Rotary District 5190 Gov Awards the Spirit of Service

The 2026/27 Rotary District 5190 Governor, Kurt Raffetto and his wife, Polly, made a fall visit to Quincy Rotary, bringing a pep talk, encouragement, and a couple of well-deserved awards. The “Quiet Rotarian” award went to Rick Foster, whose reputation for being talkative makes the honor all the more amusing! The award recognizes his many behind-the-scenes contributions to the club. The “High Flyer” award went to Lisa Kelly, whom Quincy Rotary President JoDee Johnson calls “the Heart of Rotary”—a fitting tribute to someone who keeps the spirit of service alive in the club.

R(otary)Y(outh)L(eadership)A(wakening)

RYLA, a training opportunity for young leaders between their junior and senior high school years, made an impact on Quincy Rotary's representative, Skylar.

Speaking about her summer leadership experience, Sky reflected, "I learned so much about myself, how to trust for example. I learned to be vulnerable and how to listen and be there for others. I made new genuine connections. Most importantly, I learned that mistakes don't define who I am; instead, they help shape who I become. I learned to think positively about myself, and thus I will reflect that positivity.

Thank you Quincy Rotary for sponsoring me as your representative at Rotary District 5180/5190 RYLA - It is the experience of a lifetime.

Quincy Rotary Annual Golf Tournament

What a stellar Saturday for the May 2026 Quincy Rotary Annual Golf Tournament at Plumas Pines, where community spirit shone bright! Kudos to Kim Navarro (who isn't in Rotary) and Lisa Lester for fueling the excitement with mulligan and raffle ticket sales, Sheila Vargas (who isn't in Rotary) for working from morning until the bitter end, and hats off to the dynamic organizers Rick Leonhardt, Mike Summerfield, Johnny Mansell, Mike Taborski, and the tireless Rotarian volunteers!

Downtown Quincy Clean-up

Quincy Rotary’s Bill Abramson, Beth Reid, RickFoster, John Sheehan, Karen Kleven, with friends Sue Jackson, Chris Murray, and Betsy Webster, along with the dedicated Labor of Love group, made a real difference in Downtown Quincy this spring through their community clean-up effort. These Rotarians demonstrate the principal motto of Rotary, Service Above Self which conveys the philosophy of unselfish volunteer service.

Meet Quincy Rotary

Water is Life

"Maji ni uhai" means "Water is Life" which is evident in many Kenyan villages who have benefitted from the hard work of Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald and her team of well drillers - some who are Univerity of Nevada students, some who are members of the villages.

For over 17 years, Quincy Rotary has partnered with Dr. Fitzgerald, a Ph.D. in Engineering, with a strong background in hydrology. Rotary helps with the funding and Fitzgerald with the site selection and well drilling, bringing fresh water to Kenyans where water flow is often not efficient. Most water is lugged by young girls over miles of arid terrain to reach villages. The girls rise early in the morning to fetch firewood to build fires. After they forage for fuel, the girls set out to find water to port back to their village in jugs. The often-putrid water sources are shared with wild animals, tape worms, brain eating amoeba, harmful bacteria and a host of other dangerous entities. The girls must then boil the water before using it to cook, or clean, or drink. The girls in villages are the foragers, fetching wood and water miles from their homes while the boys go to school. Up until recently, the girls had little time to attend to their education.

Enter Dr. Fitzgerald who leads UNR graduate students to Kenya to work on water projects. She was looking for sponsors and Quincy Rotary was interested, seeking a meaningful international project to satisfy one of the 7 areas of focus of Rotary International. Those areas are promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies, and protecting the environment. Dr. Fitzgerald’s project fit the bill.

Now, these wells free Kenyan girls from the burden of foraging for firewood and hauling water for miles, allowing them time to spend in a classroom, becoming educated alongside boys. Dr. Fitzgerald was able to convince village elders that if additional classrooms are built and instructors located, girls will be able to stay in school until they are eighteen, instead of being married off by twelve.

Prior to the pandemic, Dr. Fitzgerald trained a team of local well drillers who could be more self-directed. The team has managed to drill four wells from 2020 to 2021. Two additional wells were drilled this past 2022 summer, with funding coming from Dr. Fitzgerald herself. A simple, low-tech water well in Kenya at $2750 is relatively low-cost and brings innumerable benefits. By funding these well projects, Quincy Rotary has found a focus by not only providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, but, through Dr. Fitzgerald’s Well Project, our Rotary also is able to fight disease, save mothers and children, support education, grow local economies, protect the environment, all which leads to promoting peace.

Silver Linings - Rotaries Connect

Quincy and Greenville Rotaries combined forces, gathering together under the Greenville Greenhouse at The Spot Monday evening, 4/10, 2023. After the Dixie Fire, the heated Greenhouse became a Greenville Rotary Project build - a place for the community to gather - and the picnic tables inside as well. The tables were built by their club out of reclaimed wood from Dixie Fire's burnt trees. Speaker Sue Weber declared that the silver lining in devasting disasters is the "re" building of community - the gathering of two Rotary Clubs becoming one for a night of food and good cheer!

Ukraine Mobile Clinic Contribution