Melvin Platt Receives Tom Botts Award - October 28, 2010

At the club meeting on October 28, 2010, Melvin Platt received the 2010 Tom Botts Four-Way Test Award, presented by past President Rollie Hausman, chair of the Tom Botts Award Committee. Click here for information about the award and its history. Rollie's remarks upon presenting the award appear under the photographs below.

Rollie Hausman, right, presents the Tom Botts Award
plaque to the 2010 recipient, Melvin Platt.

Melvin Platt's special guest at the meeting when
he received the Botts Award was his wife Mary.

In presenting the award to Melvin, Rollie made the following remarks:

Melvin has provided significant service to Rotary at the District level. Beginning in 1993, he was appointed to the District 6050 Scholarship Committee which was led by Matt Eichor and then later by Tim Donovan. After serving six years on the committee, he was appointed Chair for the 1998-99 academic year. When new Rotary districts were established in Missouri, he was appointed to the District 6080 Scholarship Committee in 1999-2000 and continued to serve as a member for seven years. Since 2006 he has been the Chair of the District 6080 Scholarship Committee, bringing his total years of service to Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars to 18 years.

Melvin also has served on a number of club committees including Foundation Committee Chair for two years and Scholarship Chair for a number of years. He served as a member of the club's Board of Directors for four years in the mid to late 1990s. He was elected to another term on the Board of Directors in September 2009. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow.

Melvin is currently serving as Chair of the Department of Art at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He formerly was Director of the MU School of Music for 17 years. A native of Boone County, Kentucky, he earned degrees at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Michigan. He taught music in Michigan schools before pursuing a career in higher education. He taught at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., at Kent State University in Ohio, and at the University of Oklahoma before joining the University of Missouri faculty in 1991. He joined our club in January 1992 at the invitation of Larry Clark.