The Emporia Rotary Club made two special presentations as part of its regular meeting Tuesday.
The club honored longtime Emporia community servant Evora Wheeler with a community Paul Harris Fellow award. Wheeler, who has been a community servant for decades, including time on the Emporia City Commission, Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, numerous local service groups and countless pies used as fundraisers, was a natural choice. She says it’s important for people to look beyond themselves and give back to their respective communities.
While the award to Wheeler was no surprise, the second one caught the recipient — club president Rachael Correll — totally by surprise.
Correll has served as club president this year and has overseen projects like the Rotary Club’s annual Grocery Grab and a fundraising pickleball tournament benefiting Corky’s Cupboard, both last fall. She is also a physical therapist at PT Associates of Emporia.
Nationwide, this recognizes people who either contribute at least $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation or have contributions to that level made in their honor. The Emporia Rotary Club honors a community member with the fellowship every year for somebody who has made a notable community impact. The program was established in 1957 to both show appreciation and to encourage contributions to the Rotary Foundation’s Fellowships for Advanced Study, which has since become the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships program.
