Top Rotary award for services to music

Ian Grice (pictured above left) receives the Paul Harris Fellowship from Mansfield Rotary president Geoff Milnes.

The musical director of Mansfield and District Male Voice Choir has received one of Rotary’s highest honours. Ian Grice was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by Mansfield Rotary in recognition of his long-standing commitment to the local community and his significant contribution to music and voluntary service.

The award was presented by Mansfield Rotary president Geoff Milnes, who praised Ian’s dedication and the impact he has made. Ian has contributed more than 40 years of service to the choir, progressing from performer to musical director, playing a key role in its success and reputation. His work has extended beyond performance, helping to nurture talent, maintain high musical standards, and promote the choir locally and nationally. Ian began as a first tenor, progressed to principal tenor soloist, and became deputy musical director in 2007. Upon the retirement of Meryl Chambers in 2017, Ian took up the baton and leadership of the choir. Colleagues describe Ian as someone with enduring, boundless enthusiasm for music and community life, whose leadership and encouragement have inspired generations of singers.

A Paul Harris Fellowship is an accolade that a Rotary Club can vote to present to a worthy individual within or outside the international Rotary organisation who demonstrates exceptional service and commitment to helping others. Established in 1957 and named after Rotary’s founder, the honour recognises those who embody the movement’s ideals of service above self. Paul Harris, one of the four Founding Fathers of Rotary in Chicago in 1905, and recognises extended effort and commitment in supporting the community, whether locally, nationally, or internationally.
The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s own charity which distributes about US $70,000,000 annually, nearly £55m across the world. Many notable worldwide figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. Here in the UK, Rotary clubs make an application to the Rotary Foundation to award a PHF and if accepted, a certificate and lapel pin are presented to the person nominated.

In simple layman’s terms it is often referred to as a Rotary MBE in terms of explaining its significance to those outside Rotary.