Service above
Self: Leland Area Rotary Club Gives Back to Community
Story By Steph Medeiros
Photography By Keith Ketchum
There’s an old saying that goes, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” There must be some truth in the old adage because for the new Leland Area Rotary Club, busy people are what it’s all about – busy people who are giving back.
“Rotary is about service above self,” says Jon David, vice president and founder of the Leland Area Rotary Club. “Giving back to the community is what we’re all about.”
“We pride ourselves in attracting people who have someplace to be,” he says. “We seek out people who are active in the community.”
George Murray is an example of the type of active community member the club attracts. An artist, business owner, chamber of commerce board member and LARC’s current club president, Murray stays as active in the community as possible. According to Murray, this not only provides a sense of personal enrichment but also helps the business community grow.
“The key is being community-minded,” says Murray. “You need to be a part of as many civic groups as you can get by with. New businesses and organizations can’t be successful without community support.”
As club president, Murray heads the weekly meetings and makes sure the various committees are all on track.
“Right now we have about five committees,” says Murray.
To join LARC, a person must be recommended by another member and voted on; even more importantly, they must first be ready to take on an active role in the community — which might not be for everyone.
“Everybody’s so busy with their own lives, they have so many commitments,” says Pat Batleman, head of service projects. “But you know you have a dedicated group ... when these busy people are still willing to give back to the community.”
Both Batleman and David agree that busy people are often the most productive. And they would know, being busy people themselves. Batleman, a retired native of Virginia who also is on the Leland Town Council, and David, assistant district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties, are both very active in the community.
In addition to community motivation, another asset to any Rotary club, according to David, is diversity among its members. LARC tries to get a good mix of members from different professional backgrounds so that each business in the community may have a voice in the club.
“Rotary values different backgrounds,” says David. “There is strength in diversity.”
Even at the early stages of development, Rotary clubs focus on helping fellow members and their communities. In order for LARC to get their charter, they needed another Rotary to sponsor them.
“South Brunswick Islands Rotary really helped us through the process,” says David, adding that the Downtown Wilmington Rotary — which happens to be the second oldest Rotary in North Carolina — also lent a helping hand.
Once a club receives its charter, it is officially considered a part of Rotary International. Since its humble beginnings, Rotary International has flourished into one of the world’s largest service organizations with more than 32,000 chartered clubs. It all began more than 100 years ago with a Chicago attorney named Paul P. Harris. Harris had an idea for a professional club in which he hoped to foster friendliness and goodwill among the business community. He and three other men, all from different professional backgrounds, officially formed the first Rotary on February 23, 1905. According to Rotary history, the name of the club came from the early practice of the members rotating the meetings among each other’s offices.
As Rotary grew in size, its mission grew as well. The Rotarians’ vision expanded beyond their professional interests and focused on pooling their resources to serve communities in need. Today, Rotary International and its many local clubs continue to practice “Service Above Self ” through fund-raising activities, community projects and international causes. For Rotary International, the main service objective is the eradication of polio worldwide. Each local Rotary club has its own special cause as well.
“We are focusing on the local community right now, since we are so new,” says Batleman. “As we get established, we’ll branch out into international endeavors.”
According to Batleman, LARC has recently gotten the ball rolling on a few community projects. Batleman hopes that these projects will not only serve the existing community, but will attract more visitors and residents to the area.
“The biggest effort will be our golf tournament that we are hosting next spring,” says Batleman. “We want to make it the centerpiece of our annual fund-raising efforts. We want this to be the big spring event for this area.”
The club will be selling tickets and packages for the tournament, which will be open to the public. As of this writing, the location and exact date have yet to be determined. For Batleman, the golf tournament will not only be a major source of funds for the club, but will hopefully boost Leland’s tourism in the spring.
In addition to the golf tournament, another fund-raising effort LARC put together was “A Taste of Wine, Cheese & Mystery.” Guests enjoyed samples of wine and cheese, courtesy of Leland’s House of Wine & Cheese, while Jon and Ben David treated them to a murder mystery presentation based on true events. Proceeds of the event benefitted Hope Harbor Home, a domestic violence shelter in Brunswick County. The event took place September 10, 2010, at 101 Stone Chimney Place in Supply.
Leland Area Rotary Club also does its part to help the environment. An ongoing cell-phone recycling program and a recent Adopt-A- Highway initiative are two environmentally conscious efforts the club is currently working on.
With so many ways to give back to a community that continues to grow, the possibilities for the Leland Area Rotary Club are endless. The growth this area has seen in recent years stands as evidence for LARC that the community will continue to thrive.
“We believe 50 years from now, Wilmington will be the small town next to Leland,” says David.
For
Rotarians, building a better community isn’t the only reward. A deep personal
sense of pride and accomplishment comes with making an impact on a community.
“The biggest reward is having a collected effort to provide for people who are less fortunate,” says Murray.
Among the millions of members, the desire to give back seems to be the common denominator. According to David, when you give back, you gain even more in return.
“On a personal level, [joining Rotary] presents incredible networking opportunities,” says David. “But along the way, you realize it’s about giving back. You’re able to lift up the community you live in and when you give back, you reap more than you sow.”
