Elkins Rotary Club welcomed two new members among their ranks and discussed club assembly at Monday's meeting.
Brad Walters and Wayne Sheets, sponsored by Merllene Yorkey, were welcomed as new members of Rotary.
While welcoming the new members, Rotary Club Vice President Leesa Harris said that Rotary is one of the largest service organizations in the world and has survived over 100 years of service to the local and international communities.
Article Photos
The Inter-Mountain photo by Melissa Toothman
From left, Rotary President Steve Sherrard, Rotary Club Vice President Leesa Harris and Merllene Yorkey, sponsor of the two new members, welcome Brad Walters and Wayne Sheets as new members of Elkins Rotary Club at Monday’s meeting.
According to Harris, Rotary promotes high ethical standards in business and professions, improves the quality of life of those who live in the community, and encourages youth to be community leaders and to be involved in international service projects in exchange programs.
"But most of all, we believe in service above self," said Harris.
The Elkins Rotary Club has 10 committees that run programs or help to serve the community in different ways. Members were given an opportunity Monday to sign up as a participant on one or more of the committees they were interested in.
"As secretary, I enjoyed working with a lot of the projects that we have funded this year," said Secretary Pat Schoonover.
According to a sign-up sheet given to the members, the committees are Membership Committee, attracting and retaining members for the club; Service Projects Committee, coordinating club service projects; Fundraising Committee, Fun Night Committee, Polio Plus Committee, Rotary Foundation Committee, which educates and encourages members to support the Rotary; Public Relations committee, which promotes club activities in the community and the district; Finance Committee, Rotaract/Interact Committee, and Greeter-Back-up Sergeant-at-Arms.
"We've had a great fund-raising year... the amount of organizations we've been able to support in this area is tremendous again this year," said Rotary President Steve Sherrard.
Also, Sherrard said that he was grateful for everyone's help on the committees which entailed 100 percent involvement regardless of the committee.
"I'm happy to report that your club is in great shape," said Yorkey, reporting on the finance committee.
Elkins Rotary Club is the second highest in the district for Polio Plus Concert fundraising with earnings of $1,909 for this year's concert combined with money previously received, totaling $10,806.
The highest in the district is Wierton with at least $34,000.
"That (Polio Plus Concert) is an integral part of the Rotary foundation," said Grace Roy, chairwoman for the Rotary Foundation Committee.
Chairman of the Membership and Polio Plus Committees Bob Dunkerley spoke about the Polio Plus Concert and the importance of members in Rotary.
"Having it at the high school theater really, I think, helped move the show right along," said Dunkerley.
He suggested that the autumn season would be a better time to host the concert, after the dates for the Forest Festival, because of graduations and other events that go on in the spring time.
"Membership is an ongoing thing that really is an empowerment issue for every member of the organization. If there's one thing that you can do that will increase our overall effectiveness to the community, it's to bring additional members into our fold," said Dunkerley.
Also, he said that membership is Rotary's strongest asset and what makes Rotary special is the hard work and personal leadership of its members.
"I think at this point, we're going to try and organize ourselves so that we have an annual drive," said Dunkerley, who clarified that this membership drive would not be the only time new members are sought or brought in.
Contact Melissa Toothman by email at mtoothman@theintermountain.com.
