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Three ORHS seniors win Brad Sturm scholarships

Posted at 11:09 am April 29, 2015
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Brad Sturm Scholarship Winners

Two Rotarians and the winners of the Bradley Sturm Memorial Scholarships are, from left, Barry Stephenson, chair of the Brad Sturm scholarship selection committee, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge; Diane “Grace” Malone; Megan Pitz; Holly Gubanc; and Mel Sturm, scholarship sponsor. (Submitted photo)

 

The three Oak Ridge High School seniors who won the Bradley Sturm Memorial Scholarships for 2015 are Holly Gubanc, Diane “Grace” Malone, and Megan Pitz.

Mel Sturm, a local businessman for years, said he started the endowment for the scholarship fund in 1976 for two reasons. He wanted to give back to the community that had supported his businesses. And he was determined to combat the tendency of Oak Ridge students, many of whom have parents who work for the federal government or government contractors, to view “free enterprise” and the “profit motive” with suspicion.

The scholarship program is administered by a Rotary Club of Oak Ridge committee consisting of Barry Stephenson, chair, and Jim Sumner, Larry Beeman, Jim Charles, Hal Schmitt, and Mel Sturm. ORHS economics teachers Beverly Baumann and Teresa Seals play key roles in the program. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, College, Community, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Barry Stephenson, Beverly Baumann, Bradley Sturm Memorial Scholarship, Bradley Sturm Memorial Scholarships, Diane "Grace" Malone, Friedrich Hayek, Hal Schmitt, Holly Gubanc, Jim Charles, Jim Sumner, Larry Beeman, Megan Pitz, Mel Sturm, Oak Ridge High School, ORHS, Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, scholarship, scholarships, Teresa Seals, The Road to Serfdom

Letter: Three Rotary clubs launch successful Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival

Posted at 9:08 am June 2, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Letters Leave a Comment

Dragon Boats Close Race

 

To the Editor:

What happens when three Rotary clubs in an East Tennessee city work together? In Oak Ridge, a three-club collaboration over the past year culminated in a highly successful inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Race Festival. The exciting event was launched on Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina off Melton Lake Drive—one of the three best rowing venues in the United States.

The leadership of the event started with Mark Watson, Oak Ridge city manager and president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. He met frequently with the presidents of the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs, and they persuaded their club members to serve on the organizing committee and as volunteers at the festival. Key Rotarians who made the event successful were Leslie England, Keith Kahl, Jim Sumner, and Oak Ridge City Councilman Chuck Hope (who was in charge of logistics and served as a liaison between the Rotary clubs and the city of Oak Ridge).

By the third week in May, 30 teams, including one from Chattanooga and three from Kentucky and North Carolina, had registered. Three teams came from the Oak Ridge School System and three from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, Community, Letters, Nonprofits, Opinion, Recreation, Sports Tagged With: Carolyn Krause, Chuck Hope, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, Jim Sumner, Kassie Perkins, Keith Kahl, Ken Yager, Leslie England, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Schools, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club, ORNL, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Tom Beehan

Thirty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

Posted at 2:10 pm May 28, 2014
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Penny Behling Dragon Boat Steerer

Penny Behling of Dynamic Dragon Boat Races LLC of Knoxville takes over as steerer of this dragon boat during a race in Owenboro, Ky., and gets the team back on course. (Submitted photo)

 

The inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are launching this fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations.

Dragon boat racing is the eighth-fastest growing sport in the world. And the races will take place on Oak Ridge’s signature rowing venue, considered one of the three best courses for regattas in the nation.

Starting at 9 a.m., 30 dragon boat teams—three from Kentucky and North Carolina—will race at least twice, with the 12 winners of two rounds racing in the third round.

