By DANA CLOLINGER
Special to The Sun-Sentinel
The Charleston Rotary Club honored Sun-Sentinel Editor and Publisher Clay McFerrin on Feb. 21 by bestowing the Paul Harris Fellow Award on him during their Rotary luncheon.
About 40 members of the McFerrin family and community met to thank Clay for the many contributions that he makes to the community.
McFerrin has been employed with The Sun- Sentinel since 1982.
As a native of Tallahatchie County who has lived here all of his life, he has always felt that it was an honor and a privilege to be able to serve his friends and neighbors in his home county.
Rotary President Ray Clolinger praised McFerrin for his dedication to Tallahatchie County and for the numerous journalism awards he has won over the years.
“Clay is always a friend who is available to members of our community when he is needed,” added Clolinger.
Guest speaker for this presentation, Wyatt Emmerich, president of Emmerich Newspapers, also praised McFerrin and his wife, Krista, for their tenure with Emmerich Newspapers, love of their community and work ethic over the years.
The McFerrins made their home in Charleston raising their children, Brandon and Kelsey.
Clay served alongside Krista for over a decade in volunteering with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, and he has volunteered his time for the Charleston Arts and Revitalization Effort (CARE), where he is a lifetime member.
He is also involved in making Charleston’s Gateway to the Delta Festival a success.
He has served on the Mississippi Press Association Board of Directors, the Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation Board of Directors, and currently serves as an advisory board member for the Ed and Becky Meek Foundation.
He is the proud grandfather of four: Harper, Beckett, Baylor and Ryder Clay, his brand new namesake.
The Paul Harris Fellow is the highest form of recognition that a Rotary club can bestow upon an individual. It is presented to a Rotarian or other member of the community who has made an outstanding contribution to the community.
The Paul Harris Fellow was established in 1957 to show appreciation, to encourage and to recognize substantial contributions to The Rotary Foundation.
The recognition is named after Chicago attorney, Paul Harris, who was the founder of Rotary in 1905.
