Spreading out to the edges of District 7750 - Fair Play, SC

My new blog posts slowed down considerably yesterday with our extensive travel from one end to the other of District 7750 (Fair Play, Winnsboro, and Lancaster) and no time to write. After leaving Walhalla, Kathy and I traveled to Lavonia, Georgia to spend the night prior to visiting the Fair Play Rotary Club. Fair Play is located very close to the Georgia-South Carolina border and has no hotels or traffic signals. In fact the town of Fair Play also has no people according to information from the SC Home Town Locator.  "Fair Play is a community or populated place located in Oconee County at latitude 34.511 and longitude -82.985. Fair Play had a population of 0; a land area of 6.74 sq. miles; a water area of 0.02 sq. miles; and a population density of 0.00 people per sq. mile according to the US Census Bureau estimate of July 1, 2009."

The good news is that Kathy and I found 8 very nice Rotarians in Fair Play! As you might imagine, the Fair Play Rotary Club has struggled with membership due to a very poor economy in the area and loss of some key key club members like Charter President, Larry Dunster. I recall meeting Larry Dunster during the Charter Night Celebration in January 2004. I went back a few years later to talk with the club about Rotary Foundation grants and spent the night at Larry's lake home. The club initially met in the back of a grocery store in Fair Play that has since closed. The club now meets in an old school building that is being renovated. I noticed that the Farmer's Market, youth programs, and the Fair Play Rotary Club use the same space at different days and times. 

I met with the club's board on Monday night at the lovely home of immediate Past President and Secretary, Bengt Berg. Bengt is the father of the 2011-12 club president, Anders Berg, who wants to see the club grow and continue to be active in the community. We had lots of discussion about potential new members and the future direction of the club. Kathy and I returned the following morning for the regular club meeting that included the board members plus Notable Rotarian Pam Harrell. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by the club's literacy chair, Peggy North. My presentation went well and generated a good bit of discussion by club members.

The club's Notable Rotarian is Pam Harrell. Pam was a charter member, served two terms as president, and continues to serve as the Chair of the Community Service Committee. Her deep knowledge of Rotary, both philosophy and practical procedures, is of great help to the president and the secretary. Pam is a Paul Harris Fellow,  Sustaining Member,  Benefactor, and  RLI Graduate (3 Sections).

The Fair Play club has their work cut out for them this year! However, I'm confident that the club's enthusiastic and action oriented members will do their best to enlist new members for the club even if they have to reach into Georgia and other nearby areas with people recorded by the latest census!