Rotary's Meritorious Service Award
This is a Rotary Award that is given annually to a person in our community who has made exceptional efforts to enrich the lives of Benton County youth.
In the beginning years of the Foundation, many individuals contributed to it financially, but growth was slow. In 1967, R.C. Wilson proposed a resolution to Rotary to add $3.00 to the dues structure per quarter. This contribution from every Benton County Rotary member continues today.
In the 1980’s as the Foundations funds started to increase, a decision was made to take the Rotary clubs contributions and donate them to the Foundation’s general fund in honor of the recipient of a new award recognizing the activities of an adult volunteer serving our youth.
The “Meritorious Service Award” was born. The first award was presented at the joint Rotary meeting in 1990 to Bev Larson of the Old Mill Center. All of the recipients are listed below. Each of their names is also engraved on a Meritorious Service Award statue which is located in the Reading Room of the Corvallis Public Library.
The annual award winner is selected by Rotarians who are members of the Benton County Foundation Rotary Committee.