NORWICH ROTARY ANNOUNCES DIVERSITY AWARD RECIPIENT

Norwich — The Norwich Rotary Club Thursday named Adam Bowles as the 2015 recipient of the Lottie B. Scott Diversity Award.

The award was established in 2013 to recognize the achievements of people who promote inclusion and equality and work to enhance cultural diversity in the region.

The award ceremony will be held as part of the Norwich Rotary Cultural Diversity Event, Thursday, Sept. 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Howard T. Brown Park at Norwich Harbor.

Admission is $15 per person, or $25 for a family of four.

Bowles spent 15 years as a reporter and editor at the Norwich Bulletin. In 2010, he left the Norwich Bulletin to serve as pastor of Peniel Church, a multi-ethnic church, in Norwich.

He has overseen outreach to English Speakers of other Languages at Norwich Adult Education and launched the Norwich Cup of Nations, a soccer tournament featuring immigrants from various nations.

In 2014 Bowles started Fresh Air Nation to fight bigotry and break down racial and ethnic division and show the benefits successive waves of immigrants have brought to the United States.

In the program, immigrants host paying guests in their homes, telling stories and sharing ethnic meals.

Bowles’ multi-media business, NotWith Ink, recounts stories of immigrants in the region, and in 2013, he launched “Norwich is Blended” in Norwich and Eastern Connecticut State University, a citywide Twitter event stressing ethnic diversity.