Paul Harris Fellow award winners
From the left, John Stewart, Betty Vanden Bosch, Karieen Cotnam and Birket Foster. Thompson Goddard photo

CHESTERVILLE – Karieen Cotnam and Birket Foster, members of the Chesterville Rotary Club, were honoured with the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow award during the Oct. 28 regular meeting at the Nelson LaPrade Centre in Chesterville. A donation of $1,000 is made to Rotary International for projects around the world in order for a Rotary Club to present this award to members.

Cotnam, owner of Ace Hardware on King Street, received the recognition for her dedicated work for the Chesterville Rotary since joining in 2004. Rotarian Betty Vanden Bosch explain how Cotnam was “one of the Rotarians who formed a committee to host the Dutch Heritage and Dance and remains on the committee.” She continued how the profits from this event support the initiatives of Ryan’s Well. She is active in various Rotary committees and projects including the membership committee, Breakfast with Santa Claus, road clean up and participates in Rotary’s summer barbecues.

Birket Foster, a long-standing member of the Rotary Club of Chesterville, founder of M.B. Foster Associates and a director of Storm Internet, received the Paul Harris Fellow award for the support he has shown over the years for Rotary projects. Vanden Bosch spoke on Foster’s many accomplishments including his work in organizing Career Days at NDDHS, Pride of Workmanship and mentioned he is currently “spearheading a new Rotary project called EoT.” This project seeks to work with aboriginal villages to provide them with power, water, wastewater and better communications. She continued how Foster is seeking to “have this project considered an international project, as there are clubs in the US who would like to participate.”