Dear Rotary

Dear Rotary
by Barney Semtner

Dear Rotary, Thanks for the memories.  It’s been 50 years now.  And wow it has been a fantastic voyage. I’ve enjoyed somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500 meals and programs. I’ve learned something at every one of those meetings. Great speakers who have told stories, brought plans and ideas for exciting new growth and development in our community and state.  I’ve met and fellowshipped with many great Rotarians who I count as my friends.  You get out of any organization what you put into it.  I’ve been active in many Club 29 committees, experiencing all of the “Avenues” of Rotary service including Club leadership.  My experiences have included Rotary travel to meeting makeups and to Rotary district and International meetings.  My Rotary connections have facilitated my involvement in many non-profits in our community.

Our Rotary Club has adapted well to change over my 50 years of membership. Early on, it was the transition from an all-male club to becoming a coed club. The expansion of classifications and the elimination of restrictions on vocations has happened in the last 50 years. Also, the requirement for attendance has been relaxed.  Many of these changes have allowed our membership to grow in size, almost doubling since the 1990s. Our club made the bold move from a downtown location to our Heritage Hills home at St. Lukes to accommodate our size and member convenience.

The growth of our Rotary Club 29 Foundation has been phenomenal. It hasn’t happened without the work and generosity of many Rotarians.  The Foundation assisted with the Club’s $150,000 pledge to RI’s Polio Plus initiative. It coordinated the gifts that our club received after the Murrah bombing and assured swift and accurate distribution of those funds. The growth of our endowment over the last two decades with our regular quarterly gifts and many legacy gifts have created a corpus that will fund community and international grants for years to come.  It is truly awesome!

Our Club continues to be the place where people and organizations seek to present programs and tell their stories and ideas.  Our members are elected to membership because they have distinguished themselves in their vocation or the community and in many cases both.  Our members continue to provide leadership and support to others in our community.

I encourage each of you to be active in our Club (as Lance said this past Tuesday, through committee work and club leadership).  Please work to share your Rotary experience with others by seeking new members.  I have been blessed to have been a part of Rotary and look forward to continuing for many years to come.