Dr. Dave McIntosh Rotarian of the Year
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| Outgoing Rotary Club President Bill McClintock, right, presents Dr. Dave McIntosh the prestigious "Rotarian of the Year" plaque. |
Most of you who attend the Tuesday Rotary meetings at Mugsy’s know Dave McIntosh – he’s the only one in scrubs with a bright smile and probably has an International exchange student in tow! You may also know Dave through his dental practice on the hill above Ash Street near the new Pearl Theater.
What you probably don’t know is what an incredibly valuable person he is to the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club and to this community.
Dave is married to Devorah, and they are the proud parents of three sons and four grandchildren with a fifth on the way. Both he and Devorah are graduates of Loma Linda University in California. After visiting a relative in Sandpoint, it became evident that they liked the area, but thought Sandpoint would probably grow too fast. Someone suggested the small sleepy town of Bonners Ferry just north of Sandpoint and, having always wanting to have a dental practice in a small town, he and Devorah moved to Bonners Ferry in 1978 and Dave opened his practice.
Dave joined Rotary on October 7, 2003, with the guidance and perhaps a twisting or two of the arm from the late John Gale (John’s daughter also attended Loma Linda University). Once he became a member, Dave quickly resonated Rotary’s four-way test and maintained a posture of always being available to help at all Rotary events. Dave is also a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow.
Dave’s forte in the Rotary Club has always been concentrated on youth – consequently, he naturally fit as the club’s Youth Exchange Officer and he’s the only one this Club has ever had. This program is a full one-year commitment, not just one event! He pretty much took it upon himself to serve as a committee of one – to complete the substantial amount of governmental paperwork, the scheduling of housing, the registration for each student in school and for each student event, and securing travel arrangements to and from every function.
He takes lots of pictures, traveling out of town with a carload of students to all the school events, Rotary events, Bloomsday, ski trips. The exchange students (Mono, Clemence, Avi, Bianca and most recently Laura, who just returned to Bolivia) most prized possession is the magnificent scrapbook they leave with that Dave painstakingly puts together for each and every one of them.
Congratulations to David McIntosh for being named Rotarian of the Year!