Circleville Sunrise Rotary gives special recognition to Nick Pruitt, Circleville, Ohio-USA
May 20, 2025
Posted – June 18, 2025
(CIRCLEVILLE) – On Tuesday morning at Mary Virginia Crites Hannah Park, the Sunrise Rotary Club provided all attendees with a hearty breakfast as a prelude to the installation of a Peace Pole.
“This really is about our Rotary Club, and we wanted to make it like a time capsule for what our club is today,” said Jan Shannon, President of Sunrise Rotary.
Upon its uncovering, the pole displayed the words, “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” in English and three other languages. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. The placement of these poles is a project of Rotary International, through its Rotary Action Group for Peace.
“Next, we want to do our Citizen of the Year award,” said Shannon. “I’d like to thank Jeff Phillips and Ken Tennant because they actually nominated the person that is the recipient of this year’s award.
“The Citizen of the Year award is awarded to a person who shows exemplary leadership in their community work but is not a Rotarian. This person has all the traits of a Rotarian and we hope someday he will become a Rotarian. Nick Pruitt previously worked with PICA where he helped coordinate many initiatives but the most recent and visible is the Soap ‘N Hope Mobile Hygiene Program. Nick is also known for his work at the Nazarene Church which feeds hundreds of people a week. Nick recently left PICA to take a position with the Nazarene Church where he is now working as a community outreach pastor. Please help me congratulate the 2025 Circleville Sunrise Rotary Citizen of the Year, Nick Pruitt,” concluded Shannon.
“So, for me, it was an easy nomination,” said Phillips. “Nick has done so much with the homeless people in the community and all the other programs he worked on at PICCA. I’ve had a chance to actually hear him at the church a couple times and he’s great. I’ve had the privilege of working with Nick for many years also and have enjoyed working with him and look forward to working with you in the future. And maybe we can get you to be a Rotarian?”
“This is about the community,” said Pruitt, accepting the award. “I know this is my name on here, but 12 years ago I could have very easily been on the other side of this. I could have been in court a couple times! I grew up here, was born and raised here, and just want to see Circleville and Pickaway County continue to thrive. I’m just trying to do my part, so I’ve been able to be a part of a lot of great things but it’s only because I’ve been surrounded by great people. So, thank you for this.”