XENIA — The Xenia Rotary will be talking a lot about numbers this year.
Well, one number in particular: 100.
The club recently began its 100th year of providing “Service Above Self” and took a look forward and back as the president’s gavel was passed from Karl Colón to Matt Bennett.
“I am proud to be a Rotarian and proud to say I am the 100th president of one of the greatest Rotary clubs in the world,” Bennett said in an email.
In celebration of the special year, award-winning filmmaker and Xenia Rotarian Dr. Eric Winston is producing a documentary about the club’s first 100 years. A 100th dinner and film viewing is being planned as part of the celebration, Bennett said.
“We also have a vision to make sure all of the Xenia area knows how much we care about them and the future of this community,” he said. “We also are going to be looking at other local projects and getting involved more in children’s programming through all the school districts our club covers.”
Colón thanked his fellow Rotarians for his year as president.
“It has been an incredible century of service above self,” Colón wrote in an email to the club.
During its 99th year:
• Rotary put presents under the Christmas tree for more than 100 families.
• Rotary put food on the table — 40,000 pounds of it — through a combination of corporate generosity and quick work by the club.
• Rotary celebrated its community with record attendance (estimated at more than 25,000 people) at the 2019 Kevin Sonnycalb Fireworks Festival.
• Rotary refused to be daunted by a pandemic, and together with partners at the City of Xenia invented socially distant fireworks — a safe celebration of America for the community in 2020.
“I thank you for your kindness, patience, and guidance during my year as president,” Colón wrote. “It has been an honor, and one I will never forget.”
