Carl L. Schweinfurth* was a well-to-do entrepreneur, owning businesses in Mt. Vernon and elsewhere, including ownership of a business in West Africa.

Carl had made a hobby of attending Rotary club meetings in every Rotary country in the world and was written up in The Rotarian magazine for this feat!

As an intellectual and an accomplished musician-pianist, Carl also taught history at a university in West Virginia.

Carl was a member of the Wierton Rotary Club in Wierton, WV, and was District Governor in that Rotary District. Carl was very interested in The Rotary Foundation, himself a Paul Harris Fellow and was involved in making a number of people in our District Paul Harris Fellows. He helped to establish a District Honorarium for PDG John Armstrong of Carbondale Rotary Club, a beloved Rotarian in our District for many years.

Carl was a member of District 6510 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee and took great interest in it. He was an organizer and could get things done. He was always actively involved in our District, took part in District Conferences, meetings and had attended quite a number of Rotary International Conventions. The district looked to Carl when they needed special funds and he would always help.

Locally, Carl was a member of the Mt. Vernon Rotary Club. Carl was vitally interested in International Relations and he established an International Forum held in Mt. Vernon for many years. He would bring international leaders to Mt. Vernon and invite community leaders. These forums were open to the public and were well received. This endeavor was not a Rotary project.

He was very active in the Mitchell Museum, responsible for bringing quality international artists for concerts, lectures and art shows.

Carl was a very prominent man in Mt. Vernon and throughout Southern Illinois. The Rotarian magazine had an article about Carl in the March 1996 issue. Then-Governor Jim Edgar of Illinois presented the ninth annual Charles A. Bane Humanitarian Award for Excellence to Carl L. Schweinfurth of Mt. Vernon, Illinois. A member of the Rotary Club of Mt. Vernon and a longtime supporter of local arts projects, Carl was the founding president and an honorary lifetime member of the United Way of Jefferson County. He was also the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from The Rotary Foundation. The Bane Award, established in 1987, is named for the first president of the United Way of Illinois. It is awarded each year to an Illinois citizen who exemplifies the ideals of community service.

Dr. Carl Schweinfurth died December 26, 1996. He dedicated his life to serving the community he loved. That community not only included Mt. Vernon, but a larger community as well, demonstrated by his many friendships throughout the world. Carl will be remembered by many Rotarians as a man of vision, always generous, constant, untiring, and a dear friend.

The Rotarian of the Year Award and its guidelines originated in District 7530, which is the district of which Carl Schweinfurth was District Governor in 1975-76. Carl invited Blanche Sloan to accompany him to the district conference held in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 1995. He wanted her to see what their conference was like before our conference was planned for Blanche's DG year. She adapted the award guidelines slightly to fit our district's situation. Carl attended the District 7530 Conference every year, as well as the District 6510 Conference. Carl died during Blanche's term as governor, the first year it was awarded, and Terry Mathias had the idea of naming the award in Carl's memory.

The Carl L. Schweinfurth Rotarian of the Year award is presented to one currently active Rotarian for "exemplary service to the district in one of the four avenues of service, not overlooking service to the recipient's home club". Past recipients of this honor are listed below.

Carl L. Schweinfurth District Rotarian of the Year Nomination Form

*Photo courtesy of Cedarhurst Center for the Arts