The Oriental Rotary Club was recently honored for its scholarship Tarpon Tournament, which is held each July.
Vivian Mott, Rotary International’s Governor of District 7720, presented the Oriental Rotary with Rotary International’s Significant Achievement Award. Ed Braun, president of the Oriental Rotary, accepted the plaque on behalf of the club.
Mott recognized the Oriental club for outstanding service to its community. According to a press release from the club, Mott described the magnitude of the effort the Oriental Rotary members put into the annual catch-and-release Tarpon Tournament and related festivities. She said that the entire membership is involved in planning and conducting the event, how the related activities involve broad portions of the community, how the proceeds meet identified community needs and how elements of the planning and production of the event could be translated and duplicated by other Rotary clubs for fund-raising.
The award was signed by Rotary International’s president, Dong Kurn Lee of Korea.
Proceeds from the Oriental fishing tournament and festivities provide scholarships for three graduating Pamlico County High School seniors, small awards to the 10 Pamlico County High School seniors with the highest grade point averages and money that Pamlico Community College uses to meet the emergency financial needs of its students.
This year’s Tarpon Tournament will be held July 24-26, with headquarters at Whittaker Pointe Marina. Fishermen should contact fishing chairman Paul Miller at (252) 249-1443. Anyone interested in being an observer on a fishing boat should call observer chairman Larry Walker at (866) 249-2135.
In addition to the catch-and-release fishing tournament, this year’s event features a variety of activities open to the community. They include a barbeque dinner July 25 and free concerts July 25 and 26. There will also be remote-controlled boat regattas in the marina basin in the early afternoons both of those days.
Rotary’s District 7720 covers 45 local Rotary clubs in northeastern North Carolina, from Gates County to Havelock.