Well, it’s really not a “secret” society. In fact, the opposite is quite true; we try to be as visible and non-secretive as possible, but it seems there are still many who don’t know what Rotary is – beyond that thing on your grill.
I think the Wikipedia page on Rotary International does a good job describing what the Rotary Club is all about:
“Rotary International (also known as the Rotary Club) is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. It is a secular organization open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or political preference. There are 34,282 clubs and over 1.2 million members worldwide. The members of Rotary Clubs are known as Rotarians. Members usually meet weekly for breakfast, lunch or dinner, which is a social event as well as an opportunity to organize work on their service goals.”
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Believe it or not, 3 of those 34,282 clubs are right here in Gig Harbor. There is a North Club, a Morning Club and, the club I am a member of, the Midday Club. I know that all three clubs perform numerous community service and international projects, but I can only really talk about the club I know – Midday.
The Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday supports a number of local charities and non-profit organizations and some international charities through funds we collect through two major fund raisers each year. Our club is the organization that brings you the Golferitaville Golf Tournament (www.golferitaville.com) and the Harbor Hounds Charity Dog Walk (www.harborhounds.com). Raise your hand if you knew that. We also invest our time to participate on community service projects such as; Parks Appreciation Day; Adopt-A-Road; Courage Classic Bike Event; and others.
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The Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday meets every Tuesday at 12:00 for lunch at Anthony’s in Gig Harbor. I was invited to attend a lunch over 2 years ago by a current member and have been attending ever since. I became a member of the club shortly thereafter (passing the secret society initiation process – JUST KIDDING) and have been fully engaged in many community projects throughout the past two years. I get the satisfaction of “giving back” to the community and working side-by-side with some of Gig Harbor’s most impressive citizens.
To find out more about the Midday club, you can check out our web page at http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=793. If lunchtime meetings don’t work for you, I encourage you to check out one of the other, fine Gig Harbor Clubs.