Nineteen years ago Aimee Powers convinced her husband John, then 24, to join her for a trip to La Romana, Dominican Republic, as part of a missionary program to help provide better medical care, improved education and clean water.

John Powers, now 44, still jokes that "as a newlywed I was obligated to go," but since that day he has made at least one annual missionary trip, helping to introduce hundreds of Connecticut residents to volunteerism.

On Thursday, Powers was recognized for his efforts as winner of the 2009 Rotary International "Service Above Self" award. It was presented in front of more than 250 fellow Rotarians at the annual district meeting at the Four Points Sheraton in Meriden.

"This is very humbling and it certainly wasn't something I expected to receive," said Powers, who did not know he was getting the award. "Everything we do down there embodies the message of service above self, but for me it's just been a passion and I couldn't have had success without the support of my church and fellow Rotarians."

The award is given to 150 people annually, said Colin Gershon, newly appointed Rotary district governor. Gershon said recipients exemplify what it means to put others first over an extended period, providing them with the resources to help themselves.

Chip Lewis, a Wallingford Rotary Club member and past district governor in 2006-07, nominated Powers. Not only has Powers made a tremendous difference in the Dominican Republic, Lewis said, he has made a major difference in the lives of state residents by getting them more involved in community and international service.

"He takes some people who have never even volunteered before and he teaches them to be passionate about service," Lewis said following Thursday's event.

Powers, a lifelong Wallingford resident and director of public affairs at Yale University School of Nursing, began working in the Dominican Republic in 1990 after joining his wife and members of the First Baptist Church of Wallingford.

Friend and fellow Rotarian Tom Collette told the audience about the successes in La Romana. Powers was part of the first U.S. mission trips that helped build the Good Samaritan Hospital, he was part of an effort to provide clean water and he has helped organize medical teams, educators and others.

Collette said his son is one of "about 50 per trip" who have a life-changing experience when they join Powers on missionary trips.

"John doesn't know this but when I refer to John when he is not around, I call him St. John. If there is someone on this Earth that is deserving of the title, it's him," Collette said.

Powers credited his wife and their three children Joshua, 17, Matthew, 14, and Rebekah, 9, for supporting him.

In a brief speech, Powers also thanked his fellow Rotarians and close friend the Rev. Jean Luc Phanord, who died in the November 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens, N.Y. The plane was bound for the Dominican Republic. Phanord had been a mentor to Powers, Collette said, and if he were around today he would be the first to congratulate Powers for a job well done.

The award does not mean the end of the missionary efforts for Powers, who will return to La Romana with 50 new volunteers and 80 people in all this summer. Kenneth Sause, a Wallingford Rotary member, who will be joining him in 2009, said he looks forward to showing other Rotarians why Powers is deserving of the award.

"He's done so much already and introduced so many people to his cause," Sause said. "With him, seeing is believing."

jvallee@record-journal.com

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Profile

John Powers

Age: 44

Home: Wallingford

Accomplishments: Powers first joined members of the First Baptist Church in Wallingford for a missionary trip to La Romana, Dominican Republic, in February 1990. He has returned every year since, helping to develop stronger water filtration systems, providing education opportunities and helping establish the Good Samaritan Hospital.

In 1996, he joined the Wallingford Rotary Club and has expanded the annual trip to include anywhere from 50 to 80 volunteers each year.