Jack Harnish, Benzie Sunrise Rotary Club
Meet Jack Harnish of the Benzie Sunrise Rotary Club. Jack and his wife Judy made their Platte Lake home their year-round residence in 2013 when he retired after 43 years serving as a United Methodist minister. The congregations where he served as the senior pastor included Birmingham, Ann Arbor, Flint, Dexter, and Washington. For seven years, he worked for the global United Methodist Church as a staff member at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. His career also included serving as a trustee at theological seminaries in Ohio & Estonia and at Adrian College. Additionally, he served in leadership roles as a conference delegate at both the state and world level.
Jack first became a Rotarian in 1990, when he joined the Downtown Flint Rotary. While he served in Ann Arbor, he joined the Downtown Rotary in 2000.
What makes Jack the Unsung Hero for the Benzie Sunrise Rotary is the role he has played as a community leader. For the past three years, Jack has served as the president of the executive board of the Advocates for Benzie County, a non-profit begun in 2016 to address issues of housing, education, employment, and childcare. Jack and Judy are active members of St Andrews Presbyterian Church and volunteer regularly at the Benzie Area Christian Neighbors (BACN), which provides food, clothing, financial assistance, education, and social support in collaboration with area resources.
One of Jack’s hobbies is weaving rugs, using the 1915 loom he inherited from his Grandfather. Recently he sold some of his rugs raising $800 for BACN.
In addition to his gift of bringing people with different views to the table to work toward collaborative solutions, he is a weekly guest columnist for the local paper, The Record Patriot, and is a regular contributor to the Michigan United Methodist MiConnect, a weekly publication of the conference. You can follow Jack on his weekly blog, “Monday Memo” at jackharnish@wordpress.com.
In all of his work and writings, Jack reflects the true nature of Rotarians, being people of action providing service above self in their community.