Better Know a Rotarian: The Invisible Man

Best read while listening to "Down Under" by Men At Work... because Australia!

The Invisible Man

Tom Pado has a problem. He wants to be invisible. The problem is if you take one look at him, or have one conversation with him, or talk to anyone about him you'll have the same reaction to that sentence; "REALLY???"

Tom has lived life to the fullest, not just experiencing America but all over the world. He spent a large part of his professional life in Australia, I'd imagine playing with the dingos and Crocodile Dundee. He's been on news programs, spoke on talk shows, and rubbed elbows with Defense Secretaries & Generals. He's a successful inventor and entrepreneur. His career resume speaks for itself. So when Tom retired, he decided to get away from the spotlight and become a wallflower. 

Yes I know, you're all laughing now. Danville, Indiana is not where someone goes to be invisible. A brief list of how Tom is working to accomplish his goal of invisibility: 

1. New to Danville- In his defense he can't help this fact. New to Danville tends to stick out. Trust me, as an Avon grad I'm still an "outsider" to most even after 12 years.
2. Captain Fireplug- Has a charity to help the families of injured and downed firefighters. Doing good work in a small town gets attention (as it should, regardless of size of town). 
3. Married into a "Danville" family. Cindy may not be from Danville, but her kids are. I don't know if Trump would refer to them as "anchor babies" because of this... actually I do know.
4. Joined Rotary- Maybe a little pat on the back here, but Rotary is an organization that DOES things. We're visible in the community. 
5. Walks his dog regularly- I mean sure he may walk his dog by driving his signature jeep around town, but my point is the same. He's seen out and about town quite often. A hermit Tom is not!
6. Stories! Stories! Stories! Small towns are full of them, and anyone that can tell a good one always has a prominent seat at the table. Incidentally that's why Charlie gets to sit up front at meetings. 

Tom claims to want to be just another guy, but he will always fail at that goal. As is the case with many of our rotarians, retiring from his career didn't mean he was done being noticed or needed. A fact that all of us fellow Rotarians are grateful for.