Wellington Rotary Club Aims at World Peace
Each year in September the Rotary Club of Wellington holds its annual Peace Ceremony aimed at promoting Multi-cultural Understanding and Conflict Resolution as a means to World Peace.
This year the ceremony will be held on Sunday, September 20th at 3pm at the Rotary Peace Park on Royal Fern Drive next to the main Wellington public library.
Wellington Rotary Club’s Dr. Wes Boughner and Larry KempThe ceremony is the culmination of work that started in January with competitions within all the local schools. Elementary students were encouraged to submit posters that depict multi-cultural understanding and conflict resolution. This is not intended as an anti-war exercise.
Over 350 posters were submitted and judged. A winner from each school was chosen and will receive a check for $50 each and a certificate at the ceremony.
Middle school students enter poems on the same topics. Around 100 poems were received and a winner from each school will each receive a check for $75.
High school students submitted essays on a chosen theme. This year the words of Benjamin Franklin were used. “There is no such thing as a good war and no such thing as a bad peace”
A winner from each school will receive $100.
All the winner’s class room teachers will also receive a check for $50 for use in their class rooms.
Local scout troops were given a set of tasks for which they will be awarded with a Rotary Peace Merit badge at the ceremony.
A single student is also chosen as the person who is deemed to have contributed the most in achieving the goals of the Wellington Rotary Peace Initiative. This year Brandon Schloss of Wellington High has been chosen for his work as “Teen Ambassador” for the Palm Beach County “STOMP Out Bullying” campaign.
The annual Wellington Rotary Peace Prize will go this year to Commissioner Jess Santamaria for his contributions to Palm Beach County and the multiple areas he has championed including advising our schools system as well as multiple charities aimed at improving the lives of the less advantaged citizens of Palm Beach County.
The Peace Ceremony commences with the PBSO Drill team providing an honor guard and playing “taps” as our flags are raised by the scouts. The Palm Beach High “Traditions” choir will perform throughout the ceremony.
The words on our Peace Poles “May Peace Prevail on Earth” will be read in eight different languages by local residents.
After speeches by local dignitaries, including Mayor Bob Margolis reading the Peace Declaration, and the presentation of prizes, the ceremony will end with the release of Peace Doves.
The Father of the Rotary Club of Wellington Peace Initiative Dr. Wes Boughner stepped down this year after chairing the initiative for the last 9 years. For this the 10th year of the initiative Rotarian Larry Kemp took the Chair and with the help of many volunteers from within the club continued this great program. As Chairman Kemp stated “The Peace Initiative is aimed at reaching out to all within the Wellington community and to bringing awareness of the continuing need for multi-cultural understanding and conflict resolution as a way forward to achieving World Peace. It is especially important that we start this with our students and young people”
The whole community is welcome to attend the ceremony which lasts for around one hour.
Further information is available from Larry Kemp of the Rotary Club of Wellington.
“Service Above Self”