PALM COAST, Fla. – Following in the footsteps of someone you respect is one way to show appreciation for that person’s contributions, but it’s even more special when you’re both honored at the same time.
Such was the case watching the surprise on the face of Casey Ryan. As a member of the Rotary Club of Flagler County, as she anticipated honoring her father, longtime Rotarian Kent Ryan. as the Rotarian of the Year, only to be called to join him.
The pair were recognized as ‘Rotarians of the Year’ during the evening’s installation dinner at Channel Side on June 27, 2023. Enthusiastic, Casey Ryan was thrilled to share the moment with her father, as partner Eric Whitwam lived-streamed the event for her sister and grandmother who were unable to attend.
“When I was younger and I watched my dad, a past president, participate with the Rotary Club of Flagler County and witnessed the good they did for the community, my hope was to keep the tradition alive and serve,” said Casey Ryan.
“He always gives, gives, gives. He taught my sister and myself to give back to the community. Family is important, friends are important, health, God, but the community, as well.”
“It’s very, very special. It’s wonderful to serve alongside my dad. It’s beautiful that taking over a leadership role is something that I know my dad’s so proud of me for and he has instilled in me what everybody was talking about tonight, service above self. Raised as a Rotary child, he instilled in me to help the community.”
Joining the evening, Casey’s maternal grandparents Chuck and Sally Gillies, were on hand to share special occasion, and it was a meaningful honor for Kent Ryan to see his daughter recognized with him.
“It was surely a surprise tonight to learn our club recognized Casey and I as Rotarians of the Year,” he said. “We were also awarded Paul Harris Fellow pins. It was another proud moment for me to watch Casey as she was inducted tonight as President-Elect. It was a special evening.”
Through Generations of Service
Since inception more than 100 years ago, Rotary clubs across the world have been known for creating and cultivating legacy members, with generation after generation joining the service-based organization.
Outgoing president Jay Gardner emceed the evening’s ceremonies, and in doing so, shared his legacy story as a third generation Rotarian with fellow members and district governors.
“(His) grandfather Reed Gardner was a Rotarian in Carthage, Mississippi,” shared Rotarian Maralee Walsh-McDaniel.
“Jim Gardner (Jay’s father) was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Flagler County and served as president for 1988-1989. Jay Gardner joined Rotary in 1992 and served as president for 2022-2023. He frequently flew with his father to attend Rotary meetings with his grandfather at the Rotary Club of Carthage, Mississippi that met at the Hitching Rail.”
“Kent (Ryan) joined Rotary in 1988 and was president of the club from 1993-1994. Casey joined in 2018 and will be president of the club from 2024-2025. Both Kent and Casey were named Rotarian of the Year for being co-chairs of the Rotary Club tournament and were recognized with a Paul Harris award,” added Walsh-McDaniel.
Rotary has a special place in Walsh-McDaniel’s heart, as well.
“I am also a legacy Rotarian,” she said. “William A. Walsh Jr. joined the Rotary Club of Yonkers, NY in 1947 and was president for 1956-1957. I joined in 2008 and was president from 2019-2020.”
“Being a legacy Rotarian means to me the instilling of Service of Self, the Rotary motto, at a very young age and always wanting to serve the community to make it a better place for the citizens. If you were to ask any of the other legacy Rotarians, we have all served our communities through different organizations and also through our professional careers. I know we are all proud to continue the Rotarian tradition of service,” she said.
That service includes special projects or support of a specific cause. This year’s president Charles Barbel has become the face of the ‘Taste of Holidays’ event as part of the annual Fantasy Lights display in Town Center. The signature evening brings together local restaurants or food trucks for an evening out with families across the community as they kick off the holiday season’s schedule of events including the animated lights displays.
Not the only project Barbel plans to tackle during his tenure, he is embracing Rotary’s focus on ‘Creating Hope in the World’. Introducing the IMPACT Club, the new ‘companion club’ is designed to provide busy young professionals who often don’t have time to commit to weekly meetings with a way to support Rotary and give back to the community.
“There’s so much that we’ve come from, the pandemic, and people are in a different mindset. I’m looking forward to the companion club, and it’s called the IMPACT Club and I’m ecstatic about it,” said Barbel, who says it will be launching shortly.
“It enables those young, professional leaders that want to be affiliated with Rotary, gives them the idea of service projects within the community. All they have to do is show up and be passionate about that particular service project,” he said, with one project already on the calendar.
“This holiday season, the IMPACT Club is going to be centered around helping with Fantasy Lights, which is such a huge, huge event,” he shared.
Leading with president-elect Casey Ryan as part of a supportive team, Barbel says they are on an upward trajectory.
“Casey and I are going to work really well because we’re bringing the vibrancy,” he said. “How to grow the club membership in a way that’s impactful and suitable for all walks of life.”
“The Dynamic Duo is what he had named us, and I truly think that is just going to be us for the whole year,” said Ryan. “I’m really looking forward to working on a lot of the initiatives that he brought back from the international convention, and just moving forward together.”
