The South Pittsburg Rotary Club recently awarded Rotary’s highest recognition, the Paul Harris Fellow, to Susan Binkley. This award, named for the founder of Rotary, was established to recognize those that live Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self.”
Club member Beth Duggar said, “The South Pittsburg Rotary has donated $1,000 to Rotary International’s Foundation in Susan’s honor. She is the epitome of ‘Service Above Self.’”
Binkley is the founder and executive director of Blue Monarch, a local residential nonprofit organization that provides services for women and children recovering from abuse and addiction. More than 500 women and children from 34 counties across the state of Tennessee have been served since Blue Monarch was established in 2003.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Blount, was invited to introduce Binkley.
“The costs for incarceration are huge and increase yearly,” Blount said. “When we send mothers to prison, we must also pay huge sums to take care of children. We must look for alternative programs, because prison cannot be the only answer for this problem. Where do we look? We look to people who have visions of alternative programs.
“We look to people like Susan Binkley and programs like Blue Monarch, where instead of incarceration, separation, destroying the family unit, and spending larger and larger amounts of tax payer money, we attempt to keep families together, to rehabilitate, to restore and to save taxpayer money,” Blount said.
“This award was a tremendous honor for me,” said Binkley. “My relationships with folks from Rotary have always played critical roles in the creation and development of Blue Monarch. And it was also special to be introduced by Steve Blount. His influence and encouragement in the beginning of this journey helped to shape the way we operate today.”
For more information about Blue Monarch go to <www.bluemonarch.org> or call (931) 924-8900.
No comments:
Post a Comment