Senior Rotarians who served with Colton Lamond were saddened to receive the news that he passed away, at Osbourne House, on Thursday, October 31.
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Given Colton's long and dedicated service to Rotary at both club and district levels, and that his resignation from Rotary was only for health reasons, Colton was made the club's only perpetual Honorary member of Rotary Nowra in 2014.
At a testimonial dinner held for Colton and his wife Faye in March 2014 they were both recognised for their dedicated service and support to Rotary over the previous 35 years.
Rotarians from District 9710 clubs who had worked with Colton in his range of capacities attended the dinner and heard the then, and ironically, current club president of Rotary Nowra, Graeme Cord, profile Colton's impressive record of achievements against a backdrop of projected photos of Colton and Faye in action over the years.
Colton joined the Rotary Club of Nowra in 1979 with a classification of Farm Management.
Colton held the positions of Vocational Service Director, Vice President and President Elect before becoming the club's president in 1985-86.
Colton had also been the club's International Director and the club mentor in latter years, however his major administrative contribution to the club was his, unlikely to be repeated, 22-years as club secretary.
Colton also had an outstanding record of service to District 9710. He was a member of the District International Youth Exchange Committee for 12 years including a term as its chairman.
His (Colton's) major administrative contribution to the club was his, unlikely to be repeated, 22-years as club secretary.
He was also a counsellor for inbound and outbound students. During his time on this committee he monitored around 80 inbound and outbound students.
In his term as chairman Colton created new exchanges with Argentina, Thailand and Indonesia and initiated the Trekkaway program for inbound students. Colton also served terms as district secretary and attendance officer.
Colton's contributions over the years were instrumental in the club receiving annual district, international, community and vocational service awards.
For his dedicated service to Rotary, Colton was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow in 1988 and a further recognition in 2004 when he was awarded a Paul Harris Sapphire Pin.
In his acceptance of this recognition Colton recalled the highlights of his active service as the many imaginative projects the club has embarked on to raise money for Shoalhaven Hospital and ambulance equipment and its support to many community charities, his association with International Exchange and Group Study Exchange programs, and the many club and district officers he has had the pleasure to work with.
Colton also took the opportunity to publicly thank some of these people who were in attendance.
One project unique to Rotary Nowra club was its six-week Solomon Island cultural exchange program that saw 63 Solomon Island high school students visit the Shoalhaven over Colton's 35 years of service.
These students were hosted by club members and attended the Nowra High School.
This experience has seen these students return to the Solomon Islands with a renewed enthusiasm to complete their schooling and become doctors, nurses and government official to help and care for their communities.
Colton is one of the founders of this program and for 35 years was the backbone of its organisation with the Rotary Club of Honiara and various Solomon Island High Schools.
The club's historian, Arthur King also thanked Colton on behalf of those present and added to the list of his achievements.
Both Colton and the club recognised the tremendous support given by Colton's wife, Faye, who all are thinking of at this sad time for her and her family.
- The above obituary was written by Nowra Rotarian, Mick Ludlow.