have changed and things that have remained the same

By

JOAN GANDY

The Natchez Democrat

Some things may have changed in the Rotary club Carl Hicks has attended for 64 years. But so many other things remain the same, the retired Natchez businessman said.

&uot;I remember we met at White’s Restaurant on Main Street when I first came into the club in 1941,&uot; Hicks said. &uot;And then in the late 1940s, we moved to the Eola Hotel.&uot;

No one remembered to take the songbooks when the club moved, he said. And the piano was left behind, too. &uot;The piano is still at the Ramada, as far as I know,&uot; Hicks said. &uot;As for the songbooks, I don’t know where they are; and I don’t remember we ever sang anyway.&uot;

The Top of the Town room on the seventh floor of the Eola, hosted the club for many years until the club moved to the Ramada Inn Hilltop. In 2004, the club moved to the Carriage House restaurant for its Wednesday noon luncheon meetings.

Hicks, who because of his longevity with the club is no longer required to attend meetings, still likes to be there every week. &uot;Rotary is more than just a club,&uot; he said. &uot;Rotary International is a prestigious organization doing wonderful things all around the world to make the world a better place. And locally I couldn’t name all the things we do.&uot;

The principles upon which Rotary was founded in 1905 remain the same, he said. Central to the club is the motto: Service above self. He profits most who serves best.

The club was organized to promote &uot;the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise,&uot; the handbook reads.

Some goals of the club are to develop acquaintances as opportunities for service; to promote high ethical standards in business and professions; to apply the ideal of service to personal, business and community life; and to advance international understanding, good will and peace through a worldwide fellowship.

Hicks, who served as president of the Natchez club in 1952-53, enjoyed the international experience of a convention in Mexico City. It remains a vivid memory for him.

And in 1979, he and his late wife, Marjorie, hosted a member of a group study exchange team from India.

&uot;While he was with us, he told us his wife was going to have a baby,&uot; Hicks said. &uot;After he got home, he sent us a picture of the baby. The child’s name was Natchez.&uot;

For many years, Hicks and the late Lucius Butts chaired the Rotary Information Committee. Hicks continues to serve as an active member of the committee.

&uot;We meet with new members and tell them what Rotary is all about,&uot; Hicks said. &uot;Lucius and I had it down pat. Where I would leave off, he would pick it up.&uot;

Albert Metcalfe, one of the club’s most active members, said Hicks continues to make a difference on the Information Committee. &uot;He was for years and is still a key element in the orientation of new members,&uot; Metcalfe said. &uot;He has impressed on many new members the importance of being a Rotarian.&uot;

One of the big recent changes in Rotary is the easing of competition among potential members of the same profession. &uot;Now you can have more than one person in a classification, and that has made a difference,&uot; he said. &uot;It has made us a bigger club and a better club.&uot;

Hicks has two sons who are active Rotarians, Ken Hicks in Vicksburg and Ed Hicks in Jacksonville, Fla. Both, like their father, have been presidents of their clubs.

Hicks has simple advice for younger members: Take part in club activities. &uot;You get out of Rotary what you put into the club,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m proud to have been chosen a Rotarian. And you are chosen.&uot;

Metcalfe said that attitude makes Hicks special as a member who now is 87 years old but still active. &uot;Even advancing in years, he still wants to be an important part of Rotary,&uot; Metcalfe said. &uot;Carl very quietly and very faithfully has demonstrated how to be a strong Rotarian.&uot;

Other members from the 1940s who remain active are Robert Lehmann, who came into the club in 1949; and Rudolph Case, 1943. They, too, are setting the kind of example younger members can follow, Metcalfe said.

&uot;I think it’s very significant that they remain and want to be a part of something so important in their lives,&uot; Metcalfe said.

Also, Gilmer McLaurin, now on honorary status, joined the club in 1938. Not able to attend meetings weekly, he will attend the special anniversary program at the Carriage House today and participate in the discussion of the club’s history.