Paul Harris Award

During the yearly event, Rotary Celebrates, the Rotary Club of Hamilton confers two prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship Awards. This award serves as a beacon of service and community leadership, presented to individuals who have exemplified the Rotary’s maxim of “SERVICE ABOVE SELF”.

The recipients of the Paul Harris Fellowship Award have not only enriched our community with their outstanding contributions, but they’ve also served as inspirational figures for many. Their active participation and dedication have significantly improved the community’s quality of life.

Named after the founder of the Rotary, Paul Harris, who started this global movement over 112 years ago, the Paul Harris Fellowship Award is amongst the highest accolades that the Rotary organization can bestow upon an individual. The honorees, often Rotarians or community professionals, are recognized for their exceptional contributions to the community, thereby embodying the very ideals that Rotary stands for.

In addition to the honour and recognition, the award includes a $1,000 (US) donation in the recipient’s name to Rotary International’s “Annual Program Fund”. This fund actively fuels Rotary’s worldwide initiatives, amplifying the impact of this award well beyond the local community.

Several globally significant figures, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Jonas Salk have been acknowledged as Paul Harris Fellows. On a local level, the Rotary Club of Hamilton has lauded community champions such as Rob Blunsdon, a teacher who has developed a free summer literacy program for inner city children, and organizations like The Hamilton Spectator for their profound work in poverty and health research through their Code Red Series.

Area Rotary Clubs celebrate local community leaders by presenting Paul Harris Fellowship Awards