ROTARY CLUB OF NEW BERN BREAKFAST APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT

Clifton Pike was recently installed as president of the Rotary Club of New Bern for the 2024-25 season at the annual dinner held at the New Bern Golf & Country Club. District Governor Gene Foster introduced the new president and his board members, and outgoing president Andy Garlick was recognized for his service and the club’s accomplishments in the final Rotary year.

The winners of this year’s Major Todd S. Denson Memorial Scholarship, named for a former club member and Marine pilot of an AV-8B Harrier that crashed in 2008, have been announced. The five students receiving $1,000 scholarships are Abby Rodriguez (New Bern High School), Liza Reno (New Bern High School), Maliyah Hill (Havelock High School), London Montanye (Havelock High School) and Whitney Saucier (Craven Early College). In addition, Allison Hodges was presented with a $1,000 Don Masch Memorial Nursing Scholarship at Craven Community College. The $1,000 Don Masch Volt Toolbelt Trust Scholarship was also made available to the VOLT Center, which may award it at its discretion.

The club was pleased to present two Community Leadership Awards this year. Susan Husson, Executive Director of Interfaith Refugee Ministries, was presented with the Non-Profit Sector Community Service Award and the Business Sector Community Service Award went to Mitchell Hardware, presented to co-owners Lindsay Sims and Winnie Smith.

The Rotary Club of New Bern Breakfast, founded in 1985 as an offshoot of the Rotary Club of New Bern, meets Thursday mornings from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Masonic Lodge on Hancock Street. Their main community service project is Kicks-4-Kids, which distributes approximately 325 pairs of shoes to elementary and middle school students throughout Craven County each November. Several other nonprofits and charities also receive support from the club each year as they are a popular event at their popular annual fundraiser, B/S/H/Oktoberfest, scheduled to be held at the Riverfront Convention Center on September 28, 2024. For more information, visit www.newbernrotary.org.