January 21, 2004
Rotary starts evening club
New Rotary group alternate to noon and morning meeting times
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
A new Rotary Club is being formed this month, opening up another opportunity for community members to be involved in a variety of community service projects.
This club will meet weekly in the evenings for an hour, giving members time to get home by dinner time, noted Paul LaPorte, president of the Rotary Club of Traverse City.
"There are a lot of people who want to be in Rotary, but cannot make a noon meeting on Tuesday or a morning meeting on Wednesdays," noted LaPorte, who has been a member of the noon club since 1993. "The evening meeting is for people like doctors, who see patients all day, or teachers or anyone who can't get away during the day."
An organization meeting for the new club will be held at 7 p.m. on January 29 at the Government Center. The regular meeting day and location for the evening club is not yet determined.
The original Rotary Club of Traverse City was chartered in 1920 and currently has 320 members. In 1999, the organization began the morning club, called the Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary Club; that organization has more than 70 members.
"Rotary has been such a huge part of Traverse City for such a long time; one, because it is Rotary and two, because the club of Traverse City is a lot more unusual than people realize," said LaPorte, a professional writer. "In fact, this is one of the largest clubs in the world and at one time was one of the wealthiest."
Ross Childs, a retired county administrator and Rotary Club member since 1985, agreed that Traverse City has a high level of involvement.
"Traverse City has a lot more Rotarian activity than most, a city of this size would quite often have one or two clubs," he noted.
The uniqueness of the Traverse City Rotary clubs is tied to its wealth: oil discovered on 400 acres of land leased to the Boy Scouts since the 1920s funds the Rotary Charities. This organization formed in 1978 and has given away more than $31 million during the past 26 years. While separate from the local clubs, Rotary Charities draws its leaders and board of directors from Traverse City Rotary clubs.
Rotary clubs in Traverse City raise funds and perform service throughout the community. LaPorte said that the clubs give away money in two ways: through a committee serving handicapped people and through a good works committee. Last year, more than $70,000 was funneled into the hands of individuals and organizations from the Rotary clubs.
"We help handicapped people who have fallen through the cracks somehow, help with wheelchairs, dental work, things like that," he said. "The good works committee gives money to schools or non-profit organizations for programs."
Rotarians are found around the globe as more than 30,000 clubs include 1.3 million members in 166 countries. The clubs work in both their own communities and help fund projects in other countries, joint efforts among the clubs. In addition, while other service clubs around the world are losing members, Rotary Clubs continue to grow.
Rotarians from Traverse City, Elk Rapids, Petoskey and Charlevoix will travel to India in February to help eradicate polio, one of the international club's projects. Participants will help vaccinate children against this disease in a push to stamp it out.
"Polio is almost gone but not entirely," LaPorte said. "It could be the second disease eradicated in world history, after smallpox."
An orientation meeting for the new evening Rotary Club will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, at the Government Center, 400 Boardman Avenue. Information about the other two Rotary Clubs in Traverse City and the Rotary Club International will also be available at that meeting. No reservations are necessary to attend this meeting.