Brandon '86 Rotary, Durant High Interact Club Earn Presidential Citations

Brandon Bean accepted from the Brandon ’86 Rotary Club recognition for his Rotary Interact Club’s designation as a Presidential Citation recipient for the 2010-11 school  year.

“It is an honor, our getting the presidential award for the second time in a row,” said Bean, a just-graduated senior from Durant High School, of his tenure with the school’s Interact organization.

“I can’t pick the right words (to describe it),” he added. “It’s like the best moment. It is the best moment, and the best feeling that you can get, when you are a president and you have received an award twice for your club that has only been open for three years.”

Rotarian Jeff Miltner, who retired after a long career in the Hillsborough County school system, said the presidential citation reflects an Interact club’s achievement in accomplishing activities such as community service and leadership.

“Durant kids are the best kids ever,” said Jennifer Roney, the Interact club’s sponsor and a teacher at Durant.  Receiving the citation a second time, she said, “is phenomenal.”

Rotarians celebrated, too, the receipt of its Presidential Citation With Distinction, which recognizes in part a club's success in meeting both district and membership goals, with a growth in numbers from a count taken a year earlier in the month of July.

In District 6890, the Brandon club was the only club that received presidential citations for both the club itself and its association high school Interact club, said Jeni Chatraw, incoming president of the Brandon ’86 Rotary Club.

She acknowledged that the club has been going through some trying times, with a membership changeover that is being addressed with a renewed effort to rebuild the club. The club at one time had more than 80 members; at its last meeting, the membership count was just over 45, with some 30 members in attendance.

“Even in this year of adversity, we were able to get this (presidential citation),” Chatraw said.

"This is just exciting (earning the citations)," she added. "It just shows the community that we're still a driving force  in the community and that's what this club is all about, giving back."

The Brandon ’86 Rotary Club meets Fridays at 7 a.m. at The Bridges in Riverview, 11202 Dewhurst Drive, Riverview.

Additionally, in the greater Brandon area, the Brandon Rotary Club meets at Center Place and the Brandon South Rotary Club meets at Buckhorn Springs Golf & County Club. The FishHawk/Riverview Rotary Club had an induction ceremony June 20 at the GrillSmith restaurant at the Westfield Brandon shopping mall.