Sunrise Rotary Bids Goodbye To One of Their Own

For the Sunrise Rotary Club of Marco Island the evening was a mixture of smiles and a little sadness. Their  membership and friends came together to wish Pastor Tom Boeck and his wife Sharon their heartfelt wishes for success on his next assignment. Pastor Boeck will be moving on next month to a new congregation in Bentonville, Arkansas and will bring with him great memories from his five years here in Marco Island.

Pastor Boeck spoke to the gathering of the great love and affection he has held for the Marco community. He and his wife adopted Marco as their home five years ago when he first stepped into the Lutheran Church here on North Collier Boulevard as their Pastor. “Sharon and I will truly miss our Marco family and the great friends we have made here, both in and outside our church family” said Pastor Boeck.

When asked what his greatest goal was upon arriving on Marco he would simply answer the following. “We wanted to make sure that the residents of this great community knew that we were a church for all to come to worship. We wanted to ensure that we were a part of the community and that our doors were open to everyone within the community,” said Boeck.

Besides wishing the Boecks well on their new journey, the club itself honored Pastor Boeck with the Paul Harris Fellowship. His inclusion as a Paul Harris Fellow was sponsored by past president of the Sunrise Rotary Club, Stanley Niemczyk, a longtime member. The presentation was made in concert with Bill Morris the present Sunrise Rotary president and Robert Thomas who serves as the Clubs Rotary Foundation Representative. The Paul Harris Award serves to recognize meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary Ideals and support of the causes of Rotary.

IslaMarotta Restaurant on Marco Lake Drive hosted a great evening get together for the Rotarians as they met to enjoy each other and share their well wishes with the Boecks in the next chapter in their lives.

The Sunrise Rotary Club meets on Tuesday mornings at Stonewalls Restaurant, located at 551 South Collier Boulevard across from the Hilton Hotel at 7:15 AM for breakfast, as well as a guest speaker each week.