Posted on Jun 01, 2017
The Rotary Club of Potsdam will honor Christa Carroll of Potsdam and Shawn Seymour of Hannawa Falls with the Paul Harris Award, and Robert R. Burns of Potsdam with the Service Above Self Award, at its annual dinner on Wednesday, June 21, at the Elks Lodge, 10 Elm St., in Potsdam, N.Y.
Carroll and Seymour will be honored as Paul Harris Fellows for their demonstrated commitment to the goals and purposes of Rotary and "in appreciation of their tangible assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world."
 
Longtime Rotarian Robert Burns will be honored with the Service Above Self Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Potsdam community.
 
Mary Sue Foster will also be installed as 2017-2018 president at the event, while Erica Leonard will be honored as outgoing president.
 
Christa Carroll is past president of the Rotary Club of Potsdam. Vice president of development for United Helpers, she joined the club in 2008. Carroll, currently a club board member, has also served as the club’s website manager and its exchange liaison for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from South Korea studying at SUNY Potsdam, She has also supported and participated in projects like distributing children’s books at Fright Night, the annual scholarship golf tournament, the Wheelchair Challenge, the Potsdam Holiday Fund food baskets, the School’s Out summer food drive and Dodge Pond projects for developmentally disabled summer campers. Prior to her role at United Helpers, she served for 18 years at SUNY Potsdam in their division of College Advancement.
 
Shawn Seymour has worked tirelessly as treasurer of the Rotary Club of Potsdam for nearly a decade. Senior accountant at Clarkson University, he joined the club in 2007, and has served on its board nearly as long. Seymour is currently chairing the Potsdam Rotary Duck Pluck, has chaired and co-chaired several  wine/beer/food tasting events, and works on virtually every Rotary project and program, including the Potsdam Holiday Fund food baskets, Wheelchair Challenge, annual scholarship golf tournament, Dodge Pond projects, and School's Out summer food drive. A Certified Public Accountant and native of Watertown, N.Y., Seymour received his bachelor of science degree in accounting from Clarkson. He resides in Hannawa Falls with his wife, Laura Cordts.
 
Robert R. Burns is currently an honorary member of the Potsdam Rotary club, having served as secretary, president and chair of a district committee. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow. Retired village administrator and engineer for the Village of Potsdam, Burns is a past member of the board of the Canton-Potsdam Hospital, past village trustee, past chairman of the village zoning board of appeals, past member of the board and two-time chairman of North Country Savings Bank, past member of the town-gown committee, past president and board member of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, and past president and board member of Bayside Cemetery. He is a recipient of SUNY Potsdam President’s Award for Public Service, the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce Commitment to the Community Award and the Clarkson Golden Knight Award for distinguished Service to the University. He has also been involved in the American Field Service (now AFS-USA) student exchange and many of the Potsdam Rotary club’s projects, including Postwood Park, the Lawrence Avenue playground, Dodge Pond, and the Ives Park gazebo. Burns received his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, master of science in industrial engineering, master’s degree in engineering science and Ph.D. in engineering science, all from Clarkson. He resides in Potsdam with his wife, Ellen
 
All Rotarians; family, friends and colleagues of the honorees; and community members are invited to attend.
 
A social hour with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m.
 
Tickets are available by advance purchase only for $15 per person. Checks can be made out to “Potsdam Rotary” and sent to Potsdam Rotary, PO Box 912, Potsdam, NY 13676. All reservations must be received by Tuesday, June 20. Please call Michael Griffin at 315-265-5584 with questions.
 
The Potsdam Rotary Club meets each Wednesday at noon at the Elks Lodge in Potsdam. For more information, visit the club’s Web site at www.potsdamrotary.org.