The festival offers food and beverage vendors, beer garden, kids area at the pavilion with bounce houses and 15-minute martial arts lessons on the hour, two Tai Chi demonstrations, and awards ceremonies for winners of the morning Drummers Parade and the third round of dragon boat races. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, Community, Nonprofits, Recreation, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Austin Lance, dragon boat, dragon boat races, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing, Jim Sumner, Kassie Perkins, Keith Kahl, Leslie England, Mark Watson, Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge Rotary Community Fund, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary, Penny Behling, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Rotary clubs, Rotary District 6780, Tony Jordan

Twenty dragon boat teams ready to race May 31

Posted at 1:40 pm May 4, 2014
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Dragon Boat Races

Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. Originally the summer event was a time to ward off bad spirits but now it is a celebration of the life of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who opposed the corruption of the imperial court. More than 200 teams from Taiwan and abroad will compete in the three-day race. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK LIN (Photo credit should read PATRICK LIN/ AFP/ Getty Images)

 

Commit to a competitive sport and community support. 

That could be the motto of the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, a fundraiser for community nonprofit service organizations that will be launched by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge.

Already at least 20 boat teams are being organized, with more expected to register soon at http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

At least 15 companies and organizations have paid or pledged a total of more than $25,000.

The Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival will be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Churches, Community, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: Boys and Girls Club, children's museum, dragon boat, dragon boat races, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, Free Medical Clinic, Girls Inc., Jim Sumner, Keith Kahl, Leslie England, Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge Rotary Community Fund, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club, Penny Behling, Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge’s Rotary clubs to host dragon boat races May 31

Posted at 2:50 pm April 13, 2014
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Penny Behling Dragon Boat Steerer

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge are combining forces to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, to be held Saturday, May 31, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment and raise funds for nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat-racing event will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs.

A dragon boat is a long, low boat adorned with a snarling dragonhead at the boat’s front end, as in the Chinese tradition. Dragon boat races have become popular events in many U.S. cities, ranging in size from Philadelphia to Knoxville.

This all-day Dragon Boat Festival race will be an entertaining competition among teams of 20 persons each—18 paddlers, a caller, and a steerer. The teams will come from community employers and organizations, some of which are signing up to become corporate sponsors of the event. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Nonprofits, Recreation, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: boat racing, Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat Race, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, Jim Sumner, Keith Kahl, Leslie England, Mark Watson, Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge Rotary Community Fund, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary, Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge

Organizers announce new date for Dragon Boat Festival in May

Posted at 2:25 pm December 30, 2013
By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

Colorado Dragon Boat Race

The first team to pull out the flag at the end of a dragon boat race in Colorado wins the 150-meter competition. (Jeff Towery, provided by Colorado Dragon Boat Festival)

The three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge, which are planning to launch the inaugural Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival this spring, have announced a change of date for the community fundraiser. The festival will be held Saturday, May 31, 2014, at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

In addition, the clubs have announced a new website for the Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival: http://oakridge.racedragonboats.com/.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment, and raise funds for a special project and nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat-racing event, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Clubs, Community, Community, Nonprofits, Recreation, Slider, Sports, Top Stories Tagged With: Austin Lance, dragon boat races, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, fundraiser, Jim Sumner, Keith Kahl, Leslie England, Mark Watson, Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina, Oak Ridge Rotary Community Fund, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club, OARS, OARS in the Water, Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Tony Jordan

Rotary clubs plan dragon boat races at Oak Ridge Marina in May

Posted at 10:11 pm November 20, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Dragon Boat Festival

Teams take part in the annual Dragon Boat Festival in Taipei on May 28, 2009. (Photo credit Patrick Lin/AFP/Getty Images)

Three local Rotary clubs are launching the city’s first Dragon Boat Festival on May 17 at the Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion in Melton Lake Park.

“The purpose of the festival is to provide a venue for dragon boat races, offer food and musical entertainment, and raise funds for a special project and nonprofit service organizations in the community,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, president of the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.

The boat racing event, launched by OARS in the Water, will celebrate Oak Ridge’s waterfront and signature rowing venue. OARS stands for the Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians. The other two clubs are the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary and Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary clubs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: dragon boat races, Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, Jim Sumner, Keith Kahl, Leslie England, Mark Watson, Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Association of Rotarians, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club, Oak Ridge Dragon Boat Festival, Oak Ridge Marina and Pavilion, Oak Ridge Rotary Community Fund, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club, OARS in the Water, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, Rotary clubs, Tony Jordan

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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