Community Service chair Geoff Carton has been honored as 2021-2022 Rotarian of the Year by the Rotary Club of Columbia-Patuxent. He was presented a plaque for “outstanding dedication and service” by immediate past president Jim Ehle at the club’s annual dinner.
Carton is a Maryland native who joined Rotary in January of 2018 and resides in Clarksville. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a BS degree in resource development.
As Community Service chair, Carton arranges various hands-on projects and volunteer opportunities that support Rotary’s historical emphasis on improving the lives of local citizens. Under his leadership, Columbia-Patuxent members in the past two-and-half years have given more than 4,400 hours of volunteer service.
The economic worth of a volunteer’s time is $29.95 an hour, according to the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute and Independent Sector, a national coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs.
Columbia-Patuxent Rotary’s volunteering has benefited local charities and non-profits including the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, Respite Retreats, Freetown Farm, Just Living Advocacy, the Dictionary Project, Little Portion Farm, Robinson Nature Center, Howard County Food Bank, Howard Community College Food Bank, Humanim, Howard County Conservancy, Heritage Housing Partnership and Rebuilding Together Howard County, among others.
Carton also helps steer the club’s annual Grants Day program that awards funds for civic and non-profit organizations and projects. For 2021-2022, these merit-based grants totaled more than $40,000 and went to 21 local recipients.
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