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Wlaf1450By Charlotte Underwood
LAFOLLETE, TN (WLAF)- The Rotary Club gavel was passed on Tuesday at the club’s weekly luncheon held at the LaFollette Methodist Church. Outgoing president Sharon Wilson with Roane State Community College handed the gavel to the Campbell County Children’s Center’s Tracie Davis (top photo).
Wilson thanked her fellow Rotarians for their support and went over some of the many accomplishments and service projects that Rotary has undertaken over the past year.
These included events like Purple Pinkie Day, which is a program Rotary participates in annually. This year, the Campbell County Rotary Club purchased 62 boxes of Purple Pinkie Donuts from Dunkin Donuts. This purchase provided 3,720 vaccinations against Polio.
The club also donated $250 to the Hearth 2 Heart program, among other Rotary International programs.
The club provided Rotary Club Scholarships to Campbell County High School students Shakira Michell Gillum Goins and Jessa Riggs, while the Cindi Anne Rogers Memorial Scholarship, which went to Mac Crumley.
The club collected $1,219 from July 2025 to June 2026 for the Campbell County Children’s Center through the club’s $10 – first Tuesday of the Month program.
Another great program the Rotary Club participated in was through Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) where Rotarians went to the ADFAC location and packed backpacks with supplies for Campbell County students. The backpacks were delivered to Jellico Elementary and High School.
Rotary participated in National Night Out for the first time to be part of the community.
One of the accomplishments the club was very proud of was providing a grant to the Campbell County Boys and Girls Club. It was a $5,000 Rotary matching grant, which was matched by $5,000 from Rotary Foundation and helped fund the start up of the Boys and Girls Club and other activities like field trips for the kids.
“It has been such a blessing to be able to participate in programs such as this and to be a part of this effort over the past year,” Wilson said.
She reported that the Campbell County Rotary Club Membership is “32 strong and continues to grow.”
New members as of 2025-2026 included Mike Childress, Wayne Barton, Amanda Ballenger, Jamie Reid and James Gwin.
“We are so happy to have our new members with us,” Wilson said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, 2025-2026 board members were also recognized. These included President Sharon Wilson, President Elect Tracie Davis, treasurer David Hickman, Secretary Cyndi Russell, Rotary Foundation Logan Hickman, Past President Debbie Petree, Membership Nancy Green, Scholarships Shirley Fox Rogers, Service Projects, Youth Services, Brandon Johnson.
Rotarian Logan Hickman presented President Sharon Wilson with a Paul Harris Fellow plaque and pin. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute $1,000, or who have had contributions made in their name of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation.
Wilson once again thanked everyone for their support over the past year.
“A President can’t have a successful year without engaged members and support. I really appreciate it and enjoyed my year as Rotary Club president,” Wilson said.
New Rotary Club President Tracie Davis spoke briefly, saying she looked forward to the next year and to working with all the club members to “better serve Campbell County.”
She said her main goal was for the club to be a part of the community, being active and helping other organizations as a team.
“I just want us to be present in the community. My goal is service above self, I am in the service industry. I want us to have a purpose and to help with the needs of the county. I want us to grow our membership. I want us to think about what changes do we want to make in Campbell County and to work towards those goals. I have worked in social services for 30 years and didn’t know that ADFAC existed until last year because of Rotary. I want to work with that organization more. Let’s all work together; they want to be a blessing to the community. It really makes a difference in the lives of kids to be given these resources. These are the kinds of things as a club that we can do, and we are doing that and we can do more. I believe every one of us can come together and make Campbell County even better; there is power in numbers,” Davis said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-07/01/2026-6AM)