Meika Matthews Awarded PHF

The skies were blue and the wind was chilly, but the sun was warm and it was Easter Sunday afternoon. In a surprise visit to her home in Port Dover, Meika Matthews was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow Award for her outstanding contributions to Rotary and her community. As a former long term exchange student (Rotex) through the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, Meika spent a year abroad, destination Finland. Exchange programs through Rotary on an international level have been occurring since 1929. They are designed to provide young people with opportunities to experience a cultural exchange and to develop leaders who promote peace and justice around the world. Skills in leadership, independence, confidence, and global citizenry are just a few of the benefits from being chosen to participate in the once in a lifetime opportunity. (L-R Rudi Atkinson, Past President RCNS, Meika Matthews, PHF recipient, Elaine Thomas, former Principal Port Dover Composite School)

The RCNS (Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise) belongs to District 7090 who also offers RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), a week long leadership program designed for young people aged 19-25. As a participant in RYLA, Meika later joined RCNS as a member, engaging in numerous initiatives with the club along side her late aunt, mentor and club member Sue O’Dwyer.

Meika not only participated in these Rotary programs, developing and sharpening her skills, but also chose to apply them to grass roots initiatives in her community. Take the The Dover Rock Box Campaign as an example. This venture lasted almost all of 2020, during a global pandemic, and united many Port Dover businesses, generating well over $100,000 for local businesses. The concept of uniting small businesses as a collective, was an extremely time draining task. Literally hundreds of hours were spent behind the scene, to promote, distribute, collect, communicate, and assemble beautiful Port Dover products.

Meika has held numerous volunteer leadership positions in her community as well: Treasurer of the Port Dover Foundation, Chair of the Simcoe Chamber of Commerce, and Member of the Port Dover Board of Trade as a business owner. She created and launched “Project Friction”, a free financial literacy program designed to support at-risk low-income individuals.

Paul Harris founded Rotary in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois. In 2021, there are 1.2 million members in over 35,000 clubs worldwide. To be honored with a Paul Harris Fellow Award by a Rotary Club is a high honor and speaks to the appreciation and acknowledgment from the club that the recipient exemplifies the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self.’ Congratulations Meika on being the latest recipient of this award and especially for your initiatives and leadership in a multitude of community projects. You are still youthful and the world will continue to benefit from your goodwill initiatives.