Joseph
A. Abey
- President of Rotary Club of Reading -
1942-1943
- District Governor of District 179 -
1948-1949
- President of Rotary International -
1961-1962
No record of the club would be complete without some
discussion of perhaps our most honored member, Joseph A. Abey.
Of the some 21,000 clubs in Rotary International, approximately
80 can claim the honor as home club of the International
President, a claim that the Reading club carries with pride.
Joe was elected to the Reading Club on 21 April 1936 and was
loaned the classification of Newspaper Publisher. He served as
president of the club in 1942-1943, as District Governor in
1948-1949, as Rotary International Director from Zone 5 in
1954-1956, and as President of Rotary International in
1961-1962. Along the way he chaired nearly every club committee,
and actively promoted Rotary throughout the region and the
world.
On June 21, 1961, Joe's birthday, the club hosted a dinner
for he and his wife Eula at the Albright College Field House to
which 1100 guests responded. This meeting served as the
introductory event of his year as President and saw the
introduction of his theme for the year, ACT -- Aim for Action,
Communicate for Understanding, Test for leadership -- a theme
which was to serve as the focus for his 125,000 miles of
worldwide travel on behalf of Rotary for the next several years.
During his travels, Joe visited Rotary clubs in 35 states and 90
foreign countries.
Members will remember the club assemblies at his home during
which Joe served his famous Chili Con Carne to all assembled,
his visits to the club meetings whenever he was in town during
those busy years, the efforts of the club to keep records of his
years of service, and his continuing support of the Rotary Ideal
of service above self.
In addition to his service to the Reading Rotary, Joe was an
Elder at the First Presbyterian Church, a member of the Boards
of the Hawk Mountain Council, the Salvation Army, and the
Chamber of Commerce. Joe’s honors include membership in the
Newspaperboys Hall of Fame, honorary doctorates from four
colleges, including one from Albright College, and a citation
from the Pennsylvania State Senate.
When, on March 12, 1972, he passed away, both the Reading
club and Rotary International lost a true exemplar of the Ideal
of Rotary. |
