Mentone Resident Receives Prestigious Rotary Rose Award

Mentone resident Mary Shurett has been named the 2026 recipient of the Rotary Rose Award, the Rotary Club of Fort Payne’s highest honor recognizing exceptional service, leadership, and commitment to community.

Unique to the Fort Payne Rotary Club, the award celebrates women whose volunteerism, civic leadership, and dedication have made a lasting impact on Fort Payne and DeKalb County. Recipients are nominated by peers, community members, and club members and are selected for their character, service, and positive influence on the world around them. Past recipients have included educators, healthcare professionals, volunteers, and business leaders. Their stories serve as inspiration for others to get involved and contribute to the well-being of their neighbors. By highlighting these role models, the Rotary Club encourages a culture of selflessness and community engagement.

A Fort Payne native, Mary is a graduate of Fort Payne High School and the University of Alabama, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education. During her 34-year teaching career, she spent 11 years with the Fort Payne City School System, was named Teacher of the Year at Williams Avenue Elementary, and received the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year Award in 2005. She retired to Mentone in 2015.

Throughout her career and retirement, Mary has devoted herself to education, church leadership, and community. She carries a generous heart wherever she goes, enriching the lives of those around her through kindness and encouragement.

She has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles, including those with First United Methodist Church, Delta Kappa Gamma, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the University of Alabama Alumni Association, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the DeKalb County Master Gardeners, the Mentone Educational Resource Foundation, the Rhododendron Garden Club, Moon Lake Library, and St. Joseph’s on-the-Mountain Episcopal Church.

Among her other achievements, Mary was one of three teachers from Alabama sent to San Francisco for Hands on Applied Science Program (HASP) training. She served as DeKalb County president of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society of Women Educators. And she chaired the UA Alumni DeKalb Chapter scholarship committee.

Mary Shurett exemplifies what it means to care — about her neighbors, future generations, and the places she has called home.

She and her husband, Ben, have been married for 34 years and have two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandsons.