In its first official induction of the club’s 101st year, Rotary of Morristown welcomed a long-courted new member.
Club President Justin Cook reminisced about meeting Senior Financial Advisor Greg Steisslinger during a community fundraiser when he and his wife first relocated to Morristown. The two families had children the same ages and spent many years together attending school functions, socially interacting and even vacationing together.
Yet Scheislinger held out when it came to Cook recruiting him for Rotary membership. Even Cook’s election to club presidency in 2022 didn’t sway his old friend. Rotarian Ben Simpson joined in the effort as well, to no avail.
Claiming success, however, was Rotarian Carl Storms - apparently a sleeper agent for Club recruiting - who as his official sponsor, pinned Steisslinger during the Feb. 1 meeting.
“I feel like I know most of you in this room,” Steisslinger said. “But it is great to be here and it has been a long time coming, not because I didn’t want to join, but just because I always seemed to have an excuse.”
Cook and Steisslinger work for First Horizon – Cook as senior vice president of the bank and Steisslinger as vice president of First Horizon Advisors. Steisslinger has been with First Horizon, formerly First Tennessee, for 28 years.
The friends have also been involved with United Way of Hamblen County. So getting Steisslinger on board with Rotary was a Trifecta of sorts.
“I love our community, love our town, love our area of the country. I’m just happy to be here and I look forward to spending time with each of you and getting to know everyone a little better. Thank you to Carl for continuing to encourage Justin and Ben.”
“I’ve always admired Rotary; it does a lot of great things: socially, it’s a great organization; professionally, it’s great to be involved with; and it obviously does a lot of good work for the community, too. I’m happy to be here,” Steisslinger said.
The Club’s Special Advisor, Don Baldus, in noting Storms’ achievement told Steisslinger, “You couldn’t have a better sponsor than Carl.”
As part of the induction ceremony, Baldus reminded club members about the beginnings of Rotary.
The Club was started in Chicago in 1905 by attorney Paul Harris, who wanted to bring together a group of professionals with different backgrounds and skills as a way to exchange ideas and form meaningful acquaintances. Their decision to raise money for a neighborhood project led to the formation of the Rotary Foundation that raises millions each year for worldwide projects.
“As a new member of the 2022-23 class, you stand on special ground,” Baldus said. “This Rotary year, we have our first woman president, Jennifer Jones. Our club was chartered in February 3, 1922. You’re our first in year 101.”
In 2022, the Club celebrated its 100th Year at the annual Margaritaville fundraiser, with proceeds going toward the Splash Pad at Morristown Landing, currently under construction. Rotary District 6780 has had three Rotary International presidents, including John Germ, who spoke at the 2022 celebration. Rotary International is the world’s largest civic organization with more than 35,000 clubs and 1.2 million members.
“So, Rotary is going to change your life,” Baldus said. “As you take part in Club activities you will be contacting not only people in your community but people in other areas and no matter where you are, all clubs carry the Rotary name. No two clubs are alike but they all operate under the same umbrella.
“By joining Rotary, you’re becoming a member of this worldwide fraternity. When you attend one of these functions, you may find that the language is different, the food is different, but the fellowship is the same,” Baldus said.
Baldus encouraged Steisslinger and other members to make up any missed meetings by visiting Rotary clubs located in the region, including Jefferson City and Rogersville.
“You have a lot to learn about Rotary; it’s not just another club, it’s a way of life,” Baldus charged Steisslinger before Storms completed the pinning ceremony.
Cook moved past his recruitment feelings to discuss with members the Morristown Club’s traditions, charities and special projects, including the 2022 merging of the former AM Club with the Noon Club.
“Bringing together the two clubs has given us a lot of synergy, a lot of energy, and made us that much better,” Cook said, adding that 2023 will serve as an experimental year with regard to fundraising.
“We’re going to have a lot going on, especially this spring,” he said.
The golf tournament will be held April 21, and Margaritaville will be held May 6.
“When you think about it, had we not come together, the morning club would be doing the golf tournament, they’d be raising these funds, getting the sponsorships,” Cook said. “For years, both groups ran both events with a high degree of success and we’re going to do the same this year. Ideally, at some point in the future, what we want to get to is to have a big event in the spring and a big event in the fall. So we’ll work on that with the Service Committee going forward.”
Rotarian Mark Hurst (previous AM Club officer) has overseen the golf tournament for a number of years. The AM Club tournament was historically the first local charitable golf tournament held each year.
“We’re the first Friday golf tournament of the year, this year, here at The Country Club,” Hurst said.
“With the closing of Millstone, there are not many weeks available for golf tournaments,” he added.
HomeTrust Bank will serve as a food sponsor and Colortech will continue to serve as a major sponsor. Tournament proceeds will benefit the Hamblen County Imagination Library program, as they have for 20 years, along with other local children’s programs and services. Corporate, platinum, silver and bronze levels of sponsorships are available.
The number of participating teams has averaged between 20-25 in past years.
“We’ve had good success being earlier in the year, rather than a fall tournament. We’ll be hit or miss on the weather in April; it could be a cool day or it may pause for rain, but otherwise we’ve seen more positives than negatives,” Hurst said.
Funds raised have averaged $10,000 per tournament, pre-Covid, with a bit more raised in 2022.
“That was a good year,” Hurst added.
In other club business, Gordon Lintz, who has served as Service Committee Chair for the past 10 years will relinquish the role. He will pass the baton to Rotarian L.A. ORio (previous AM Club officer) over the course of this year.
The venue for Margaritaville will be confirmed by the Service Committee soon; “Tall Paul” is set to provide the entertainment again this year.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.