by Syble Solomon
The core values of Rotary Club are service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership. Since the Rotary Club of Hamilton was established in 1938, members have lived those values by focusing on uniting people for the common good and empowering youth to carry on their mission. Over time, projects have been adapted to changing community needs and expanded to include new opportunities for youth to become responsible leaders and global citizens.
Historically, Hamilton Rotary’s approach has been to partner with other organizations, businesses and government entities to increase their ability to effect positive change. In the early years, when the country was still recovering from the Great Depression, initial projects focused on infrastructure and addressing social issues. One of the club’s first major undertakings was the construction of Blodgett Rotary Park for day use on the river. This fostered a sense of community pride and togetherness. Over the years, Rotary members continue to maintain the park with clean-up projects, cutting grass, providing fire pits and upgrading picnic tables.
They have also collaborated with the Hamilton School District, Bitterroot Health and other non-profits. Notable projects include establishing the Hamilton Community Food Bank and supporting the building of the bandshell and Canyon Hideaway play area at Driscoll Park. They currently support the Backpack Project which provides food to students on the weekend and partners with the Elks Lodge 1651 to give dictionaries for every third grader in the county.
Hamilton Rotarians have always focused on youth to foster leadership, education and community service. Service projects have engaged dozens of Corvallis High School students in the Interact program. Each year these students can be seen doing cleanup along Hwy 93 in Victor, collecting household paper products and feminine hygiene products for SAFE at supermarkets, doing food drives and ringing their bells at stores during the holidays to raise money to help others. When Interact members want to initiate other service projects, Rotarians encourage and support them.
One way leadership training is promoted is by sponsoring six local high school sophomores to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp in Livingston. The camp brings together students from across the state and teaches leadership skills, networking with peers, and the chance to learn from community leaders. They learn how to work together to solve local and world-wide challenges and how they can take on a leadership role in promoting service projects in their school and community.
Offering scholarships to graduating high school students has been a long-standing tradition of Hamilton Rotary and they now offer six $1,500 scholarships to attend trade schools, certification programs or college. In keeping with the Rotary’s history of meeting health challenges and needs, some of those scholarships are specific to graduates interested in a broad spectrum of health-related areas from counseling, phlebotomy and paramedics to LPNs and doctors. They also offer two $500 scholarships in memory of Robert Leonardi. In keeping with their mission, service to others is an important criteria to qualify for a scholarship.
Major areas of focus for Rotary International are to promote peace, fight disease and provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene worldwide. High school students can take advantage of the international programs, coordinated and hosted by Rotary clubs around the world. Dr. Mark Jergens, a longtime local Rotarian, praises these programs of youth saying, “These opportunities are teaching high school students that the world out there is different. They become better citizens and leaders and appreciate their own country in a different way.”
Students are encouraged and supported to be exchange students themselves and to host students from other countries. Rotary is so committed to international experiences they will also help coordinate with clubs in other countries to facilitate experiences and learning opportunities for individual students with specific interests.
One recent outstanding international project was when a group of students from Corvallis went to Guatemala and were hosted by Rotary members while they worked on a project to provide safe water for drinking, washing and sanitation. This year students raised $1,600 to sponsor another water project in Guatemala.
Adults involved in these international programs working with youth and also have their own programs. In fact, the Rotary district governor recently reached out to members saying, “After having the opportunity to visit Guatemala this year and seeing the impact of many of our international projects regarding clean water and sanitation, I urge you to consider becoming involved with an international project. We are currently forming small club alliances to complete smaller low-cost international projects quickly and efficiently.”
The Rotary Club of Hamilton has consistently embodied their motto: service above self. Through its diverse projects, community partnerships and global initiatives, they have left an indelible mark on the lives of countless individuals. As the club continues to grow and evolve, it remains committed to collaborating on local and international projects for the common good and promoting peace and understanding through youth leadership, service and learning opportunities.
For more membership information and to meet others committed to local and international service and youth leadership, interested parties can call (406) 363-2400. Rotary meets on Mondays at noon at BJ’s restaurant and includes informative speakers from the Bitterroot Valley.