Rotary Club of North Fort Myers, part of the original networking organization, seeks new members
Those who want to be part of a local group that promotes networking and camaraderie, while supporting charities, should consider the Rotary Club of North Fort Myers.
The club meets weekly on Thursdays at 8 a.m. for a breakfast meeting at the Shell Factory’s Dolphin Room.
Club members are business and community leaders, from doctors and lawyers, to real estate executives and employees from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Visitors from other Rotary organizations from around the country will event join in while visiting Florida.
“We promote goodwill and peace locally and worldwide,” said club President Danielle Hall. “This is how we are different from other networking organizations.
“We’re looking to do more good, which requires more members,” she said. “We are specifically looking for business owners, executives and managers.”
The ages of the members range from young professionals to retirees. Hall herself, a successful local business leader, is in her early 40s.
Long-time Rotarian Steve Agius, Rotary District 6960 membership chairman and vice president of Creative Tile Concepts of Naples, spoke at the recent meeting about new members.
He has recently had great success recruiting new members in the Naples and Bonita Springs area.
“Rotary is a volunteer organization that has over 1.2 million business and professional leaders worldwide,” Agius said. “In fact, Rotary was the first business networking group in the country. It started in 1905, though no one wanted to use the word ‘networking’ then, but that was what it did, and it does, along with charity work.”
Rotary champions the causes of illiteracy, disease, hunger and environmental concerns locally and across the globe. It is a commitment to “Service Above Self,” while members also network with other local professionals.
To become a member, you need an invitation by a current member.
“An existing Rotarian needs to invite you, but that’s not a problem,” Hall said.
Those who would like to attend a meeting, are considering membership and would like to meet the group can contact her at 810-1602 or by e-mail at dmhall12345@gmail.com.
Meetings always have more than a bit of fun thrown in.
There are “Happy Dollars,” where members throw in $1 for a happy event or thought – from a birth of a child in their family to a winning game by their favorite football team.
They have trivia questions, interesting guest speakers and more.
Locally, the Rotary just recently fought illiteracy by donating dictionaries to every third-grade student in North Fort Myers schools.
“Having a large vocabulary is critical to a student’s reading success,” Tropic Isles Interim Principal Brandy Macchia said after the event. “By The Rotary providing dictionaries to all of our students, this provides them personal access to all of the words in the English language. It allows them to enhance their vocabulary and improve their reading to help them become successful citizens.”
It also gives children a prize possession all of their own, several school staff members noted.
There are also numerous fund-raisers to support local children in need at the holidays and throughout the year. Local Rotary members have even gone to an impoverished school in the Bahamas to help improve it for those children.
They raise funds for wheelchairs and the Gift of Life Program, among others.
On Thursday, they will present a check for $2,000 to Bob Soter, of the Calusa Nature Center.
“They (Calusa Nature Center) were our major charitable recipient from our recent golf tournament,” said club member Dwight Sedgwick.
Members get involved in their communities, connect with other professionals, share their time and experience with young people and support global causes, such as eradicating polio, according to officials. They use their skills to help others.
To learn more, contact Hall by phone or by e-mail.