2022-23 Fred K. Jones Rotarian of the Year

Fred K. Jones Award
This is Rotary Club 21’s award for Rotarian of the Year.

2022-23 Rotarian of the Year

This is Rotary Club 21’s award for Rotarian of the Year but in reality, it represents the long-time commitment and support of our Club and Rotary at large. It is given to a member of our club who best epitomizes Service Above Self and whose life personifies the Four Way Test. The award is named for one of our club members, the first of four generations of Jones family members-Fred, Kennard, Barry, and Scott. Fred K Jones was our club’s president from 1940-1941. He went on to be a District Governor and then a Director of Rotary International in 1945-1946- the only member of our club ever to serve on the international board of Rotary. Few of us can ever match the impact that Jones had on the Rotary world and the helping hand he offered to others, but this award recognizes those of us who strive to do so.
The 2022-2023 Fred K. Jones committee was excited to honor Paul S. Viren as the Rotarian of the Year. 
 
The recipient is selected by the past five recipients of the award and presented by the person who is aging off the committee. This year's recipient is someone who has shown tremendous dedication to Rotary over two decades of membership in our Club. This person epitomizes humble leadership, never looking for recognition for their numerous contributions to our club. 
 
This person has a love for Rotary that they want to share with the world. During their time in the Club, this person has been instrumental in getting the word out about the amazing things our club does. They have looked for new and innovative ways to spread the message of Rotary and develop new leaders in our Club through things like sponsorship of participants in Leadership Spokane on behalf of our Club, coordinating participation in the annual golf show, sponsorship of other marketing efforts to grow our membership and even sponsoring 8 new members himself over his time in our Club. He has also been instrumental in publishing the “Year in Review “ newsletter detailing the accomplishments of our club for the last several years. 
 
I had the honor of serving with this member on the executive committee in recent years and he is one of the most organized people I know. He ran one of the most successful RCS campaigns in Club history. He provided great leadership throughout his presidency, promoting the vision of Rotary. When his tenure in 2019-2020 was interrupted by Covid, he was able to pivot and guide our Club through the early months of the uncertainty of the pandemic and spearheaded a fundraising campaign for 2nd Harvest, raising over $30,000 in a few short weeks for those experiencing food insecurity due to historic job losses. Also, he felt so strongly about the benefits of attending the Rotary International Convention to develop upcoming leadership that he donated funds to our club for three of our executive committee to attend RI when the world opened back up after Covid. 
 Here are some other fun facts about Paul:
-9 time Paul Harris Fellow
-Level 1 major donor 
-Member of the Board of Directors 2007-2009
-Club President 2019-2020
-Active member of the Community Impact Committee, the Membership Development Committee, and the Budget Committee 
-Avid wine connoisseur 
 
Congratulations Paul on being named the 2022-2023 Rotarian of the Year!