Maxine Perry is honored with the 2021 Paul Harris Fellow Award
At the Sunrise Rotary Club's annual dinner held on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, Maxine Perry was named the Paul Harris Fellow honoree for 2021. The award was presented to Maxine on behalf of the club by Kathy Duley. Kathy was President of the Sunrise Rotary Club in 2006-2007 and was named a Paul Harris Fellow in 2007.
Thank you to past Sunrise Rotary Club member Mark Hamilton for his eloquent introductory comments and special tribute to Maxine...
Real Rotarians have a unique combination of hard work, dedication to the community and a desire to make life better for someone else. They don't just show up for the networking and the discussion over meals. They don't just come out for the evening events and the press opportunities. Real Rotarians are like unicorns. They possess a magic within that drives them to make their community better, but they don't need to be seen. They are willing to work behind the scenes because they know what they do matters and that is what is important. Service above self.
Never has that been on greater display than with Maxine Perry. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of a better community and worked tirelessly to make life better for everyone she has encountered.
Maxine's youth - splitting time between her Mother's and Father's in Virginia and North Carolina - forged in her a work ethic and an understanding of the importance of community.
After meeting her husband, serving in the US Air Force, they ended up stationed in Plattsburgh. Keep in mind that Plattsburgh looked pretty good considering they were coming from a station in Alaska. Sounds like a sit-com: women from the South uprooted and moves to Alaska. Once in Plattsburgh she began Immediately volunteering at a Soup Kitchen. She also started teaching Sunday School and working in collaboration with the MLK Jr. Commemoration Commission. As the PAFB closed she recognized she needed to make changes and she did, entering the world of higher education where she eventually obtained her bachelor's. Instead of working to find a career to maximize her earning potential she found a career making a better community and a better life for those she worked with. After several internships with community-based organizations, she began working at STOP Domestic Violence. She was even elected to the NYS Coalition for Domestic Violence where she served two three-year terms on the Board. Once she realized that she wasn't really ready for retirement, we were fortunate at the PHA to have her join our team where she continues to make our community and our resident's lives better.
Maxine's list of plaudits is quite long. She currently serves on the Board of JCEO, RSVP, Literacy Volunteers, and the Human Rights Commission. She is still dedicated to the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee, is a part of the Adirondack Foundation's advisory committee, has been a part of the City of Plattsburgh's Public Safety Review Panel, and SUNY Plattsburgh's Social Justice Task Force. Of course, she has also volunteered and participated with groups like Rotary for years.
She has been rightfully honored for her many years of service by being named Business Women of the Year, one of the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction.
You have been such a light for our community for so many years. Thank you. Thank you for always working to make everyone else's life a little bit better and thank you for sharing your smile as you've done it.
Congratulations, Maxine. What a well-deserved recognition of your many years of service above self. Paul Harris would be honored to know an award in his name is going to such a well deserved recipient.