The Fort Atkinson Lions Club has announced that Fort Atkinson resident Gordon “Chip” Day has been named as the recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award.
The announcement was released Monday.
According to the release, the award is named after the world-wide organization’s founder and is “the highest form of recognition and embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of ‘Lionism.’ The recipient of this award has gone above and beyond to serve both the Fort Atkinson Lions Club and the community.”
Of Day, the release stated that he is a “hardworking” and “unselfish” volunteer, adding that “numerous Lions Club members have worked closely with him on many projects,” with the release further identifying him as an “outstanding community leader.”
Raised in Fort Atkinson, the released noted that Day has been a contributing member of the community for more than 48 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in communication.
Day entered the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and rose to the rank of lieutenant. He served on the USS Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with 5,000 men aboard, visiting over 20 ports of call around the world. He was at Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin, in the South China Sea, when the Vietnam War ceased, according to the release.
Following his five years in the Navy, Day married his wife, Connie, and the couple moved to Fort Atkinson. Day purchased the Cunningham Insurance Agency.
“For many years early in his insurance career, Day was the lead person involved with the American Red Cross in its official capacity involving service to (the) military as the primary local communication liaison. Day progressed to become chairman of the Fort Atkinson Chapter and was involved in numerous disaster situations. When Fort Atkinson was pressed to become part of a larger Red Cross reorganization, Day was heavily involved in the transition to alignment with the Janesville chapter,” the release stated.
Day also has served on the Fort Atkinson Historical Society Board of Directors. He was later appointed to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation to serve as a director for a five-year term. During his tenure many grants were approved by the Foundation including those in support of the Fort Memorial Hospital building campaign, the formation of the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Atkinson, the expansion and remodeling of the Fort Atkinson campus building of MATC, help to Rainbow Hospice for construction of its new inpatient facility, flood relief in the summer of 2008, and financial support for the Dwight Foster Public Library renovation and expansion.
While Day was president of the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, the organization raised more than $80,000 to help reconstruct the city as part of the flood relief initiative which followed area flooding in 2008.
As stated in the release, “he was deeply involved in the behind-the-scenes effort to improve the Fort Atkinson Municipal Airport,” adding that he has served on the city’s airport committee for more than 30 years, and continues his service as a volunteer.
“Upon learning that the city of Fort Atkinson would be eligible for state funding for an airport, he and others worked to build a consensus for a favorable referendum vote, which passed 2 to 1. The airport was built in 1989 and opened in 1990,” according to the release.
In addition, Day was involved with the commercial division of the United Way drive for 10 years, serving for one year as the drive chairman. He also served on the executive committee of the Fort Atkinson Industrial Development Board.
Between 1997 and 2003, Day served as a member of the Fort Atkinson City Council, including two years as president.
Day is active in his church, serving on the Vestry of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church for nine years, including three in which he served as the senior warden. During his tenure, St. Peter’s underwent a large building addition and remodeling of the parish rectory, the release noted.
Day was chairman of the initial steering committee tasked with developing a Fort Atkinson youth program, the release continued. During his tenure, he had a “leadership role” in securing financial support for the then-fledgling Boys and Girls Club of Fort Atkinson. He has maintained involvement with the program since its inception. Today the program has operations in all four of Fort Atkinson’s elementary schools and today services some 200 students, the release stated.
The club is today known as the Badgerland After School Enrichment program or BASE.
The release further noted that Day was a contributing volunteer of the Lions Club even in his youth. As a high school student, he was often recruited by his father, Gordon Day, to help with Lions Club projects. Among his endeavors, the young Day could be found shucking corn for the annual fundraising dinner and he was a member of the team that constructed the Fort Stockade. Day’s father served as president of the club in 1957-58.
After joining the club, Day served in several capacities, including those of “Tail Twister,” 3rd, 2nd, and 1st vice president, president in 1992-93, and zone and region chairman. In 2011 he was named as the recipient of the Fort Atkinson Lions Club Distinguished Community Service Award.
According to the release, “like any good Lion, Day always said ‘yes,’ and volunteered for many projects. He chaired the Distinguished Community Service Award Committee and still sits on the committee today. The club’s major fundraisers of the past, the Corn and Chicken Dinner and the Smelt Fry found the recipient at the helm, chairing these events. He has been a friendly face selling concessions at Ralph Park and picking up a shovel for our park cleanups.”
The release reminisced about a noteworthy number of fruitcake sales made in the 1970s with Day serving as chairman of the responsible committee.
“An interesting talent of our winner is that he played trumpet and even won the ‘Wind Bag Champion’ title in high school for his continual playing duration,” the release stated.
Fort Atkinson Lions Club member and recent recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship award Gordon “Chip” Day, at right, accompanied by his wife, Connie, holds a plaque. The award, which is named after the world-wide founder of the Lions Club organization, is given to an individual who has “above and beyond to serve both the Fort Atkinson Lions Club and the community,” according to a recent news release. Contributed photo.
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