14th Annual Rotary Club International Dinner draws crowd

Robert Halcomb, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

May 2—The London and Corbin chapters of Rotary Club collaborated to host the 14th Annual International Dinner at the Corbin Arena on Saturday evening.

The dinner featured a variety of local restaurants/vendors preparing dishes native to their country of origin or country of choice.

The floor of the Corbin Arena was filled with guests, tables, and vendors. They sold out of tickets as approximately 700 people attended the event.

The purpose of the event was to promote the Rotary Club's longstanding campaign to end polio across the world.

Rotary District 6740 Governor Jeanne Clark highlighted the importance of their mission by telling a story from a trip that she took to distribute polio vaccines in India.

Clark told the story of a young girl who "was not wearing shoes and had only tattered clothing" that visited the vaccine clinic being sponsored by the Rotary Club.

According to Clark, the young girl approached her eagerly to receive the vaccine and, despite the language barrier, was able to communicate her thanks by "placing (Clark's) hand on her face and smiling."

To Clark, this heartfelt interaction across cultures demonstrated the importance of continuing the Rotary Club's mission despite dwindling numbers of polio worldwide.

In addition to collecting money via purchased tickets, the dinner also offered guests the opportunity to bid on items at a silent auction.

Those attending could sample dishes from 23 countries represented at the dinner, including the following:

Brazil — University of the Cumberlands Pioneer Caterers

Canada — Milly Burkhart

Chile — Andrea Muñoz

China — Fangmin McQueen; Jeremy Bryant

Cuba — Sante Fe Mexican Restaurant

England — Barnett Family; Tim Barnes

France — Folktale Coffee and Bakehouse

Greece — Dino's Italian Restaurant & Lounge

India — Meera and Sweta Patel; Sudhir and Shobhna Patel; Dr. Usha Patil; Red Roof Inn & Suites/KT Patel

Indonesia — Febi Baldwin; Somerset Asian Market; Wes and Destiny Gilreath

Ireland — Joe and Lola Caldwell

Italy — Brooklyn Brothers Pizzeria; LexRents LLC, Family Lake Vacation

Lithuania — Suzie and Greg Razmus

Malaysia — Alfie Cheng

Mexico — El Dorado Mexican Restaurant; Bethel Hispanic and Multicultural Church; Santa Fe Mexican Restaurant

Netherlands — Parkinson's in Motion

Pakistan — Faia Arif; Adeela Bashir; Parina farhan Javaid

Phillipines — Dr. Atienza Acob Medical Center

Thailand — The Palace Family Entertainment

Uganda — Uganda Counseling and Support Services

United States — Old Town Grill of London; Applebee's; Pepsi Cola Bottling Company; Slim Chickens; Dupont Lodge; Mont and Melonie Lowans; David's Steakhouse; Wildcat Mountain Cheese; Baptist Health Corbin; Flowers Bakery.

Also speaking at the meeting were Corbin and London Rotary Club Presidents Mallory Davis and Kenny Jones.

Both leaders extended their gratitude to those present at the event, as well as expressing their belief in the importance of the Rotary Club.