Pat Cross, at left, and Debbie Overcash, members of Rotary Club of Madison, are co-chairing the 2014 Rotary Foundation Dinner for District 6860. Rotarians from across North Alabama will convene on Nov. 6 at the Best Western Plus. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – For the first time, Rotary Club of Madison will host its district’s foundation dinner on hometown turf.

The 2014 Rotary Foundation Dinner for District 6860 will convene on Nov. 6 when Rotarians from across North Alabama gather at the Best Western Plus.

Madison Rotarians “are delighted to have been chosen by District 6860 Governor Jerry Shepherd to host this year’s foundation dinner,” 2015-2016 district governor-elect Pat Cross said. District 6860 encompasses all North Alabama, from Tuscaloosa eastward to Anniston and northward to Tennessee.

The district includes 53 clubs and 3,562 Rotarians, Cross said. Cross and Debbie Overcash are coordinating the dinner event.

The foundation dinner will recognize “individuals who have reached major donor status to the Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary. All Rotarians are encouraged to give at the Paul Harris Fellow level, an accumulated gift of $1,000,” Cross said.

The event also will honor members of the Paul Harris Society, Bequest Society and Arch C. Klumph Society.

“The Rotary Foundation transforms these gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world,” Overcash said. A portion of funds returns to District 6860 as grants. In the past five years, the Madison club has received grants exceeding $50,000.

The dinner’s featured guest speaker, Ron Burton, was elected 2013-2014 Rotary International President. He has served as Rotary International Director, foundation vice chairman and trustee.

Burton retired as president of the University of Oklahoma Foundation Inc. in 2007. He is a member of the Supreme Court Bar and Oklahoma Bar Association. He and wife Jetta are Paul Harris Fellows.

“Rotarians make a difference every single day in someone’s life,” Overcash said. “The friendships made while working toward a common goal are long-lasting, deep and meaningful.”

Rotary works for global eradication of polo. “In 1985, over 100,000 people contracted polio annually. This year, 416 cases of polio worldwide (have occurred),” Cross said.

For more information, visit madisonalrotary.org.