Rotarians in the News
Doggie Paddle Update
Edited by Jack Arnold from two contributions by Beth Kissinger ,
The “Power Source” behind this very worthwhile project.
Doggie Paddle has been working quietly behind the scenes.
Rotary Kayaker Jimmy had done a bicycle trip in May/June from Glenville to Austin, TX but that got cut short about 150 miles from Austin for safety reasons. It became clearly evident that bicycling on highways with no bike lane was a very dangerous idea. 4 near misses by cars had us rethink the entire bicycling option as a fundraiser and after the second near fatal collision in 3 days it was decided that we should pull the plug on that trip.
Jimmy has been contacted by a group of retired doctors who are big bicycling enthusiasts and they want to plan an expedition in 2026 on the NYS bike trail that goes along the Erie Canal. One gentleman in particular has indicated that he would like to take the lead on organizing this fundraiser and we welcome that assistance. The trip would be over the course of a few days, not the marathon type adventure undertaken previously.
We have found that Rotary clubs are always interested in speakers, but after doing more than 50 engagements, taking time off work to speak and being thanked only, (rarely a monetary donation) we found it was necessary to focus our speaking efforts in other groups.
We have been getting contacts via Elks, Veteran’s liaison groups, dog breeders and meeting with other agencies and groups to collaborate with them. Jimmy attended a Veteran’s conference last Friday and made a number of “good” contacts and possible partners for us.
The Hicks Strong Foundation, a local group (whose son committed suicide while in the military) is very interested in collaborating on a joint project that helps reduce the amount of veteran suicides annually. Again, if we can help with that, we are all in.
We are in the process of communicating/working with dog breeders who are already dedicated to giving one puppy per litter to a Veteran and working on how we can combine efforts.
The biggest hurdle has been getting Veterans who need a dog to request one. Finding qualified veterans has been the toughest part of this journey. While many like the idea of getting a “free” dog, very few have been interested once they realize they must be willing to put in the time required to properly train with the dog.
Many people “suggest” their relative would love a dog or interested in obtaining a pet or a comfort dog – but that is available for nearly anyone who wants to go to a shelter and adopt. For Veterans, they must make an effort to not only apply, and be willing to train with the dog.
Committing to a dog, training and a regular schedule of visits with the trainer seem to be too much for some of the veterans we have encountered. They have to be willing and able to make it work.
We met with a couple large scale service dog training providers (National level) and are trying to figure out a way for our Doggie Paddle program to somehow supplement the operation for the cost of providing that fully trained dog to a needy veteran.
Generalized donations don’t guarantee anything other than the 1 or 2 veterans a year obtaining dogs. Again, the veteran needs to apply to the program with the partner, be approved by them and be willing to travel to the location of the program to be matched with a dog specific to their needs.
We are currently discussing the possibility of funding a service dog for a Veteran through other nationally accredited organizations such as NEADS, Guiding Eyes and other nationally recognized programs.
We had met with NEADS in Mass. after the introduction from Forester Morgan, the man we met while in Little River. That has been the most impressive program we have seen to date, but their Veteran participation has been very low as well. We are considering the ability to commit a percentage of our fundraising balances to helping these organizations that have a proven track record. Again, any veteran assisted is a win for everyone. We investigate the viability of every group that has reached out for funding or made claims of their ability to train a service dog. It’s been eye opening.
As you know, a project of this magnitude requires lots of time, connections, and work. Obtaining volunteers actually willing to follow through with helping has been extremely hard. Volunteers quickly drop off when the hard work begins.
Jimmy and I are still encouraged, doing meet and greets and getting our information out there, but there are only so many hours in the day and with full time work, lack of expertise in advertising, media outreach, other areas and with our own health and family obligations, its been hard to keep the momentum going.
The long and short of it is, we are still here, totally committed, all being run on a volunteer basis and looking for the best way for us to achieve our mission. Ideas are welcome as long as those giving them are willing to volunteer their time and talents to see the idea become successful.
Nobody said this work was going to be easy and while it isn’t easy at all, it is making a difference.
Little River’s Rotary Couple
DG Schumacher and featured in the August 28th, 2025 Horry Independent (Page B2)
Little River residents, the Billards, are a Rotary couple
By D.G. Schumacher
Rotarians Diane and Francois Billard reflect the internationalism of Rotary as well as the family and friendship aspects of the service organization founded in 1905. Diane, the new assistant governor for several Horry County clubs, is an Indiana native and an Ohio attorney; Francois, in his second year as president of the Rotary Club of Little River, is a French Canadian and computer guy with hands-on skills in crafts such as auto mechanics and carpentry.
Sandy Morckel of Mount Pleasant is the 2025-26 governor of Rotary International District 7770, which covers approximately half of South Carolina, including the several Horry County clubs. The Rotary tradition is for district governors to visit every club in her district during the Rotary year July 1 to June 30.
As Morckel prepared for her year as district governor (“the DG” in Rotary talk), she needed an assistant governor for the Rotary clubs of Carolina Forest, Conway, Little River and North Myrtle Beach. Prior to moving to South Carolina, Morckel was president of a club in Ohio. Diane Billard was president of the Columbus club. “We have a mutual Rotarian friend,” Billard said.
So Morckel did not need to search widely for an assistant governor. Together, Morckel and Billard visited five clubs, including Wednesday’s 7 a.m. meeting in Carolina Forest and noon meeting in Little River. Morckel also visited two other area clubs last week that have another assistant governor liaison.
Diane Billard is a native of Clinton, Indiana, near Terre Haute. Her heritage is Italian, Croatian, Lithuanian and Serbian. The Italian background is the strongest, as demonstrated by her culinary talents. “My nonie lived with us.” Growing up, she and her siblings spoke Italian.
She received her bachelor’s degree at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, then a law degree at the University of Toledo. She stayed in Toledo, then Columbus, the capital of Ohio and home of The Ohio State University. Eventually, her parents moved to Ohio.
Her law career spanned large law firms in Columbus, then general counsel of a statewide public pension system, work in business cases for the Franklin County prosecutor, then chief legal counsel to two state departments/agencies.
She became a Rotarian in Columbus in 1997, and was club president in 2011-2012. She also chaired District 6690’s Grants Subcommittee. After moving to Little River, she transferred to the Little River club and was president in 2023-2024.
Francois Billard was born in the Montreal, Quebec, area, educated (bachelors at the Computer Institute of Canada) and worked there until 1997. He was recruited to Columbus by Levi Strauss, for which he had done consulting work. “So they hired me, moved me, and on the first day I received an email saying we have to do layoffs, reducing the work force by 2,000.”
He stayed with Levy four years, then worked for Enron, the energy company, and the retailer DSW. He lost his wife to cancer, and through a mutual friend, met Diane. They married in 2014, and his best man was his “Little Brother” in the Big Brother, Big Sister program.
The Billards moved here in 2019, after being regular visitors for three years. Earlier this year, he became a U.S. citizen, and was among more than two dozen from “all sorts of countries” including Brazil, Canada and China.
He joined the Rotary Club of Little River, and followed Diane as president.
[ITAL]Little River resident D.G. Schumacher has been a newspaper journalist for more than 60 years. He was a Rotarian in Illinois and is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Little River. [UNITAL]