Community Service

Rotary Avenue of Service

This committee, long one of the hardest-working in our Club, works primarily with awards and honors for the youth of our community. Recommendations are made to the Board of Directors for the scholarships provided by the Club each year to some half-dozen seniors at McAlester High School to help in their college educations. Recommendations are also made for delegates to Boys' State and Girls' State sponsored by our Club. Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) designation and sponsorship to the District RYLA camp each year is also part of this committee's work.

This committee is charged with seeking out projects which would improve our community and help make life better for those who live here, and designing suitable projects for the Club to undertake. Encouragement for Rotarians and others to participate in community projects comes within this committee's service.

This committee manages our Club's participation in McAlester's largest annual civic event. Rotarians have been active in leadership roles from the inception of the Italian Festival in 1972. The Festival honors and celebrates the living heritage of the thousands of Italians who came to this country in the early 1900s, seeking a better life and finding work in the coal fields of southeastern Oklahoma. While the Italian heritage proved predominant, many other nationalities also contributed to this true "world culture melting pot" part of America. Our Club has, for some years, provided 10-15 Rotarians to work in the food serving lines of the Food Tent at the Festival for the final work shift of the day on Saturday of the Festival. Many commitee members are in the leadership of the Festival itself and work year-round with meetings and preparations as well as during the entire Festival. The Italian Festival of McAlester, Oklahoma, has its own website with photos and information.

This committee coordinates the Rotarians who share with others in the community in the heart-warming service of delivering "meals-on-wheels" - hot, nutritious meals prepared by the McAlester Regional Health Center food service department and packaged to be delivered to the elderly and any others in McAlester who are unable to readliy cook properly for themselves or to readily get out of their homes to eat elsewhere. This committee works hard year-round and exemplifies the Rotary motto of "Service above self" beautifully.

This committee has been at the heart of McAlester Rotary Club projects for more than 20 years. The committee led our Club in building Rotary Park - from land acquisition to major landscaping work to paving the walking trail to equipping the exercise stations to adding the pond, building the playground and the picnic pavilion, the Elmer Hale Amphiteater (named to honor our Club's first President). Bob Saunier and Tom Johnston have enthusiastically brought this project from a dream to a wonderful reality which benefits hundreds and hundreds of people every week of the year. Primary emphasis now is on plans for expanding and improving the park and its facilities and working with the City of McAlester on its maintenance and upkeep.

This committee is responsible for hosting our two High School Student Good Citizen guests each week during the school year when they attend our Club meetings. The host introduces the students to the Club at each meeting and also presents them with Certificates at their final meeting of the month in which they are honored. Many years the committee also arranges for all, or most, of the year's Good Citizens to come together and present a program to the Club near the end of the school year.

This committee is charged with seeking grants from various sources - government at any level, charitable foundations, corporations, anywhere - which might be available to fund major projects in our community.

Grant Review Committee

The Grant Review Committe is charged with reviewing requests for grants, contributions and other funding from our Rotary Club for any and all projects, activities, charities, organizations and worthy causes. The Committee will review each request and pass the request on to the Board of Directors with its recommendation attached.