A Message from the Club President

Rotary International is the world’s first service organization. Rotary began as the idea of one man, Paul Harris, in Chicago in 1905, and has grown to approximately 1.2 million members in more than 32,000 community based clubs in 168 countries.

Fellow Rotarians:

     Mount Airy Rotary Club is one of the most progressive and dynamic service organizations in this community.  We respond to the needs of the community with our resources in business, our wealth of leadership experience, and our innate desire to benefit mankind.  Our club discretely but profoundly impacts this community with our ideals in business and benevolence to a worthy cause.  These ideals and efforts foster a camaraderie within our membership that can only be  by family bonds.

     In addition to family and personal business devotions, our Rotary efforts are Herculean many times.  We need to expand our roster dramatically in order to lighten the burden on our present club membership.  I believe stability within the club and expansion of the club membership are the key objectives for this year.

     The Rotary theme for this year is "Rotary Shares".   This succinct yet universal theme covers all aspects of what we are as Rotarians and what we need to achieve within the Mount Airy Rotary Club this year.  "Share the principals of Rotary with a friend and with your fellow members, give your support and "Be A Friend" to someone who deserves to share the experience of Rotary.

      Each Rotary Club’s membership represents a cross-section of those who work and/or live in the community they serve, and is a nonpolitical, nonreligious group open to all cultures, races, and creeds. Each autonomous Club meets weekly to focus on Rotary’s main objective of service: in each community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.

The Mount Airy Rotary Club has been quietly serving the greater Mount Airy area for 21 years. Since our inception in 1986, we have been one of the most progressive and dynamic organizations in this community, and we are still growing and evolving. As each new member joins us, we are provided with a wealth of ideas and opinions on how to serve our community more effectively.

Through partnering with the network of local Rotary Clubs throughout the World, we believe world peace can be achieved through service above self within these communities. Rotary has strived since 1985 to eradicate polio throughout the world with our Polio Plus program. To date, more than $600 million dollars have been pledged to the protection of two billion children worldwide. Over one million and women of Rotary have donated their time and resources to make this possible. If you believe that you could benefit from being involved with an organization such as Rotary, or you could benefit our community through such an organization as Rotary, we have a place for you. Be my guest at one of our meetings, listen to our dynamic speakers each week, and enjoy the support and friendship found only through Rotary.

Sincerely,

Frank Dertzbaugh

President