By Rosanne Gain
District 5470 Public Image Committee
Once upon a time there were no women in Rotary, but that changed on May 4, 1987, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that clubs could not exclude members based on gender, forcing Rotary to drop its men-only policy in the U.S.
Summer of 1987, the Rotary Club of Summit County in Colorado invited Rosanne Gain to join, but she was moving to Santa Fe. In July 1988 she became one of the first women to join the Rotary Club of Santa Fe del Sur.
At the club’s annual Christmas Party, she sat next to Bob Stovall, another recent member. They visited a bit and he asked Rosanne to go to a movie the following week. They hit it off and started seeing each other on a regular basis. Both were quite active and Bob went on to serve as Club President in 1992-93. Rosanne was President in 1994-95.
The couple wanted to tie the knot, but where would it take place? In the summer of 1992, Rosanne’s parents rented a cousin’s house in the west of England and invited them to spend a couple of weeks there. They decided to marry there, but England requires the couple be in country two weeks before the ceremony. Scotland requires three days, so they decided to marry in Edinburgh, a special place for Rosanne, who worked there right after college. It took fancy long distance legal gymnastics to get it done (aided by the Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court), and they did not know if it would come together when they departed for Scotland.
Shortly after Bob’s induction as President, the couple flew to England. Bob’s Mom flew over to attend and drove up to Scotland with them while Rosanne’s parents traveled by train. The registrar’s office had a beautiful room for ceremonies and the couple, her parents and his Mom plus the young barrister who did their legal paperwork were in attendance. Then, off for a “wee dram” in a pub on the historic Royal Mile.
The newly married couple decided to beg off dinner with the parents and go to an evening Rotary meeting. The Murrayfield-Cramond Rotary Club met at the historic Cramond Inn on the river’s edge northwest of Edinburgh where the club welcomed the newlyweds.
The couple returned to Santa Fe in time for the District Governor visit to Rotary del Sur Club. They also announced their marriage as club members did not know about their plans to marry abroad.
Thirty-four years later Bob Stovall and Rosanne Gain are still happily married and remain active Rotary members. After two moves and three clubs (four clubs for Bob) both recently joined the Florence Rotary Club. Rosanne is club secretary and serves on the District 5470 Public Image Committee, while Bob continues to serve as Assistant Governor for the Cañon City, Florence and Wet Mountain Valley Clubs.