Randy Anderson Given Rotary Paul Harris Fellow

Todd Allen was presented with his third Paul Harris Award by Rotary Club of Jamestown Foundation members in recognition of his gift to the foundation.

Allen was raised in Franklinville and attended Elmira College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international business and Spanish. He is a certified financial planner who joined Morgan Stanley in 1995 and is currently first vice president of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Olean.

Allen is presently on the board of the JCC Foundation, the Southwestern Central School Foundation board and is a member of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. He was formerly board chairman of the Jamestown Community Learning Council and was the president of the Rotary Club of Jamestown in 2014-15.

Allen’s gift of $1,000 afforded him the opportunity to present a Paul Harris Fellow to an additional person of his choice. Allen’s thought was to present this award to an individual who has made major contributions in making the Jamestown area a better place to live and play. With that in mind, Allen named Randy Anderson as the recipient of the Award.

Anderson is a lifelong resident of this area, graduating from Jamestown High School and State University at Fredonia with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He became a teach at CC Ring Elementary School and then at Jamestown High School, where he was the first coach of the Jamestown High School girls soccer team. He was twice The Post-Journal Coach of the Year and the Western Niagara Frontier Women’s Officials Coach of the Year.

He is one of the founding members of the board of directors of the new Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball team. In addition, he is the publisher of the baseball history book Our Game – From “Unknowns to Tarp Skunks – 155 Years of Baseball in Jamestown.

Anderson is known as the local premier stock car racing historian and authoritarian. He was involved in several movies about local racetracks. In addition, he served 30 years as a member of the pit crew for Dick Barton, winningest driver at Stateline Speedway.

Currently, Anderson serves as the president of the Sports Hall of Fame, where he has led numerous efforts by the Hall of Fame to the stores of the rich history of sports in Chautauqua County.

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. Rotary established the recognition in 1957 to encourage and show appreciation for substantial contributions. Early Paul Harris Fellows received a certificate of recognition and in 1969, the Foundation unveiled the first Paul Harris Fellow medallion.

Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others.

Many notable figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. The number of Paul Harris Fellows has reached the 1.2 million mark in 2020.

Rotary started with the vision of one man – Paul Harris, who in 1905 gathered several business associates to discuss the idea of forming an organization for local professionals. He envisioned a place where professionals of diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships.