Keith Harris, a Rotarian pedaling across the United States to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation, pauses on the banks of the Mississippi River. (Photo courtesy Rotary District Governor Michael Roy)
WESTFIELD – A Merrimac man pedaling his way home from Seattle will pause in the Whip City on his trek to raise money for the Rotary Foundation and will be the featured guest at the meeting of the local Rotary club on Monday.
Keith Harris, a member of the Ipswich Rotary Club, reports that his ride has raised, to date, more than $30,000 for the Rotary Foundation, the arm of Rotary International which supports a wide range of humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs around the world.
Harris left Seattle June 9 and reports that he is also undertaking the ride in gratitude for his life after a near-death experience resulting from a minor softball injury in 2007. He explains that what was initially a minor abrasion led to emergency open-heart surgery when a staph infection developed.
After that experience, he reports “I felt like I couldn’t go back to life as normal” and the trip has given him a number of striking experiences including the most challenging day of his trip, a 70-mile traverse of Beartooth Highway, an 11,000 foot pass connecting northwest Wyoming to southwest Montana and leading to Yellowstone National Park.
“It was 35 miles up and 35 miles down, with 30-foot snow banks at the top,” he said.
Harris is expected to ride into Westfield, escorted by members of the Rotary Club of Westfield, on Sunday. He will be the featured guest at the local club’s regular weekly meeting at Genesis Spiritual Life Center on Mill Street at noon.
The meeting, like all the club’s meetings, is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served, at a cost of $12, before Harris shares some of the stories of his trip and also speaks about issues of bicycle safety.
Information about the meeting or more general information about the local Rotary club may be obtained by contacting the club’s program coordinator, Jennifer Gruszka, at 413 265 1236 or by email at [email protected].
Additional information specifically about Harris’ trek may be found at his website, http://pedalingforapurpose.com.
While in the area, Harris will also meet with other area Rotary clubs including the West Springfield and Northampton clubs.
Rotary International, established in 1905, is a global service organization comprised of business and professional leaders around the world.
The organization has been most visibly known for the efforts of Rotarians to eliminate polio but also provide a wide range of humanitarian services both locally and globally.
