By John Duvall
Special to The PREVIEW
Meeting some really interesting people you might not meet otherwise and having an effective avenue to give something back to your community — this pretty much sums up membership in Rotary for lots of Rotarians, both local and worldwide.
Of the 1.2 million Rotarians in 34,000 Rotary clubs in 200 countries around the world, most members joined because they wanted to give something back to their communities — and to the world. With the combined energy and resources of all these Rotarians focused on the elimination of polio worldwide, that 36-year effort almost has been achieved. Presently, there are only three countries where polio still exists.
In Pagosa, two Rotary clubs serve our community year-round with a number of projects — from sponsoring and organizing the Fourth of July parade to picking up trash on Put Hill; from cooking and serving lunch at Loaves and Fishes to providing $20,000 in college scholarships each year for local high school graduates; from providing ukuleles for music training at the Pagosa Springs Elementary School to the Feed The Children program; and more.
If you want to get a close-up look at who these Pagosa Rotarians are, and get a much better sense of all the ways that you could choose to serve, then you should come to the Rotary open house on Monday evening, Sept. 14. It begins at 6 p.m. in the lobby of First Southwest Bank. It’ll be an informative but very informal come-and-go evening. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited. No long-winded (or short-winded) speeches, and the dress is “Pagosa informal.” No hard sell, either.
Ladies, don’t think that today’s Rotary is just a “good ole boy” club. About half the members of Pagosa’s Rotary clubs are women and, in recent years, there have been more women presidents than men. Presently, the presidents of both clubs are women. Women chair many of the most important committees and provide much of the leadership — both formal and informal.
Twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings also are encouraged to check it out.
