Geneva S. Wright - Fort Worth, TX - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

Note the Rotary Club emblem in red brick that is visible from above. The memorial itself is a marble representation of the same emblem, with "Rotary Park" on one side, standing on a marble plinth atop a concrete base. A bronze plaque is mounted on the front, and it reads:

Dedicated on April 5, 2014
By the members of the
Rotary Club of Fort Worth

In Memory of
Geneva S. Wright
Executive Directory, 1964-1987

An obituary published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (see below) provides a little bit of background (slight edits):

Geneva S. Wright, 88, who during 22 years as executive director of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth became something of a kingmaker among Fort Worth's business and civic elite, died peacefully at home on Thursday, March 14, 2002.

Geneva was born in Childress County on June 30, 1913. She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur F. Wright; parents; brothers, S.D. Smith, Robert R. Smith Jr., and Francis C. "Pete" Smith; and nephew, Rodney C. Smith.

Upon retirement from the Rotary staff in 1987, Geneva was the first woman to be elected to membership in the previously all-men's club, blazing a trail that other women followed - women who now comprise about 25 percent of the club's total membership of 688, making it the third largest of the 54,000 clubs of Rotary International worldwide.

She was also one of its most honored members, having been named a Paul Harris Fellow, an O. Roy Stevenson Fellow, and recipient of the William B. Todd Service Above Self Award. She was a past worthy matron of the Eastern Star and past deputy director of the Southside Chapter, and past president of both the Altrusa and Business and Professional Women's Clubs.

"This is a sad time for our club," said Joe Smith, Rotary Club of Fort Worth president. "Geneva was as colorful as she was compassionate. She truly embodied the spirit of Rotary."

Ed Keltner, who served as president of the club from 1967 through 1968, worked closely with Wright. "Few people could have taken hold of such a job as firmly and quickly as Geneva did," Keltner said. "She was the first executive director in an all-male organization of community leaders, most of whom thought they were her boss. But it didn't take her long to get us whipped into shape."

Jack Tinsley, club president from 1983 to 1984, recalled one of Geneva's favorite admonishment to its annually elected presidents. "Presidents come," she said, "and presidents go, but executive directors endure."

Tinsley also recalled an incident which enhanced Wright's image. "She was accosted by a gunman who apparently was going to rob her," Tinsley recalled. "She turned and put a cigarette she was smoking out in his eye. He ran off and she said, 'He thought he had a sweet young thing. Instead he got a tough old broad.'"

Another past president, Jud Cramer, president from 1980 through 1981, said, "Geneva wasn't particularly subtle by nature, but she was quite clever in finding ways to ensure that our club would have good leadership by orchestrating key committee assignments." President in 1982 through 1983, Roger Rienstra, said, "Geneva was an amazing lady. One of the most amazing things about her was that she wasn't always a lady. She could put the big britches on just about anybody and didn't mind doing it."

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Rotary Plaza

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