Middleburgh Rotary Says Farewell to Jim Marquit

After more than forty-five years as a member of the Middleburgh Rotary Club, Jim Marquit said goodbye to his friends and fellow Rotarians at the Thursday, March 12^th meeting of the club.

Jim, a former English and Public Speaking teacher at Middleburgh Central School, was signaled out in October for special recognition by the Middleburgh Rotary Club after he announced this past summer that he and his wife Annmarie would be moving to South Carolina to be closer with family.

All hands were on deck to honor Jim at the time, as the club’s Board of Directors coordinated a trio of honorifics: (1.) a New York State Assembly Citation presented by Assemblyman Chris Tague; (2.) a Middleburgh Rotary Club award presented by Rotarian Wes Laraway; and, (3.) a Village of Middleburgh proclamation presented by Trustee (and Rotarian) Trish Bergan.

Recounting his decision to move to Middleburgh over a half-century ago, Jim expressed nothing but gratitude for his adopted home at his farewell meeting. In particular, Jim noted his joy at seeing former students of his – Greg Portolano, Rusty Wissert, and Stephen Hoerz – serving in Rotary alongside him. Carl Rhinehart cited Jim for being the reason why he joined Rotary.

Many happy dollars were given in Jim’s honor and his outsized presence will be sorely missed in Middleburgh.