hills O’ Brown where they “could be one with nature and enjoy the sunrises and sunsets.” 

Del had long envied the fellowship, community leadership and service of Rotarians but had never stayed in one place long enough to participate in Rotary.  He set about to change that even though there was no Rotary club in Brown County. 

With the help of people such as Past District Governor Orphie Bridges, District Governor Owen Hungerford and Brown County retiree Prof. Dick Hulet, a past president of the Normal (Illinois) Rotary Club, Del began recruiting for the county’s first Rotary club. 

By the fall of 1992, he and others had recruited 25 outstanding men and women, had drafted by-laws in accordance with Rotary International and District guidance, and presented themselves for chartering. 

The new club was officially chartered November 2, 1992, and celebrated at a Charter Night gala Thursday, November 19, 1992, attended by more than l00 people including Rotary dignitaries from Rotary International and Rotary District 6580.  Many of the District’s clubs sent representatives bearing Rotary paraphernalia as gifts to help the fledgling club begin. Entertainment for the evening was provided by friends of Del -- Past Rotary District Governor John Egan and his wife Anne Marie, professors of music from St. Joseph College.   

It was the first Rotary club in Southern Indiana to be named after a county.  The first meetings were in Nashville’s Artists Colony Inn, and the club has held its regular weekly breakfast meetings at that location every Thursday ever since. 

District Governor Hungerford installed the club’s first officers: Del as president; Dick Hulet, vice president; Bill Percifield, secretary; Kathryn Richardson, treasurer; Michael Chamblee, sergeant-at-arms, and Stewart Turner-Ball, chaplain.

Directors were Jim Crane (community service), Yvonne Oliger (international service), Donna Stouder (vocational service) and Pamela Taylor (club service). 

Del is the only club president to serve three terms, including the partial Rotary year following chartering.  He is thought of as “the father of Brown County Rotary,” a description well-earned with his active role in leading by example and practicing the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self.” 

Rotary Club of Brown County -- History Highlights  
 
 Charter Members (Charter Night – Thursday, November 19, 1992) 

Robert W. Barger
Jay Carter 
Michael A. Chamblee
William S. Cook
James R. Crane 
Scott DeDomenic 
Brian Heller 
Richard E. Hulet 
Steven E. Kritzer 
Del Newkirk
Yvonne C. Oliger
Robert R. Ormiston
William L. Percifield
Burton R. Perdue
Jamie L. Pirtle
Kathryn M. Richardson
Martin K. Saari
Donna Stouder
Kathy J. Strahm
Pamela J. Taylor
Stewart Turner-Ball
Douglas E. Van Winkle
George A. Warner 
 
 
 Club Presidents 

Del Newkirk: 1992-1994
Jim Crane: 1994-1995
Kathryn Richardson: 1995-1996
Scott DeDomenic: 1996-1997
Greg Marshall: 1997-1998
Jim Allen: 1998-1999
Dick Routh: 1999-2000
Michelle Cohen: 2000-2001
Dick Knobloch: 2001-2002
Del Newkirk: 2002-2003
Bob Kirlin: 2003-2004
Diane Cantrell: 2004-2005
Al Kosinski: 2005-2006
Yvonne Oliger: 2006-2007
Jaydene Laros: 2007-2008
Pryde Bayliss 2008-2009
Bert Clemons 2009-2010
 

Club Secretaries 

William L. Percifield: 1992-1995
Judy Brown: 1995-1997
Char Kowaliuk: 1997-1999
Aldea Cloutier-Hartung: 1999-2000
Cynthia Thompson:  2000-2003
Jaydene Laros:  2003-2005
Suzannah Zody: 2005-2007
Jane Gore: 2007-2009
Sue Ann Werling 2010-2011
Teed Howard 2009 - present
 
 
Rotarian of Year
 
Jim Simms - 1994
Greg Marshall - 1995
Randy Snyder - 1996
Jim Allen  - 1997
Kathy Strahm - 1998
Bob Ormison  - 1999
Bill Percifield  - 2000
Diane Cantrell - 2001
John Kipp - 2002
Jim Reichert - 2003
Howard Hughes - 2004
Jaydene Laros - 2005
Dick Routh - 2006
Cindy Rose-Wolpert - 2007
Graham Teed Howard - 2008
Sue Ann Werling 2009
Graham Teed Howard and Kenneth Harker 2010
 
 
Rotary District 6580 Officers 

Dick Routh, Assistant District Governor: 2000-2004

District Secretary
Bill Percifield - 1994-1997
Yvonne Oliger - 2007-2010
Pryde Bayliss 2010 - present

Greg Marshall,
District Governor’s Advisory Council: 1999-2000
Chair, Long-Term Youth Exchange Committee: 2000-2001

Ken Harker,
Group Study Exchange leader (England) 2009

 

 Rotary District 6580 Awards 

Most Outstanding Club: 1999-2000

Secretary of the Year
Bill Percifield 1993-1994
Jane Gore 2007-2008
Graham Teed Howard 2009-2010

Numerous Best Spirit Awards 

Public Relations Award 2007 - 2008
 

Rotary International Awards

Numerous Presidential Citations