Service Above Self

If you’re anything like me, you probably have had the same impression of a Rotary Club. A stuffy crowd of bankers and other community leaders that sit around, have a meeting once a week, listen to a speaker, and exchange business cards. Well, that was until I decided to get involved a little over a year ago.

I moved back to the area in January 2010 and decided to move to Summerville, as opposed to my childhood home of Mt. Pleasant. I saw a Rotary booth at the Flowertown Festival and decided to inquire about joining a Rotary Club. I thought it would be a great place to network, and get to know other folks in my new hometown.

I did a quick Google search and found the Summerville Oakbrook Rotary Club. I shot off an email and received an invitation to check out the club from Billy Romanstine. One spring Monday morning I headed down to the Wescott Plantation Clubhouse to see what Rotary was all about.

I enjoyed the fellowship and the information that the speakers provided, and decided to become more involved. I attended a session of the Rotary Leadership Institute and this is where my love for Rotary truly began to blossom. I had heard about various projects and fundraisers through our club, but I really had no idea about the vast array of projects that Rotary Clubs throughout the world were participating in, both on a local and international level.

Summerville is blessed to have three Rotary clubs. The club I belong to meets on Monday mornings at 7:30AM, an evening club that meets on Monday evenings at 5:30PM, and a lunch club that meets at 1PM on Wednesdays. Each group is unique, but the variety of clubs ensures that any professional will find one the best suits him/her.

I was able to learn from both newer and more experienced Rotarians about the value that Rotary provides to our communities. The goal of Rotary International is the worldwide eradication of polio, and we are very near to that goal. Polio now exists in only four countries throughout the world, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria. The Polio Plus program will go a long way in achieving this goal, via a $200M goal from Rotarians to match a $355M grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The work of Rotary can also be seen in our communities. Our club built a concession stand at the Summerville YMCA facility in Oakbrook, and is planning other improvements to that facility. Each club has a literacy program that provides free dictionaries to local third graders, to encourage them to broaden their horizons. The list of projects goes on and are too numerous to list here.

I continue to be amazed at the work of Rotary, and the selfless service that so many members of our community contribute. The Summerville Oakbrook Rotary club will be having a social on Monday August 29^th at 5:30 PM at the Wescott Plantation clubhouse if you would like to check out the membership. If you would like to learn more about Rotary and the opportunities  for service that it provides, please feel free to contact your nearest club, or you can email me at William@billysimons.com and I will be happy to put you in touch with the group that best fits your needs.