GETTYSBURG – It is not nearly enough to simply say that Dr Bob Zimmerman of Waynesboro received the 18th presentation of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Humanitarian Award. Or that he received it on Monday, Feb. 2, at a special meeting of the Rotary Club of Gettysburg in a ceremony that took place in the Hotel Gettysburg Ballroom. That’s merely the exclamation point on the story.
The real story is that Dr. Bob, as he’s known locally, participated for most of his adult life in dental mission trips throughout the world. He traveled to help people he did not know to fix dental problems that otherwise would not be treated. Sixty-one times he and a team of local people traveled.
Starting in 1977, locations included Tanzania, India, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Peru. He even found time to visit far off Fulton County, Pennsylvania, where he was one of the founders of a dental clinic in McConnellsburg for people unable to afford dental care. He volunteered his skills there for the past 26 years and continues to do so even after his retirement in 2024.
As in most such endeavors, logistics was a major factor. Giving quality care means not only showing up with skills, but bringing tools and medications that might be needed for patients one had never met, and support staff who would know how to help before, during and after seeing each patient. In many of his early trips much of this was done by sponsoring organizations, but in later years he took to organizing his own trips.
In many locations roads are not like one finds in Washington Township (though there are plenty of complaints about those ;-). In some cases small, one-lane dirt roads in the mountains and valleys made even relatively short distances into many hours of travel.
This made in-country support critical. Officials in the countries served provided trucks, arranged lodging, storage for all the equipment and supplies and arranged locations where services could be provided. They also made sure translators were available so that Dr. Bob and staff could talk to their patients, in some cases calming them down before starting to work, and getting information about what was troubling them.
After spreading the word that a dentist would be available at one or more times and places, the patients themselves would need to travel in the same conditions, riding or walking, sometimes very long distances, to get the care they needed.
A man like this does not restrict himself to just dentistry. Dr. Bob has also been president, secretary, treasurer or simply an active participant in many other organizations including: Folium, United Way, Waynesboro YMCA, Board of Health, Theatre, Waynesboro Presbyterian Church, Youth Baseball, Soccer and Wrestling. He also played a major role in several fund-raising campaigns throughout the area.
With all of this as a backdrop, Dr. Bob clearly satisfied award criteria which include
“. . . recognition of an individual’s outstanding humanitarian service and positive influence in one or more of the following areas: public/civic service, peace and world understanding that have contributed to the betterment of humanity locally or globally. The nominee must be an individual rather than a group or organization and must be alive at the time of nomination.”
And so, a fine ceremony was organized by the Rotary Club of Gettysburg to present an award first presented to President Eisenhower and Bob Hope, and so richly deserved by the current presentee. The ceremony included:
- Rotary Club of Gettysburg President Chuck Elder made opening comments
- A discussion of prior presentations and introduction of five living previous awardees
- A recording of President Eisenhower’s remarks at his 1967 award ceremony
- A reading of the application by Dr. Bob’s daughter, Amy Hoch
- Presentation of a letter from President Eisenhower’s granddaughter, Susan, by Dr. Walter Jones, who actually caddied for Eisenhower 65 years before
- A series of citations and proclamations from local State Reps. Dan Moul (R-Adams) and Chad Reichard (R-Franklin)
- Presentation of a citation by Melissa Cruze, district director of staff for state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin/Adams), who was in session in Harrisburg at the time
- Former Rotary District Governor Anna Mae Kobbe, who spoke of the Rotary motto “Service before Self” and awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship
- The Rotary Club of Gettysburg also made a contribution to Dr. Bob’s favorite charity in Tanzania, the Saffina Street Network, which he visited 14 times
Dr. Brad Hoch was then called for the keynote address which consisted of a slide show with pictures from many of Dr. Bob’s dental mission trips to offer dental care throughout the world. This was followed by awarding of the Eisenhower Humanitarian Award plaque, specially crafted and donated by renowned sculptor Gary Casteel.
Dr. Bob, who is never at a loss for a story or two to tell, shared stories from his trips and life that emphasized humility and prayer. One story in particular, which he described as both most stressful and most rewarding, involved a young girl, maybe 10 years old, who had escaped human trafficking. He observed that there is nothing so gratifying as being where God wants you to be.
He noted that he got great satisfaction from the love he got from the people he was able to help, but was especially thankful to his lovely wife, Linda, who let him make all these trips, sharing that she did all the suffering, taking care of the family while he was gone.
He credited all he was able to do to the staff members who joined him on the trips and to the people on the ground who made it possible to enter and travel in all these different countries and provide a service that would help many lives for years to come. For all of this, he accepted the award on behalf of his staff both traveling and in-country.
