Approximately 40 members of the Sylva Rotary Club visited the Western Carolina University campus Thursday, March 28, for a tour and "lunch and learn" event.
Alison Morrison-Shetlar, WCU interim chancellor, and Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student affairs, updated Rotary members about developments on campus, and lunch at Ramsey Regional Activity Center included a question-and-answer session with Morrison-Shetlar.
Also during the visit, officers representing the WCU chapter of Rotaract, a Rotary-like organization for college students, spoke about their group’s service projects. The Sylva Rotary Club sponsors WCU Rotaract in partnership with the Waynesville Sunrise Rotary Club. Lane Perry, director of WCU’s Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, is the Rotaract group’s adviser.
The Sylva Rotary membership includes Miller, WCU Chief of Staff Melissa Wargo and Ben Pendry, WCU executive director of advancement services. During the visit, Pendry received “Paul Harris Fellow Plus 2” designation for his work with Rotary and in the local community, including financial contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Paul Harris was the original founder of Rotary.
“It was a great visit and WCU really did a super job of welcoming us,” said Todd Vinyard, president of the Sylva Rotary Club. “We appreciate the warm invitation to connect with the university.”