The work of Rutland Lord Lieutenant Dr Sarah Furness PhD has been acknowledged by Rotary in Uppingham and the Rotary Foundation, the movement’s international charity, with the award of a Paul Harris Fellowship. The award is given to a Rotarian, or occasionally a non-member, that has made an outstanding contribution to society. Worldwide recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk.
Announced as a surprise at an innovative black tie dinner on Zoom on Saturday June 13th 2020, Dr Furness PhD was delighted to receive the recognition which will be formally presented in Uppingham on a date to be agreed.
At the same event, Rotary in Uppingham President Ron Simpson BEM made a second surprise announcement; a posthumous recognition of the huge contribution to the economic and social sustainability of Uppingham made by Robert Wills, an honorary member of the Rotary Club who died in 2019.
Robert’s achievements are recognised with a Paul Harris Fellowship. He is pictured some years ago, with Carol his wife and the then High Sheriff of Rutland, Andrew Brown, receiving his honorary membership from Past President Margaret Simpson at a ceremony in The Falcon Hotel.