Rotary is a service club that started in Chicago back in 1905 by Paul Harris. The motto for Rotary is “Service above Self.” One of Rotary’s biggest accomplishments to date is its Polio Plus Campaign. Last year, less than 100 cases were reported worldwide. Since the first vaccine in 1979 in the Philippines, 99.9 percent of all polio has been eliminated. Rotary has dedicated over $890,000,000 towards this cause.

Rotary has over 1.2 million members worldwide with over 30,000 clubs in over 160 countries.

Locally, Marshall has two Rotary Clubs; the “Noon Club” meets on Tuesday at noon at the Best Western. The “Sunrise Rotary” meets at 7 a.m. Thursdays at the YMCA in Marshall.

What do the local Rotary clubs do? Each week our clubs meets and we have a speaker. Usually the speaker is from the community. They come and speak to us about interesting things going on in their organization. Sometimes it is a nonprofit, other times it might be as different as a beekeeper. Speakers are chosen each week by the members and brought as guests.

Our Sunrise Club is involved in a major fundraising event to raise funds to replace the playground equipment at Liberty Park. In partnership with the Marshall Fire Department and the city of Marshall, our goal is to raise $40,000 to replace the old, outdated equipment with modern ADA compliant equipment. Rotary is about giving and helping people. Rotary is about getting to know your neighbor, fellow business persons and other community people.

If you would like to be a part of a fun, energetic club that gets things done in the community and around the world, send me an email and come as my guest. My email is mhenle@henleprinting.com.