Madison Rotarian becomes district governor

Pat Cross, second from left, at her induction ceremony as District Governor on July 2. Cross is joined by her husband, Roger, at far left. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)

By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer

MADISON – A member of the Rotary Club of Madison is now the District Governor of northern Alabama after a ceremony on July 2 at Best Western in Madison.

Pat Cross, a former president of the Madison club, was formally installed as the District Governor of District 6860 at the Thursday ceremony, with family, Madison Rotarians and other Rotarians from across the district in attendance.

“The community should be very proud of her,” said John Porter, who is a past District Governor and current member of the Rotary Club of Shades Valley in Birmingham. “She’s a hard worker and great person.”

District 6860 is comprised of 52 districts and has an organized leadership structure, with a District Vice Governor and District secretary, treasurer and other posts. Around 3,550 Rotarians make up the District.

Mark Maloney of the Rotary Club of Decatur was charged with installing Cross as the new District Governor, where he briefly went over Cross’s history as servant with the Madison Club, of which she has been president, secretary and many other positions.

“I will tell you, it is truly an honor to be here,” Cross said.

After Cross’s remarks, she presented her two daughters with honorary Paul Harris Fellowship awards, which is an honor society within Rotary.

Concluding the ceremony was the recital of the Four-Way Test, which is the guiding moral code for Rotarians worldwide. Cross had a few more words of wisdom after to leave attendees with.

“Let’s all be a gift to the world,” Cross said.