Rotary Club of Pittsboro celebrates year of growth, service

Posted

PITTSBORO — The Rotary Club of Pittsboro held its annual installation banquet on June 22, and had a lot to celebrate.

The club experienced a record year of membership, adding 17 new members since July 2021, for a total of 42 members. Pittsboro Rotary also coordinated and participated in more than 15 service projects throughout the community, including an ongoing Meals on Wheels route, art and school supply drives for local children, quarterly cleanup with Adopt A Highway, food collection and turkey donation to CORA, and participated in the Haw River Cleanup. The club also awarded three Chatham County seniors with $1,000 scholarships. Fundraisers included the Pittsboro Street Fair Trike Race and virtual Bingo nights. And this year the club will be hosting the Pittsboro Street Fair October 29, which will become its largest fundraising event, for many years to come.

At the banquet, outgoing Rotary President Katie Walker passed the torch to Patrick Walsh, who will be president for the next year. She credits the Pittsboro business community for the club’s successful year, and looks forward to the upcoming year under Wash’s leadership.

“Having the opportunity to be part of this amazing team of people over the last year in the Rotary Club of Pittsboro has been an honor,” said Walker. “Because of the awesome work done by our team of local business professionals, we have seen a year of rebuilding and tremendous growth for our club.”

Walker also credits the growth of the club to Roger Saunders, who was honored as Rotarian of the Year. Saunders joined Rotary in February 2021 and hit the ground running — he is co-chairperson of the Membership Committee with past president Eric Williams, and also serves on the Speaker/Club Schedule Committee.

Saunders said that after his retirement in 2020 he was looking for a way to get involved, and after one Zoom meeting with Rotary he knew he’d found the perfect avenue for service.

“The values of Rotary resonate with me,” Saunders said. “In the Pittsboro Club, I’ve found friends, networked with community professionals, and engaged in Club service through committees. I’m honored to be called a Rotarian.”

“Eric (Williams) and Roger (Saunders) developed an organized system of attracting and onboarding new Rotarians, and Roger has been the driving force in helping revive and rebuild our club since the height of COVID,” Walker said. “Roger’s leadership and dedication was unparalleled in the past year, and so deserving of the honor of Rotarian of the Year.”

Connolly Walker also received the Big Impact Award, for her unwavering passion for Rotary, and ensuring the club is represented not only in the Chatham community, but throughout Rotary’s District 7690.

Current President Walsh is grateful for the opportunity to serve the club and the Pittsboro community and looks forward to the upcoming year.

“We are very fortunate to have many of the past presidents continuing to serve in leadership roles,” said Walsh. “They have created a solid foundation for our young club, and this form of collective leadership is proving to be a strong asset in reaching our goals of service. I look forward to expanding the reach of Rotary to our community.”

The Rotary Club of Pittsboro meets each Wednesday at noon at Postal Fish Company in Pittsboro. To learn more about the club, attend a meeting or visit www.facebook.com/rotarypbo.