The Nobel committee is not the only organization that offers an annual Peace Prize. In a special ceremony Tuesday at the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville’s Downtown Rotary Club, founded in 1915 and showing a new vigor in its second century, bestowed its first-ever Peace Award. It’s the brainchild of philanthropist Townes Osborn, who intends to make it an annual, every-May presentation to the individual or organization that promotes peace in Knoxville.
The first honoree is the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, represented Tuesday by Executive Director Renee Kesler and several of Beck’s board members.
Paul Efird/Rotary Club of Knoxville Beck Cultural Exchange Center President & CEO Rev. Rene Kesler accepts the Rotary Peace Prize from Rotary Club of Knoxville President Allen Pannell Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The African-American teaching and learning center is first recipient of the award which recognizes institutions and individuals that uphold the ideals of Rotary International.
The ceremony was originally planned for the Rotary Club’s Peace Garden, which features a bronze statue of a dove, within the walled grassy patch on the museum’s north side, but a drizzle forced the luncheon into the main hall. The presentation opened with Rev. William Pender, of First Presbyterian Church, and writer/editor Brooks Clark, of the University of Tennessee’s Alumni Communications, playing guitars and leading the crowd of almost 200 in an almost-on-key rendition of the New Seekers’ “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” Whitney Ray-Dawson, who was in charge of the proceedings, made the presentation.
The Rev. Kessler accepted the award, a $1,000 donation to Beck, with an emotional speech, during which she remarked with regret that Margaret Gaiter, who helped found Beck 42 years ago and had been an active board member ever since, died just days ago.
The Beck Center, located at 1927 Dandridge Ave., is a valuable resource for information and artifacts concerning Knoxville’s African-American and civil-rights history. The Knoxville History Project recently profiled its dual inspirations, James and Ethel Beck, in the pages of the Mercury.
Coury Turczyn Taking part in the Rotary Peace Award ceremony are Erven Williams, left, Beck Cultural Exchange Center President & CEO Rev. Rene Kesler, Rotary President Allen Pannell, Townes Osborn, Jacqueline Lovelace, and Rev. George Doebler on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The Beck Cultural Exchange Center is the first recipient of the award which recognizes institutions and individuals that uphold the ideals of Rotary International.
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Featured Photo: Beck Cultural Exchange Center President and CEO Rev. Rene Kesler, second from left, accepts the Rotary Peace Prize from the Rotary Club of Knoxville on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Making the presentation are Rotary President Allen Pannell, left, and Rotarians Whitney Ray-Dawson and Townes Osborn. The African-American teaching and learning center is first recipient of the award which recognizes institutions and individuals that uphold the ideals of Rotary International. Courtesy Paul Efird/Rotary Club of Knoxville.
Jack Neely is the director of the Knoxville History Project, a nonprofit devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville's cultural heritage. He’s also one of the most popular and influential writers in the area, known for his books and columns. The Scruffy Citizen surveys the city of Knoxville's life and culture in the context of its history, with emphasis on what makes it unique and how its past continues to affect and inform its future.
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