Weekly Member Spotlight - Karen Shanks Furman
Club President 2017-18
1. What brought you to Rotary? During my last year with the Kennedale Independent School District, I began attending Rotary meetings. I was drawn to the camaraderie among individuals in the community whom I admired. The motto, “Service above self” reflected the family values with which I was raised. The more I learned about Rotary, the more I realized that I wanted to be affiliated with this organization.
2. Who had the biggest impact on the person you have become? My father had the biggest impact upon the person I have become. He was magical in so many ways and larger than life. At 6’2”, he was a remarkably thoughtful, gentle soul with a great sense of humor and a contagious laugh. He always took me to Sunday School (didn’t miss a Sunday for 13 years) and afterward to a little restaurant called the Blue Circle for a soft drink (a real treat for me). When I talked, he stopped whatever he was doing to listen to me. We would go on Sunday rides with the family and he would point out to whomever was in the car the beauty all around us. He was very grateful for the people, the surroundings, and the things in his life. He had special ways of making that gratitude known.
3. Name something you would like to accomplish BEFORE you die. I want to obtain my master gardener certificate and I want to finish the repair on my home after the foundation disaster a couple of years ago.
4. Where is the most beautiful place you have been? Depends upon how one defines beautiful. Sometimes it is the scenery. Sometimes it is the people. Sometimes it is the artwork. Sometimes it is in the movement. I see beauty almost everywhere in ways that are incomparable, thanks to my Daddy.
5. Vocation tell us about your work. Since I retired from public education last year I have been involved as a volunteer with an organization called RESULTS. This organization envisions a future without poverty and advocates for federal legislation that can impact that future. Most of the issues we address involve public health and education. Although there is a national arm of the organization, I work with the global arm. This Friday, I will be attending a RESULTS Seeds of Hope dinner in Houston honoring Dr. Ricardo Nuila (perhaps one of the most amazing men alive - google him). The following week, I will be attending a dinner at the home of a fellow RESULTS member in Dallas and the guest will be Mohammad Yunus (a Nobel Peace prize winner for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance). Such good things being done by so many people. Additionally, I am in the process of completing my training to become a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in custody of the state.
6. What is your guilty pleasure? Probably clothes and having someone clean my house.