Retired businessman, former Wicomico County Council member, and community leader John Hall has been selected as the Rotary Club of Salisbury’s Rotarian of the Year.
In making the announcement, club President Chris Peek listed many of Mr. Hall’s accomplishments on behalf of the community, but noted that the award exists for a simple but profound reason. Rotary was built on a belief that the truest measure of a person is not what he or she accumulates, but what is given. The Rotarian of the Year is not simply the most active member on paper. It is the member who, in his or her daily life — in his or her choices, commitments, and character — most fully embodies Rotary’s motto: Service Above Self.
A club member since 1984, Mr. Hall has been involved in these activities and many more:
- Past President, Salisbury Jaycees
- Chairman, Salisbury Festival
- Board Member, American Cancer Society
- Board of Directors, YMCA
- District Chairman, Boy Scouts of America
- Member, Optimist Club of Salisbury
- Board Member, Salisbury University Varsity Club
- Member, Salisbury University President’s Club
- Chairman, Salisbury Christmas Parade
- Chairman, YMCA Seafood Festival Fundraiser
- Major Gifts Committee Member, United Way
- Member, Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council
And most recently, despite facing a series of serious and challenging health issues — the kind that would have given any club member ample reason to step back — Mr. Hall remained steadfastly committed to seeing the club’s Tanzania Medical Clinic Project through to completion. This was a project that raised $300,000 in cash and donated supplies and equipment to help open and operate a health clinic in the east African nation of Tanzania.
President Peek noted “that is not a résumé. That is a life devoted to others.”
