Advertisement The award is given for “tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
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Holmen Village President Nancy Proctor recently was honored with the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow Award. |
DeAngelis is a long-time member and president of the China Lake chapter of Rotary International, which has 80-90 members. Proctor attended two meetings, one of which was the Paul Harris Fellowship Dinner.
“That night they gave out 12 awards and two special awards,” Proctor said. “One was to me.”
Unable to hold back tears, Proctor described how her sister recounted their childhood and spoke about how Proctor, who is 13 years older than Ginnie, was an example of service above self.
“She told people our dad died when Ginnie and her twin were 6,” Proctor said. “Ginnie talked about how the two older sisters were each responsible for one of the twins, had to help them get ready for school, do homework, whatever was needed. She talked about many things from our childhood.”
DeAngelis also spoke of the many years of Proctor’s involvement in community and service organizations. While Proctor has served 25 years with the Holmen American Legion Auxiliary, she has also served many years as an ambassador for the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce and has been involved in Holmen government for 10 years.
Proctor’s Rotary Club involvement started three years ago. She was one of the founding members of the Holmen Area Rotary Club and has served as chair of the community service committee. The chapter started with 25 members and after three years has 42.
Proctor currently serves as the chapter’s historian and works on a committee that ensures the chapter meets service goals and accomplishes the goals of Rotary.
The total scope of Rotary activities is why Proctor enjoys being a member. “We continue to work on projects for the community,” she said. “That’s what drew me.”
That Rotary is an international service organization also appeals to Proctor. “My Rotary Club is involved in a clean water project in Lima, Peru, and they have done a lot to help people in the slums of Lima with clean water,” Proctor said. “Another major goal of Rotary is to eradicate polio around the world.”
At the local level, the Holmen Rotary is involved in the clean highway project. Proctor said in the spring, the club will donate a 15-foot mantel clock to be set in Halfway Creek Park. “That is an almost $20,000 project,” Proctor said.
Proctor is also enthusiastic about the chapter’s holiday plans. The Holmen Area Rotary Club has two members on the board of the Rotary Lights committee. The chapter’s food drive will benefit families who have been sheltered at New Horizons and are now on their own. Newly acquired “Holiday Greetings” banners will be added to lighted garlands on Holmen’s streetlight poles and decorations that club members made for decorating the streets of Holmen.
With all of that, Proctor still works 30 hours a week at Festival Foods and countless more hours in her role as village president.
For now, she’s walking on air after receiving the Paul Harris Fellow award, especially after her treatment by the airline bringing her home.
“When I left LA, I had my medallion on,” Proctor said. “A flight attendant asked me if it was the Nobel Peace Prize. I told her not quite, but in Rotary International, it’s pretty darn close.”
