ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—JoEllen Knie was radiant and ready to serve!
On June 18, the Englewood resident was installed as Rotary president, as her family and friends applauded her appointment. The ceremony was officiated by Rotary District Governor John Mitchell at the home of Florence and Bob Marchi in Englewood Cliffs.
In addition to Knie, the other new officers were also announced by Election Chair Stephen Wiessner: Immediate Past President Janet Sharma, President-elect Lisa Wisotsky, Vice President Jacqueline Guttman, Treasurer Kathleen Silberstein, Secretary Mitch Schonfeld and Sergeant at Arms Mike Prigoff.
Sharma, Witsotsky and Guttman attended the elegant installation event along with several dozen Rotary members and Knie’s family.
In her acceptance speech, Knie spoke about her recent participation in the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg. At that meeting, a major event was “Tell your Rotary Story and how it impacted you.”
Knie proceeded to retell the story that she shared in Hamburg, Germany.
“In September 2016, I had just sold my house of 25 years and ended a long relationship, and I had retired from 42 years of working. I wondered where I would go from there. I moved to Dwight Place, which is also known as Rotary Central, because so many Rotarians live there. While I was moving boxes into my new home, I met Jill Abbott, who asked, ‘What do you do?’ My reply was, ‘I don’t know, I just retired.’ Jill said, ‘Don’t worry possum, you’ll join Rotary and we will keep you busy!’
“At that time, I didn’t know what Rotary was, but I soon found out that Rotary members are warm and friendly, and Rotary changed my life! I became part of a 1.2 million global network of members who volunteer their time and talent to serve communities and the world.”
Commenting on her new position as Rotary president, Knie said, “I am so fortunate to continue to do great things in 2019 and beyond!”
Knie is, indeed, enthused and ready to serve as Rotary president.
“Our Rotary chapter in Englewood currently has 67 members. I want to increase our membership, particularly amongst young people. To do that, I plan to start a Rotaract group by reaching out to high schools and colleges to recruit young adults in their late teens and early 20’s. I also want to emphasize mental health for middle and high school students.”
As such, Knie is on track to bring significant assets to Rotary’s mission, which enriches local as well as global communities. For more than 110 years, Rotary’s people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects, from literacy and peace to water and health. Today, 35,000 Rotary clubs work together to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, save mothers and children, support education and grow local economies.
