Edgar C. Hatcher, Jr.
RI President's Representative
Director, Rotary International 1996-1998

Ed Hatcher is a native of Bristol, Virginia, attended local public schools, did his undergraduate work at Virginia Tech, and graduated from the Medical College of Virginia with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, and his specialty was cosmetic dentistry. He is the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Han Nam University, Taejon, Korea. A recognized leader in health planning, lecturing nationally and internationally on Health Planning in America, he continues to play a vital role in the regions health care industry. In 2002 Dr. Hatcher was named one of Tennessee’s Health Care Heroes.

A Rotarian since 1958, Ed was elected governor of D-757 in 1985-86, and was elected to serve on the RI Board of Directors in 1996-98. He has led GSE Teams to both the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China. The GSE Team to China in 1993 was the first Rotary Foundation sponsored GSE Team to visit China. Active in his district in many projects, he is best know as the leader of Rotary’s Health Complex in Jessore, Bangladesh, and the Rotary Soup Kitchen, Food Bank and Training Center in Quezon City, Philippines. Ed and his wife, Jo Ann, have participated in five National Immunization Days.

At the international level he has served as a delegate to the Council on Legislation, a member of the Nominating Committee for two President, a member of numerous RI committees, and has chaired the following R.I. committees: the Public Relations Committee, the Communications Committee, the Extension of Rotary Committee, the WCS Resource Network Committee, an International Institute, and the WCS Task Force Committee. Rotary’s return to the People’s Republic of China was among Dr. Hatcher’s most ardent interests, spearheading that movement for well over a decade. While serving as Chair of the 2006-07 Extension of Rotary Committee, Rotary returned to China when the Beijing and Shanghai Clubs were accepted.

He is the recipient of Rotary’s Service Above Self Award; The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service; and the Distinguished Service Award. Ed and Jo Ann are multiple Paul Harris Fellows, Benefactors, Major Donors, and Ed is a Charter Member of the Bequest Society and a sustainer of The Rotary Foundation. They have three daughters, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren who are Paul Harris Fellows.

Sylvia Whitlock was born in New York City but was educated, through high school, in Kingston, Jamaica. After returning to New York City she earned a B.A. in Psychology from Hunter College. Sylvia worked for the United Nations, as a Statistical Clerk, at the Secretariat Building in New York, before moving to California to start a career in Education. In California she went on to earn a Masters Degree, cum laude, in Education from Cal Poly, Pomona, and a Ph.D., cum laude, in Education, from Claremont Graduate School. Subsequently, she earned another Masters Degree, in Marriage and Family Therapy, from Azusa Pacific University, and began a second career as a therapist. She is licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences in California.

In 1982, while an Elementary School Principal in Duarte, CA., she was invited to join the history-making Ex-Rotary Club of Duarte. Sylvia became President of that club in 1987, the year the United States Supreme Court ruled that the club be reinstated, thus making her the first woman in the Rotary World to head a club as President. She has served as President twice, Secretary, Treasurer, and Foundation Representative. At district level, she chaired the Four Way Test Speech committee for six years, the Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee for six years, receiving a Service Award from DG Don Aikin, and Simplified Grants for two years. She has been an assistant governor, presenter in Governors Institutes, and speaker in Rotary Clubs conventions and meetings, here and overseas, including South Africa, Jamaica, Washington and Texas.

Other community activities have included being a member of the Board of the Spanish Trails Girl Scout Council, volunteer at Pomona Valley Hospital, Recorder for the Blind and Dyslexic, and Commissioner at TriCity Mental Health Agency. In 2000 she was named Woman of the Year by NAACP and in 1998 she was named Distinguished Alumna by Cal Poly, Pomona. She also chairs Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation teams and has been, for eight years, a member of the Committee on Credentialing for California State Department of Education. She attends Trinity United Methodist Church where she is often a lay reader.

Sylvia considers Rotary to be the best vehicle she knows for humanitarian ventures in service to mankind. Some favorite club projects, while in Duarte, have included sinking water wells in Nigeria, setting up an AIDS Center in Jamaica and supporting an orphanage in Mexico. She continues to be inspired by the many Rotarians who have taken the organization to the edge of tomorrow and is committed to using the opportunity she has been given to further the cause of Rotary, in her community, in her country, and in the world.

Sylvia is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and benefactor. She has three adult children - Meredith - a Paul Harris Fellow, BG deputy county counsel in San Mateo County, and Arlan. She considers raising her children the most satisfying and enjoyable job she has ever had.

Ramesh Ferris
Cycle to Walk

Ramesh Ferris was born in December 1979 in Coimbatore India, located in the Southern State of Tamil Nadu. He contracted polio at age six months and his legs were left paralyzed for life. With no means or access to rehabilitation for him, Ramesh’s mother placed him in Families for Children, a Canadian-founded orphanage a year later. Soon after, Ron Ferris, Anglican Bishop of Yukon, and his wife Jan began the lengthy process to adopt Ramesh. With the support of his new Canadian family, several surgeries, and mobility aids, Ramesh learned to walk with crutches for the first time at age four.

Ramesh grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, and after a family move, finished high school in Sault Ste. Marie. He attended Thunder Bay’s Confederation College. After completing the Social Work program, Ramesh returned to Whitehorse to work with at-risk youth, social- welfare recipients, and people of varying social and physical abilities.

Ramesh is an accomplished athlete and he has represented Yukon nationally through the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association, Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, the Esteem Team Association, the Canadian Rural Youth Network, and the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability. In his capacity as President of the Yukon Society towards Accessible Recreation and Sport (Yukon S.T.A.R.S.), Ramesh was instrumental in bringing wheelchair basketball, hand-cycling, and inclusive dance to Yukon’s sport community. He has spent the last five years teaching wheelchair basketball to high-school students, and in doing so, has helped young people better understand and respect individuals with long-term mobility loss. In recognition of his work with youth, Ramesh was recognized with a Paul Harris Fellowship in February 2008 by the Whitehorse Rendezvous Rotary Club.

In 2002, Ramesh returned to India to meet his biological mother for the first time – and to visit the Families for Children orphanage where he once lived. During the visit, Ramesh spoke with and witnessed the reality for polio survivors who were not as fortunate as he had been. He learned of polio survivors just like him who, without the necessary medical attention and supports, were forced to crawl on the ground and pad their knees with cut- up pieces of tire. After much reflection about his visit to India, Ramesh determined to raise money in order to make a difference in the lives of polio survivors and to prevent polio from claiming new victims. Cycle to Walk was born.

John T. Capps
Founder, Bald Headed Men of America

John T. Capps is co-owner of Capps Printing, founder of the Bald Headed Men of America and helped establish the locally-owned County Bank and Trust Company.

He is a nationally known inspirational/motivational speaker and a frequent guest of television and radio talk shows. He has been written about in nine books.

He was a volunteer worker at NYC-WTC Ground Zero, served as president of the North Carolina 4-H Honor Club, Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Crystal Coast Civic Center, Salvation Army Red Kettle Committee, and vice- chairman of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Carteret County.

A Rotarian since 1968, he is a member of the Rotary Club of Morehead City-Noon. He has served RI as district governor, committee member and chairman, task force member, Group Study Exchange leader, Council on Legislation Delegate and National Polio Immunization Day volunteer in India. He is a recipient of the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service and its Distinguished Service Award, and also has received Rotary International's Service Above Self Award. He and his wife Jane are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.