Congratulations are due to the Port Alberni Rotary Club, which is celebrating 80 years of service in the City of Port Alberni this week.
(We also pass on our best wishes to Rotary District 5020 Governor Tom Carroll from Washington State, who was due to help the club celebrate until he was involved in an accident at his home last weekend.)
The city’s first Rotary club started in 1937 with 24 charter members, and the service work the club has continued with for the past eight decades is visible around the city: from the park on River Road near River Bend store, to the bridges that span Kitsuksis Dyke, Rollin Art Centre, the caretaker’s building at Paper Mill Dam, to the annual Pirate Day at McLean Mill, the annual wine festival and Mardi Gras fundraisers—they are all possible thanks to the efforts of Rotarians.
We would also be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the city’s second Rotary Club, Arrowsmith Rotary, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this coming year. Arrowsmith is an off-shoot of the original Rotary Club, but holds its meetings in the mornings. The two clubs often work together on service projects.
Between both clubs there are approximately 45 members, all currently serving or retired businesspeople. This is a strong representation for a city of 18,000, and shows that Rotary remains relevant despite the changing picture of volunteerism in Canada.
Rotary began as a worldwide, business-based service club that offered people involved in business a way to give back to their communities. The original clubs were men-only: women weren’t invited to join Rotary clubs until 1989.
Rotary has adapted by changing the way it takes in volunteers: there are Rotoract clubs for post-secondary students, Rotary exchanges still remain but the length of time varies, and there are Rotary corps—including one here in the Rotary Arts District uptown—which take on specific projects but don’t necessarily mean regular membership and meetings.
In Port Alberni, Rotary supports the Young Professionals of the Alberni Valley, whose members may represent a different demographic, but the spirit of service is the same.
We owe Rotarians in Port Alberni a debt of gratitude for all the work they do to make our own corner of the world a better place.
—Alberni Valley News