Rotary honours residents for selfless service to community Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs in Colorado, US, feted three residents with Paul Harris Fellow Awards for their contributions to the welfare of the neighbourhood.

The Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs (Colorado, US – RID 5440) honoured three people Tuesday who have given their time and talents to make a difference in the Steamboat Springs community.

“We wanted to recognise some non-Rotarians that we see in our community that have a long history of community service and doing good things in the community around us,” said Steve Hitchcock, a longtime Rotary member.

Peter Van De Carr, Adonna Allen and Robbie Shine were awarded with Paul Harris Fellow Awards for demonstrating “service above self,” which is the Rotary motto.

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition is named after the Chicago attorney who founded Rotary Club International in 1905, and the local club created the concept of the Paul Harris Fellow in his memory when it was established in 1957.

Typically, the recognition acknowledges Rotary Club members who contribute $1,000 to the Rotary International Foundation.

However, this year, Hitchcock said the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs invited members to nominate non-Rotarians who have impacted the Steamboat community for the honour.

The list of 14 nominees was eventually whittled down to three winners — Van De Carr, Allen and Shine.

“Weight was given to the variety of community service and length of community service,” Hitchcock said.

“We wanted members to name people they see around them in the community that are doing good things … We set out to honour two, but when we got through the process, we decided to honour three.”

Van De Carr is well known for his love of the Yampa River and his outdoors business, backdoor sports.

His contributions range from his involvement with youth and adult hockey leagues to serving on the Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation Commission, the Howelsen Hill Commission, the Ice Rink Advisory Commission, the Yampa River Management Planning Commission and the Yampa River Water Fund.

He has volunteered his time as a youth sports coach, at the local schools and with Partners in Routt County and also organised the Yampa River Festival as well as the Yampa River Clean Up Days.

Allen might be best known for her role at Alpine Bank where she has served as president since 1999; however, her roots and involvement in the community run even deeper.

She comes from a Routt County ranching family and still plays a role in the management and operation of her family’s fifth-generation ranch, the Rocking C Bar Ranch.

She is a past president and current treasurer of Routt County Cattlewomen and has also been a board treasurer of Colorado Cattlewomen.

She serves as a board member of the Routt County 4-H Foundation, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and the Steamboat Springs Area Fire Protection District.

She also has been involved with the Colorado State University Extension Advisory Committee, Community Agriculture Alliance, Yampa Valley Community Foundation, Yampa Valley Land Trust and Steamboat Springs United Methodist Church.

Shine came to Steamboat to attend the Lowell Whiteman School, now known as Steamboat Mountain School, as a junior and senior.

After he graduated, he pursued a ski racing career and eventually, landed in New Mexico where he was a caregiver for his grandfather, who had suffered a stroke.

But, Steamboat left an impression on the young man, and a few years later, he returned to take a landscaping job with Windemere Garden Center and eventually, landed a job working for the city of Steamboat Springs’ Parks and Recreation Department. That job has kept him busy for the last 15 years.

Shine has always found time to give back to the community he loves.

He has been involved with Rotary Park since he started working for the city.

“Robbie has been there every step of the way,” John Holloway wrote in a letter nominating Shine for the Paul Harris Fellow award.

“He has worked tirelessly to help upgrade the systems and has provided ideas on how to get things done.”

Source: Steamboat Pilot