Chuck Tallman
By Kirsten Laskey
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos resident Charles “Chuck” Tallman will soon celebrate his 90th birthday but that isn’t his only major milestone. This year also marks his 50th year in the Rotary Club of Los Alamos.
Tallman is the local club’s longest serving member. He said he joined the club in 1971 but his first experience with Rotary was much earlier.
He explained he grew up in a poor area in Oklahoma City but one of the things in his neighborhood was a big park built by the local Rotary Club.
As an adult and living in Los Alamos, Tallman served as chair of the United Fund, which is now known as United Way. This caught the attention of the local Rotary Club and he was invited to join.
“It’s been a wonderful opportunity,” he said. “Rotary has some basic goals that I have taken in as a guide for my life.”
One of these things is Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self”. Additionally, Tallman said he strives to exercise the Rotary’s four-way test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Not only does Rotary have a strong moral center but it consists of good people, Tallman said.
“It’s been a great group of people to get to know … it’s been a rewarding place,” he said.
Tallman served as president of the local club twice, first from 1973-1974 and again from 2001-2002. However, one of his biggest highlights was being involved in Rotary’s student exchange program.
The exchange program is open to high school students internationally and allows them to travel to countries that have Rotary and stay for a school year, Tallman said. They live with three different host families.
Tallman was involved in the program for almost 20 years and was even in charge of the exchange program for the whole local Rotary district, which includes New Mexico and some of Texas. He said the number of exchange students who traveled to this local district could get as high as 40.
He added his daughter participated in the exchange program; she traveled to Finland.
A notable participant in the Rotary exchange program was Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic from Croatia. She graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1986 and then in 2015, was elected as the first female president of Croatia.
In addition to its student exchange program, the Rotary Club is helping to eradicate polio through its Polio Plus program, Tallman said.
In Los Alamos, Rotarians offer numerous services from maintaining the memorial garden on the Los Alamos High School campus to awarding scholarships.
Whether it is helping students or distributing vaccines, one of the things Rotarians strive to do is help one another, he said.
“Rotary offers a lot of things and one of the things is fellowship,” he said. “You get to know these people. I think it is really important to have friends from all over.”
Through his 50 years of service in Rotary, Tallman said one of the most signficant changes he has seen was when the club diversified its membership.
“One of the biggest changes was that Rotary finally accepted women,” he said, adding that now at least 50 percent of the local club’s members are women. When Tallman first joined in the 70s, it was only opened to men.
Rotary Vice President Linda Hull, another long-time member, said Tallman has been invaluable to the club.
“When we need a volunteer, Chuck is always ready to set up the A/V equipment or a meeting room, print labels, make deliveries, or assist in any way possible,” she said. “He isn’t deterred by any task whether it’s reviewing scholarship applications or moving heavy furniture.”
“Chuck is not only a Los Alamos Living Treasure, he is a Rotary Club Living Treasure,” Hull added. “I enjoy working with him because he is always cheerful, unfailingly reliable, and eager to lend a hand. He also has a great knowledge of Club history, the projects and activities we have undertaken in the last 50 years. He is indispensable in helping me in my service to Rotary.”
Rotary is just the tip of the iceberg of all the things Tallman does for the community. He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for 30 years before he retired. Tallman said he is active in his church, the United Church of Los Alamos, where he serves as chair of its mission board and sings in the choir.
He is treasurer of the Los Alamos Choral Society and a member of the Lads of Enchantment Barber Shop Quartet. In 2016 Tallman was honored as a Los Alamos Living Treasure.
If that wasn’t enough, Tallman said he also is a member of the Lemon Lot Hikers, which is a group of hiking enthusiasts who meet every Wednesday and go hiking together.
Tallman celebrates his 90th birthday in March.
