Paul Harris Induction Ceremony

With the ringing of the bell, Chairman Jim Dickson officially opened the Paul Harris Induction ceremony. He started by giving a brief background and description of the Paul Harris award.

Assisted by District Governor, Tom Rogers and John Watson the first two inductees were introduced.

First was Bill Schickel, introduced by Ken Steadman. Bill is General Manager of Geneva on the Lake. He has degrees from Notre Dame, University of Massachusetts and Dartmouth. Bill manages the oversight of the property and has generously donated overnight stay packages at the luxurious property throughout the community.

Bill read a letter from his Dad written in 1943 during World War II. He would have been 100 years old this spring.

Bill’s family joined him at the podium to share this honor.

Second to receive recognition was State Senator Michael Nozzolio, introduced by Jim DeVaney. Mike has BS and MS degrees from Cornell University and his JD from Syracuse University College of Law.

Mike served as an elected representative for over three decades, in both the New York State Senate and State Assembly. As State Senator, he rose to become the Majority Whip of the Senate. While serving in the State Assembly he was one of the youngest in history to attain the position of Deputy Minority Leader.

Prior to his elective service he worked for four years as a Legislative Counsel in the United States House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

In addition to his elected duties, Senator Nozzolio is involved in many professional and community activities.

Senator Nozzolio quipped that he was invited to the meeting under false pretenses, expecting to be our guest speaker. He shared a story of how his father immigrated to this country from Italy and how he and others of his generation made this country great. Quoting Martin Luther King, Mike concluded, “Anyone can be great, as anyone can serve”. He hopes he will be invited back to a future meeting to give the speech he had prepared!

At the conclusion of the inductions, Tom Rogers read a declaration from Rotary International and congratulated both Bill Schickel and Senator Michael Nozzolio as the newest Paul Harris Fellows.

With the ringing of the bell, Chairman Jim Dickson brought the Paul Harris Induction Ceremony to a close.