It is an honor to serve as president of the Rotary Club of Bellingham this Rotary year (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026).  Our club is re-energized following the difficulties caused by the COVID pandemic.  Our membership is increasing again, and our weekly meetings are fun and informative.  Our service projects and fundraising efforts, both local and international, are improving lives both in our community and abroad.

 

In June, I attended the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Alberta.  I there experienced the energy and substance behind Rotary's slogan that its members are "People of Action."  The substance of the "Action Plan" consists of four priorities which our Club is following:

 

 

This priority encourages our Club to join with agencies to improve our work.  We have done that locally with the many community projects we have contributed to, both financially and with our volunteer labor.  Examples of our support of the successful Starfish Weekend Food program for needy public-school students.  Examples of our volunteer labor are cleanup projects at the Community Boating Center and beautifying work at Sunnyland Park.  An example of an international project is paying for and then mobilizing over 100 volunteers to pack 40,000 meals to be shipped to hungry people in Sierra Leone.

 

 

This priority focuses on developing and inspiring ways that engage diverse participants to Rotary and take action, and to partner with groups we have not been with before.  We have partnered locally with the Lighthouse Mission Ministries to contribute toward a medical clinic on the first floor of its new building on F Street, and with the Community Boating Center to help fund the new Wheelhouse building.  Internationally, we have partnered with the Bweyogerere Namboole Rotary Club on the Buffujja/Nahulonjohe Water Sanitation and Hygiene projects to provide clean water and sanitation to two communities devastated by flooding which destroyed their water and sanitation facilities.

 

 

One of my goals for the Club this year is to increase membership, with the specific goal of having each member bring in one new member.  We have instituted a Membership Engagement Challenge to incentivize current members to bring in new members to the Club.  Every member is charged with bringing ten guests to Club meetings during the course of the year, and they are to keep track of that.  They will receive a prize upon reaching that goal.  Additionally, last year the Club conducted a Membership Satisfaction Survey.  We are acting on the results of that Survey regarding the time and location of meetings, among other things.  We hope that by varying those times and locations, more current members and potential new members will find the opportunity to attend our meetings in person and see what we have to offer.

 

 

How can our Club best adapt to this changing post-COVID world of Artificial Intelligence and remote working conditions?  We must embrace digital tools and platforms to enhance communication, project management, and member collaboration.  We also must use regular training sessions or workshops to equip members with new skills and knowledge that align with emerging trend and technologies.  An excellent resource for this is The Learning Center on the rotary.org website.

 

One of the most important aspects of the Rotary Club of Bellingham is that, while we are engaged in all of these important activities, we have a lot of fun!  Although our members come from widely divergent backgrounds, there is a strong sense of camaraderie and respect in our meetings and other Club activities.

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas.