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Paul Harris Fellowship Award..
One of the highest honors in Rotary is the Paul Harris Fellowship Award. Named after the founder of Rotary, it is given to members or citizens who have contributed to their communities.
May, 2008
One of the highest honors in Rotary is the Paul Harris Fellowship Award. Named after the founder of Rotary, it is given to members or citizens who have contributed to their communities. Individuals or clubs contribute $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation to honor such individuals. On May 16, 2008, Don McKenna honored Dan Maneely with this award at a ceremony at the Bennington Rotary Club.
Dan Maneely came to Bennington in 1980 to work for Oak Fothergill, a small start-up company on Shields drive, which made advanced carbon composite structures. The company was acquired by Courtalds, a British firm, and Dan served as the general manager. In 1996 Courtalds put the company up for sale. Wit no interested buyers and faced with the possibility of simply shutting down, Dan enlisted the support of six other managers and put together a buy-out that was accepted by Courtalds. Vermont Composites was born with a workforce of about 60 people and, as they say, the rest is history.
Growth was slow, but fairly steady, but then hitting its stride. In 2005 Vermont Composites was sold to a venture capital firm and renamed VCI, Inc. Dan stayed on to help the new management team get acclimated. In 2006, VCI sold the then start-up automotive division to Plasan Sasa, an Israeli firm. Dan agreed to do the same for Plasan , and continues to work with them today as a consultant. By the end of 2008, total employment for the two companies will approach, if not exceed, 750 people.
Besides the work that he has done with these businesses, Dan has been a member of the Bennington County Industrial Corporation Board for five years and Board President for the past five years. He has served on the Bennington Roundtable Board for two years. He also served on the Bennington Project Independence Board for three years and was president for one year. Dan has been an avid bicycle enthusiast since 1957 and has ridden approximately 120,000 miles. He has raced at the local and national levels. A man of many accomplishments as a fine business man and community citizen, Dan Maneely is well deserving of the honor of a Paul Harris Fellowship.
By: Sally Sugarman - Bennington Rotary Club Member
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