Rotary Youth Activities
Posted by Gary O'Rielly
on Apr 20, 2015
Patty Klassen was our guest speaker last Friday talking about the various Youth Programs sponsored by District 5050 and Rotary International. Patty currently is serving as the District Interact Chair and a member of the YAIL Committee. At her home club of Rotary Club of Port Moody, she is the chair of the Youth Services Committee and President Nominee for 2016-17.
Patty's main purpose in visiting our club was to talk about starting an Interact Club which our club has some really deep interest in after two of our members' children and a niece attended the Youth Adventures in Leadership (YAIL) conference earlier this year. On hand to hear the presentation was Hayden Ploeger and his grandmother, Penny Ploeger. Hayden was one of the young people attending the YAIL Conference. The future of Rotary is in our youth of today. That is why, each Rotary Club needs to be involved in youth programs. Sending young people to YAIL, RYLA and starting Interact and Roteract teams in each club will allow Rotary to grow beyond its current levels.
Patty's high level of leadership involvement began as a child and she has continued to demonstrate that passion for leadership in all areas of her life. She speaks English and Spanish and understands Portuguese, French and Italian. Professionally, she and her husband Don who accompanied her to our Club, own Royal LePage Realty. She graduated from the Rotary Leadership Institute and has been with RYLA for ten years serving as the District RYLA Chair in 2011-2013.
Patty agreed to come back to Lake Stevens and sit down with some of the youth interested in starting an Interact Club, either at a future club meeting or at lunch at Lake Stevens High School to meet with the students and a faculty advisor who would be responsible for leading the Interact Club. More to come later.