Bob is a graduate of Knox College where he received a B.A. majoring in economics.  After graduation he was a VISTA volunteer in the government program Volunteers in Service to America where he worked in Pawnee, Oklahoma. 

          Bob lives in Rockford with his wife, the acclaimed short story writer Mary Ann Presman.  They have two children.  Their daughter Roberta Leaf lives in Rockford with her husband Tim.  Their son Harry Presman lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Ashley and Bob’s two beautiful grandchildren Finn and Sawyer.

     The Rotary Club of Rockford will be holding an awards ceremony on Thursday, October 26^th at noon at Veterans Memorial Hall. The Club is pleased to honor seven individuals with the Service Above Self Award, and one organization will be honored for its special project to restore the headstones of Rockford’s Civil War Soldiers.

 

     

     Rotary’s Service Above Self Award is presented to special individuals who go above and beyond in their volunteer service to the Rockford community. Based on Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self, the Award has been in existence in Rockford since 1968. More than 300 individuals have received this award to date.

     

     The Mary Stuart Carruthers Award was named in memory of a loyal member of Rotary who championed many nonprofit causes. For the last several years this Rockford award has been presented to an organization that has provided a special service to the Rockford community. This year’s Mary Stuart Carruthers Award will be presented to 815 Stone Scrubbers, a new, all-volunteer organization that sprang up to restore the headstones of all the Civil War soldiers buried in Rockford. Since late spring they have restored 468 headstones.

     

     This years’ Service Above Self Awards honorees and their organizational affiliations are listed below:

 

     The Rotary Club of Rockford promotes community service through volunteer and philanthropic programs in Rockford and in the world. Our Club implements such programs as Rockford Reads, Rotary Academy and high school scholarships. This fall the Club will be planting a pollinator garden at Welsh School as an educational resource on the environment.  Members also participate in Rotary International’s Polio Plus campaign to eradicate polio worldwide, provide for basic education and literacy, community economic development, disease prevention, maternal and child health, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, clean water and sanitation, and environmental remediation. For more information about Rotary International, please go to www.rotary.org.