Dear Fellow Rotarians & friends,
Super heroes can come from all walks of life. Our club has a man who is seldom seen but whose presence is always known and felt. He’s there whenever we need him. He lives by our motto of “Service Above Self.” Look, up in the sky... It’s a bird… It’s a plane…. It’s Rotaryman! If Superman came from Krypton, then our Rotaryman came from Rotan. (I believe that’s near Belle Mead?)
Christopher “Kip” Higgins is a charter member of our club. During the day he assumes the role as the mild-mannered proprietor of his family’s business, the Belle Mead Garage. But at many times of the year he becomes one of the true heroes of our club.
Kip has been instrumental in all of our major events and in all of the traditions that our club holds near and dear. He is always there for us. Kip is part of the traditions and events that separate our club from other organizations who just have mere mortals in their ranks.
As Course Marshal for our Run with Rotary, Kip’s presence is well known. He is usually putting things in place the day before our event even starts. He can be counted on without a miss. He does what super heroes do. He emerges when we need him most.
Kip is also the President of the Career Development Awards. The Career Development Awards Program grants scholarships to high school seniors and high school graduates. This program helps students begin their higher education as they enroll in accredited two-year training program in the technical and vocational profession of their choice.
For many years, Kip has interfaced with the LMS Interact Club and their many projects, including Books for Ghana. He spearheaded the NJ Driven to Read program for NJ Auto dealers to collect and distribute books to help those in need. At Belle Mead Garage he also runs ongoing collections for the Montgomery Food Pantry and Hillsborough Food Bank. Kip is also chair of our United Scholarship Committee. For more than 30 years Kip has helped to change the lives of countless young men and women. He’s also generously helped where needed with our Wrap Around Scholarships for Crawford House. He has built an incredible legacy in our community.
But wait, there’s more….
Our annual Funnel Cake Sale at the 4H Fair happens largely through the efforts of Kip Higgins. At the 10am set up for this month’s 4H Fair, Kip was there at 9:30. By the time the rest of the set-up team arrived, Kip had the trailer pretty much unloaded. He stores the entire infrastructure of our Funnel Cake booth and virtually all of our equipment at his location. He also provides the trailer that makes the transport of all of the equipment possible.
Our annual Cemetery Clean-Up is led by Kip, who does most of the heavy-duty mowing before we even arrive. As if that were not enough, Kip has also thrown his help and full support behind our latest endeavor, Bikes for The World. Kip was asked to help transport and secure abandoned bicycles that needed to be picked up at Princeton University. He did what super heroes do; He showed up (as he always does), when he was needed the most.
“A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the size of his heart.” – Zeus
Yours in Rotary,
Tony Parziale