Whenever Herb Brown walks to the entrance of Rotary World Headquarters in Evanston, he takes special notice of the large bronze statue in the building's outdoor garden. The PolioPlus statue, depicting a Rotarian giving oral polio vaccine to a child, is a tribute to the efforts of Rotarians worldwide to help eradicate the dread childhood disease.

The statue also reminds Herb of his own significant contributions to that endeavor and symbolizes for him the 1995-1996 RI Theme: "Act with Integrity -- Serve with Love -- Work for Peace." Throughout his careers in business and Rotary service, as well as in family life, Herb has made this three-part theme his personal credo, a philosophy shared with equal intensity by his wife, Diane.

Herbert Graham Brown was born in Iota, Louisiana. His small-town childhood came to an abrupt end in 1941, with the sudden death of his father. At age 17, Herb was called upon to take over the family business, an appliance store, in Opelousas, Louisiana -- Cajun country. He expanded it into a furniture store.

After a two-year tour of duty in the U.S. Army during World War II, Herb returned home in 1945 to open two more furniture stores and to join the Rotary Club of Opelousas. Marrying Diane Fontenot in 1953, Herb focused anew on business, expanding his furniture stores and founding a bank. In 1961, he opened Brown's Thrift City in Lafayette, Louisiana, one of the first discount stores in the U.S. Upset by the high cost of prescription drugs, Herb opened a chain of discount drugstores. His 40-store chain attracted the attention of Jack Eckerd, founder of Eckerd Drugs, then a 105-store chain. The 1970 merger of the two firms brought Herb and his family to Clearwater, Florida, home base of Eckerd Drugs.

The death of their oldest son and a tragic accident with another son in the 1970s propelled Herb into community action and renewed his dedication to Rotary. He has served as R.I. District Governor, institute counselor, member and chairman of numerous committees including a 5-year stint as chairman of the Health, Hunger, and Humanity (3-H) Committee as well as the chairmanship of both the R.I. PolioPlus Campaign Committee for the U.S. and the 1991 Mexico City R.I. International Convention Committee, Rotary Foundation Trustee and Director, and, of course, R.I. President.

Herb Brown holds both the Citation of Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Award for his service to the Rotary Foundation. In his volunteer work for Rotary he has received honors from the governments of Colombia, Philippines and Peru. We are grateful that Herb and Diane Brown, along with their 5 children and 9 grandchildren, practice their Rotarian believes by acting with integrity, serving with love, and working for peace to make this a better world for all of us.

Posted 26 August 2008 by Jack Selway from data from Rotary District 7690