At the June 28th meeting of the Hickory Rotary Club, outgoing Club President Rich Brown passed the gavel to incoming Club President Jill Patton.
Also inducted were President-Elect: Suzanne Trollan, Treasurer: Justin Hartman, Secretary: Jerri Wilfong and Board Members: John Bates, Michael Blackburn, Kimberly George, Thomas Griffis, Linda Lutz, David Moore, Steve Mull, Mark Seaman and Mary Texer.
Checks were also distributed to three local non-profits and Hickory High School:
- Western Piedmont Symphony – $1,000 for a concert for Catawba County 6th graders.
- Service League of Hickory – $1,000 for the Backpack Program that provides weekend meals for at risk children.
- Hickory High School – $1000 to help pay assessment fees for the International Baccalaureate Program.
- Imagination Library, Catawba County – $12,000.
Imagination Library is administered locally by the Catawba County Partnership 
for Children, a local non-profit agency that works to ensure that children in our county begin school healthy and prepared for success. Children enrolled in Imagination Library are mailed a free, age-appropriate book each month until they turn 5 years old. Imagination Library was originally launched in 1996 by Dolly Parton to assist East Tennessee preschool children.
In 2011 Hickory Rotary club donated $15,000 to help launch Imagination Library in Catawba County. Rotary’s ongoing commitment of financial support continues to provide necessary assistance, and is consistent with the club’s continued commitment to local educational initiatives.
Read more about Hickory Rotary’s involvement with Imagination Library here.
