Perfect Attendance

An old man rides in a convertible in the 4th of July Parade, waving slowly to the crowd. He is John Billings, “Mr. Rotary.” A hand lettered sign proclaims his 59 years of perfect weekly attendance. I don’t know John Billings. Know of him. Read about him in The Tidings. He is a farmer, patriarch of a longtime Ashland family, whose farm is at the north entrance to Ashland and is being developed with $700,000 plus homes and, possibly, a golf course. Patriarch also of the Ashland Rotary Club. Rotary is an international service club and, in most communities, is the most desirable club to belong to, ranking slightly higher in the pecking order than Kiwanis and Lions. Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions and other clubs do good work and provide needed infrastructure to the community. They each have their own corporate culture. But one thing they share in common is admiration for perfect attendance. Attendance is honored by a small, changeable attachment to the club pin which most members wear proudly on their jackets or shirts. Each year, if perfect attendance is maintained, the pin is upgraded. Within each service club there is a group of men (and since the mid-eighties—women) who work hard to earn their pin. This means attending a meeting each and every week. If you miss in Ashland, for example, you head for the Medford meeting or some other satellite club. If you are on vacation or in a foreign country, you seek out the local breakfast, lunch or dinner meeting and attend, reporting back to your club secretary that you have, against all odds, maintained your perfect attendance. It’s not easy getting perfect attendance at anything, let alone Rotary. I was a member of Kiwanis for fourteen years and never came close to perfect attendance for even one year. Probably not one month. I never thought it was important and still wonder why someone else would make such an effort. My guess is that the service club perfect attendance cult has better attendance at club than they do at church, or family holidays, or PTA Meetings, or the kid’s Little League game. These meetings serve some kind of deep need for community and comradeship. Plus, one has to eat that meal somewhere. Since dues are paid in lump sums, perhaps it’s pure frugality that leads to perfect attendance. I paid for it and I’m going to eat it. If you have never been to a service club meeting you haven’t missed much. There is lunch, of course, and some singing (more on this later), good natured teasing in the nature of fines for various “offenses” in the community and a program. The program is often worthwhile. The singing is usually abominable. In our Kiwanis Club we sang both the US and Canadian National Anthems (because there were Canadian Clubs in our district. And, though I do love Canada I always felt funny singing, “ Oh Canada, my home my native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command”). We also sang the “Kiwanis Welcome Song” which is so abysmal musically and lyrically that I could use it to punish my children. “Here’s a welcome friendly stranger; sit you down with us and dine. As we meet here any Tuesday; come and join us any time.”
Two or three times a month was enough Welcome Song for me. Never got that perfect attendance pin. But as Mr. Rotary passed by on the 4th I was one of those in the crowd who understood what 59 Years of Perfect Attendance means. It means Mr. Billings has attended at least 3068 Rotary Meetings.