Date/Time
Date(s) - 08/27/2022
All Day
Categories
Franklin, NY Rotary Club Contacts:
Connie Martin, 201-414-1684, candjmartin@fastmail.com
Michael McSwain, 919-636-0709, michaeltmcswain@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRANKLIN, NEW YORK ROTARY CLUB CELEBRATES 75 TH ANNIVERSARY WITH ACTIVITIES AND EXHIBITS ON OLD FRANKLIN DAY
Join us on Saturday, August 27th under the big tent offering fun for all
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 – Franklin, New York – The Franklin Rotary Club invites you to join us to celebrate our 75th anniversary of community service in Franklin. The festivities will take place as part of Old Franklin Day on Saturday, August 27th, from 10 am to 4 pm on Institute Street, off Main Street/State Highway 357.
“Old Franklin Day is an annual festival that celebrates Franklin’s rich history and proactive community spirit with fun events and activities for everyone,” said Amber Gray, immediate past president of the Franklin Rotary Club. Amber added, “Our Rotarians are a great example of what Franklin volunteerism and community partnership are about, so Old Franklin Day is the perfect time for us to celebrate our 75th anniversary.”
Tom Briggs, Franklin mayor and Franklin Rotary Club president, said, “We invite everyone to join us under the big tent on the Franklin Central School lawn for ice cream, a celebration cake, and photo exhibits showing our Rotary Club’s achievement milestones and our past and present Foreign Exchange Program students.” Tom added, “We’ll have
information on the work our Club does to support community services, help families in need, promote education, provide sustainable ways to preserve and improve the environment, and engender good fellowship, community teamwork, and collaboration with other clubs.” Rotary is also providing a selfie station to take photos, a phone charging area, and fun activities for kids.
The Franklin Rotary Club was founded in 1947 by 22 original charter members: John Batterson, Clyde Bennett, Robert Burgin, Lynn Finch, Ralph Foote, Cecil Fowlston, Lloyd
Hartwell, William Hyzer, E. Carrol Johnson, George Lattin, Donald Law, William Law, Douglas Matteson, John McIntosh, Amenzo Merrill, Clyde O’Hara, Robert Peake, Frank
Slawson, Arthur Stilson, Dr. Charles Stinard, Earl Terwilliger and Earl Tilyou. Over the ensuing years, membership expanded as the Club fulfilled its mission to help improve the quality of life for families and provide an enriched environment for children in Franklin. Today, Franklin Rotary Club’s 20+ members are continuing this mission with longstanding support of essential community services, including the Franklin Fire Department, the Greater Franklin Food Pantry, and Catskill Area Hospice. To expand local amenities, Rotarians raised funds to support construction of the village swimming pool. Rotary members painted the Franklin Free Library and erected new fences for the Library and Franklin Park. Environmental initiatives include planting shrubs in Ouleout Valley Cemetery, beautifying Main Street with replanted trees and lighted Christmas trees during the holiday season, and conducting trash cleanup along State Highway 357.
Recently, Rotarians helped plant 250 new trees near the proposed walking trail by Ouleout Creek. Franklin Rotary has also placed a sharp focus on supporting and broadening children’s education. Rotary supports the local Head Start program, Franklin Community Education Foundation, Franklin Central School’s National Honor Society, graduation awards to four
seniors each year, summer arts and crafts in partnership with the Franklin Recreation Commission and more. Jack Law, who marks over 50 years as a Rotarian, said, “Rotary is excited to bring back the Youth Exchange Program this year, where a high school student travels abroad to spend a semester studying at a school in the Exchange Program and living with a host family. At the same time, a Franklin family hosts an exchange country/school student who attends Franklin Central School. This is an exciting and enriching experience for the students, families, and communities.”
For more information on Franklin Rotary Club’s work or how to become a member, visit
https://rotarydistrict7170.org, contact the Club at franklinrotary7170@gmail.com, or visit
us on Facebook at Franklin NY Rotary Club. You are invited to visit Rotary as our guests at
our meetings on the first and third Wednesday nights of each month at 6:15 pm, at the
Franklin United Methodist Church at Main and Water Street in Franklin.
