Our “Rotarian of the Day” today is Larry Gilbert. Larry was born July 5, 1953, in Tulsa, the youngest of three boys. He was an OTASCO Bonus Baby, which earned his mom and dad, Calvin and Neva Gilbert, a total bonus of $50.00.
Larry grew up in Tulsa, graduating from Nathan Hale High School in 1971. He lettered in cross country and track and sang in the Nathan Hale Concert Choir. He met his wife in 1970, while she attended Memorial High School, and they married on July 24, 1971. They have been blessed with two children, Keela and Kyle, and six grandchildren.
Larry attended and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1975. He started working for OTASCO while in college and in 1980 became a store manager in Woodward, Oklahoma.
In 1983, he decided to make a career change and began working with Sherwin-Williams Paint Company as a store manager in Seminole, Oklahoma. He subsequently moved to various locations with Sherwin-Williams throughout his 23.5 years with them, managing a total of six different facilities.
Larry won two sales trips through Sherwin-Williams, one going to Nassau, The Bahamas and the other to Cancun, Mexico. He now manages a wholesale paint facility for Sherwin-Williams, selling paint solely to manufacturing firms in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
In 1987, he was invited to join Rotary, and has been a member of five different clubs. In 1988, he was asked to join the Rotary Men of Note and has been a member ever since.
Larry has said, “I have even been fortunate to have been able to sing a couple of solo parts with them in front of several thousand Rotarians during the Sunday morning Ecumenical Services at the Basilica in Mexico City and the 100th Anniversary Convention in Chicago. Experiences that I will never forget.”
This Week’s Program
The Rotary Men of Note
Our program today will be the Rotary Men of Note, a group that’s been delighting ears for 40 years.
In 1967, Jimmy Saied, a Tulsa musician, conceived the idea of a Rotary band. At the first rehearsal, only two Rotarians showed up with their instruments of choice: a guitar and a broken drum.
Saied quickly changed plans and organized a “singing table” of Rotarians at the weekly Tulsa Rotary Club meeting. His idea soon outgrew the table and the group became the Gentlemen Songsters. Slowly, the organization grew and eventually became the Men of Note. By 1971, 35 uniformed men were singing at club meetings and district conventions.
The group really came into prominence when they were invited to perform at the 1972 Rotary International Convention in Houston. Throughout the years, Rotary International delegates in San Francisco, Montreal, Kansas City, Dallas, Portland, Mexico City, Calgary, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Chicago, and Salt Lake City have been entertained and inspired by the words and harmonies of these dedicated volunteer musicians.
During a visit to Tulsa, past RI president James Lacy, a Tennessee native, heard the strains of “Rocky Top Tennessee.” He joined in singing, and still remembers the rendition to this day. Members of the organization consider themselves “almost another Rotary Club,” said Cory Nickerson, the group’s director, even through the roster is made up from ten different clubs in the Tulsa area and one club in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
In 1997, the Men of Note produced two evening concerts, which raised $14,000 for the Rotary District 6110 Medical Supplies Network. In 1999, the group was invited to perform at the district conference of Rotary District 5220 in Reno, Nevada. Before they could say “yes,” District 5190, which was having their conference in nearby Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe, invited the Men of Note to perform for their conference as well.
During that same 10-day period, the group had scheduled a two-night concert with the Tulsa Boy Singers in an effort to raise $12,000 for the boys’ planned national tour. The Men of Note took the backbreaking schedule in stride. They performed five concerts in Nevada, then came back to Tulsa and sang to sold-out audiences in two joint concerts with the boys on the following Friday and Saturday.
Presently, the Men of Note continue their weekly two-hour rehearsal schedule, fine-tuning and expanding their repertoire to include everything from patriotic, Broadway, and pop to doo-wop, gospel, and Texas swing. Good music and lots of fun is the mode of operation for this group, and audiences everywhere benefit from their attitude of “Serving with a Song.”
Thank you all for coming to perform for us! We’re looking forward to it.
Southsider Quick Notes
Last week…
- Last week, our ROD was Bryan Osborne, and our program was the 4-Way Test Speech Contest.
- Our fundraiser, the Henry Bellmon Award for Sustainable Development, has been set for September 16!
- Happy birthday to Jessica Cox!
- If you want to pick up some Topeca coffee for the fundraiser, see Josh Butts. We’re supposed to buy or sell 20 bags apiece.
- Jessica Cox, our membership chair, has reminded everybody to bring guests!
- There will be a Fireside Chat on Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Calistoga’s. New members, this is a chance to sit down and learn more details about our club and what we do in the community.
- Remember to deliver your dictionaries. Fines will be starting soon, so get in touch with your schools!
- Also, dues are due! Be sure to get your checks in and make sure you’re paid up.
- Be sure to check the Upcoming Programs for our speaker list through March 2010. Information on it is subject to change, but we’ll do our best to keep it updated!
- Next week we’ll have Mike Terry with an update on the oil & gas industry.
