The Rotary Club of Hamburg held its Passing of the Gavel ceremony June 30 at its annual spring picnic at the Taylor Road Cabin in a far from usual rite of passage to swear in its new board of officers for 2020-2021.

 
John Nowak was sworn in as president, taking over from Lisa Avery and Rob Lalka became president-elect, committing to be president next year. Tim Straube is the new secretary and Tim Hoelscher, Eileen Hotho and Jerry Bastedo will retain their positions on the board as treasurer, public relations chair and service projects chair.
 
Former club secretary Tom Johnston presided over the ceremonies which included the presentation of Paul Harris Awards to members Lisa Avery, Barb Stanley, Dale Stanley and Patricia Castiglia. A fifth award was presented to Johnston himself by Castiglia. The Paul Harris Fellow is the highest honor in Rotary, an international service organization.
 
 

 
 The Rotary Club of Hamburg was founded 78 years ago and coordinates Warm the Children, provides college scholarships to Hamburg, Frontier and St. Francis high school students and is one of the four service organizations that coordinates the Burger Fest each July. The Rotary Club meets Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. and is currently looking for a location for its meetings. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the club’s meetings have been held